Al Afadhil’s branches in Dubai and Sharjah are known for their spiced, slow-cooked kebabs.
Syed Jafar Husain started the restaurant in 1979. Photo: Husain family
When Syed Jafar Husain arrived in the UAE from India in the 1970s he longed for home.
Like countless others who came in search of a better life, he missed family and friends but there was also one other important ingredient missing — the food.
He longed for the spiced, slow-cooked kebabs and thick sweet lassi of his native Lucknow.
Mr Husain left his job in sales and opened a small restaurant named Al Afadhil dedicated to the traditional food of his home city.
He never hired a chef and made the food himself. Al Afadhil first opened on Dubai Creek in 1979 and moved several times before settling in its current location in Al Nahda, Sharjah in 1990.
View of the Al Afadhil restaurant in Sharjah. Pawan Singh / The National
Today, trucks from the adjacent industrial area rumble past the dark wooden doors, while the clank of weights drifts across from a nearby gym. On the side of the wall is a simple sign stating: “Lucknow Kabab”. Inside is a collection of small tables and booths. A simple menu, barely unchanged in decades, lists only seven recipes.
An old menu from Al Afadhil restaurant. Photo: Husain family
Mr Husain died in 2018 but his legacy is being carried on by his two sons, Mohammed, 30, and Mustafa, 27.
It has become renowned among generations from Lucknow and, to this day, has only a handful of items on the menu.
“My dad simply missed the traditional food of Lucknow,” said Mohammed. “In the early 1980s there just weren’t as many options.”
One of the specialities is “galouti kebab” that takes about 14 hours to prepare. The dish has its roots in the historic royal kitchens of Lucknow and consists of tenderised, soft lamb mixed with spices, slow-cooked and served with a tamarind chutney that is a family secret.
This dish costs just under Dh14. A thick sweet lassi that people dip their paratha into is also a favourite.
“Nothing can be changed in the recipe,” said Mohammed. The two brothers work seven days a week from 4am to the afternoon to ensure they respect their father’s legacy.
Customers who have left the UAE have also spread the name of the restaurant far and wide. They even catered a wedding in Bonn, Germany. “We have fans across the world,” said Mohammed. “They tell us our food has to be there when they have guests over.”
Al Afadhil (it loosely translates as “generous”) moved from its first location in Dubai to Sharjah’s Bank Street in the 1980s. Bank Street has since been restored to a heritage area known as the Heart of Sharjah but it was here where the restaurant made its name. Scores of workers in offices and banks there came in droves in search of a taste of home.
“Customers used to fight to get into the place,” said Mohammed, with a smile. “The majority of the crowd told dad to increase their prices and stop giving it for cheap but he said no. He never wanted to overcharge. To this day customers say the same. We say no.”
After Bank Street, it moved to Al Nahda. A second branch opened in Dubai’s Karama in 2014 which is now the most popular of the two.
A second branch of Al Afadhil restaurant opened in Dubai’s Karama in 2014. Pawan Singh / The National
The pandemic and rising costs hit the business, but now the brothers said it is back to about 60 per cent of what it was.
Today they employ more than 20 staff across two branches. People from the Lucknow community travel from across the UAE to eat there, while it also attracts celebrities from the cricket and entertainment world.
“My dad never thought of customers’ money,” said Mustafa. “He just wanted them to be happy.”
Mohammed said: “It is more than 40 years of legacy here. If we can improve and provide the same quality, then we will be following in our dad’s footsteps.”
source: http://www.thenationalnews.com / The National / Home> UAE / by John Dennehy / February 04th, 2023
A museum in Bhatkal is a treasure trove of Nawaiti culture and heritage.
Ajaib Shabbir with a writing desk which also acts as a jewel box | Subhash Chandra NS
Bhatkal (Uttara Kannada):
There stands a heritage building in Bhatkal. This 150-year-old edifice is home to a very unique museum. Within its halls is a trove of artefacts, which visitors want to touch and feel. But Ajaib Shabbir stands guard with his eyes roving around, warning people against doing so. “Do not touch anything! Just look at them,” he repeats every now and then, concerned about the safety of the property. In the museum is the collection of a community’s culture, that of the Nawaitis.
The old house — a unique Nawaiti museum — was opened by the Navayathi Mehfil. On entering, visitors are greeted by a replica of an old boat with a mast. On entering another room, there are old brass, porcelain, and other artefacts made of tin and iron. Just below the high-beam lamps, hang at least two dozen lanterns collected over a hundred years.
“These have been collected from various people in Bhatkal, who have preserved them like treasure. I requested them that these be displayed in a museum and they obliged. Many families like those of Damudi Abdulla and Saeed Shoupa, and others, donated their collections. A few even lent them,” says Shabbir, whose brainchild is this museum.
Pointing out to some of the lanterns, he says these were our means of lighting before the advent of electricity in Bhatkal, sometime in the 1960s. Then turning to a visitor, he describes a writing desk nearby, saying, “This would act as a writing desk and a jewellery box. It’s a 100-year-old design. You can hide your valuables and lock it, and then cover it with materials for writing to use as a desk.”
Moving on, there are areca cutters, hookahs, and coconut graters in designer brass, which look like they are from another era. Explains Shabbir: “The use of these tools in households stopped several decades ago… Maybe when I was a child. These are all very valuable.”
