PCI President Gautam Lahiri addressing the gathering
In a significant move, the Press Council of India (PCI) has announced the institution of the Molvi Baqar Award to recognize and honour three outstanding journalists from the Urdu, Hindi, and English media every year.
PCI President Gautam Lahiri revealed this during an event commemorating the life and contributions of Molvi Muhammad Baqar, a pioneering figure in Indian journalism and the first journalist to be martyred during the 1857 Indian Rebellion.
“The criteria for this award will be to encourage journalists to follow in the footsteps of Molvi Baqar, who made the ultimate sacrifice while covering the events related to the 1857 ‘Mutiny’ through his newspaper, Delhi Urdu Akhbar,” said Lahiri in his presidential address. He added that PCI would soon finalize the modalities and constitute a jury to select the awardees.
The event, which focused on “The Life and Times of Moulvi Muhammad Baqir ,” highlighted his role as a patriotic journalist who played a key part in preparing the ground for India’s freedom. Historian and author Dr. Swapna Liddle, the Chief Guest at the event, praised Baqar’s commitment to the nation’s cause, despite the controversies surrounding his role.
“Some confusion exists due to the views of his son, Mohammad Hussain Azad, a renowned Urdu literary figure, who appeared to have taken a contrary position to his father. However, this must be understood in the context of the reign of terror during that time,” said Dr. Liddle, clarifying that Azad’s actions were likely influenced by the pressures of British rule.
Shoib Raza Fatmi, Editor of Hamara Samaj, reinforced this perspective by noting that Azad’s name frequently appeared in Delhi Urdu Akhbar as Editor, Printer, and Publisher, indicating his involvement in his father’s journalistic mission despite the difficult circumstances.
The program also featured a panel discussion moderated by Mahtab Alam, where young Urdu journalists discussed the relevance of Molvi Baqar’s journalism in today’s media landscape. Munazah Shah of News 18 pointed out the striking similarities between the challenges faced by Baqar in his time and those confronting the Urdu media today, particularly financial pressures and the need to foster communal harmony.
“The challenges faced by Molvi Baqar and today’s Urdu media are not very different. We should look to him as a role model for overcoming these obstacles,” said Sohail Akhtar Qasmi of Al Jazeera Arabic.
Tasleem Raja, a journalist with Siyasi Taqdeer and Qaumi Awaaz, echoed this sentiment, emphasizing how much contemporary media could learn from Baqar’s work in covering sensitive and complex issues.
A.U. Asif, a senior PCI member who was instrumental in connecting the Urdu media with PCI initiatives, lauded Molvi Baqar’s pioneering work in investigative journalism. “Molvi Baqar was one of the first to practice on-the-spot reporting and investigative journalism between 1837 and 1857 through his newspaper Delhi Urdu Akhbar, a practice that is now common in today’s media,” said Asif. He congratulated the PCI for unveiling Molvi Baqar’s portrait in its central conference hall, a tribute to his lasting legacy.
The event, organized to mark the martyrdom of Molvi Baqar on September 16, was held a day earlier this year due to the coinciding celebration of the Prophet’s birth anniversary. A large number of journalists attended, and the program concluded with a question-and-answer session.
The institution of the Molvi Baqar Award is seen as a step toward encouraging journalists to adhere to principles of courage and integrity in their work, much like the pioneering figure it honors.
source: http://www.muslimmirror.com / Muslim Mirror / Home> Indian Muslim> Media> Positive Story / by Muslim Mirror Desk / September 16th, 2024
Shahid sahab or Shahid bhai, as he was called by most, was not a writer or a poet himself but helped many become successful writers, poets and researchers.
Shahid Ali Khan at his Bookshop in New Delhi. Photo: Mahtab Alam
Since the onset of the pandemic, so many gems from the world of Urdu language and literature have been lost that I have now lost count. It was only last year that a few of us compiled a list of at least 75 Urdu writers and poets who had passed away. It included the likes of Shamsur Rahman Faruqi, Anand Mohan Zutshi ‘Gulzar Dehlvi’, Rahat Indori, Mujtaba Hussain, Nusrat Zaheer and Asrar Jamayee. Notably, this list does not include any Urdu writers, poets, researchers and translators outside India.
