Monthly Archives: October 2021

Independent journalist Mohammad Ali wins Daniel Pearl Award for Outstanding Reporting on South Asia 2021

October 31, 2021Amazing Feats, Community Involvement / Social Issues, World Opinionmpositiveone@gmail.com

New York, USA :

*Mohammad Ali is an independent journalist based in New York.*

Independent journalist Mohammad Ali was announced as the winner of this year’s Daniel Pearl Award for Outstanding Reporting on South Asia by the South Asian Journalists Association (SAJA) for his report on right-wing vigilantes’ radicalization of India’s Hindus. The past winners of the award include Pulitzer Prize winning American journalist Dexter Filkins and renowned investigative journalist Azmat Zahra.

New Delhi :

Independent journalist Mohammad Ali was last week announced as the winner of the Daniel Pearl Award for Outstanding Reporting on South Asia 2021 by the South Asian Journalists Association (SAJA), a journalism organization based in the U.S. and Canada.

Ali was awarded for his investigative piece on the Hindu vigilante’s radicalization of India’s Hindu’s by “using a dangerous cocktail of social media and Hindutva.” The 10,000-word long piece titled ‘The Rise of a Hindu Vigilante in the Age of WhatsApp and Modi’ appeared in the American magazine WIRED, well known for its focus on “how emerging technologies affect culture, the economy, and politics.” The piece appeared as a cover story in May 2020 of WIRED magazine.

Taking to micro-blogging site Twitter, Ali announced, “I am grateful to @sajahq for the Daniel Pearl Award for Outstanding Reporting on South Asia 2021 for my profile of a Hindu vigilante in @WIRED. It was an investigation into the process of radicalization of India’s Hindus using a dangerous cocktail of social media & Hindutva.”

The Daniel Pearl Award for Outstanding Reporting on South Asia is awarded yearly by SAJA. Named after American journalist Daniel Pearl, who was killed in Pakistan in 2002, the past winners of the award include Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Dexter Filkins, and renowned investigative journalist Azmat Zahra.

Ali said that he is elated at the award. “Besides helping my career, the award will draw more attention to the rise of Hindu extremism in India,” Ali told TwoCircles.net.

Ali said the idea for the WIRED story on the rise of Hindu vigilante in India, especially after right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came to power in India in 2014, was spawned as he “didn’t like the liberal media coverage of Hindutva in India.”

Ali said for the story he spent a lot of time with the foot soldiers Hindutva, who would carry out the task of propaganda for “India’s slide towards right-wing Hindu extremism.”

“I didn’t want to demonize them (the workers of right-wing parties in India) but instead to humanize them and tell their story,” Ali said, adding, “With all being said, these workers and the work they do is historically significant as it is changing the course of India’s fate as a democracy.”

Ali’s has been reporting and writing on the rise of Hindu nationalism and violence against Muslims in India for over twelve years.

A post-graduate in literature, Ali started his journalism career with TwoCircles.net in 2008 before joining The Hindu in 2012.

“I belong to the generation of Indian Muslims who witnessed the anti-Muslim pogrom in Gujarat and became conscious of the oppression against the community,” Ali said.

Ali said his foray into journalism came naturally as “becoming conscious of the issues facing Indian Muslims lead me to write about it.”

TwoCircles.net, Ali said, gave him a platform to write about these issues.

“At TCN, the reportage on Muslims was a priority. It was not done before in any other mainstream publication. Working at TCN provided me with a great experience in understanding the issues facing the Muslim community in India beyond what was being written about them in the mainstream press,” Ali said.

It was at TwoCircles.net, Ali said that he did his best stories. His series of stories on the wrongful incarceration of Mohammad Amir brought the focus on the impact of the war on terror on India’s marginalized Muslim community.

Mohammad Amir, a resident of Azad Market in Old Delhi, was falsely charged in 20 cases of bomb blasts in and around Delhi in 1998. He was finally released in January 2012, after 14 year long wrongful incarceration.

TwoCircles.net was the first news portal to break the sad story of Aamir.

Ali detailed the plight of Aamir and his family in a 2010 article titled ‘12 yrs in jail and counting: Story of Amir – a victim of war on terror,’ after he met briefly met Aamir by chance at Teeshazari Court in Delhi.

“Aamir’s story is the defining story of my career. The story brought focus on him and he was eventually released. I still keep in touch with him,” Ali said.

Currently based in New York, Ali’s work has been featured in WIRED, Al Jazeera and The Hindu, among others.