The porcelain products displayed at the museum are among his most valued possessions, and he reminisces how his forefathers collected them from various places. Lifting one of the exhibits, he says, “This plate is from Holland. It was in the possession of a family here.” He adds, “We have materials from Italy, Yemen, England and other European countries, contributed by various families. We are all proud of them,” he says.
Large copper pots, both carved and uncarved, pans, kettles and other products are displayed too. The latest exhibit to join the collection is about 50-years-old, while the oldest is at least 150 years. “We do not look at our exhibits as old articles. They are aimed at explaining how we lived in our past, and the place we came from. That’s why we placed a replica of the ship in which legendary historian Ibn Batuta came to Bhatkal. We consider him as our pioneer,” said businessman and philanthropist Jaan Abdul Rehman Motisham.
Replicas of several old mosques have also been highlighted in the museum. One of the mosques, said to be the second oldest in the country, has undergone several changes except to crucial parts inside, and in its dome.
“These are some replicas of old mosques, how they were in the days gone by,” he says, adding that this museum is a symbol of co-existence as both Muslim and Jain communities have been living in harmony here. Likewise, the Basti constructed by Chennabhaira Devi, the queen of Gerusoppa, is a living holy spot where the devout come and worship.
Preserving culture
The Navayathi Mehfil, which began the museum, came into existence 20 years ago, with an aim to preserve Nawaiti culture, language and social life. The language spoken by the community is a unique mix of Marathi, Urdu and Konkani.
Communal harmony
Nawaitis share a special bond with the Jain community, and both have coexisted in Bhatkal for centuries. According to studies, Nawaitis claim that they have a 1,400-year-old culture. Accordingly, they came with horses for trade and immediately liked Betkal (the name for ancient Bhatkal), the place where they landed. According to Ajaib Shabbir, their culture matches with Yemenis, Arabs and Jains. They consider Ibn Batuta, the great traveller who visited the court of the Vijayanagara Rayas, as their pioneer.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Good News / by Subhash Chandra NS / Express News Service / February 05th, 2023
Aligarh Muslim University has given the town itself a facelift. Many luminaries have graced the halls of AMU, and it remains an oasis of learning amid uncertainties and controversies that surround the old town
A view of the Aligarh Muslim University Campus | Photo Credit: Sandeep Saxena
There is something about Aligarh that tells us that the past never dies. It merely reinvents itself to suit contemporary demands. Back in 1937, Mohammed Ali Jinnah, soon to transform into Quaid-e-Azam, took the route with a rare flourish. Recalling the Muslim League session in Lucknow in 1937, author-journalist Mohammed Wajihuddin writes in his persuasively argued, lucidly expressed book, Aligarh Muslim University, “The October 1937 Lucknow session was so important to Jinnah that he discarded his well-cut suits and donned flowing trousers and a long coat. From Mr. Jinnah, he transformed into Janab Jinnah and Quaid-e-Azam. While he had kept himself aloof from ordinary Muslims, now he began mingling with them….He travelled extensively, and Aligarh became a regular place to visit during these travels.” Around the same time, he raised the rhetorical slogan of ‘Islam in danger’ too.
Passing storm(s)
The following year when Jinnah visited AMU, which had begun as the Mohammedan Anglo-Oriental College in 1875, he was given a rousing welcome. The students’ union made him an honorary life member. “It was a tradition the union had followed since 1920, when Mahatma Gandhi was given this membership. In those days they would also put up a portrait of the guests they honoured on the Union Club’s wall. It was such a portrait of Jinnah’s at the AMU Students’ Union Club that created a storm on the campus on May 2, 2018,” writes Wajihuddin.
The storm, essentially a passing one, was caused by local MP Satish Gautam writing to the Vice Chancellor Tariq Mansoor demanding the removal of Jinnah’s portrait from the campus. The demand was not conceded but it made sure the university was in the spotlight, and as a consequence, Aligarh remained in the headlines for days on end. Like it did when the anti-Citizenship (Amendment) Act protests hit the campus in December 2019. Controversies and Aligarh seem to go together. Yet, AMU, despite frequent protests, occasional violence and various stirs, seems to be an island by itself wherein students seek knowledge, chart out great careers and soak in its culture just as the university’s founder Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, would have advised them. As academic-literary critic Shafey Kidwai, author of Sir Syed Ahmad Khan: Reason, Religion and Nation, said, “The question of his (Jinnah’s) glorification does not arise, but the university’s job is to protect the truth of history. His photo was there as the hall carried the names and photographs of all who visited it. The list incudes Mahatma Gandhi, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, Maulana Azad and Sarojini Naidu.” Unsurprisingly, Prime Minister Narendra Modi called it ‘mini-India’ in an online address.
The story of a name
AMU has the unique distinction of taking along with it the name of the township where it is based, and giving the town itself a facelift. Otherwise, known for its brassware and lock industries, Aligarh has a chequered past, one that has seen many a nawab, maharaja or local leader make an attempt to leave an indelible impression on the town; the most recent one being an attempt by zila panchayat members to rename the place Harigarh. Vijay Singh, zila panchayat chairman, stated, “It was a long-pending demand to rename Aligarh as Harigarh.” He was probably referring to a similar call given in the late 1970s by members of the Jan Sangh, the precursor of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). At that time, a new temple was also called Harigarh Mandir. Nevertheless, the demand to rename the place died down soon enough.
