Tag Archives: Muslims of Lucknow

Jalna’s first Muslim doctor still tends to homegrown cotton crop

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Dadhegaon (Jalna District) , MAHARASHTRA :

Dr Shaikh Yunus in the I.C.U of King George’s Medical University, Lucknow

Dr Shaikh Yonus, a Senior Resident in the Cardiology department of the prestigious King George’s Medical University, Lucknow, is the first Muslim doctor from the Jalna district of Central Maharashtra. He completed his MBBS degree in 2015.  

This is no small accomplishment for this cheerful 34-year-old doctor who studied in a village school till Class X. His father even borrowed money to fund his medical education. 

Shaikh grew up sowing cotton with his father Khudbuddin and elder brother Aslam in their four-acre land in Dadhegaon in Jalna district.  

As a schoolboy, he remembers his relatives insisting that he be sent to a Madrasa along with their children. But Shaikh wanted to attend a regular school and his father respected his wish. He was always drawn to the science stream and chose his career path when he was in Class X. 

Shaikh says that in his backward village of 800 people there was hardly anyone holding a high post. “Thankfully, my seniors in school had become career-minded and some become teachers. They inspired me to focus on my ambition.’’ 

Shaikh struggled against all odds and cracked the Medical college entrance test.

Dr. Yunus says, “It was a huge struggle. My father who passed away in August 2022, at the age of 62, was a cotton farmer. Because of the challenges that cotton farmers face in Maharashtra, he was on the brink of starvation. We are four siblings – two brothers, and two sisters. In 2008, my father’s annual income was Rs 30,000. It was difficult for him to pay Rs 3000 for my monthly room rent and living expenses for a year and annual fee of Rs 12,000 for professional coaching in Aurangabad for entrance examination of the medical college.”

Shaikh’s coaching cost Rs 50,000 per year. His father even took a loan of Rs 30,000 to fund his coaching.

This promising cardiologist says students in the village aspiring to study after Class X had to move out. So did Yunus. He then began studying in Ambad Taluk, 20 kilometres away from home, for Class XI and XII.   

Although Shaikh managed to get an annual minority scholarship of Rs 25,000 for his six-year MBBS course in Government Medical College, Nagpur, he still had to depend on his father for Rs 3000 every month to meet his living expenses.

Looking back at his struggle, he says, “My father had limited means. Saving money to marry my sisters and having to set aside Rs 2000 for my fee was a huge challenge but he never let it bother me. The annual fee for MBBS was Rs 18,000. The annual hostel fee was Rs 4000. The remaining amount was spent on buying books. I still had to depend on Rs 2000 every month from my father. I could hardly afford to travel to my village. I was homesick but meeting my family members was a luxury. So, once in six months, I would take a 16-hour long journey by train to meet my family.’’ 

Shaikh’s first earning came after the final year of MBBS at Government Medical College in Nagpur. “During the year-long internship, the government was paying us Rs 6000 a month. After this, I appeared in the NEET examination for MD in Medicine. I got 104th rank in the country. There were only 26 seats for MD in Medicine in Maharashtra. “I got a chance to pursue MD for three years in Government Medical College in Miraj near Pune. I completed MD in 2020,’’ he recalls. 

The competition for DM (Doctorate in Medicine) is even more difficult. Out of the 3,000 students who apply for DM in Cardiology every year, only one-tenth get through. KGMU admits only eight students every year after a nationwide selection. Dr Shaikh is among the eight doctors who was selected for DM in Cardiology in KGMU. 

Dr Yunus is the only doctor in his extended family. “My father studied till class X but he stood behind me like a rock. He was determined to do whatever he could to help me fulfil my dreams. My sisters who are now married, studied only till Class IV or V. My mother, Shaheen is a homemaker. She too hardly studied. My elder brother did his postgraduation in Hindi from Dr Baba Saheb Ambedkar University in Aurangabad but was not able to find a job. So, he took to cotton cultivation.’’ 

Although Dr Yunus is satisfied that his hard work helped him crack the examination, he deeply regrets that he was not able to save his father’s life last year. “I was on I.C.U. duty when I got a call from my family that my father was unwell. When I made a video call to the doctor who was attending to him in a private hospital, 50 km from my village home, I realized that he was critical. He had pneumonia.  I specialize in treating these diseases but I could not save his life. This is a lifelong regret.’’ 

