Earlier, Mohammed Faizan Ahmed and Mohammed Haris Sumair, who secured All India Rank 58 and 270, respectively were also students of MS IAS Academy.
The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) today announced the Civil Services Examination (CSE) 2022 results. Among the successful candidates, Mohammed Burhan Zaman, a student of MS IAS Academy, has achieved an All India Rank (AIR) of 768.
Mohammed Burhan Zaman who hails from Kolkata is the third student of MS IAS Academy who cleared the UPSC civil service examination in the past three years.
Stages in UPSC CSE 2022
The Civil Services Examination is one of the most challenging and prestigious competitive exams in India. It consists of multiple stages, and candidates need to excel in each phase to secure a coveted position in the civil services.
The journey began with the preliminary examination held on June 5, 2022. Serving as a screening test, the preliminary exam determines the eligibility of candidates to proceed to the subsequent stages of the selection process. The results of the preliminary examination were declared on June 22, opening the doors for qualified candidates to move forward.
The main examination, conducted from September 16 to 25, forms the second stage of the UPSC CSE. It comprises a comprehensive written examination that evaluates candidates’ knowledge and understanding of various subjects.
After the evaluation of the main examination papers, the results were announced on December 6. Candidates who successfully cleared the main examination became eligible for the final stage – the interview round.
Following the interview process, which concluded on May 18, the Union Public Service Commission has finally released the final results of the Civil Services Examination 2022 today. This year, a total of 933 candidates have made it to the final list. Among these candidates, Mohammed Burhan Zaman from MS IAS Academy has secured a place in the final merit list.
MS IAS Academy’s performance
It is worth noting that MS IAS Academy has consistently produced successful candidates in the UPSC CSE in recent years. In the 2022 examination, nine students from the academy passed the preliminary exam. Out of these, three students successfully cleared the main examination and progressed to the interview stage. Among them, Mohammed Burhan Zaman secured a position in the final merit list.
On this momentous occasion, Mohammed Lateef Khan, the Chairman of MS Education Academy expressed his happiness.
Earlier, Mohammed Faizan Ahmed and Mohammed Haris Sumair, who secured All India Rank 58 and 270, respectively were also students of MS IAS Academy. Both of them have been selected for the Indian Administrative Service (IAS)
source: http://www.siasat.com / The Siasat Daily / Home> News> India / by News Desk / May 23rd, 2023
This year the Class 10 or ICSE examinations began on 27 February 2023 and concluded on 29 March 2023
Applicants must also note that apart from the official website, the results can also be checked via SMS
ICSE Result 2023:
According to the official notification by the authorities, the ICSE Class 10 is out today 14 May 2023 at 3 PM.
Students can view their ICSE 10th result 2023 at www.cisce.org, the board’s official website. The results for the ICSE, ISC board are also made available by SMS.
Here’s the list of ICSE 2023 Class 10 toppers from West Bengal
Calcutta Boys’ School
Rudraneel Shee, 99.20%
Rik Chakraborty, 99.00%
Subham Das, 98.60%
Loreto House
Arundhuti Dasgupta, 96.8%
Madhushruti Niyogi, 96.6%
Ayushi Agarwal, Hiranya Uppal and Jahnvi Birdika, 96.4%
Adamas International School
Aritro Ghosh, 99%
Autri Chatterjee, 98.80%
Kautsav Dey, 98.80%
Jewish Girls’ School
Kahkasha Tanwir, 96.4%
Somaiya Naaz, 94.4%
St. Augustine’s Day School, Shyamnagar
Anushka Choudhury, 99.0%
Addrija Kar, 98.40%
Sanjana Kumari Prasa, 98.20%
DPS New Town
Sayan Sen, Ahona Bandhopadhyay, Ankan Roy, Deeptanshu Ray, Dorithi Majumder: 99.4%
Srijata Biswas, Aryan Dass and Prajakta Maji: 99.2%
Arush Anand, Md Zubair Ali and Sankalp Prasad: 99.0%
DPS, Megacity
Shreeparna Mukherjee and Samridhi Todi, 99%
Srijata Kundu, Samriddhi Kar and Pratik Agarwal, 98.80%
Bouncing back from adversity with indomitable resilience and willpower, Asif Iqbal helps others with disabilities as he pushes the limits. Ejaz Kaiser shares his story.