Ali said that due to threats to his life in 2017 from extremist Hindu groups he had to move to the US in 2018 when Columbia Journalism School offered him a fellowship.

Ali has been interviewed by The NewYorker (in a piece on the lynching of Muslims in India), Al-Jazeera (The Listening Post episode on use of WhatsApp in spreading violence and propaganda in India), Harper’s Magazine (on the lynching of Muslims in India), Guardian, (on murders triggered by fake news on WhatsApp), and dozen other Indian publications.

His WIRED piece, which won him the Daniel Pearl Award, which was over a year-long investigation into the functioning of the foot soldiers of RSS, is a powerful account of “how Modi’s rise has unleashed an army of violent Hindu extremists on India’s minority communities pushing them to the possibility of second-class citizenship.”

To report for the story, Ali spent months with workers of Bajrang Dal which is part of a larger ideological fraternity patronized by BJP and Modi.

“The WIRED piece is one of the very few instances of reporting in American magazines on Bajrang Dal’s functioning on a day-to-day basis, and demonstrated how politics transforms a society, how hatred is created between communities in the name of ancient wounds and how it is deployed to control power in the present,” Ali said.

Ali said that his WIRED piece documents “how the most commonplace and most humane things like eating a meal or falling in love can be politicized and turned into sources of majoritarian rage and violence against minorities.”

Ali is currently working on a book on India.

source: http://www.twocircles.net / TwoCircles.net / Home> Lead Story / by Irfan Mehraj, TwoCirlces.net / October 29th, 2021

Wipro’s Azim Premji donated Rs 27 crore per day in FY21, retains top giver rank

October 30, 2021Amazing Feats, Business & Economy, Community Involvement / Social Issues, Karnataka (under research project), Leaders, World OpinionAzim Premji, Azim Premji - Chairman - Wipro Limited, Azim Premji - Founder and Chairman - Wipro, Azim Premji - Philanthropist, Azim Premji Foundation, Azim Premji-Wipro Chiefmpositiveone@gmail.com

Bengaluru, KARNATAKA :

Wipro’s Azim Premji donated Rs 9,713 crore or Rs 27 crore a day to retain his top rank among Indian philanthropists in FY21.

Indian business tycoon Azim Premji (Photo | PTI)

Mumbai :

Software exporter Wipro’s Azim Premji donated Rs 9,713 crore or Rs 27 crore a day to retain his top rank among Indian philanthropists in FY21.

Premji, the founder chairman of the company, increased his donation by nearly a fourth during the pandemic year, as per the Edelgive Hurun India Philanthropy List 2021, which had HCL’s Shiv Nadar at second place with contributions of Rs 1,263 crore towards upliftment causes.

Mukesh Ambani of Reliance Industries, India’s richest man by a distance, came third on the list with a Rs 577 crore contribution and was succeeded by Kumar Mangalam Birla with Rs 377 crore.

The second richest Indian Gautam Adani is eighth on the givers’ list with a donation of Rs 130 crore towards disaster relief.

Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani’s ranking improved to fifth with a Rs 183 crore donation with “societal thinking” being identified as the primary cause.

“At present, most of the money is going to fundamental aspects like education and healthcare because of the requirements on the ground. Nilekani has indeed made interesting contributions, and in 10 years, we will have broader civil society issues feature as primary causes,” Hurun India’s managing director and chief researcher Anas Rahman Junaid said.

He said as the age profile of the givers shifts to those under-40, and many of them being self-made ones also presents a hopeful picture.

There are a few new entrants into the list, including the largest stocks investor Rakesh Jhunjunwala, who donated a fourth of his overall earnings or Rs 50 crore in FY21 with efforts on education.

hunjunwala, who recently had a private meet with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is among the backers of Ashoka University, as per a statement.

Brothers Nithin and Nikhil Kamath committed USD 100 million (Rs 750 crore) over the next few years to support individuals, organisations and companies working on solutions for climate change and are 35th on the list.

Former chairman of engineering major Larsen & Toubro, A M Naik, is 11th on the list with a donation of Rs 112 crore, it said, adding that he has pledged to give away 75 per cent of his income for charitable purposes.

Others in the top ten givers include the Hinduja Family, Bajaj Family, Anil Agarwal and the Burman family.

Nine women find their place in the list led by a Rs 69 crore donation by Rohini Nilekani of Rohini Nilekani Philanthropies and, followed by Leena Gandhi Tewari of USV who donated Rs 24 crore, and Anu Aga of Thermax donated Rs 20 crore.