This year so far, we have not been able to gather the courage to collate such a list. I am sure the numbers are higher than last year, even though we are still to go through more than half the year. While it’s true that not all succumbed to the virus, the pandemic coupled with the lockdown ensured that most of the friends, admirers and other Urdu lovers were deprived of having one last glimpse or participating in the last journey of their favourite literary heroes.
One such person was Shahid Ali Khan, whom we lost in April this year. He passed away in the wee hours of April 21. This news was not wholly unexpected, as he was 91 years old and was not keeping well for the past few months. Despite that, when the news of his death reached me, I was engulfed in an inexplicable layer of grief. In fact, I felt more helpless than sad. Helpless because despite my strong will to participate in his last journey, I could not do so as I was down with a high-grade fever myself and had been briefly hospitalised due to COVID-19.
Shahid sahab or Shahid bhai, as he was called by most, was not a writer or a poet himself, but he helped and enabled many to become successful writers, poets and researchers. Ram Prakash Kapoor, who retired from the Bhilai Steel Plant, recounts in an article that Shahid sahab encouraged him to write in Urdu and invited him to write a guest editorial for one of the issues of Kitab Numa, a magazine of which Shahid sahab was the editor. Thanks to Shahid sahab’s constant encouragement, Kapoor went on to author at least two books in Urdu after his retirement.
Nai Kitab bookshop in Jamia Nagar, New Delhi. Photo: Mahtab Alam
Like Kapoor, there are probably dozens of writers who were nourished by Shahid sahab during his lifetime. Amongst his admirers included noted writers such as Shamsur Rahman Faruqi, Mujtaba Hussain, Shameem Hanafi, Sughra Mehdi and Sadiq-ur-Rahman Kidwai. For many years, he was also associated with the Maktaba Jamia, the Urdu publication division of Jamia Millia Islamia. The Maktaba is one of the largest and longest surviving Urdu publishers in India. He had joined the Maktaba in 1951 as a junior clerk and retired as its general manager in 2006.
He had also worked as the in-charge of Maktaba Jamia’s Mumbai branch. According to noted screenwriter and playwright Javed Siddiqi, there was a time when the Maktaba in Mumbai used to be packed with writers, poets, journalists, professors and (then) young lovers of literature like him. So much so that people had to take refuge on the steps of the Maktaba and the footpath outside it. It was a place for debate and discussions on issues related to literature and beyond. Every Saturday evening witnessed a literary gathering in which Urdu lovers from across the city used to participate.
It is here that he befriended writers and poets like Jan Nisar Akhtar, Meena Kumari, Sahir Ludhianvi, Kaifi Azmi and Jagan Nath Azad. Some of them were regular visitors at the Maktaba. There are several interesting stories about their friendship which can be heard here in his own words. Though he had left the city several decades ago, several Urdu writers and journalists who used to visit the Maktaba (located near JJ hospital naka) would tell me of how they missed Shahid Sahab’s presence.
He continued to attract and host Urdu lovers in Delhi. It would often happen that whenever an Urdu lover visited the city, they would make it a point to meet him. One of the reasons behind this was that he possessed an encyclopaedic knowledge about Urdu and its literature. He also often had Urdu books which were not available in the market. At times, he would also make arrangements for books on request.
After his retirement from the Maktaba, he started an independent publishing house and book store in Jamia Nagar by the name of Nai Kitab and a quarterly literary journal by the same name. It is here that I met him for the first time in 2007. Though the magazine ceased to be published after a few years – owing to his growing age and deteriorating health, he continued with the book shop even though it was time for him to take a break. “The bookstore is like oxygen for me,” he had once told me. It was open till a few months before the lockdown in March last year.
One of the attractions for me while visiting Jamia Nagar (after having shifted out) was to meet Shahid sahab and spend some time at his bookshop. It was not just another bookshop where one would primarily buy books. It was like a centre of learning and Shahid sahab was always there to host you no matter how young one was. He was a guide for those interested in Urdu and wanted to know more about the language and its literature.
During my umpteen visits to the bookstore, I always found him surrounded by people – poets, writers, journalists, researchers and students of varying ages. He would always pay individual attention to each visitor and if you were regular, you were likely to be treated with black tea and chips. It was no surprise then that Urdu lovers missed his warmth when the bookshop was closed.
“It is not just a bookshop but an institution where one got to meet noted writers and lovers of Urdu literature,” young Urdu poet Rizwan Khan, who used to visit the shop at least twice a week, told me last year. “I miss the black tea and chips that Shahid sahib served us with love and affection,” he recalled, adding that “he is a storehouse of information, and several veteran writers were his friends, so he would tell us stories all the time.”