Since 2021, Iqbal has run 10 km each on 12 different races.
Chhattisgarh :
A life well lived is a life worth talking about. With complete vision loss, Mohammed Asif Iqbal’s life can force anyone to rethink disability.
A Kolkata resident, who had a successful stint in Central government’s smart city projects for digital inclusion initiative at Nava Raipur in Chhattisgarh, Iqbal (46) had partial vision loss since birth due to a genetic disorder called retinal degeneration. By the time he turned 16, he had turned completely blind.
He moved to the United States and managed complete his high school and partial college education in Oregon, USA. Iqbal returned to India in 1995 to later become the first visually challenged commerce graduate of St Xavier’s College Kolkata and got his MBA in human resources from Symbiosis Institute, Pune.
Around six years back, he was diagnosed with high blood pressure. Having given a choice to either change his lifestyle or be on medicines all his life, Iqbal decided to lead a life worth living. “I thought my health shouldn’t be a hurdle towards my contribution to nation-building. Just the thought of doing something to ensure I remain healthy. I was overweight. I began visiting the playground and park with the help of friends. It was there the idea clicked to participate in marathons and began preparing for the race to build my confidence”, Iqbal said.
Running became a routine; starting from 100 metre, he increased the length slowly to 300 and later to a few kilometres with the support of volunteers. Gradually, he learnt navigation on his own.
“I was competing with myself to enhance my performance”, he added. Since 2021, Iqbal has run 10 km each on 12 different races and has also been recognised by former Indian cricket skipper master blaster Sachin Tendulkar for his brave initiative.
But his biggest moment came on December 18, 2022 when he accomplished TSK-25 km (15.53 miles) marathon run in Kolkata only through voice guidance. He was blind-folded and had zero physical touch or physical assistance from anyone. He set a record and entered into Asian Book of Records, as the first Indian Asian blind runner to complete a marathon in 3:32 hours with voice navigation support from Dibyendu Mondel and Prakash Singh who piloted his run.
“While I run on voice guidance (talking GPS) issued by fellow buddy runners who run at the same speed, the mission of 25km marathon in Kolkata was well achieved,” Iqbal said.
He is also the recipient of a national award, West Bengal state role model award and the extraordinary citizen of Kolkata award among others.
During his career spanning over 15 years, he has designed and implemented social inclusion strategy for AADHAR enrollment, accessible income tax, and accessible telecom under Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) among others.
He is presently an associate director at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) India Ltd. In 2000, he filed a public interest litigation (PIL) for implementation of reservation quota in government-run universities including the IIMs and IITs.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Good News / by Ejaz Kaiser, Express News Service / January 29th, 2023
Kumrava, Nawada District) BIHAR / Kolkata, WEST BENGAL :
He had accompanied Mahatma Gandhi on the Dandi March and later spent several days with him in a prison in Cuttack. In 2007, he was conferred with the Padma Bhushan for his fight against the British rule in India.
Syed Mohammad Sharfuddin Quadri being conferred with the Padma Bhushan by the then President APJ Abdul Kalam.
Late on Monday night, Syed Mohammad Sharfuddin Quadri, who was affectionately referred to as hakim sahab in his neighbourhood in Rippon Street, passed away three days after celebrating his 114th birthday.
Quadri, a renowned Unani practitioner who was instrumental in founding the Unani Medical College and Hospital in Abdul Halim Lane in central Kolkata, was born on December 25, in 1901 when Kolkata was still the capital of the country and Mahatma Gandhi had not returned to India.
“My father was imprisoned with Gandhiji by the British in Cuttack. He would accompany him everywhere during the Civil Disobedience Movement,” said son Manzar Sadique in the family’s home in 84/9 Rippon Street.