Dr Shaikh Yunus (in the lab coat) going through the records of a patient in KGMU, Lucknow

Like most of his colleagues, Dr Yunus who is in the second year of DM, has unbelievable duties in the Cardiology department of KGMU. “The disease burden is huge and the number of patient consultations and admissions is huge. There have been times when my colleagues and I have come for duty on Sunday and left on Friday. On an average, we see 400 patients in OPD (Monday to Saturday) and 200 in emergency who are coming from all over the country and even Bhutan, Nepal and Saudi Arabia.’’ 

He also wishes that more young students from Jalna district would join the medical stream and become doctors. “ It has been eight years from the time I finished my MBBS but so far,  I have come across only two students from my district who were enrolled for MBBS courses in private universities in China or Russia. Only those students who are unable to crack the competitive examination in India, go there. I know how I have studied. I would sleep only five hours. ‘’ 

In February 2022, Dr. Yunus married Mahjabin, his junior who is now a surgical gynecologist in Bans-Bareilly in Uttar Pradesh. Dr. Yunus’ family who attended the wedding in Bareilly is extremely proud that their son and daughter-in-law are doctors. “ I first accompanied them on the train from Jalna to Delhi. That was the first time they saw the national capital. In so many years, that was the first time that they travelled outside the State. They enjoyed visiting Uttar Pradesh also. It was a 26-hour long journey.’’ 

Mahjabin who is working at Ram Manohar Lohia Institute of Medical Sciences in Lucknow is deeply appreciative of Dr Yunus’ struggle. “ When I visited my in-laws after my marriage and after my father-in-law’s demise, I felt that they were very proud of the fact that both of us are doctors.’’  

Dr. Yunus’s elder brother Aslam Shaikh is very proud of him. Aslam told this correspondent over the phone from his village “Other than my brother, no student from Jalna district has been able to get selected in competitive examination to enroll in MBBS.”

Aslam earns Rs 60,000 a year from cotton cultivation and supports a family of five. “I send my son, Arhaan Aslam Shaikh, 12 km away to study in an English medium school. My daughter, Jiya is only two and a half years old. I want them to become doctors like my brother and his wife. ”

After becoming a specialist, Dr Yunus has not forgotten his roots. He tends to his father’s farmland whenever he visits home. Ths doctor’s heart beats for the farmers of India.

source: http://www.awazthevoice.in / Awaz, The Voice / Home> Story / by Tripti Nath, Lucknow / March 24th, 2023

Urdu Scientific Society felicitates Dr. Kausar Usman at Lucknow

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Lucknow, UTTAR PRADESH:

At a meeting of the Urdu Scientific Society, attended by prominent Doctors of Lucknow, Dr. Kausar Usman of King George Medical University, Lucknow was felicitated for the honor he received as a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians, Edinburgh.

Presently working as a Professor of Internal Medicine at one of the prestigious medical institutions of India King George’s medical university, Dr. Usman is known for his expertise in the field of Medicine in general and Diabetes in particular. In 2016, Dr. Usman became the first Muslim Professor in the medicine department of King George’s Medical University, Lucknow.

Dr. Usman has participated actively in several national and international investigations and has a very solid foundation in research. Numerous national and international publications have published his work. He has more than 70 Publications to his name.

Prior to joining King George’s Medical University as a teaching faculty member, he worked in reputable medical institutions like Indraprasth Apollo Hospital in New Delhi.

In 2017, Dr. Usman had received a Fellowship Award FACP (Fellow of American College of Physicians) in San Diego, California.

Senior Urdu Scientific Society office bearers Padma Shri Dr. Mansoor Hasan, Maulana Khalid Rasheed, Dr. Iqtedar Farooqi, and Dr. Shakir Hashmi congratulated Dr. Usman for his extraordinary achievements.

source: http://www.muslimmirror.com / Muslim Mirror / Home> Indian Muslim> Positive Story / by Muslim Mirror Network / December 13th, 2022

India’s first ‘Gate Woman’ Mirza Salma Baig is icon of dignity

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Lucknow, UTTAR PRADESH :

Mirza Salma Baig at her workplace
Mirza Salma Baig at her workplace

Mirza Salma Baig is India’s first woman to man the Railway crossing. She is stationed at Malhore Railway Crossing, one of the busiest intersections of railway and road traffic, located a few kilometers from Lucknow, the capital of Uttar Pradesh.