In my own case, after enquiring about his khabar-khairyat on each of my visits, he would say, “Achcha aap bahut dino baad aayen hain, ye nayi kitaabein aayi hai dekh lein (You’ve come after a long time, here are some new books for your perusal),” pointing towards the book rack where new arrivals were kept or those that were on his table. It is no surprise to me that some of the best Urdu books in my personal library are from his shop, often on his recommendation. I had been reading the works of noted Urdu writer Shaukat Thanvi in the past few days, all brought from his shop and which are either out of print or seldom available in the market.
Shahid Ali Khan and other staff of Maktaba Jamia (Mumbai) with Zakir Hussain, former president of India and VC of Jamia Millia Islamia. Photo: Shahid Ali Khan: Ek Fard, Ek Idara (Arshia Publications)
It is our misfortune that despite requests from several admirers, he never paid heed to write his biography or memoirs. Had he done so, we would not have been deprived of the knowledge and stories which have now gone with him. In my understanding, he didn’t write his memoirs for two reasons. He was always busy with work and never had the time – so much so that his children would say that the Maktaba (and later, Nai Kitab) was his first love. Secondly, and more importantly, he hardly ever spoke about himself.
He had a special interest in young researchers of Urdu. God only knows how many of them he has helped by supplying important books and literature for their research, providing guidance (what to read, whom to interview or contact) and getting their work published.
There are many who claim to be, or are often referred to as Khadim-e-Urdu (Servant of Urdu). But I have not met a servant of Urdu like Shahid sahab. He was a selfless benefactor of Urdu and his services can’t and shouldn’t be forgotten. Now that Shahid sahab is no more, it is unlikely that the bookshop will open again. Even if it does, it will never be the same.
source: http://www.thewire.in / The Wire / Home> Culture / by Mahtab Alam / June 01st, 2021
How did the politics of the Ram temple and the demolition of the Babri Masjid secure support for the militant Hindu nationalistic idea?
In this episode of ‘In Dino’, Mahtab Alam interviews senior journalist and author, Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay on the impact the Ram Janmabhoomi-Ayodhya movement had on India polity and society.
Mukhopadhyay in his latest book, The Demolition and the Verdict: Ayodhya and the Project to Reconfigure India (Speaking Tiger: 2021) analyses how politics of the Ram temple and demolition of Babri Masjid secured support for the militant Hindu nationalistic idea and the long-term implications of the imminent construction of the Ram Mandir.
source: http://www.thewire.in / The Wire / Home> Books / by Mahtab Alam / December 20th, 2021
Shamnad was not just an expert in intellectual property rights, but a relentless crusader who worked towards ensuring diversity and representation of marginalised communities in legal practice.
The untimely and tragic death of professor Shamnad Basheer was a bolt from the blue for many of us. As I scuttled to get more information on what initially seemed impossible to believe, I realised that apart from the loss of a friend, the country had also lost one of its finest legal minds. Globally renowned for his expertise in the field of intellectual property rights (IPR), Shamnad was found dead in his car near Bababundangiri in Chikkamagaluru of Karnataka.
As news of his death spread and tributes started pouring in all over my social media timeline, there remained no doubt that his sudden demise was a great loss to the legal fraternity and academia across the globe. Shamnad was a relentless crusader, working day in and out to ensure diversity and representation of marginalised communities in the field of law and legal practice. An alumni of the National Law University, Bangalore and Oxford University, Shamnad was a man on a mission as he championed many causes ranging from internet equality, fairness in IPR, public interest litigation, judicial accountability, to the rights of sexual minorities, visually impaired and physically disabled persons.
For me, Shamnad was more a social justice warrior than a globally-known IPR expert. He was not just the force behind Increasing Diversity by Increasing Access to Legal Education (IDIA), but also Access to Legal Education for Muslims in India (ALEM India).
I first heard of him in 2009, when he wrote a blog about remarks made by then Supreme Court judge Markandey Katju. In open court, Justice Katju equated a young Muslim sporting a beard with a Taliban militant. That year, Justice Katju had rejected an appeal of a Muslim student that he should be permitted to sport a beard in his convent school. Rejecting the plea the judge had remarked that, “We don’t want to have Talibans in the country. Tomorrow a girl student may come and say that she wants to wear a burqa. Can we allow it?”