There is an interesting tale behind the name of Aligarh. It was initially called Kol or Koil. Though obscurity surrounds the origin of Kol, according to Edwin Atkinson, who compiled the first gazetteer of the district, the name Kol was given by Balram who slew the great Asura called Kol over here. Noted medieval India historian, Syed Ali Nadeem Rezavi, explained the genealogy of the place, at the height of the Harigarh controversy, stating, “Sometime before the Muslim invasion, Kol is said to have been held by the Dor Rajputs. Sultanate period sources, both Persian and non-Persian, mention Kol as a centre for the production of distilled wine. The sources of the period of Alauddin Khalji mention this town as Iqta Kol; Iqta was an administrative unit.” It continued to be called Kol during the Mughal age too with Emperor Jahangir calling it Kol in his memoirs.
However, things changed in the 18th century. The Jats captured the fort briefly and called it Ramgarh, quite removed from the earlier nomenclature of Sabitgarh and Muhammadgarh. Then came the Marathas who dubbed the fort as Aligarh after their governor Najaf Ali Khan. By the 19th century, the town itself came to be called Aligarh. Some locals dispute this fact-based assertion, claiming Aligarh is named after Hazrat Ali, the last caliph and son-in-law of Prophet Muhammad.
City of joy
In reality, Aligarh, not Kolkata, was the original City of Joy; it was only in 1985 that Dominique Lapierre called Kolkata the City of Joy. Some 50 years before that, popular Urdu poet Asrar-ul-Haq Majaz had called Aligarh as ‘Shahr-e-Tarab’ or the City of Joy! Moreover, Aligarh, and AMU, whose tarana (anthem) was penned by Majaz, transmits joy.
Here studied Begum Para, the heroine of the first talkie Alam Ara. In her painstakingly researched and elegantly produced book, The Allure of Aligarh, Huma Khalil writes, “The musical leanings of Padma Bhushan winner Talat Mahmood…can be traced back to when he used to sing the works of Ghalib and Mir, at the age of 16 in the school functions of Minto Circle. Award-winning film and theatre actor Naseeruddin Shah is still remembered as the finest badminton player of the university.” Not to forget Anubhav Sinha, Surekha Sikri and Zarina Hashmi. Incidentally, Hashmi brought Aligarh to her canvas. A mathematics graduate from AMU, Hashmi had seen villages burning around Aligarh in 1947 and could never forget her home and relatives who were dispersed in the violence.
If violence was here, could prayers have been far behind? Not quite. Hence, besides its historic mosque where countless students stand in neat rows for prayers, Aligarh has the age-old Khereshwar temple which, Khalil tells us, “is the oldest Shiva temple”. Tansen’s guru, Swami Haridas, lived here and Mughal emperors are said to have come down to the temple “to witness the magic of raga Malhaar”.
The persistence of knowledge
Of course, Aligarh has been a happy host to the annual numaish (exhibition) and for years its students frequented Tasveer Mahal, one of a dozen cinema halls in the city. Tasveer Mahal was more than a cinema. It was like a gateway to the University, a rendezvous point for students in the evening. It’s all gone now. What remains untouched is the determination of the students to learn. As Khalil recounts in her book, “Ilm (knowledge) is the second most used word in the Quran after Allah; Aligarh’s motto captures this ethos, ‘(Allah) taught man what he knew not’.” As youngsters seek to know more and more, Aligarh is like the body and AMU its soul.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Books / by Zia Us Salam / February 09th, 2023
Nooshin’s restless will to compete helped her transition from an elite player to an elite coach.
While Nooshin was looking for a breather, she is getting to experience what it feels to be part of a team that became the first women’s team to bring an ICC title home – a completion of a well-deserved redemption arc. (Special Arrangement)
Nooshin Al Khadeer hasn’t even had the chance to put her feet up and enjoy a brief break. Being the head coach of the India Under-19 women’s team, the last few months have been busy in every sense. Be it a preparatory camp at the NCA, a bilateral series in Vizag, or a preparatory camp in South Africa, Nooshin was at the forefront of everything. The reward: India getting their hands on the inaugural Under-19 World Cup trophy on January 29, defeating England in the final.
While Nooshin was looking for a breather, she is getting to experience what it feels to be part of a team that became the first women’s team to bring an ICC title home – a completion of a well-deserved redemption arc. Nooshin was, in fact, the final Indian batter to have gotten out in the 2005 Women’s ODI World Cup final against Australia, giving the Aussies the fifth of their seven titles.
pix: @NooshinKhadeer
After landing in Mumbai, she left for Ahmedabad, where the BCCI felicitated the team, before taking the next flight to Ranchi to be part of the Railways team at the ongoing Senior Women’s One-Day tournament. “After winning the title, I told the team it is just the start. And even some of the players feel the same way. So it is important to get down to business straightaway,” Nooshin tells the Indian Express.
Those who know Nooshin up close attribute this dedication and hardwork to her success. Be it Vinod Sharma, who was the head coach of the Railways team she represented for long, her India teammate Punam Raut, or her long-time friend and teammate Mithali Raj, all have a common thing to say: “She was destined to be a coach.”
Lessons in patience
There was, however, one thing Nooshin still had to take care of before charting her path as a coach.
“She was an aggressive player who always wanted things to work out on the field. But you can’t have the same trait as a coach,” Mithali says of her friend. “When she decided to get into coaching, it was something we had a conversation about. When you are a coach, you are not only coaching the seniors, but you also have to coach youngsters, and you need to develop patience. She worked hard on that. That is her biggest transformation,” she adds.