“In October, abba had travelled to Lucknow where he was the chief guest at a conference of Unani practitioners. Chief minister Akhilesh Yadav had invited him over to his house,” informs Sadique.
Quadri was born in the remote village of Kumrava in Nawada district of Bihar on Christmas Day in 1901. His family moved to Calcutta in the mid-1930s. Hakimji would begin his day with Fajar (the morning namaaz) at the break of dawn followed by his visit to his chamber, Swadeshi Dawa khana on Haji Mohammed Mohsin Square, where patients would already be waiting for him. He would examine more than 100 patients every day free of cost, says son Sadique.
“Unani was his passion and he could identify the ailment just by feeling the pulse of the patient,” says Sadique.
The centurion who specialized in treating infertility would never miss his customary walk after work. “He suffered from arthritis which is why he took special care of his fitness,” said Sadique.
Quadri who began an informal school for children and triggered an adult literacy campaign in Rippon Street was the founder member of the
Once Quadri once revealed the secret behind his fitness and longevity to his friends. “I drink two glasses of neem juice every day,” he has said. This fitness mantra was handed over to him by his father Mohammad Mohibbudin who had died at the age of 121 years!
Hasnain Imam, a teacher and resident of Rippon Street fondly recalled the time he had spent with “hakim sahib” when he was in college. “He was a treasure trove of knowledge. From politics to medicine to Sufism, we would discuss a wide range of topics. They don’t make people like them anymore,” said Imam.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / Times of India / Home> News> Kolkata News / by Zeeshan Javed / TNN / December 30th, 2015
A collection of speeches and articles by former vice-president Hamid Ansari, offering engaging insights into our democracy.
Challenges to a Liberal Polity: Human Rights, Citizenship & Identity / by M Hamid Ansari / Publisher Penguin / Pages 277 /Price 799 INR
For the past decade, public discourse in India has remained sharply focused on challenges to the liberal polity and the threats that have grown to human rights. Issues of citizenship and identity are entwined inextricably in this. It is in this context that Challenges to a Liberal Polity: Human Rights, Citizenship & Identity assumes not only topicality but also a significance that can be overlooked only at the readers’ own peril.
Hamid Ansari is a distinguished diplomat, academic, statesman and also, the often misused word, a public intellectual. He has, in his long career, worn many hats. He has served as the Indian ambassador to Afghanistan, Vice-Chancellor of the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), Chairman of the Minorities Commission and the Vice President of India. Throughout his life, Ansari has never shied away from speaking his mind—bluntly if need be.
The author has, at times, been exposed to unfair criticism and deliberately humiliated by persons in high office who should have known better. When bidding him farewell, PM Narendra Modi was unnecessarily sarcastic—some thought gracelessly—by mentioning that Ansari had spent most of his diplomatic career in Islamic countries and perhaps he would be more comfortable now that he was relieved of the burden of the constitutional position to freely voice criticism of whatever he didn’t agree with. The PM conveniently forgot that the former vice-president served with distinction as India’s permanent representative in the United Nations and as Chief of Protocol when Indira Gandhi was the prime minister in an era of dynamic Indian diplomacy. But, let us not digress.
This volume is a collection of speeches, forewords and articles contributed by the author on subjects that overlap and cover a vast time span from the turn of the century to the present day. The introduction is stimulating and thought-provoking. It presents a distilled essence of state-of-the-art research in political science and Indian society. This prepares the readers for what is to follow.
The book is divided into three sections. The first section deals with human rights and group rights. The subsections or mini-chapters can be read profitably as independent essays. Of particular interest are the ones titled––‘India and the Contemporary International Norms on Group Rights’, ‘Minorities and the Modern State’ and ‘Majorities and Minorities in Secular India: Sensitivity and Responsibility’.