Salma Baig, 29, a mother of a toddler, has been working at this crossing for the past 10 years.

Seeing a hijab-clad woman turn a heavy wheel to shut the gate when the train is about to arrive at that point and then open it for pedestrians and other road traffic, the onlookers often stop to take selfies with her.

People show respect to Salma Baig for her job. Seeing her for the first time, many people stop to just look at how she works.

Mirza Salma Baig was appointed as the country’s first Gate Woman in 2013 at the age of 19. She hails from Lucknow, Uttar pradesh.

Malhore crossing is a busy intersection between railway track and the city road and it’s challenging to control and direct the traffic. She has to frequently close the gate for the vehicular traffic as many trains cross this point all through the day. Salma turns a heavy wheel with a lever to close the gate and then unwinds it to open it.

The gates open as soon as the train passes. Salma says that while closing and opening the gate, she has to take care not to hurt anyone. She stands with a red and green flag in hand until the train has crossed the gate.

Interestingly, many people had questioned Salma’s appointment in 2013 as the newspaper reports of 2013 suggest.

Mirza Salma Baig opening the railway gate

The railway authorities had to clarify that this job was always open to women but not many serious contenders for this job had ever applied.

Salma’s father Mirza Salim Baig was also a gateman at the Railway crossing. Due to hearing impairment and other ailments, he had to take voluntary retirement much earlier than it was due. Salma’s mother had suffered a stroke and after father’s retirement, there was no bread winner in the family.

At this stage the Indian Railways offered Salma a job. Salma quit her studies and accepted it. Her relatives were angry but she chose what was best for her and the family under the given circumstances.

She credits her parents for her success.

Salma is proud of her 10-year career and smiles when asked about the snide comments made by many when she first joined.

When she started working at the crossing, the staff told her that being a girl she would not be able to open the crossing gate. They told her that a train passes this crossing every one minute and many predicted she would leave the job in four days. Salma worked hard and never gave up.

She has been standing here for the last 10 years. Salma says, everyone in the staff has become her supporter.”

She performs her 12-hour long duty with full responsibility and competence. Salma says that girls should have the same freedom as housewives.

source: http://www.awazthevoice.in / Awaz, The Voice / Home> Women / by M Mishra, Lucknow / November 07th, 2022

Shotgun WC: India’s Areeba Khan wins silver in junior skeet

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Aligarh, UTTAR PRADESH:

Areeba Khan

Osijek (Croatia):

At the 2022 International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) Shotgun World Championship, which was held on Monday in Osijek, Croatia, Indian shooter Areeba Khan took home the silver medal in the individual women’s junior skeet event.

Areeba Khan hit 29 of her 40 shots in the final, missing her final attempt, while Sophie Herrmann of Great Britain scored 30 shots to win the gold.

Raveca-Maria Islai of Romania took home the bronze medal after striking 20 shots, while Muffaddal Zahra Deesawala of India placed fourth after hitting 12 targets.

After Shapath Bharadwaj, Shardul Vihan, and Arya Tyagi won gold in the junior trap men’s team competition, this is India’s second medal in the shotgun competition.

After a shoot-off, Areeba Khan came in third place in the qualifying round. She then won her ranking match to advance to the final.

The 19-year-old Indian shooter competed for India’s junior women’s skeet squad in 2021, which won a gold medal.

No Indian shooter qualified for the ranking matches in the junior men’s individual skeet later in the day.

In qualifying, Bhavtegh Singh Gill, Abhay Singh Sekhon, and Ritu Raj Bundela came in at positions 32, 33, and 36, respectively. The ranking matches are limited to the top eight competitors. 

source: http://www.awazthevoice.in / Awaz The Voice / Home> Sports / Ocotber 05th, 2022

Arif Mohammed Khan | His own man

Books (incl.Biographies - w.e.f.01 jan 2018 ), Community Involvement / Social Issues, Leaders, , , , , , , ,

Bulandshahr, UTTAR PRADESH:

The Kerala Governor is in the midst of a controversy after he launched an attack on the State government in a press conference 

What’s unfolding now in Kerala is merely the latest episode in Arif Mohammed Khan’s lifelong story of being his own man, whatever the stakes, whichever the stage. Often loathed, sometimes loved but hard to ignore, Mr. Khan was that way when he entered student politics in Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) in the early 1970s and rose to be the president of the students union. It wasn’t any different when he became an MLA in 1977, aged 26. Or a Minister of State during the Rajiv Gandhi Government. It is scarcely any different now when he is into his 70s and occupies the august, if increasingly controversial, office of the Governor of Kerala. He is his own man.