A key part of developing that patience started when Nooshin moved to Hyderabad, where she began her coaching stint with the Under-16 side for two years before moving to the Chhattisgarh senior side.
“I would say I never rushed into coaching saying ‘look I’m an Indian player and I’ve contributed for so long, I have to take up a senior side.’ I wasn’t eligible for it. I wanted to get through the levels — Level A, and B,” Nooshin said.
“Playing and coaching are two different roles. This is a totally different profession, and I’m glad that I understood that early in my life. I took up Chhattisgarh because I wanted to test myself, especially my patience. Coaching needs calmness and patience because I really had to go down to their level, explain things, and build a team,” she added.
Nooshin was, in fact, the final Indian batter to have gotten out in the 2005 Women’s ODI World Cup final against Australia, giving the Aussies the fifth of their seven titles. (Special Arrangement)
As Chhattisgarh did well by making it to the knockouts, her employer Railways would come calling. For a team that is known to win silverware, they had just lost two big titles, and as they pressed the reset button, they came calling for Nooshin. “I had no choice but to take that because I still had a contract running with Chhattisgarh. But since it is the institution that I work for, I took it up as a challenge.”
It is at Railways that Mithali would first see a different Nooshin. The aggressive player, and one who didn’t hesitate to speak her mind, was long gone. “When she came to Railways, I could see she was not Nooshin, the player I knew. Standing in front of us was Nooshin, the coach. And that is when I started to trust her and we started having a lot of conversations about my batting, the team and a lot of other stuff,” Mithali says.
Understanding people
The smooth transition is also a reflection of how Nooshin was quick to adapt. According to her Railways coach Sharma, she has always had leadership qualities, and was especially good at communication. In a simple sense, she was a very vocal player, who wasn’t hesitant to share her views even when some of her senior players chose to stay mum.
“I’m a chatterbox, and I talk to everyone and anybody. To understand people, you need to know them, and the only way I can know someone is if I talk to them. There are 15 different players in the team and each one is different. So reading them is not easy.
“I talk to groundsmen, guys who carry water to the field, because it helps me improve my communication. I get to understand a lot of things by talking to them. For someone to open up, you should make them comfortable and I think I have that natural capability to communicate well,” Nooshin says.
For a player who hung up her boots on March 16, 2012, she hardly had a break. While most players would have preferred to stay away from waking up early and hitting the ground, Nooshin was back on the ground in a fortnight. “On April 1, I was at a coaching camp in Hyderabad,” Nooshin says.
Mithali feels there was a reason for it as well. “I wasn’t surprised that she took up coaching. The way her career ended, she felt there was unfinished business. She wanted to give back to the game. She thought she could do something through coaching. And she worked very hard for it. Whenever I called her, she would be on the ground,” the former India skipper says.
“Look I could have been a selector or completed five years and be eligible to become a match referee. But that isn’t me. I wanted to give something back to the game, even 20 percent of what I learned. Why was never a question, but I never thought I would come this far,” Nooshin says.
source: http://www.indianexpress.com / The Indian Express / Home> Sports> Cricket / by Venkatar Krishna R / February 07th, 2023
Tucked away on the Delhi-Ludhiana railway line, about 40 kilometres from Jalandhar is Malerkotla. It is a small town, famous for poets and palaces, some of which are more than a hundred years old.
In this muslim-majority district lies a 150-year-old palace that doubles up as the resident of Begum Munawwar ul Nisa, a descendant of the erstwhile ruler of Malerkotla, Nawab Sher Mohammad Khan.
Begum Munawar ul Nisa, known popularly as ‘Begum Sahiba’ lives alone in the twilight of her life in the dilapidated palace called ‘Mubarak Manzil’.
Very rarely does she get visitors. Sometimes officials from the Archaeological Survey of India knock at her door, and sometimes a journalist drops by to know her story. And sometimes, foreign tourists are brought here by local guides for a glimpse of pages from Muslim-Sikh harmony in Indian history.
Mohammed Mehmood, Begum Munawwar ul Nisa’s personal attendant
The old and frail Begum’s forefather, Sher Mohammed Khan had strongly opposed the sacrifice of the two sons of Guru Gobind Singh by the Subedar of Sirhind in 1705.
It is for this reason that Malerkotla holds a significant place in the history of Sikhs, specially the palace where the Begum lives today. Therefore, it was not surprising when on February 4 this year, the palace was abuzz with activity.
The Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee has declared February 4 as the day for honouring the last descendant of Nawab Sher Mohammed Khan for the role the family played in raising their voice against the atrocity committed by the Mughals on the sons of Guru Gobind Singh.
Mohammed Mehmood, the Begum’s attendant, who takes care of her minutest requirements in her old age at this palace, recalling the moment when officials came here to honour Begum Nisa says, “On February 4 afternoon, the SGPC secretary Simarjit Singh and the historic Gurudwara Fatehgarh Sahib Manager Bhagwant Singh and some other SGPC officials reached the ‘Mubarak Manzil’ and met Begum Munawwar ul Nisa. They met and honoured her duly offering that the supreme institution of the Sikhs and the entire Sikh community is indebted to her forefathers and therefore, she can reach out to them without any kind of hesitation and any kind of trouble.”
On this day, the SGPC officials came to the palace to request her to will the sword gifted to her family by Guru Gobind Singh to the Sikh community. The Begum informed the committee officials that the needful had already been done and also showed them the official papers of the same.