According to Shamnad, “notwithstanding the merits of the case”, Justice Katju’s comments were “callous and insensitive” and he was “unfit to be an impartial judge”. Back then, Shamnad was the HRD ministry’s professor of intellectual property law at the National University of Juridical Sciences (NUJS), Kolkata. In the conclusion of his blog, he wrote:
“The Supreme Court bench may have been right in denying admission to Salim’s SLP. However, in view of Justice Katju’s statements made in open court that equated every bearded Muslim with a Taliban, the possibility of bias against a community cannot be ruled out. And the Chief Justice must not only censure such remarks, but take immediate steps to have this case reheard before another bench. For justice must not only be done, but also be seen to be done!”
Years passed by, and I kept reading his insightful articles and commentaries in various newspapers and websites. He was prolific, writing on a range of issues related to law, policy and public good. In 2015, a common friend (Tarunabh Khaitan) connected us, asking me if I would be interested in helping Shamnad’s team at IDIA to reach out to the Muslim community. Having admired Shamnad’s writings, the opportunity to work with him was like a dream come true. I readily agreed and eventually, we became good friends.
Shamnad Basheer at a panel discussion of intellectual property rights. Photo: Flickr/World Intellectual Property Organisation CC BY NC ND 2.0
Diversifying the legal field
More than anything, he was always on the lookout for ways and means to ensure that IDIA reaches the remotest parts of the country. To contextualise the need of diversity in national law schools, let me quote a study conducted by the students of NLS Bangalore in 2016. According to the study:
“While the students are somewhat evenly divided across sexes, the income, caste and religion statistics are telling of what constitutes ‘merit’ in this country. While 15% of the students reported their family’s annual income to be above Rs 36 lakh per annum, more than 50% reported an annual income of more than Rs. 12 lakh per annum. Eighty two percent were Hindus and the next largest religious group was the wealthy Jain community (5%), which constitute less than 0.5% of India’s population. On the other hand, Muslims, who constitute 14% of India’s population, make up only 0.5% of that of NLS. The NLS also has predominantly upper-caste students at 65%, with about 27% identifying as Brahmins.”
Similarly, another report found:
“In the last 15 years i.e., from 2000 onwards, only one Dalit advocate has been designated senior by the Supreme Court, and only two from the Muslim Community. The Advocates from backward States like Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand or Bihar have not been designated at all. The Advocates from rural background are totally ignored. Even with regard to a progressive State like Karnataka, only one Advocate has been designated after a gap of 25 years. It is relevant to mention that in the last round of designation, out of five advocates designated, four of them belonged to one caste.”
Despite being an extremely busy person, Shamnad believed in and practiced mentoring and coaching young minds, individually and personally. Few years ago, when I visited his flat in Bangalore, he was helping two students who were staying at his house to prepare for the CLAT exam. Both belonged to an unprivileged background, a common thread among the spectrum of students whom IDIA supported. A glance at IDIA scholars, like visually impaired Najrul Islam from Siliguri, West Bengal, who studies at the National Law University, Delhi (NLU) or Meraka Mani from Srikakulam district of Andhra Pradesh, currently studying at IFIM Law College, Bangalore, Aparna Amnekar from Nagpur, Maharashtra, a student of Government Law College, Mumbai, Sonia Sabu of Ernakulam district in Kerala, studying at NLIU, Bhopal and Vinatoli of Dimapur (Nagaland), studying at NUJS Kolkata shows an incredible initiative founded and run by him, with diversity and representation at its core.
Learning from IDIA’s experiment and under the guidance of Shamnad, ALEM India was started last year. The initiative tries to ensure access for socio-economically disadvantaged Muslims and improve their representation in Indian law schools.
Personally coaching legal professionals
His objective was not just to coach students for national law schools or produce batches of successful lawyers and legal professionals. He wanted to prepare young minds who are competent yet socially committed. It is hardly a surprise that IDIA produced graduates like Yogendra Yadav, better known as Yogi. The son of a manual labourer (working in Alang, Gujarat) and a resident of Pitij village in Chhatra district of Jharkhand, Yogi graduated from the National University for Study and Research in Law (NUSRL), Ranchi in 2017. He is currently a lawyer in the Ranchi high court. He worked as a newspaper hawker in and around his village from a very early age and it is while distributing newspapers that he got to know about IDIA and CLAT.