The second section is titled ‘Indian Polity, Identity, Diversity and Citizenship’. This is more substantial than the preceding segment and covers a range of topics that should engage readers with different interests and ideological orientations. Examples include ‘Identity and Citizenship: An Indian Perspective’, ‘Religion, Religiosity and World Order’, ‘Two Obligatory -isms: Why Pluralism and Secularism is Essential to our Democracy’. There are shorter pieces like ‘The Ethics of Gandhi’ and ‘The Dead Weight of State Craft’, ‘India’s Plural Diversity is Under Threat: Some Thoughts on Contemporary Challenges in the Realm of Culture’. How one wishes that these themes had been explored in greater detail.
To some it may appear that this is nitpicking, but this is the hazard of compiling a collection of comments and observations made on commemorative occasions such as inaugurating or concluding a seminar, a workshop or writing a short preface. Ansari is primarily a scholar, who is deeply distraught by the happenings around him and is restless to share his constructive thoughts and not just the distress and despair. The tone is always cautiously optimistic.
The concluding section deals with ‘Indian-Muslim Perception and Indian Contribution to Culture of Islam’. The essays on ‘Militant Islam’, ‘Islam and Democratic Principle’ and ‘India and Islamic Civilisation: Contributions and Challenges’ deserve to be read by all Indians, particularly the young. One may disagree with the author, but it is impossible to imagine that any meaningful dialogue can take place between the majorities and minorities in India without an understanding of how the ‘other’ thinks and perceives the world.
His convocation addresses delivered at Jamia Millia Islamia (where he taught) and the AMU (his alma mater) have a different flavour. The tone is personal and evokes shared nostalgia. The final essay is a review of India and muslim world.
The book has substantial end-notes that provide useful bibliographical information. One can flip through these pages to pursue the themes dealt in the book according to one’s own inclination and at leisure.
This book is for all. The general reader, who has no scholarly pretensions, too can turn the pages of this book with great pleasure. Many a time, the author peppers the prose with Urdu couplets that hook the reader to his line of arguments. One such piece is his Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed Memorial lecture. Most people remember this vice-president as the supine individual who signed on the dotted line with dimmer when Indira Gandhi declared Emergency at midnight. Ansari, however, has used the book brilliantly to make some hard- hitting comments that are im- possible not to take on the chin.
The chapter begins with: Yaad-e-maazi azaab hai yaa rab/ Chheen le mujhse hafiza mera (The memory of the past is torturous, O God/Take away my memory from me), and concludes with: “Can the amnesia, the compromises and the misconceptions of recent and not-so-recent past be overcome?” Yes, only if meaningful alternative is offered. We do stand at the crossroads.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Lifestyle> Books / by Pushpesh Pant / Express News Service / November 06th, 2022
More than 500 students from the Al-Ameen Mission’s 70 branches in West Bengal passed the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) 2022 with flying colours.
M Noorul Islam, head of the Institution said, “I have had the biggest success this year, as the number of Al Ameen Mission students who have secured 600 and above points in the NEET is around 200.”
Last year, 510 Al Ameen coaching academy students passed the NEET and were accepted into various medical colleges.
According to Islam, the number is likely to be higher this year as his team finalises the list.
Islam said that that the majority of the students are from rural areas and come from remote villages throughout West Bengal.
Kishankur Bhumika, a non-resident student, is this year’s Al-Ameen topper. He received 686 out of 720 points in the NEET and was ranked 427 at the All India level.
Irfan Habib, son of farmer Abdul Subhan of Devcharai village in Tafanganj, Cooch Behar, has received the highest marks among the mission’s resident students. He received 685 points and is ranked 594th in the all-India list. Aside from that, many Al Amneen Mission students scored more than 650 points on the NEET.
Akhtari Parveen, a female student at Al-Ameen Mission, is among the achievers . She has been a student at Al Ameen Mission’s Khalatpur campus since Class VII. She got 653 marks in NEET with the help of Al Ameen Mission and her all-India rank is 3915.
Al-Ameen Mission, based in Howrah, has produced over 3500 doctors (MBBS & BDS) and 3000 engineers, in addition to scores of researchers, administrative officers, teachers, and professors.