Another matter not everyone shares his view of what’s right. Least of all Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. There is little, if any, love lost between the two. There is a reason: Mr. Khan has been publicly critical of the appointment of Mr. Vijayan’s private secretary’s wife as an Associate professor in Kannur University, where Mr. Khan is the Chancellor. So upset was Mr. Khan that casting custom aside, he called a press conference at Raj Bhawan where he fumed against the elected LDF government.

Unsurprisingly, the LDF government can barely stand him today. It is unlikely to worry Mr. Khan a bit. He is known to express himself even at the risk of social opprobrium. His old friends in AMU and Jamia Millia Islamia, where the Bulandshahr-born young man sought education, remember him as a frank and fearless person who was reasonable and open to debate. He is said to have been a good host who loved his Mughlai food and served it with relish to his guests. Today, they are both surprised and a shade speechless at the ideological and political vicissitudes in Mr. Khan’s life.

Indeed, what is happening today in Kerala is not without precedence in Mr. Khan’s multi-layered career which has seen him making pit stops over the Bharatiya Kranti Dal (the predecessor of Rashtriya Lok Dal), the Congress, the Janata Dal, the Bahujan Samaj Party before finally finding a bit of an echo to his views in the BJP. His stint in Kerala, his vehement opposition to noted Marxist historian Irfan Habib and constant run-ins with the Kerala Chief Minister are all attributed to his saffron leaning. Never mind the fact that he has won elections, notably from Kanpur and Bahraich on the tickets of non-BJP parties and has lost elections, as in Kaiserganj, on the BJP ticket in 2004.

Clash with clerics

Back in the mid-1980s, a section of Muslim clerics had no love lost for him at the height of the Shah Bano controversy when he risked it all in opposing Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi’s move to virtually overturn the Supreme Court verdict on maintenance to divorced Muslim women.

Faced with calls for social boycott and possibility of political oblivion, Mr. Khan did not equivocate then. He is not likely do that now too.

Mr. Khan is a redoubtable scholar of Islam with a uniquely his own interpretation of religion. One could question his interpretation of scripture, not his facts. Equally, unlike many clerics, he is open to being corrected. Faizur Rehman, an independent Chennai-based Islamic scholar himself, at one time agreed with him on the Shah Bano case, but later made his disapproval known when Mr. Khan supported the criminalisation of triple talaq following the Shayara Bano verdict. “Our friendship was not affected by my criticism of his views on criminalisation of talaq,” Mr. Rehman recalls.

One may disagree with Mr. Khan but there is merit in listening to him, even if he himself could do with being a better listener. In the Shah Bano case, the Muslim clerics had agreed for the husbands to pay a substantial one time alimony to a divorced wife. They later retracted. If the maulanas had listened to him then, India’s political trajectory would have been very different.

As for Mr. Khan, he would do well to remember the letter of the rule book he quotes against the Kerala government expects a certain spirit, a certain decorum from the Governor too. It’s time to listen to Mr. Khan as much as for him to listen to voices of constitutional propriety.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> India / by Ziya Us Salam / September 25th, 2022

Manzoor Nomani was ‘intrinsically Indian’ in the first place

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Lucknow, UTTAR PRADESH :

Maulana Manzoor Nomani. Courtesy: Quranwahadith.

Maulana Muhammed Manzoor Nomani (1905-1997), most arguably was one of the five prime most Muslims of the Indian sub-continent in the last century. He was the founding member of Jamaat-e-Islami and later got associated with Tablighi Jamaat and was also the member of founding committee of Muslim World League.

Maulana Khalil-ur-Rehman Sajjad Nomani is his son who gives every credence to his father, as that is what has made him, potentially what he is today; the most potent Muslim voice in the nation.