Based on the place of residence, Mumbai led with 31 per cent of the list and was followed by New Delhi 17 per cent and Bengaluru 10 per cent.

The pharma industry has the largest number of philanthropists followed by automobile and auto components and software and services.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Business / by PTI / October 28th, 2021

The dying art of hand-painted film posters and an artist who still brings celebs alive through his works

October 29, 2021Arts, Culture & EntertainmentFilm Poster Painters of India, Indian Muslim Poster Painters, Mehmood Alam - Cinema Poster Painter, Mehmood Alam - Movie Poster Painter - Kolkata, Mehmood Alam - Poster Painter - Kolkata, Poster Painter in Kolkata - West Bengal, Poster Painters in Kolkatampositiveone@gmail.com

Kolkata, WEST BENGAL :

Equipped with the knowledge of hand-painted posters, in 1981, Mahmood left for Siliguri, a fairly less-competitive market, in search of a job. After an illustrious career, the 65-year-old, locally known as ‘Painter Mahmood’, lives in a nondescript, barely-lit house in Kolkata’s Crematorium Street.

Hand painted by Mehmood Alam on Nalin Sarkar Street. (Express Photo Shashi Ghosh)

There was a time when people would worship film stars, a time when cinemas of all languages would give birth to extraordinary heroes and heroines. If it was Rajesh Khanna, Amitabh Bachchan, Hema Malini and Rekha in Bollywood, their counterparts Uttam Kumar, Shubhendu Chatterjee, Suchitra Sen and Supriya Debi were dominating the Bengali cine world.

While onscreen, dialogues like main aaj bhi phenke hue paise nahi uthata (Amitabh Bachchan in Deewar, 1975) and korbo, albaat korbo, I will go to the top, the top, the top (Uttam Kumar in Nayak, 1966) turned the actors into superstars, off screen, their larger-than-life images would be drawn by the hand-painted cutouts and posters.

Those who have seen the frenzy outside single-screen cinema halls back in those days would remember how fans would garland a hero’s cutout and throw slippers at a villain’s poster.

Painter Mehmood Alam is locally known as ‘Painter Mahmood’. (Express Photo Shashi Ghosh)

With the advent of digital printing, however, the art of hand-painting film posters first took a backseat and then died a natural death and with that people like Mahmood Alam found themselves jobless.

After an illustrious career, 65-year-old Mahmood, locally known as ‘Painter Mahmood’, lives in a nondescript, barely-lit house in Kolkata’s Crematorium Street, which got its name from the now-defunct gas crematorium, the only-of-its-kind in the city. The crematorium and Mahmood have an uncanny similarity — both were celebrated in the past, but now barely manage to attract attention.

Mahmood, arguably the last such artist in Kolkata, was around 17-year-old when he took interest in learning the art of making film posters. “I was still a student back then, at Islamia High School, when studios in Kolkata would offer classes on painting banners and posters. I loved the film world and enjoyed painting too so I learnt the art at a nearby studio.”

Equipped with the knowledge of hand-painted posters, in 1981, Mahmood left for Siliguri. (Express Photo Shashi Ghosh)

Equipped with the knowledge of hand-painted posters, in 1981, Mahmood left for Siliguri, a fairly less-competitive market, in search of a job. Back in those days, much before the murky tales of the industry flooded primetimes of news channels, Bollywood was considered to be a platform for those with a dream.

The superhit movie Andha Kanoon had helped two such dreamers — Rajnikanth, who debuted in Bollywood with this movie, and Mahmood, who made a banner for the movie in Siliguri.

Although there was a brief period of lull for a month, there was no looking back after that one poster, says Mahmood. “After successfully making one poster, I was confident I would find employment and soon, the owner of Jhankar Hall in Siliguri gave me work and provided space in the premises of the hall to set up my own studio. I even had employees to assist me,” boasted Mahmood.

Painter Mehmood Alam has been painting for 65 years (Express Photo Shashi Ghosh)

His fame rose and the words of his artistry spread till Nepal’s Kathmandu. “In those days, Sambhu Pradhan was a big Nepali director. He got in touch with me and asked me to make posters for his films. He even asked me to leave Siliguri and stay in Kathmandu but I refused. However, I started making posters for Nepali films too.”

Talking about the process of making the cutouts and posters, Mahmood said the trick was to make a graph. “We would have a photograph for reference on which we would draw a graph. The same number of grids would be first drawn on a blank poster or a cutout and then the images would be hand-painted,” he said.

alam — Talking about the process of making the cutouts and posters, Mahmood said the trick was to make a graph (Express Photo Shashi Ghosh)

While Mahmood has painted cutouts of almost all actors of that time, his personal favourite was Dilip Kumar. “Nobody matched Dilip sahab. The aura around him was enough to pull the crowd and I loved making his cutouts the most,” he said.