In the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections, he contested as an independent candidate. Explaining his rationale to contest the election, Yogi told Bar & Bench, “IDIA always encouraged me to take up community causes and help as best as I could, They were training me to become a CHAMP and this is all part of that.” I clearly remember Shamnad informing us of Yogi’s inspiring story with pride. “Yogendra Yadav, our IDIA Scholar makes his Political Debut!,” read the email he had sent to some of us.
Shamnad was also keen to highlight IDIA scholars to people working in different walks of life, not just those in the law and judiciary. In 2017, got in touch with me to invite the anti-manual scavenging activist and convener of the Safai Karmachari Andolan, Bezwada Wilson, to deliver the key note address at the IDIA conference on creativity and leadership.
Bezwada Wilson. Photo: PTI
“We share the same set of ideals in terms of empowering the marginalised and building a more inclusive India,” he had written to Bezwada, copying me in the email. Bezwada’s key note, according to Shamnad was “a provocative address”. A year later, he also wrote an article on Bandicoot, a robot to replace manual scavenging. He noted:
“Bandicoot is not just a clever idea; it is a game changer, and dare I say a life saver! Putting some teeth back into India’s constitutional promise of “equality” for Dalits and other marginalized sections who’ve had to clean our crap for years. Only a few days ago, the Delhi high court ruled on a case involving the death of two manual scavengers; making the government pay for its murderous negligence!”
His latest email to me was in July this year, a heart breaker titled: “Deeply Disappointing News: 7 IDIA Scholars Still Without Committed Donors!”. “I am deeply saddened to bring you this disheartening message. Unfortunately, of the 12 IDIA scholars that gained admission to leading law schools this year, we found donor support (covering all expenses) for only 5 of our scholars. Which means 7 of our kids are left behind and it will be a struggle to put them through law school without some promise of a committed donor (or donors),” read his email. Little did I know then that this was going to be his last email to me.
Now that Shamnad is gone and we cherish his memory, our duty is to ensure that we carry forward the work he initiated, in the same spirit that he always professed. And that, I believe, would be our real tribute to him.
source: http://www.thewire.in / The Wire / Home> Law> Rights / by Mahtab Alam / August 11th, 2019
Delhi Minorities Commission initiated a scheme of awards to best performers in various fields of human endeavor in NCT of Delhi and beyond.
For 2019-2020, the Commission has decided to offer awards under 14 categories which are as follows:
(for X, XII classes students securing 96+ per cent marks), Communal Harmony, Community Service, Human Rights, Non-Government Organisations, Promotors of Punjabi, Promotors of Urdu, Sports, Supporters of Minorities, Teachers of Substance, Print & Electronic Media persons, Outstanding Schools, Special Awards, Life-Long Achievement. This year 178 awards have been given under these categories.
Two new categories, Special Awards and Lifetime Achievement Awards, have been added to the list this year.
These awards are given mainly to residents of NCT Delhi but in exceptional cases, awards are also been given to persons from outside Delhi. Each awardee will be honoured with a shield.
A booklet containing photo of each awardee with a short introduction about his/her achievements has also been printed and is available at https://archive.org/details/dmc-2019-awards . (Please see below for a short list of the awardees).