Sajjad Nomani’s command on Arabic, Quran, Hadith, Urdu, Hindi and English, in the same verve, depth and gravitas, apart from being an eloquent speaker, an indefatigable champion of Muslim cause, a voracious reader and a writer with an unquestionable command on the intricacies of linguistic theory and cultural praxis, are all the qualities he has embodied and imbibed from his late father.

Yours truly also did once saw Manzoor Nomani Sahab, at his Nazeerabad residence, Lucknow, as he sat on his wheel chair engrossed in an Urdu newspaper and also attended to his funeral at Aishbagh, Lucknow in 1997.

It would be worthy to recollect some of the anecdotes Sajjad Sahab shared about his late father, which all are a treasure trove to understand the ‘times’ about seventy-five years back.

He reminisced that Pakistan first Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan was very insistent that Manzoor Sahab visit Pakistan and become a part of Pakistan Constituent Assembly to ‘pave for the ingredients’ for Islamic Jurisprudence for the state of Pakistan, and ultimately even officially sought for it, as Manzoor Sahab was one of the most outstanding figures of Islamic Law and Jurisprudence at those times.

When India’s PM Jawahar Lal Nehru came to know of it, he communicated that though he does not want Maulana to volunteer it, yet if Maulana wanted then government of India was to facilitate it. But, there was no question of Manzoor Sahab even entertaining the idea as he was an unwavering Indian by his heart, not out of any chance but primarily for his choice, as Muslims after 1947 were to choose between India or Pakistan and Manzoor Sahab stood for India.

Maulana Khalilur Rahman Sajjad Nomani

Sajjad Sahab would also reflect that it was in 1976, when he was studying in Medina University, and had come to India on his vacations, that Manzoor Sahab kidneys collapsed all of a sudden and he went into coma. That was the time when emergency was in place. He informed that ‘intelligence inputs’ were given to PM Indira Gandhi that unless Maulana Ali Mian Nadwi, Maulana Manzoor Nomani and Qari Siddeeq Baandvi were to be arrested, Muslims were not relent to ‘vasectomy-sterilization’ and Indira Gandhi went to India’s President Fakhrudin Ali Ahmed, for his counsel on it, to which she was answered that all hell will break loose in the country in case of such an eventuality.

In the meantime, Indira Gandhi was also informed about the medical situation of Manzoor Sahab, and a chartered place to carry Maulana to Delhi was sent to Lucknow. The family members could not fathom for it, for they knew, that Maulana was be very angry once after the coma was to subside, the gesture of Indira Gandhi was hence refused, and fortunately by the midnight Maulana regained his senses, but then the next morning Indira Gandhi herself came down to Maulana’s residence. She would insist that Maulana may be flown to Delhi for his medical treatment, but all what Maulana sought from her was that she should implement justice as there was ‘tyranny’ all across the nation. He would address Indira Gandhi as his daughter and that when she played in her father’s courtyard, Maulana was to advice her father JL Nehru on critical issues.

Such has been the sense of belonging of Muslims for Manzoor Sahab , inherited too well by his son, is that while Jamshedpur raged under riots of 1979, Maulana went on to sit in a mosque for 21 days, draw into people and disbursed charity amongst the hapless Muslims, which continued for months. Maulana had an impeccable memory as Sajjad Sahab, relates, that shortly before his death, while he was searching for a Hadith, his ailing father, who was almost comatose, made him look for it on the exact page of Tirmezi- a great compendium of Hadith. Maulana Manzoor Sahab was a living authority and a luminary of Hadith-the sayings of Prophet of Islam.

Manzoor Nomani Sahab surely has left an indelible mark on Muslim civilization not across only in India but throughout the whole Muslim world. The best part however is that, it has all been very well innately translated into a relentless campaign for Muslim rights in India, by his son Sajjad Nomani, an activist always on his heels and one of the most credible voice of Muslims in the nation today. He is right now articulating the cause of Peace and Justice, a desperate call of the nation today. Sajjad Sahab is also the spokesperson of All India Muslim Personal Law Board, the Apex of Muslims in the country.

***

The writer is a former UP State Information Commissioner and writes on political issues.

source: http://www.mulimmirror.com / Muslim Mirror / Home> Muslim Scholars / by Haider Abbas / June 20th, 2022

Medal winning girl credits father for success

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Siwan, BIHAR / Baramulla, JAMMU & KASHMIR / Lucknow, UTTAR PRADESH :

Shafia Khursheed

Lucknow :

She could leave her hometown Baramulla in Jammu & Kashmir to get quality education at a reputed institute in Lucknow only because her father supported her dreams.