All was well for Mahmood until the turn of the century ushered in a wave of development which did result in a fresh air but left many like Mahmood jobless. “I still tried my best. Shifted to banners and posters of shops but the going was getting tough and finally in 2010, I came back to Kolkata,” he said.

Now, Mahmood finds work only when he is asked to paint a wall with some political graffiti. But no work is small, the artist says. “One day I was painting a graffiti of Mamata Banerjee on a wall when someone clicked a photograph. I called him near and said why only click the picture of the painting? Don’t you want to show the world who painted it? I don’t know what happened and he said that he will get work for me. After a few days, he came back and said he’s found work for me at a Durga Puja pandal,” he said.

Mahmood is once again back in the limelight after he hand-painted hoardings and posters for the theme-based Durga Puja at Nalin Sarkar Street in north Kolkata this year. Although Mahmood’s works won the puja committee accolades, the painter continues to live a life in penury.

source: http://www.indianexpress.com / The Indian Express / Home> Lifestyle> Art & Culture / by Utsav Basu, Kolkata / October 28th, 2021

Mustafa Raja Wins Tennis BC U-16 4 Star Tournament

October 28, 2021Karnataka (under research project), NRI's / PIO's, Sports, World OpinionIndian Muslim Tennis Player, Indian Muslim Tennis Player Representing British Colombia Canada, Indian Origin Canadian Tennis Player, Mustafa Raja, Mustafa Raja -Winner - Tennis BC U-16 4 Star Tournament - Richmond - Vancouver - Canada, Mustafa Raja-Tennismpositiveone@gmail.com

Mysuru, KARNATAKA / CANADA :

Mysuru boy 14-year-old Mustafa Raja won the Under-16 4 star Tennis BC Tournament held at the Tennis BC Hub in Richmond, Vancouver.

Mustafa seeded third in the tournament overcame second seeded Owen in the semi finals. Mustafa fought back well from 3,6 and 3,5 down to win the match 3,6 7,5 and 6,1 in a well-contested two hour match.

In the finals, Mustafa defeated Joseph Shen with the score 6,1 and 6,2.

Mustafa trains at the Tennis Centre and attends Sullivan Heights Secondary. Mustafa trained at the Nagaraj Tennis Centre in Mysuru and is an alumnus of Excel Public School.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Sports / October 26th, 2021

Online English Speaking Course To Begin In Jamea-Tul-Hidaya Seminary

October 27, 2021Community Involvement / Social Issues, Education, Leaders, NRI's / PIO's, World Opinionmpositiveone@gmail.com

Jaipur, RAJASTHAN :

*A screen grab of the online inauguration of English-speaking course at Jamea-tul-Hidaya, Jaipur.*

Bhopal :

A Jaipur-based seminary, namely Jamea Tul Hidaya, will commence a one-year online English-Speaking Course from October 16.

The formal online inauguration of the Online course was held the other day wherein Islamic clerics from Canada and UK were also guest speakers.

The function was presided over by Maulana Syed Mohammed Rabey Hasani Nadvi, Chancellor Darul Uloom Nadwatul Ulama, Lucknow, and president of All India Muslim Personal Law Board.

It may be recalled here that Jamea Tul Hidaya recently has started an Online Ifta course and is now starting a one-year online English-Speaking Course.

Jamea Tul Hidaya is a seminary well-known worldwide for imparting theological and contemporary education to its students.

In his key-note address, Maulana Mohammad Fazlur Rahim Mujaddidi, Chancellor Jamea Tul Hidaya, said: “Today is the golden day in the history of Jamea Tul Hidaya. Although the English language is included in the syllabus of the Jamea from primary classes to Aalim, yet feeling its significance, English Speaking Course is going to be started for the alumni of Madaris.

He also said: “Six schools are running under Maulana Abdul Rahim Educational Trust in Jaipur, and more are in the pipeline.

For civil services exams, Crescent Academy for civil services exams was established, where free coaching is being provided to the students. To get benefits from government schemes, and for the political and educational awareness, conferences and seminars were organized in the whole country.”

“In modern times, English has become an international language. Therefore, to ward off religious misunderstandings, it is becoming more and more important to learn this language for economic stability and trade and employment,” he further said.