Nurul Islam founded the organisation, which now operates 70 coaching institutes in 20 West Bengal districts.
The organisation educates 17,000 residential students and employs over 3000 teachers and non-teaching staff. The main campus of Al-Ameen Mission is in the West Bengal district of Howrah, at Khalatpur (Udaynarayanpur).
“We utilize Zakat and Sadaqah funds to achieve our goal and play our role in nation building. We urge the community members to support our efforts ” Islam told Muslim Mirror.
“Most of the students who have qualified NEET from Al Ameen Mission belong to very poor backgrounds and weaker sections of society. We nurture their talent, develop their intellect and provide them a good environment so that they could come out with their best,” he said.
source: http://www.muslimmirror.com /Muslim Mirror / Home> Indian Muslim> Positive Story / by Muslim Mirror / September 10th 2022
This IAS officer held a career counselling camp at the recent Islampur Book Fair.
This IAS officer held a career counselling camp at the recent Islampur Book Fair.
In the few months following her first posting at Goalpokhar-I in November 2014, Shama Parveen, “BDO Mam” as she is addressed by many, has become a source of inspiration to several, especially young women belonging to the minority community.
She is the first woman IAS officer in North Dinajpur district from the minority community.
Shama, a 2013 batch officer from Kanpur, had wanted to do something for the underprivileged. At Goalpokhar-I, one of the most impoverished areas of North Dinajpur, she began to act on her dreams.
Goalpokhar is largely agriculture-based. There are no industries here and not a single college in the block. People from the minority community comprise roughly 80 per cent of the block’s population.
During her short stint — she is waiting for a transfer order — Shama has, on her own, held career counselling sessions by visiting schools in her area. She told the young girls as well as their parents that if she could make it, these girls could too.
“The main impediment for the girls from my community are members from their own families. It is a popular belief that we cannot do well in higher studies. Whenever I meet the guardians, I tell them their daughters have the capacity to do well in higher studies. Please stand beside them. I tell them, let them shine. I am a woman from a humble background and if I can achieve what I have, so can these girls,” said Shama, who hails from a middle-class family. Her father is a businessman and her mother a homemaker.
Shama said her younger sister is studying civil engineering and her brother is a schoolteacher. She said her father is proud of both his daughters.
“When I started preparing for the civil service exams, I went to a tutorial in Delhi. But I realised that it was not the proper way, it was a kind of cheating. I left the tutorial and began preparing at home. I concentrated on reading media reports and hunting up events and data on the Internet. I had done my masters in history and that remains my favourite subject. I tell young people to read books as they are the cornerstone of success,” Shama added.
Choudhury Abdul Karim, minister for library services and mass education and Islampur MLA, could not praise the young bureaucrat enough. “She is an inspiration for the women of our community,” Karim said.
Rashid Alam, resident of Lodhan in Goalpokhar, said that this year’s Madhyamik exams were being conducted smoothly mainly because of the efforts of the BDO. Examinations have often been conducted here among allegations of cheating and violent reactions.
Shama’s interactions with school students have prepared the way for peaceful examinations. “She has been keeping a watch. My daughter is sitting for her Madhyamik and all arrangements are being overseen by the BDO. We know that she will be promoted and leave the block. But she will remain an inspiration for all of us,” he said. The students of the schools that Shama has visited fondly recall her quiet manners and gentle way of persuading them to carry on their studies.
“Once she came to our school. The manner in which she spoke to us was very impressive. I do not know about the others but I am determined to pursue higher studies. I used to be convinced that higher secondary would be as far as I would be able to study. Almost all girls here do not go to college as the two colleges are far away in Islampur or Dalkhola. But BDO Mam has kindled a tremendous urge in me to study,” said Arjuna Khatun, a resident of Goagaon, a village in the block.