The following is the full list of the awardees under various categories:
ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE (students who secured over 95% in High School and Higher Secondary exams in 2019):
Flavia Ekka (St. George’s School, Alaknanda, High School Exams 97.6%), Tracey James (Fr. Angel Sr. Sec School, Senior Secondary Exams 97.4%), Himieka Jain (DPS Mathura Road, High School Exams 97.2%), Garima Jain (DPS Mathura Road, Senior Secondary Exam Exams 97.4%), Kulsum Azad(Hamdard Public School, High School Exams 96.6%), Abeer Mohammad Asad (DPS Mathura Road, Senior Secondary Exams 97%), Mahwash Rizvi (Greenfield School, Senior Secondary Exams 96.8%), Mohd. Sadique Raza (Father Agnel School, NOIDA, High School Exams 98.4%), Afrah Naayaab (DPS Indirapuram, High School 97%), Harjas Kaur (Guru Nanak Public School, Pushpanjali Enclave, High School Exams 96%), Harjyot Singh Sidhu (DPS Mathura Road, Senior Secondary 95.4%), Aliza Alvi (DPS Indirapuram, High School 97%), Ancy A Daniel (ST. George’s School,High School Exams 97%), Anjali Maria Antony (Mater DEI School, Senior Secondary Exams 98.4%), Divya Jain (St Joseph’s Academy, High School Exams 95.4%), Aayush Jain (DPS Mathura Road, Senior Secondary Exams 97.2%), Zainab S. Qazi (Hamdard Public School, High School Exams 96.2%),Ruba Haider (DPS Mathura Road, Senior Secondary Exams 96.8%), Ms Sana (SGGSS Sc 2, JamaMasjid, Senior Secondary Exams 97.6%), Ms. Mantasha Ilma (Jamia Girls Sr. Sec. School, High School Exams 97.6%, Dashmeet Kaur (St Joseph’s Academy, High School Exams98%), Japneet Singh (Springdale’s School Pusa Road, Senior Secondary Exams 97.8%), Harjeet Singh Bedi (DPS Mathura Road, Senior Secondary Exams95.4%), Mahi Singh (Springdale, Sr Sec Exam 96/75%), Namira Rasheed Khan (DPS Ghaziabad, High School 96.6%), Barundeep Singh Gambhir (DPS Mathura Rd, Sr. Sec. Exams 96%).
COMMUNAL HARMONY:
Fr. Dr. M.D. Thomas(interfaith dialogue), Rev. Dr Vincent Manoharan (interfaith dialogue), Tej Lal Bharti(communal harmony), M. Farooq Engineer (communal harmony), Raees Ahmad (journalist and humanrights worker), Iqbal Mulla (interfaith dialogue), Baba Hardip Singh-ji (communal harmony), Soul of Humanity (NGO helping needy people), Vishav Satsang Sabha (NGO working for communal harmony), Syed Abdullah Tariq(interfaith dialogue and communal harmony), Jayshree Shukla (promoter of the composite culture, author of photo essays on Old Delhi).
COMMUNITY SERVICE:
Bhadant Buddha Kirti (serving the Buddhist community), Asad Masih (Muneer Social Welfare Society), Reena Charles ((Human rights, community service), Victor (social worker), Fr. Varghese Kunnath (seminar, orientation and training for youth, students, teachers), Rehab Foundation(community service), Karwan Foundation (community service), Sahulat Microfinance Society (national NGO promoting and facilitating interest-free microfinance), Ashwani Kumar Bairwa (president of NGO, social work in Badarpur area), Mohd. Khalid Khan (community service), Dr. Badrul Islam (promoter of Yoga), Sarabjeet Singh (community service), Adv. Abu Bakr Sabbaq(Community Service, human rightsdefender), Musharraf Husain (community service), Shama Khan (community service, especially in slum areas), Masroor Ul Hasan Siddiqui (community service), Mrs Feroza Jassawalla (community service), S. Gurvinder Singh (helping minority communities through promotion of education of children), Manjeet Singh (Nanak GA Charitable Foundation), Parmeet Singh Chadha (social worker), Mandeep Singh (serving minorities by supporting educational institutions and NGOs), Virasat Sikhism Trust (doing sewa to uplift Sikh Heritage and Punjabi language), Perminder Singh Malik (community service, especially by promoting education), Hasleen Singh Sodhi Adv. (helping minority community legally), Bibi Tarvinder Kaur Khalsa(community service), Avtar Singh (community service), Gagandeep Singh (community service), Inderjit Singh Asth (community service), Jaspal Singh (community service), Swaran Jeet Singh (community service), Ajeet Kaur (community service), Dr. Anju Jain (community service), Manjeet Singh(community service), Tanveer Kazi (community service as the Delhi head of Action Aid India), Ovais SultanKhan (human rights activist), D. S. Bindra Adv. (regular organiser of langars), Victor (social worker), Adv. H R Khan (human rights and educationactivist), Manjeet Singh Chugh (RTI activist, PIL).
HUMAN RIGHTS:
Dr. Denzil Fernandes SJ (social scientist working for the human rights), AC Michael(minority rights activist, former Member, DMC), Mrs. Anna Pinto (human rights activist), Farah Naqvi (writer & human rights activist), Armeet Singh Khanpuri (escorted back home 32 Kashmiri girls; saved 15 girls in riots), Mahmood Pracha Adv. (human rights defender), Quill Foundation (human rights of marginalized communities).