Maulana (Dr.) Iqbal Masood Nadvi, who was Professor at King Saud University, Riyadh, and is presently living in Toronto (Canada), in his speech said: “Translation cannot be equal to the language from where it has been translated, so we should have the capacity to understand the text in its original language. He also said: “The person who learns the language of others defends himself from any cheating.”

Abdur Raheem Kidwai, Prof. of English and Director UGC Human Resource Development Centre, AMU, said: “Growing numbers of Madrasas are introducing English as a very good subject. But practically there are no trained English teachers as there is total lack of teachers training program, absence of syllabus and textbooks and no language labs”. But he said he has many hopes from this Course of Jamea Tul Hidaya.

He also advised to arrange a comprehensive program integrating all the four skills of the language LSRW, i.e., Learning, Speaking, Reading, and Writing. He assured of giving any support to this program from him and his colleagues.

In his presidential address, Maulana Syed Mohammed Rabey Hasani Nadvi said: “It is a congregation of much importance. It is the high courage of Maulana Fazlur Rahim that he took this work on his shoulders. I hope it will encircle the whole world and benefit the alumni as well as the objective of the Madrasa.” Recalling his association with the founder of Jamea Tul Hidaya, the late Maulana Abdur Rahim, he acknowledged the works done by this institute. He appreciated the endeavours of Maulana Fazlur Rahim Mujaddidi.

Abdul Kareem Gheewala, Islamic scholar and social activist from Leicester (UK), emphasized the importance and significance of the English language. It can help clarify the doubts and criticism about Islamic teachings and practices and propagate Islam’s right spirit and message to the world.

He congratulated Jamea and all those behind the program and appreciated the commitment and dedication shown by Maulana Fazlur Rahim. He was confident that it would become a top-rated course and benefit Islamic scholars in many ways.

Dr. Saud Alam Qasmi, Dean Faculty of Theology in Aligarh Muslim University. (AMU), said: “Maulana Fazlur Rahim Mujaddidi is not only the torch-bearer of Islam in India but has progressive thinking towards the issues related with Muslims. He has taken the initiative for so many things to uplift Muslim society, particularly the younger generation.

He said that the On-line programs, Ifta and English-Speaking Course, are marvellous and this program will help our younger generation acquire the current world knowledge and literature. He also called English the language of opportunities. He said Maulana Fazlur Rahim is a magnetic personality and congratulated him and his team on initiating this English Speaking online course.

Mohammad Iqbal Khan, Director of Crescent Academy for Civil Services Exams, New Delhi, and organizer of this one-year online English-speaking course, described the brief history of Jamea-tul- Hidaya and its founder. He addressed mainly to the students and shared his views on how to learn to speak English better.

The program concluded with Dua to Almighty Allah by Maulana Fazlur Rahim. At the outset, he rendered recitation of the Holy Quran in his melodious voice.

source: http://www.indiatomorrow.net / India Tomorrow / Home> Education / by Pervez Bari / October 10th, 2021

Winners Of Dasara And Rajyotsava – Kavya Puraskar And Katha Puraskar

October 27, 2021Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Books (incl.Biographies - w.e.f.01 jan 2018 ), Karnataka (under research project), Women/Girls(since May26-2021)Asif Begaum - Poet - Kolar - Karnataka, Asif Begaum - Winner - Karnataka State Dasara and Rajyotsava Kavya Puraskar - 2021, Asif Begum - Poetess - Kolar - Karnataka, Asifa Begummpositiveone@gmail.com

Mysuru (Mysore), KARNATAKA :

A total of 24 poets including four Horanadu Kannadigas and a specially abled have been selected for State-level Dasara and Rajyotsava Kavya Puraskar in the State-level Poetry Contest organised by Akhila Bharatiya Kannada Sahitya haagu Samskrutika Parishat and Gramantara Buddhijeevigala Balaga.

They are as follows:

Horanadu Kannadigas Category:

Seema Kulkarni (Malaysia), S. Nalina Prasad (Mumbai), Ramana Shetty Renjal (Maharashtra) and Divakar Ballal (Kasargod).

Poetess Category:

Renuka Kodaganji (Bengaluru), Leela-kumari Todikyana (Kodagu), Vasanta Surendranath (Magadi), Divyaja (Bengaluru), Asif Begaum (Kolar), P. Veena (Harihar), Dr. Gurudevi Hulleppanavar Mutt (Belagavi), Indira Shetty (Mysuru) and Nandana P. Shetty (Dakshina Kannada).