Advocate Harjinder Singh Dhami, head of the SGPC, said, “the entire Sikh community is indebted to Nawab Sher Mohammad Khan and his descendants. This is another hallmark in Muslim-Sikh relations. As long as Begum Munawwar ul Nisa remains safe, the SGPC will take care of her in every possible way and repair the ‘Mubarak Mazil’.”
A few years ago, Begum Munawwar ul Nisa at the age of 97 had willed her palace to the Amarinder Singh government in the state for preservation as her last wish. Unfortunately, due to red-tapism and government lethargy, the repair work to be undertaken has not taken off as expected.
‘Mubarak Manzil’
It is to be seen if the promise made by the SGPC will lead to the palace see better days.
Begum Munawwar ul Nisa is the third wife of Mohammed Iftikhar Ali Khan Bahadur, a descendant of Nawab Sher Mohammad Khan. The first two wives of the Nawab are no more.
Nawab Moahmmed Iftikhar Ali Khan Bahadur himself passed away in 1982. He had no children from any of his Begums.
The ‘Mubarak Manzil’, where the Begum lives presently is now a government heritage property. The palace and the Begum in particular is a beautiful symbol of harmony between the Muslims and Sikhs from history till the present times.
source: http://www.awazthevoice.in / Awaz, The Voice / Home> Story / by Amrik Singh, Jalandhar / posted by Nakul Shivani / February 07th, 2023
The inaugural ceremony of the Masjid Hajira Hassan and Sullia Community Centre is being organized by the Sullia Educational and Charitable Trust (SECT) on Sunday, February 12.
The Masjid and Community Centre will be inaugurated by Mohammed Yunus Hassan, entrepreneur, Al Khobar and trustee, Team B-Human, at 9.30 am on Sunday, SECT has said in a press release.
The inaugural will be held in the presence of T Arif Ali, general secretary, JIH; Maulana Shoaib Hussaini Nadwi, Khateeb, Kutchi Memon Masjid, Mangaluru; Muhammed Kunhi, Khateb, Masjidul Huda, Thokkottu; Hussain Kamil Saqafi, Khateeb, Juma Masjid, Shanti Nagar, Velam; Maulana Yahya Thangal Madani, Khateeb, Havva Juma Masjid, Bolangady; U T Khader, MLA, Mangalore Constituency, former Minister for Urban Development and Housing; Sri Angara S, MLA, Sullia Constituency and Minister of State for Fisheries; A K M Ashraf, Member of Kerala Assembly; B M Farooq, MLC, Karnataka; Zakariya Jokatte, CEO, Al Muzain Saudi Arabia and trustee, Hidaya Foundation; M Sharif Bolar, CEO, Whitestone Group, Saudi Arabia, and trustee, Team B-Human; Mr. Vinay Kumar Kundadka, president, Sullia Town Panchayat; and Mr. M B Sadashiva, state spokesperson, JDS Karnataka, said the Trust.
SECT has added that Riyaz Kattekar, Mrs. Sushila Channappa and Shareef (Kanti) members of Sullia Town Panchayat; Sheik Karnire, MD, Expertise Group, Saudi Arabia; Mansoor Azad, MD, Azad Group, and chairman, Hidayah Foundation; Riyaz Bava, Bava Group and vice-chairperson, Hidayah Foundation; H U Farooq Tarikere, former president of Tarikere Municipality; Inayath Ali Mulki, general secretary, KPCC; Shahul Hamid Ujire, Well Done Group, Saudi Arabia, and president, Al Khobar unit of Team-B Human; Hanif Golthamajal, Hajaj Group, and president of Mangaluru unit, Hidayah Foundation; Mohammed Basheer, Al Falak, Saudi Arabia, and president of Jubail unit, Team-B Human; Ibrahim, Baikampady; K Ahmed Bava, MD, Deals Group; Abdul Salam, CEO, Raqwani Group, Saudi Arabia; Ibrahim M Hussain, MD, Raqwani Group, Saudi Arabia; Mohammed Wazir, vice-president, Sullia Community Centre; Salman Noor Hasan, S/o Late Hajira Hassan; H K Kasim Ahmed, founder-chairperson, Hidaya Foundation; Ashkaf Abdul Hameed; CEO, Plant Solutions; Dr. Abdul Majeed U, general surgeon, Mangaluru; S E Mohammed Kunhi, Koynad; Muhammad Ali, Tamarachery, Sullia; Ibrahim Goonadka, Abdulla P M, Abbas B, Dr. Umar Beejadakatte, Abdul Razak K C and Mohammed Noorullah of Sullia; K M Shareef of Mangaluru; Abdussalam U, Nazim-e-Ilaqa, JIH, Mangaluru Region, and Asif Deals, chairperson of Team-B Human, Mangaluru, Abdul Nasir Luckystar, chairperson of Dakshina Kannada District Wakf Advisory Committee, have been specially invited for the inaugural.
source: http://www.english.varthabharati.in / Vartha Bharati / Home> Karavali / by Vartha Bharati / February 09th, 2023
In a just-released tell-all book, the first woman Muslim minister of Karnataka doesn’t spare anyone who was unjust to her. Read on to know what she thinks about the Gandhi family members and others.