NON-GOVERNMENT ORGANISATIONS:
Institute of Objective Studies (research institute and think tank), Haq Educational & Social Welfare Society (vocational training centre), Sikh Youth Organization, Mahakanishk Bodh Vihar Kalyan Samiti, Guru Daami Foundation, Pratyek (networking with 2000 schools in the country), Budhiye Dhamn Charika Samiti Delhi Pardesh, YWCA of Delhi, Action Aid India
Bhairav Singh (Ambedkar Samaj Vikas Sangthan), Dr. S. S. MINHAS (holisticdevelopment of young students), Gurminder Singh Matharu (Member, SGPC Amritsar), Jagtar Singh (helped repatriation of 32 stranded Kashmiri girls safely to their homes in the Valley), Gurpreet Singh Bindra (helped repatriation of 32 stranded Kashmiri girls safely to their homes in the Valley), Baljeet Singh (helped repatriation of 32 stranded Kashmiri girls safely to their homes in the Valley), Harminder Singh (helped repatriation of 32 stranded Kashmiri girls safely to their homes in the Valley), Jajinder Singh (helped repatriation of 32 stranded Kashmiri girls safely to their homes in the Valley), Msgr Susai Sebastian (former director, Chetanalaya),Victor Henry Sequeira (social worker), Bishop Warris Masih (peace-making in churches society), Franklin Ceasar Thomas (fighter for the rights of Christian and Muslim Dalits), Dr. Fr. P.R. John SJ (Principal, Vidya Jyoti College), Ajit Singh Sehra (Ujjwal Bhavishya NGO), Saleem Baig (worker for community uplift, RTI activist).
TEACHERS OF SUBSTANCE:
Saiby Mathew (Don Bosco School), Mrs. Magdalene Bhat (St. Michael’s Sr. Sec. School), Mrs. Maria Rodrigues (St. Xavier’s School), Ms. Grace David (St. Columba’s School), Mrs. Anne Albin (Mater Die School), Mrs. Tarannum Shoukat Ali (Rabea Girls Public School), Nazia Nikhat (Zakir Nagar 1Urdu School), Rana Tasleem (Zakir Nagar 2 Urdu School), Mrs Jeanie Naozer Aibara (Principal of Ambience Public School), Pritam Singh (Guru Harkrishan Publicc School, Shahdra), dr. Prabhjot Kaur (educational consultant and motivator), Swarn Singh (Guru Harkrishan Public School, Vasant Vihar), Mr. S. L. Jain (Director, Mahavir Senior Model School), Dr. Haleema Sadia (26 years of experience as teacher, currently Dy. Director (Education), Delhi Waqf Board).
PRINT & ELECTRONIC MEDIA PERSONS:
Gurpreet Singh Sethi (photographer and maker of short films), S. Amrik Singh Kooner (Akaal Channel), S. Gurpreet Singh Bhooi (Akal Channel), Md. Mahtab Alam (The Wire Urdu), Qurban Ali (veteran TV, radio, print andNet journalist), Abhisar Sharma (outspoken and brave TV journalist), Lucy Gabriel Chattopadhyay (All India Radio External Services), Mobin Ahmed Khan (All India Radio), Humra Quraishi (prolific writer, columnist, journalist, book-reviewer and author), Masoom Moradabadi (celebrated Urdu journalist), Suhail Anjum (celebrated Urdu journalist), Muhmamad Anjum (Inquilab), Shaheen Abdulla (committed young journalist), Aditya Menon (journalist committed to the causes of the masses).
OUTSTANDING SCHOOLS:
Hamdard Public School, Talimabad, New Horizon School, Scholar School, Abul Fazal Enclave, St. Xavier’s School, Shahbad Daulatpur, Mater Dei School, Tilak Lane, Don Bosco School, Alaknanda, Dr Zakir Husain Memorial Sr. Sec. School Jafarabad, Rajkiya Pratibha Vikas Vidyalaya, Dwarka (first ranking in government-run day schools in the country).
SPECIAL AWARDS:
Mohd. Rizwan (young inventor), N.M. Theerthe Gowda (arbitrator and advocate), Ms. Khursheed R. Nariman (sculptor), Bhupinder Pal Singh Walia (historian of gurudwaras in Africa), Gobind Sadan, Gadaipur, Mehrauli (Sikh-led interfaith community celebrating all religions).