Poets Category:

K. Raveesh M.C. Halli (Chikkamagalur), Pradeep Soranagadde (Shivamogga), Raghuveer Mahalingapura (Bagalkot), D.M. Bhatta Kulave (Uttara Kannada), Dr. K.C. Chandrapakash (Tumakuru), K.T. Adarsh Kappadur (Shivamogga), D.P. Chikkanna (Mandya), M. Shivanna (Hassan) and B. Vijaykumar (Udupi).

Specially Abled Poets:

Poornima Hanumantappa Badigeri (Hassan).

Senior writer and columnist from Belagavi Y.M. Menasinakai and senior writer and social worker from Hassan Jayashri D. Krishna were the jury.

P.A. Meghashree from Kasargod has been selected for the State-level Kavya Puraskar given by Balaga President and journalist Dr. Berya Ramakumar and H.N. Savita couple in the name of their son late B.R. Ullas.

Katha Puraskar

A total of 13 members including two Horanadu Kannadigas and a specially abled have been selected for Dr. K. Shivaram Karanth Katha Puraskar in the State-level Story Contest organised as part of the 120th birth anniversary of Jnanapith Awardee Dr. K. Shivaram Karanth.

Horanadu Kannadigas:

Karunakara S. Shetty (Maharashtra) and Sharada A. Anchan (Navi Mumbai).

Women Writers:

Divya Jagadish (Bengaluru), Sahana Kantabailu (Kodagu), S.L. Varalakshmi Manjunath (Nanjangud), B.R. Nagaratna (Mysuru), Hanchettira Fansy Muttanna (Kodagu) and Prof. Vidyareddy (Belagavi).

Men Writers:

K.G. Bhadrannanavar (Tumakuru), Y.M. Raghunandan (Mysuru), B. Kantappa (Bhadravati) and S.G. Shivashankar (Mysuru).

Specially Abled Writers:

Bandihole Manjunath (Mandya).

Senior writer couple from Mysuru – K. Ramesh and Dr. S. Sudha and senior writer and columnist from Mumbai Dr. G.D. Joshi were the jury.

Both Kavya Puraskar and Katha Puraskar will be presented to the winners during the Sahityotsava to be held in the month of November, according to a press release.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> News / October 25th, 2021

How Rahmani 30 has made a difference in these Muslim students career

October 25, 2021Amazing Feats, Community Involvement / Social Issues, Education, FREE : Accomodation, FREE : Food, Leaders, SCHOLARSHIPS, Useful / SCHOLARSHIPS, Women/Girls(since May26-2021)Atif Hussain - Student - IIT Guwahati, Journalist of Bihar, Mantasha Firoz, Mantasha Firoz - First Female Student - Rahmani 30, Mantasha Firoz - Student - Rahmani 30, Maulana Fahad Rahmani, Maulana Fahad Rahmani - CEO - Rahmani 30, Phool Mohammad, Qais Alam, Qais Alam - Student - Rahmani 30, Rahmani 30, Rahmani30, Sami Ahmad, Sami Ahmad -Journalist - Bihar, Shakeel Ahmed, Students of Rahmani 30, Tausif Alamhas, Tausif Alamhas - Student - Rahmani 30, Zuarez Ahmed, Zuarez Ahmed - Student - Rahmani 30mpositiveone@gmail.com

Anisabad, Patna, BIHAR :

*Tausif, Zuarez and Qaif have qualified for admission at India’s prestigious institutes. | Photos by arrangement*

At least 65 students, including one girl, of Rahmani 30 – an educational movement for underprivileged students started in Patna, Bihar by late Wali Rahmani, have qualified for admission in the prestigious Indian Institutes of Techonlogy (IITs) this year. TCN features some of them.

Bihar :

Zaurez Ahmed (17) has secured 393rd rank this year in India’s topmost engineering entrance test known as Joint Entrance Exam (Advanced). His father Shakeel runs a modest general store in Jalwara, Kewti of Darbhanga, one of the most backward areas of Bihar. His family was in no position to afford the expensive private coaching for such exams. It was Rahmani 30 that came to his rescue.

Like Zaurez, there are atleast 65 students, including one girl, of Rahmani 30 who have qualified for admission in the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) this year from the main centre at Patna. All 93 aspirants from Rahmani 30 qualified for JEE (Main). Across India, there are 23 IITs having 16000 seats for which more than 1.6 lakh applicants participated in the JEE (Advanced). These are shortlisted from one million aspirants of JEE (Main).