Shama’s formula of success is simple. “If you have nek irada (honest resolve), it can help you achieve anything,” she said.
source: http://www.telegraphindia.com / The Telegraph Online / Home> West Bengal / by Mehdi Hedaytullah / March 09th, 2015
The memorial has now become a pilgrimage point for locals
Half a century back, a Kali temple was built by the Border Security Force (BSF) as a war memorial at the request of two soldiers — a Christian and a Bengali Muslim — at the Border Outpost (BOP) in Srinagar, Tripura, which has now become a pilgrimage point for locals.
Major P. K. Ghosh, who was then commanding four border outposts (BOP) of BSF at Srinagar, Amlighat, Samarendraganj and Nalua in the southern part of Tripura bordering Chittagong division, in erstwhile east Pakistan, has chronicled the story in ‘Borderman’, the BSF journal.
When contacted, Major Ghosh said the Srinagar BOP was located in a very important strategic position and after the revolt by the East Bengal Regiment in 1971 against Pakistan, BSF aided the rebels in forming the first Muktibahini (Liberation army) in Srinagar.
“The MMG post at Srinagar BOP was playing a crucial role in thwarting the Pakistani army. It was the forward observation post near the Chittagong-Noakhali area. Exchange of fire was nothing new in that area, but it intensified when the liberation war started picking up”, Major Ghosh told PTI telephonically.
He said since the MMG post was causing major damage to the Pakistani side, it became a precision target for the enemy.
“A precision target receives continuous firing of shells over a period of an hour or so, it is likely to get damaged. On that day, they fired 100 shells in ten minutes”, Major Ghosh recalled.
“There were three members of the detachment at the post including a Nepali Christian, Constable Rehaman (a Bengali Muslim) and Constable Banabihari Chakraborty. The situation at the spot was terrible, and I asked them not to step out of the bunker,” he said.
As the situation became worse, Constable Chakraborty asked the others to pray to goddess Kali. “They did that without even considering their religious beliefs. The post was saved due to its position near a pond and marshy land and heavy rain a night ago. A bamboo tree also prevented the shells from torching the bunker and they ended up as air bursts”, Major Ghosh said.
When the BSF decided to build a war memorial at the spot, the Christian and the Muslim soldiers requested that a Kali temple be built instead.
“Building a Kali temple for a war memorial is very unconventional. But BSF did that to honour the request of the soldiers,” Major Ghosh said.
The funds were collected from locals and the Bangladeshis also joined in constructing the Kali temple in 1972.
“We named it Rann Kali (War Kali) temple to honour their faith. At a time of religious intolerances, such examples stand as a beacon of hope”, he said.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> National> Other States / by PTI / Srinagar (Tripura) / July 03rd, 2022
Educator and social reformer Mamoon Akhtar. | Photo by Partho Burman
More than 6000 kids from underprivileged families are benefiting from schools run by Mamoom Akhtar in West Bengal.
Kolkata :
It was the summer of 2001. Mamoon Akhtar, a slum dweller from Tikiapara, was returning home during the afternoon when a child named Ahmed, aged 7, ran up to him and pleaded with him to free his mother from a man who was forcing his mother to sell narcotics, something she despised. With the assistance of the police, he intervened to resolve the conflict. Before leaving, Akhtar inquired about Ahmed’s activities. “Sir, I want to learn,” the boy replied.
His response moved Akhtar. He recalled an incident from his school days when he was asked to leave his school for not paying his fees.Despite his traumatic childhood, Akhtar was able to finish high school.
Akhtar invited Ahmed to study at his home. He handed the young Ahmed a pencil and a notebook. On the second day, Ahmed returned with three children. On the third day, he arrived with four more.
This sparked hope in Akhtar. He asked his mother for permission to set up an informal school in a 300-square-foot room at his home and she agreed. He cleaned the room and bought a polythene sheet for the kids to sit on. “In addition, I set up a blackboard. That’s how it all started back in 2001. How a small street encounter transformed my life,” Akhtar told TwoCircles.net.
To ensure that no child is denied an education due to a lack of funds, he founded Samaritan Help Mission (SHM) in 2001, where he started providing quality education to children from economically disadvantaged families in Tikiapara, Howrah district, a neighbourhood where 80 per cent of the population is Muslim. Children, who previously did not attend school, are doing so now.