Nafees Fazal talks to the then Congress President Rajiv Gandhi during an Iftar party in the Vidhana Soudha banquet hall, Bangalore in 1990 (supplied)
If what the first woman Muslim minister of Karnataka says is true, politics is a horribly dirty sport where ministers and others take bribes, men can be lecherous, and foes within your party can go to any extent to bring you down.
Things got so bad for Nafees Fazal at one point that she asked Indira Gandhi’s Man Friday RK Dhawan whether she was not rising in politics because she wasn’t playing “bedroom politics”. Dhawan told her never to take that path: “They will pass you around till you become a whore.” She took the warning to heart.
The front cover of the book ‘Breaking Barriers: The Story of a Liberal Muslim Woman’s Passage in Indian Politics’ (Supplied)
In a just-released tell-all book (Breaking Barriers: The Story of a Liberal Muslim Woman’s Passage in Indian Politics, with Sandhya Mendonca, Konark Publishers), Nafees doesn’t spare anyone who was unjust to her.
Guided by Margaret Alva
Rebelling against convention, she plunged into politics at age 31 without any benefactor and became the first Muslim woman minister in Karnataka at age 52 in 1999. Religion and gender, however, shackled her. It did not help that she was feisty, had a husky voice, and dressed fashionably.
Nafees Fazal and her husband Hassan Fazal with her godmother and politician Margaret Alva at their residence in Bangalore in 1999 (Supplied)
Margaret Alva, whom she admires, guided Nafees and made her the president of the Bangalore wing of the Mahila Congress.
But prominent leaders from her own Muslim community didn’t like her. She was too glamorous. One of them was CK Jaffer Sharief, who proved duplicitous. Sharief was overtly nice but felt, like many other conservative Muslim men, that Muslim women should be confined to the home or remain low-key. “Muslim men,” she says with authority, “are the biggest MCPs and my opinion was reinforced in politics”.
Bribes, daggers, and knives
When she joined SM Krishna’s Cabinet, her learning was rapid. “Once you get the chair, you have to do your darndest to hold on to it. This meant that you had to be on the lookout constantly for the daggers and knives that many seen and unseen enemies would be holding.”
With Arjun Singh and Jaffer Sharief at an iftar party hosted by the former at his residence in New Delhi in 1994 (Supplied)
While a minister, the son of a trustee of a reputed college wanted government hospitals to import medical equipment. An IAS officer warned her against the deal. So she put her foot down. But Chief Minister Krishna was told that Nafees demanded ₹30 lakh as bribe. Krishna confronted her and was stunned when she told him that there was no question of seeking ₹30 lakh when she was offered ₹3 crore!
“I did not want the illegal money, and I did not want a bad name,” she writes. “Ministers and politicians often receive such bribes and perhaps take it, if not for themselves, then in order to fill the party coffers. How else would they hold on to their posts? This is how many of them operate. Nowadays the amounts offered would be several hundred crores.”
Sonia Gandhi & ‘an empty promise’ to Nafees Fazal
Nafees constantly faced attacks from known and unknown detractors. BJP leader (later chief minister) BS Yediyurappa tried to link her with the Telgi counterfeit stamp paper scam.
A Congress bigwig accused her of drinking alcohol at a party, almost leading to her sacking as the medical education minister. After one more allegation, she met Congress President Sonia Gandhi. “Don’t make an issue of it. I will look after you,” Sonia said. “It was an empty promise. She did nothing,” she writes.
Nafees Fazal with current Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai (second from left), former chief minister SM Krishna (centre), his wife Prema, and former minister RV Deshpande’s son Prasad (right) at Deshpande’s golden wedding anniversary celebrations in Bengaluru in 2022 (Supplied)
Nafees has been asked if there’s a casting couch in politics. “I always counter by asking: ‘Why should politics be different than any other sector?’ It’s a known fact that certain women have risen to prominence because they have the attention and protection of powerful men. Some of these could be in a physical relationship with their sugar daddies and some may have used their position to do the work they set out to do.”
Rahul Gandhi leadership ‘disastrous’
Nafees Fazal with her idol and Prime Minister Indira Gandhi at the All India Mahila Convention held in Bangalore in September 1984 (Supplied)
While she was a childhood fan of Indira Gandhi, and both Rajiv (“Rajiv’s decisions were sometimes hasty”) and Sonia Gandhi (“Sonia’s only weakness is her son”) too earned her respect, Nafees dubs Rahul Gandhi’s leadership of the Congress as “disastrous”. There is no place for any other leader to grow in the Congress, she says.
Nafeesa Fazal welcomes Sonia Gandhi, who was contesting the Lok Sabha elections from Bellary, and party observer Ghulam Nabi Azad in 1999 (Supplied)
While she pats Rahul for taking steps to cut corruption in the party, she is bitter for insulting her in front of Karnataka party leaders.
Nafees Fazal with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in Bengaluru in 2009 (Supplied)
She had submitted an application seeking nomination to the Legislative Council. Rahul saw a doctor’s picture on her brochure. It was a renowned heart surgeon with whom she had worked for years to help underprivileged people. Rahul turned livid: “Because of him you are disqualified. I will never entertain you again and I will never give you an appointment.” The public humiliation forced Nafees to quit the Congress.
Ahmed Patel was ‘busy meeting mullahs’
Ahmed Patel was very powerful in the Congress during the UPA regime. “Unfortunately, he had no time to hear the second-rung leaders as he was always busy with meetings with mullahs. It was a Herculean effort to get an appointment with him.”