Rahmani 30 is modelled on Super30, the first such centre for coaching students for the IIT entrance test. Rahmani 30 was founded by the renowned Islamic scholar late Hazrat Maulana Wali Rahmani in 2008. Since 2009, Rahmani 30 boasts of more than 400 successful students who have qualified for admission in different IITs. Apart from this, nearly 1000 students have qualified for JEE (Main) and the National Institutes of Technology (NITs), the second most prestigious engineering institute of India.

Rahmani 30 offers the top 30 students free stay, food and education which costs around Rs. 60 lakhs for two years.

What is special about Rahmani 30?
“Apart from the low cost or no cost stay at Rahmani 30, the ever availability of teachers and mentors here is immensely helpful,” Zaurez told TwoCircles.net.

He said that teachers at Rahmani 30 are “quite supportive.”

Zaurez cites ‘deeni mahaul (religious atmosphere)’ at the centre as helpful in having a ‘useful break’. His EWS (Economically Weaker Section) category rank is 28 and he is quite hopeful to get Computer Science at IIT, New Delhi.

Rahmani 30 has its branches at Aurangabad (Maharashtra), Bangalore and Hyderabad. Apart from the main centre, there is a girls unit in Patna. The main centre is being run in a rented apartment ‘Anand Palace’ at Anisabad, Patna.

A normal day for studies starts at 7 in the morning and continues till 9 in the evening.

Mantasha Firdous (17), who qualified this year, is the first female student of Rahmani 30 since its establishment to compete successfully for JEE (Advanced). Generally, the girl aspirants join Rahmani 30 for the medical entrance test NEET. However, Mantasha has a knack for mathematics. She has secured an EWS rank of 4074 and hopes to get “a good branch at a good IIT’. She said that the “group of girls” at the centre was quite helpful for her to remain focused on studies.

At Rahmani 30, the aspirants are admitted for a two-year residential course. As Covid-19 hit their preparation, an online mode was learning was started in 2020. Most students attended online classes on mobile phones though there were network issues for those residing in remote areas.

Tausif Alamhas (17) secured CRL (Common Rank List) 7169 and a category rank of 1339. His father Mohammad Rashid works as a tailor and his mother is a homemaker. His family could not send him to study at any coaching centre as they charged a hefty fee. He came to know about Rahmani 30 from one of his senior and passed the test to get admission.

Talking to TwoCircles.net, he said the most helping part of Rahmani 30 is “group study where peers help in doubt clearing.”

“My motivation level only rose with the continuous encouragement from the teachers. It helped increase my willpower too,” Tausif said. His next aim is to crack the country’s top exam for civil services U.P.S.C.

Seventeen-year-old Qais Alam’s success has a twist. His father is a small farmer and suffers from poor eyesight. Qais hails from Marar, a remote village in the Khagaria district of Bihar. He didn’t have much of an idea about IITs. He appeared for Aligarh Muslim University’s entrance test for a three-year Engineering diploma course and qualified. He studied there for two years, and quit before completing his degree. This was during 2016-17. He came to know about Rahmani 30 and was selected for its two-year preparation course. He appeared for JEE (Advanced) in 2020 in his first attempt but was not satisfied with his result. He reappeared for JEE again in 2021. He bettered his All India Ranking to 6025 from his 2020’s performance of 28000th rank. His EWS rank also improved to 639 from above 3000. He is hoping to get admission at IIT Delhi or IIT Madras. He too aims to clear U.P.S.C. after graduation from the IIT.

Twenty-three-year old Atif Hussain is in his 3rd year at IIT Guwahati. He originally hails from Bihar but his family is settled in Kolkata, West Bengal. Atif’s father Phool Mohammad sells Lahti bangles (lac bangles) which and his business has been hit due to Covid-19 lockdown. His mother is a housemaker. Atif studied in Urdu medium Howrah High School and got 84% marks in his 10th Board examination. He came to know about Rahmani 30 from a senior. He said that getting admission in Rahmani 30 was the ‘turning point’ of his life. “Teaching guidance and peer study environment at Rahmani 30 was very useful,” Atif, who is fond of research and coding, said.

Though Rahmani 30 was started for helping underprivileged students crack the IIT entrance test, it has ventured into other top examinations like Medical, Commerce and Law. In its CA/CS program, out of 10 successful candidates this year, five were girls.

Rahmani 30 calls itself “a movement, not an institution” which hankers “to demonstrate that economically, socially and educationally backwards and suppressed students when given the opportunity rise to the occasion.” It is “established to be the catalyst for inspiring the minorities to aim high to seek their rightful places.”