Samaritan Mission School was the first school set up by Mamoom Akhtar. | Photo by Partho Burman
Mamoon did not have a stable source of livelihood at the time, but he wanted to make sure he didn’t disappoint the children. He continued to conduct classes and began collecting newspapers and old books from his neighborhood. He sold them to raise funds for the slum pupils’ stationery. He invited several of the community’s college-going girls to join him in the classroom. He made them an offer of Rs 100 every month. He also requested his students to make a monthly contribution of Rs 5 for their education. They may bring in newspapers and old books instead of Rs 5 if they couldn’t afford it, he told them.
“I didn’t want the kids to believe they were destitute, so they are getting help. They needed to believe that their education was earned and that they deserved it. So, whether it’s Rs 1 or Rs 5, I implore them to pay,” he said.
“The school was administered by the poor for the poor,” Akhtar, who will turn 50 this year, said.
Mamoon Akhtar with the students of his school. | Photo by Partho Burman
In 2003, he came across a newspaper cutting while taking a walk. It included a photograph of a woman with some children. She was Lee Alison Sibley, an actress, social crusader and the wife of the American Consulate General in Kolkata. He sent her a letter asking for assistance. She responded with gratitude but declined to provide any assistance. Mamoon thanked her with a second letter.
Lee Alison Sibley eventually supported the cause and gave Rs 10000. “As a Muslim, I informed her that I don’t work for just Muslims. I solely work for the benefit of humanity. Because I think that hunger and poverty have no religion,” Mamoon recalled.
An article about her visit was published in a newspaper and Ramesh Kacholia, a Mumbai resident read it. He then sent his son to contribute Rs 11000 to him. For SHM, this was a watershed moment.
A co-educational English medium institution named Samaritan Mission School was founded in 2006. In 2008, the state of West Bengal granted it certification.
Akhtar told TwoCircles.net that many of the students at his school came from economically challenged backgrounds. Their fathers work as rickshaw pullers or daily labourers and some of them are in prison. “But their children are receiving a good education and performing well. I may not be able to do so for the country, but I will do all in my power to eliminate illiteracy in Tikiapara,” he said.
Three schools with 6500 students are now in operation. Samaritan Mission School High, Rebecca Belilious English Institution – a primary school and Samaritan Public School, which is located in Bankra, Howrah district, 10 kilometers from Tikiapara. Another school is coming up in the same complex at Bankra by January 2023. The total number of students is projected to reach 10,000. The exterior work on these schools has been completed.
Children receive education from nursery to grade 12. The medium of education is English, with Bengali as the secondary language. Howrah Municipal Corporation approached him to administer the inactive Tikiapara Municipal School based on his model of work. Akhtar took over the school in 2019, and in less than a year, it grew to 400 kids. It was once an Urdu-medium school, but it has since been transformed into an English-medium school.
Gradually, the social reformer broadened the scope of Samaritan Help Mission’s services to include health, sports, women’s livelihood and elderly care. 600 households get rations and medication every month from SHM. He started a vocational training programme as a source of income for widowed and divorced women. Around 400 women are employed as dressmakers.
Mamoon is the only son among five siblings and comes from a poor family. His father worked as a competent fabricator in the iron industry, while his mother took care of the family. Married with four kids, three of whom are students at his school. “I am a firm believer in the ideas of Prophet Mohammad and Swami Vivekananda. I read a lot about them,” Mamoon concluded.
www.samaritanhelpmission.org
Partho Burman is an award-winning independent journalist based in Kolkata. He writes inspirational, motivational and environmental stories. He tweets at @ParthoBurman
soure: http://www.twocircles.net / TwoCircles.net / Home> Lead Story / by Partho Burman / March 14th, 2022
Modelling professional, rugby player and dermatologist among role models.
(From left) Bilkes Perveen, Saba Ali Firoz and Suraiya Rahman. Gautam Bose
A young woman set a condition to her would-be husband that she would marry only if she was allowed to pursue sports after wedding.