Shafia Khursheed could not have expressed gratitude to her father in a better way than by winning a silver medal for BA (Hons) in Urdu.

“I owe it all to my father,” she said, while walking confidently to collect the medal during the convocation ceremony on Tuesday.

Like Shafia, Bihar’s Sumaila Ayub, the gold medal winner in BA (Hons) in economics and Lucknow’s Insha Rizvi, the silver medal winner in BA (Hons) in English, also owe their success to their father who fought against the conservative mindset which stop girls from going to far-flung places for studies.

“My father Khursheed Ahmad Lone is my pillar of support. To attain good education, he sent me not only outside the city but to a different state. I stayed back in the hostel, was regular with classes and visited home only once a year so that I can score high and make my father proud,” said Shafia, who wears hijab with pride, and aspires to become an Urdu professor.

Sumaila said, “I came all the way from Siwan, Bihar to Lucknow to achieve my goal of becoming an economics professor. This was not at all possible if my father Mohd Ayub had not given me the freedom to run after my dreams. I am the first gold medal winner of my family.”

“We are three sisters and our father Achchan Ali Rizvi not only gave us the best education but also stayed awake with me late at night to help me study,” said Insha.

Meanwhile, the winner of two gold medals, BA (hons) in computer science Deepali Singh’s from Malihabad said she had the support of both her father Satyapal Singh and her husband Sanjeev Singh to pursue education.

“I come from Malihabad daily to attend classes. My hard work paid off as I have won two gold medals,” said Deepali.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> News> City News> Lucknow News / by Mohita Tewari, TNN / March 23rd, 2022

Muslim Girl Wins 5 Gold Medals In Sanskrit At Lucknow University, Aspires To Become Sanskrit Professor

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Nishatganj, LUCKNOW, UTTAR PRADESH :

Highlights

  • Gazala’s interest in Sanskrit began at the government primary school in Nishatganj where her teacher ” Meena ma’am” taught her Sanskrit in class V
  • Gazala has been reciting Sanskrit shlokas, the Gayatri Mantra and Saraswati Vandana at cultural programmes in the University

Amid the row in Karnataka over Muslim students not being allowed to wer hijabs to college, a Muslim girl from Lucknow was adjudged the best Sanskrit scholar in November last year and was handed over gold medals by Dean Of Arts Prof Shashi Shukla during a faculty-level medal distribution ceremony on February 10. 

Gazala’s achievement is proof that one’s skill has nothing to do with one’s religion, and everyone should have equal access to education. Gazala is the daughter of a daily wager who succumbed to cancer, and her two younger brothers and elder sister gave up their studies so that she could pursue hers.

Gazala has been reciting Sanskrit  shlokas, the Gayatri Mantra and Saraswati Vandana at cultural programmes in the University.

She resides in a small one-room house located in the narrow lanes of Nishatganj. The 23-year-old wakes up at 5 am every day to offer namaz, do her household chores, and then study Sanskrit for seven hours straight to gain in-depth knowledge of the subject.

Gazala, without a doubt, wants to be a Sanskrit professor. She is now the winner of five gold medals for being the best student of MA (Sanskrit) at Lucknow University.

“These medals are won not by me but by my brothers Shadab and Nayab who left school and began working in a garage at the age of 13 and 10 years respectively so that I could study,” said Gazala. 

Her elder sister Yasmeen, too, began working in a utensil shop while her mother Nasreen Bano took care of all of Gazala’s requirements. 

“These five medals are for all five of us,” Gazala added. 

When asked why she wants to be a Sanskrit professor, she said, “Bhashasu mukhya madhura divya girvan bharti. Satrapi kavyam madhuram tasmadpu subhashitam (Of all the languages, God’s own language Sanskrit is the mother: divine, and most lyrical. In Sanskrit, poetry is more melodious wherein good verses hold prime position).”

Gazala’s interest in Sanskrit began at the government primary school in Nishatganj where her teacher “Meena ma’am” taught her Sanskrit in class V. 

“Thereafter I got admitted to Aryakanya Inter College and got a brilliant Sanskrit teacher, Archana Dwivedi. As a result, I scored very well,” she added.