LIFE-LONG ACHIEVEMENT:
Dr. Manzoor Alam (Chairman, Institute of Objective Studies), S. Rajinder Singh-Ji (Head Granthi, Gurudwara Rakab Ganj), Mary Pat Fisher (author, promoter of interfaith dialogue), Fr. Cedric Prakash SJ (human rights, peace, interfaith and reconciliation activist), Nirmal Kumar Jain Sethi (welfare and promotion of the Jain community), Prof. Haseena Hashia (academia and welfare of the Muslim community), Teesta Setalvad (human rights and rule of law), Prof. Akhtarul Wasey (Islamicscholar with life-long commitment to academia, interfaith dialogue and welfare and promotion of the Muslim community), Mufti Ataur Rahman Qasmi (Islamic scholar, chronicler of Delhi, Haryana and Punjab mosques).
(Full list of DMC Awards 2019 with photographs and more information about each awardee is available here:https://archive.org/details/dmc-2019-awards)
source: http://www.theindianawaaz.com / The Indian Awaaz / Home> Amm/New Delhi / by Indian Awaaz / June 09th, 2020
Fellows from the Godrej Culture Lab Leadership Programme examine the role and relevance of Urdu in contemporary culture
A poster by Nasheet Shadani
On display today at the Godrej India Culture Lab are posters with lines which might seem oddly familiar. ‘Tu vastu badi hai anandmayi anandmayi…’, reads one, and ‘Jeevan ek yatra hai mangalmayi…’ reads another. It’s not difficult, if one focuses a little and, uses a dictionary (if required) to understand these lines, and neither is it difficult to identify them as what they are — lyrics from well-known Hindi film songs, in which all the Urdu words have been replaced by Sanskrit-origin Hindi words.
Shorn of the original words, these lines present a disconcerting picture, showing us what we would lose without the Urdu words that still make up so much of our culture. And that exactly is the point being made by visual artist Nasheet Shadani in these posters, part of the series of works he calls ‘Bollywood Without Urdu’.
Zeenat Kulavoor’s calligraphy
These works by Shadani are being displayed as part of ‘Urdu Culture Now’, a celebration of contemporary Urdu culture. “Despite Urdu having had such a strong influence, it doesn’t seem to have much presence in Mumbai right now. We wanted to challenge this underrepresentation of the language in the city’s culture and show the different ways in which it is used in contemporary culture,” says Pallavi Khare, a student of Media and Cultural Studies at Tata Institute of Social Sciences, who is one of the curators. Khare, along with six other Humanities students from colleges across the city, is a Fellow in the first batch of the Lab’s Leadership Programme, the first of its kind in the city.
Besides, Shadani’s works, also on display will be graphic designer and typographer Zeenat Kulavoor’s contemporary takes on Arabic calligraphy. The event will also have a panel discussion on ‘Urdu Revival Through the Internet’, featuring lyricist and poet Hussain Haidry, Kulavoor, and executive editor of The Wire Urdu, Mahtab Alam. This will be followed by a Qissabaazi performance by actor and storyteller Danish Husain and an Urdu rock performance by independent musician Winit Tikoo. “There are so many misconceptions about Urdu — that it isn’t an Indian language or that it is all about this old world ‘pehle aap’ culture, and we wanted to challenge that,” says Divya Vaidya, a third year student of architecture from the School of Environment and Architecture. Also available at the event will be a specially curated collection of books by city-based library and book store, Trilogy, as well as a daawat representing Hyderabadi and Lucknowi cuisines.
For the Lab itself, an important reason for hosting the event is to give its Fellows a good grounding in what it takes to be engaged with art and culture in the city. Parmesh Shahani, who heads the Lab, explains that this falls within the larger goal of enabling more people to engage productively with the city’s, and the country’s, culture scene. He explains, “We started the leadership programme for three reasons. The first one was the need to formalise our internship. The second reason, which is more ambitious, is to create a pipeline for people who want to work in culture because in the seven years that we’ve existed, we realised that almost everyone who is currently working in culture has either stumbled onto it or somehow figured out their way in. The third reason comes from a strong impetus we have to innovate. We have a super focused calender of events, but we also try to make some innovations every year. This time, one of the innovations is this programme.”
source: http://www.indianexpress.com / The Indian Express / Home> Lifestyle / by Pooja Pillai / June 08th, 2018