A girl whose neighbours once complained she wore jeans pursued her dream and became a fashion model, an entrepreneur and an anchor-presenter.
Several Muslim women who refused to tread the steps that many others wanted them to — get married, have children and live a domestic life — are now successful professionals. They came together at a gathering on Thursday afternoon.
The women will be feted by the NGO Friends of Alumni of Colleges Educational Institutes and Schools (FACES) and Mashriq Education Trust next week.
The Telegraph listened to some of their stories:
Bilkes Perveen
Anchor, model and entrepreneur
She was once frowned upon for wearing jeans. Bilkes, in her early 30s, who grew up on Convent Road in central Kolkata, said she was probably the only girl in her community in the neighbourhood who wore a pair of jeans.
“My neighbours were not happy with me wearing jeans. It was a very conservative space where I grew up,” she said. But she didn’t budge.
When she was 18, Bilkes took a night-shift job. She would go to her workplace wearing jeans or trousers. “I was 18. I wanted to be financially independent. Relatives and neighbours questioned why I took a night job. They wanted me to marry and have a kid instead of working. Fortunately, my parents stood by me,” Bilkes said on Thursday.
Life had better in store for her. At 19, she took up a job with a bank. It is while working there that she found her future husband, Tanmay Chatterjee. “Tanmay has always been very supportive. He wanted me to be a role model for others. After marriage I set up a company named Perveen and Chatterjee,” she said.
Bilkes wants to help women who have dreams but are afraid of defying the moral police. “My company trains Muslim women in personality development,” she said.
Bilkes herself hosts events as anchor and is also a model for a sari brand. “I am today happy with what I am doing,” she said.
Saba Ali Firoz
Rugby player and stylist
Saba had set a condition to her husband before marriage — she would pursue sports, her passion.
“My husband was fine with it,” said the 39-year-old mother of two.
She continues to do it despite unsolicited comments meant to fetter her. “I had to wear short skirts for playing, for which I had to hear comments like ‘you are not Sania Mirza’. Wearing a short skirt is a taboo,” she said.
Daughter of a retired police officer, Saba, a resident of Metropolitan off EM Bypass, got inducted into sports from her early teens by her father. “I did sprints and long jumps. It was my father who inspired me to take up athletics.”
Saba’s interest in sports spans disciplines. She has represented her club CCFC in rugby. She has played darts, badminton and tennis. She has also inculcated the passion for sports in her kids. Her 15-year-old son has represented the state in swimming and her 9-year-old daughter is training in swimming and basketball.
Imran Zaki, president of Faces, one of the organisers of Thursday’s get-together, said Muslim women were usually not encouraged by the society to take up sports and continue that after marriage. “It is to Saba’s credit and her will that she has managed to do what she loves. She is the one to emulate,” said Zaki.
As a professional, Saba runs her own studio at her home. She is a stylist and a make-up artist.
Suraiya Rahman
Gynaecologist and owner of a hospital
Suraiya earned her MBBS degree from Bihar in 1967. She was the only Muslim woman in her batch. She later completed her MD from Kolkata in 1975. Again she was the only Muslim woman in her batch.
“There were objections from relatives and acquaintances. They thought it was disgraceful for a woman to go to a convent school and a medical college,” she said. “But my parents never let those objections reach me. My younger sister is a gynaecologist,” she said.
If Suraiya was a rare example in her student days, she is one even now. At 76, Suraiya is running a hospital on Dilkusha Street near bridge number 4 in Park Circus. She does procedures, looks after the daily administration and advises junior doctors. “I am only 76,” she said when applauded for being so active at her age.
Farah Khan, director, Mashriq Education Trust, said: “Suraiya Rahman is a role model for the entire community. So many young doctors from our community, both women and men, look up to her.”
source: http://www.telegraphindia.com / The Telegraph, Kolkata / Home> My Kolkata / News> Women’s Empowerment / by Subhajoy Roy / June 10th, 2022