Rahmani 30’s founder late Maulana Rahmani had a clear vision about this centre. He was of the opinion that, “Utmost service to the religion during these times is to educate our youth and upcoming generations with contemporary subjects while keeping their faith firmly established and their self-confidence high; so that, they excel in religion, are adorned with education, have an appreciation of hard work and therefore are able to navigate and make confident decisions in their life.”

Bihar’s former Director General of Police (DGP) Abhayanand has been a great help for Rahmani 30 as a mentor since its beginning. Known for his Physics teaching skills, Abhayanand is credited with starting super 30 along with Anand Kumar, to teach poor students of Bihar to crack IIT JEE.

Talking to TwoCircles.net, Abhayanad was delighted that Rahmani 30 is expanding in size and dimension in the right direction.

Late Maulana Wali Rahmani had approached him to be the mentor of this centre and he readily accepted the proposal. “There didn’t exist a good trend for education in Muslim community, particularly in the weaker sections. I thought it would be in the broader interest of the country to help such students,” Abhayanand said.

His only and interesting condition was, “I will not interfere in the administration of the centre and Maulana will not interfere in teaching at the centre.”

Maulana Fahad Rahmani, the younger son of late Maulana Wali Rahmani is the current CEO of Rahmani 30.

He told TwoCircles.net that Rahmani 30 initially started with 10 students and “in 12 years the number of students has gone up to 900.”

Maulana Fahad aims to increase the number to 15000 across India at the end of this decade. “If we consider the total number of institutions of national importance to be one lakh, its corresponding number for the Muslim community should be 15 % of it, which is roughly the population of the community in India,” he argues, adding, “To achieve this goal the community support needs to be increased. If we can arrange one donor for one student we will need 15000 donors, which is not beyond reach.”

Maulana Fahad insists that he doesn’t believe in the traditional fund collection.

On the success rate of girl students of Rahmani 30, Maulana Fahad said that it was his father and the late chairman Maulana Wali’s wish to see the girl students excel in engineering too. “Alhamdulillah, this year it has started, and it get better in the coming years.”

Sami Ahmad is a freelance journalist based in Patna, Bihar. He tweets at @samipkb

source: http://www.twocircles.net / TwoCircles.net / Home> Lead Story / by Sami Ahmad, TwoCircles.net / October 23rd, 2021

Dubai: Rashid Hazari to be resource person at Bearys Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s webinar

October 25, 2021Business & Economy, Community Involvement / Social Issues, Karnataka (under research project), Leaders, NRI's / PIO's, World OpinionBearys Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Bearys Chamber of Commerce and Industry - UAE Chapter, Rasheed Hazari, Rasheed Hazari - Technical Specialist - Dubai Economic Development Authority, S M Basheer - President - UAE Chapter - Bearys Chamber of Commerce and Industry, SM Basheermpositiveone@gmail.com

Mangaluru, KARNATAKA / Dubai, UAE :

Webinar will focus on ‘Digital Revolution, Online Business and Entrepreneurhip’
Rasheed Hazari, is Chief Strategist at Dubai Economic Development Authority

Dubai:

The Bearys Chamber of Commerce and Industry, UAE (BCCI) is set to organize a webinar on ‘Digital Revolution, Online Business and Entrepreneurship’ on September 10.

The webinar will be organized with a view of facilitating entrepreneurs and professionals to adapt to the changing trends, a press statement from the organization stated.

Rasheed Hazari, Technical Specialist at the Dubai Economic Development Authority will be the resource person for the webinar. The press statement added that he will highlight the impact of technological advances in digital media on the business environment.

Rashid Hazari, as a Chief Strategist he is responsible for designing Future Economy Strategies, developing and recommending Eco –System Transformation Plans & Policy Initiatives for the Government of Dubai.

He conducts Strategic Future Foresight, analyses Emerging Technologies & Global Mega Trends including the Fourth Industrial revolution & its implications on the local economy.

Rashid has received recognitions from H.H.Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister of UAE, & Ruler of Dubai, as a Creative Govt. Employee (DGEP Category) and for his contributions to Business Excellence initiatives of Dubai Economy.

The BCCI, UAE has been actively involved for three years in bringing together the industry leaders, entrepreneurs, and other professionals through business networking to empower them to carry out their businesses and socially relevant activities, informed President of the Chambers UAE Chapter S M Basheer.

The press release stated that the webinar on Digital Revolution will be a matter of interest to the business community, especially the young entrepreneurs.

source: http://www.english.varthabharati.in / Vartha Bharati / Home> Gulf / by Vartha Bharati / September 05th, 2021