She tried to gatecrash. “At times, I was treated badly by his watchman who would slam the gate on my face and chase me away like a pariah… Perhaps he (Patel) didn’t like me because I was a Muslim woman.”
‘Set dosas’ of Karnataka Congress
Sonia Gandhi, she says, once referred to SM Krishna as “a white-collared politician” who could not woo voters in rural areas.
Nafees Fazal with Mallikarjun Kharge (left), now the Congress president, and former Karnataka chief minister N Dharam Singh at a lunch hosted by the author for RK Dhawan at her residence in February 1999 (Supplied)
When she wanted to contest an election from Vijayapura in north Karnataka, then opposition leader and now Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge was unhappy. He had never forgiven her for her role in displacing Dharam Singh, his friend, as the Karnataka Congress President. Nafees says that some colleagues called Kharge, HK Patil, and Dharam Singh as “set dosas” as they formed a powerful clique.
On hijab and UCC
While Rahul Gandhi talks about women’s empowerment, “the reality is that Muslim women are being denied a voice, and the support is only for our male counterparts”. Women with political ambitions must develop a thick skin, she feels.
She opposes the insistence on wearing hijab, finds the All India Muslim Personal Law Board “medieval and regressive”, and welcomes the Uniform Civil Code if it applies to Hindu Undivided Families too.
She admires Prime Minister Narendra Modi for outlawing triple talaq. After SM Krishna joined the BJP, she wanted to emulate him. But Yediyurappa objected. She also found the BJP too communal. So she quietly paid ₹10 and rejoined the Congress.
On her family and grandfather, a former sheriff of Madras
Nafees calls her father a philanderer, cruel, and sadist who enjoyed physically abusing his wife in front of his children. One of her uncles was a sexual predator. Her mother-in-law treated her like a maid and once clobbered her with a rolling pin.
Her grandfather, Khan Bahadur Mohammed Moosa Sait, a former sheriff of Madras, was a community leader but treated everyone, women in particular, very badly. All this “added to my mistrust of men, and I still carry residual anger against them”. One of the few men she has utmost love for is Hassan Fazal, her husband who backed her all the way from the time he began courting her.
(MR Narayan Swamy is a freelance journalist in New Delhi. He began his career more than four decades ago. He had a long innings in UNI, AFP, and IANS. His focus areas are diplomacy, politics, and spirituality, and he loves to read and review books. He is the author of three books on the Sri Lankan conflict)
source: http://www.thesouthfirst.com / South First / Home> Karnataka / by Narayan Swamy / November 02nd, 2023
The HIF Qatar held its 8th Annual General Meeting at Maaza Restaurant on Friday, 3rd February 2023. The program began with the recitation of verses from the Holy Quran by Master Moiz and Master Shafee. HIF Qatar Unit President Shafakath Hussain welcomed the gathering.
The meeting featured a presentation by Rizwan Ahmed on the overall activities of HIF and future objectives.
The chief guest of the event, Dr. Abdul Salem, founder of Ideal Indian School, addressed the gathering and appreciated the works of HIF. He emphasized the importance of implementing the five values – namely respect, responsibility, excellence, integrity and collaboration – in day-to-day life.
Prominent guests, including Abdul Razak, President of South Kanara Welfare Association; Fayaz Ahmed, President of Karnataka Muslim Cultural Association; Saqib Raza, President of Hidaya Foundation; Ayub Ullal, President of Qatar Indian Social forum; Mohammed Javed, President of Family Friend Circle; and Sheikh Usman, In-charge of Karnataka Unit-Indian Friend Circle, were in attendance at the meeting. They spoke about the importance of collaboration between organizations for the greater good of the community.
In the meeting, the members remembered the contributions of S.M. Basheer to the society who passed away recently.
Shahim, secretary of the HIF Qatar unit, gave the vote of thanks. Imran Mohammed was the master of ceremony.
The meeting was a successful demonstration of HIF’s commitment to community development and collaboration.
source: http://www.english.varthabharati.in / VarthaBharati.in / Home> Gulf / by Vartha Bharati / February 05th, 2023
February 5, 1884. Does the date ring a bell? No prizes for guessing. It was this day 139 years ago that the Hyderabad State got its sixth ruler, Mir Mahboob Ali Khan. He was just 18 when he was invested with full administrative powers. British Viceroy, Lord Rippon, visited Hyderabad for the first time to place the young Nizam on the gaddi at Khilwat Mubarak in Chowmahalla Palace.
The palace was recently in the news when the body of Mukarram Jah Bahadur, the titular Nizam, was kept here for public display and a few days later, his son, Azmet Jah, was crowned as his successor.
This day is also significant as Mahboob Ali Khan was the first Nizam to be coroneted by the representative of Her Majesty, the Queen. Soon after the investiture ceremony he was conferred the title of Grand Commander of the Star of India.
Interestingly the 6th Nizam inherited the masnad at the age of two itself when his father, Nawab Afzal-ud-Daula, passed away. But a Council of Regency was put in place to look after the administration till he came of age. When he turned 16 years, he was initiated into the details of office work and the administration of the State by Nawab Salar Jung.
The first thing that Mahboob Ali Khan did after assuming power was to proclaim that nothing pleased him more than seeing people live in peace and prosperity. Subsequent years proved that he lived up to his words by undertaking administrative reforms that benefitted the people. Development of railways, revision of revenue settlements, setting up of cotton mills at Hyderabad, Aurangabad and Gulbarga are among his significant achievements. Besides this, education, irrigation, medicine also received top priority. The famous Chloroform Commission was held in Hyderabad all because of the scientific interest shown by the sixth Nizam.
Popularly known as Mahboob Ali Pasha, he is also responsible for the establishment of the Victoria Memorial Orphanage, Madrasa-i-Aliya, Asafia State Library and Dairatul Maarif. Old timers recall how the sixth Nizam ruled more with the heart than the head. One can’t forget the relief measures he took after the disastrous Musi floods of 1908.
Poet, marksman, administrator and lover of gems and jewellery, his was a multifaceted personality. Elegantly dressed, he had a fascination for expensive clothes and cars. His two-storey wardrobe at Purani Haveli, the longest one in the world, still has a huge collection of expensive clothes collected by him. He had the reputation of not wearing the same dress twice.
Similarly, his fondness for vintage cars is legendary. Some of the expensive cars like Napier, Rolls Royce Silver Ghosts, were made to order for the then wealthiest man in the world. They are still a big draw at the Chowmahalla Palace.
It was he who bought the famous Jacob Diamond, which forms the crowning glory of the Nizam’s jewels. The 6th Nizam, who was exposed to Western education, was fond of a lavish lifestyle and had a fascination for the good things in life. He breathed his last at Falaknuma Palace at the age of 45 following a paralytic attack. But as his name, Mahboob suggests, he remains a beloved ruler even to this day.
source: http://www.siasat.com / The Siasat Daily / Home> Featured News / by J S Ifthekhar / February 06th, 2023
Controversial film producer Nazim Hassan Rizvi whose hit film “Chori Chori, Chupke Chupke” (2001) blew the lid off the Bollywood-Mafia nexus passed away at a private hospital here, industry sources said on Tuesday.
Controversial film producer Nazim Hassan Rizvi whose hit film “Chori Chori, Chupke Chupke” (2001) blew the lid off the Bollywood-Mafia nexus passed away at a private hospital here, industry sources said on Tuesday.
Admitted to the Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital (KDAH) for certain undisclosed ailments, Rizvi breathed his last while under treatment late on Monday.
Said to be in his early 70s, his mortal remains are being taken to his native place in Uttar Pradesh for the funeral.
Rizvi had also produced other inferior films such as “Majboor Ladki” (1991), “Apaatkal” (1993), “Angarvaadi” (1998), “Undertrial” (2007), “Chori Chori, Chupke Chupke” (2001), “Hello, Hum Lallan Bol Rahe Hain” (2010), “Qasam Se, Qasam Se”, (2011), and “Laden Aala Re Aala” (2017).
However, he is widely known for the musical hit “Chori Chori, Chupke Chupke” starring the top trio of that time — Salman Khan, Rani Mukherjee and Preity Zinta — which discussed the topic of surrogate motherhood for the first time on the silver screen.
Nevertheless, the film, which shot him into big league, also made news for other unsavoury reasons. Shortly before its release, Rizvi and another financer Bharat Shah were arrested in December 2000 for allegedly diverting tainted underworld-linked money for the movie production.
The stunning expose was made by a crack team of Mumbai Police Crime Branch comprising former encounter-specialists’ who had shadowed Rizvi, his associates, and investigated the case in depth before finally swooping on them.
The Mumbai Police had charged the Rizvi-Shah duo with allegedly receiving funds from the Mumbai mafia, specifically from Shakeel Babumiyan Shaikh – dreaded as Chhota Shakeel – and a close aide of the absconder underworld don Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar.
Rizvi had been under surveillance for his alleged murky activities for months before the arrest by the Mumbai Police and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which later seized the film’s negatives and prints, and deposited them with the Special MCOCA Court in Mumbai.
The film was finally released under the Special Court’s order, with an unprecedented directive that all profits earned by the movie should go to the Maharashtra government treasury.
Interestingly, the film’s credits had acknowledged the role’ of the Special MCOCA Court, the Mumbai Police Crime Branch and the Court Receiver without whose untiring efforts and good offices the picture would never have been made.
Prior to its official release, the Mumbai Police were given a special screening as per a previous commitment and to ensure that there was no objectionable content in the film.
Ironically, during its formal release in cinemas in March 2001, where it got huge initial response, both Rizvi and Shah remained in jail, and later they were awarded six years and one year in jail, respectively.
“It was the film ‘Chori Chori, Chupke Chupke’ that is said to have convincingly proved the long-suspected theory of Bollywood-Mafia, bhai-bhai’,” a veteran Bollywood producer told IANS, preferring anonymity.
However, the film’s fiasco and its aftermath opened alternative doors for more respectable channels of film financing like banks, later some companies, corporate houses and even MNCs entering the scene, he explained.
He recalled how that was a trying period for Bollywood which was reeling under immense pressures from the underworld and mafia dons Gulshan Kumar was shot dead (August 1997), Mukesh Duggal was killed (March 1998), and an unsuccessful warning’ attack was made against Rakesh Roshan (January 2000), besides other similar scary developments that rattled Bollywood biggies.
Many quietly concurred’ or cooperated’ with the mafiosi, while a few dare-devils have admitted to getting death threats, extortion calls and other forms of intimidation from various underworld gangs in India and their shady operatives from foreign locales.
(SJ/IANS)
source: http://www.newsgram.com / NewsGram / Home> Entertainment /by Quaid Najmi / February 07th, 2023
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