“These are Nagma Sultan, who taught me Sanskrit during BA at Karamat Hussain Muslim Girls’ PG College, and Prayag Narayan Mishra, at LU during MA,” she said.

“My Sanskrit knowledge and interest often surprise people who ask me how being a Muslim I developed a love for the language. They ask me what I will do with it, but my family always supported me,” said Gazala. 

She also said, “You can’t imagine how big these medals are for a person like me who just dreams of getting a study table and a laptop one day so that I don’t have to attend online classes on the phone.”

Gazala now wants to pursue a PhD in Vedic literature. Eventually, she wants to become a civil servant.

source: http://www.indiatimes.com / India Times / Home> Trending> Social Relevance / by Aishwarya Dharni / February 11th, 2022

Preserving the beauty of tradition is a way of life for the Razas

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Community Involvement / Social Issues, Royal Families, PreIndependence -Descendants (wef. Jan 02nd,2022), , , , , , , ,

Lucknow, UTTAR PRADESH :

In a believe-it-or-not type of story, a ‘heritage’ house in Lucknow owned by a descendant of the erstwhile Nawabs, who once ruled the region, preserves an ambience that may have prevailed in many royal households centuries ago.

A visit to Syed Masoom Raza’s family house, Saltanat Manzil, near City Station, located in a sprawling one acre campus, is like stepping into a time machine and getting transported to a bygone era.

This house boasts of a 55-feet tall clock tower, and a drawing room full of antiques such as a violin, radio, chandeliers, and sofa sets that are all more than 100 years old. Other antiques one could see include coins, pen nibs and even fire extinguishers. The walls are adorned with handwritten letters and awards that the family had received at different periods in the past.

Royal grandeur: The Raza family members love to follow their customs though it could be cumbersome at times (right) Syed Masoom Raza with his wife Naseema 

As you enter the house, Masoom Raza greets you with the customary adab and a domestic aide offers you a glass of water in a silver glass. Directions are issued for tea.

It is another matter that when one can get instant tea, it takes more than one hour to prepare tea in Raza’s house with all the etiquettes.

“We have been living like this for ages. Our daily chores are also done in the same manner. It takes time but we feel inner satisfaction and pride that we are living the blue lineage,” says Raza.

The stone plaques reflect that the house was opened by the then state governor C W Guwyne of British era. “We belong to the family of nawabs and are descendents of the Law Minister during the regime of the first king of Awadh,” reveals Raza.

The female members of the family also take pride in following the customs, even though at times it proves cumbersome for them. “There is nothing like fast food in our house. The cooking takes several hours and our domestic aides take care of it. The food is laid on a common dining area which is itself a reflection of a variety of Awadhi cuisine,” says Naseema, Raza’s wife.

Their daughter Haya Fatima presently pursuing engineering too is at ease living in this style where everything moves at a lethargic pace. “We use modern gadgets, but even our computer table is an antique,” she adds.

source: http://www.theweekendleader.com / The Weekend Leader / Home / by Mohd Faisal Fareed / Volume 3, Issue 3 / June 26th, 2011

Mother of India’s hockey sensation Mumtaz Khan says her daughter equal to 100 sons

Amazing Feats, Sports, Women/Girls(since May26-2021), World Opinion, , , , , , , , , , , ,

Lucknow, UTTAR PRADESH :

Mother of India's hockey sensation Mumtaz Khan says her daughter equal to 100 sons
Mumtaz Khan of India Women’s team in action against Wales during Junior Hockey WC (Image: HI)

Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) April 4 (ANI):

India stunned Germany in the Junior World Cup Hockey pool match after doughty Mumtaz Khan’s powerful drag-flick sent the ball crashing into the nets to send the girls in blue in frenzied celebrations while joys of her mother, Qaiser Jahan, who sells vegetables in Lucknow, knew no bounds.

Mumtaz Khan, 19, is now India’s new hockey sensation, taking her team to the top league while her dribble and powerplay with her stick awing the opponents.

Lucknow, the city of Nawabs and also hockey-lovers, is showering love and appreciation on Mumtaz’s family, which ekes out a livelihood as vegetable vendor.

With the hockey stick, Mumtaz Khan is not only shattering India’s powerful opponents, but also the age-old patriarchal taboos. Her mother is jubilant that Mumtaz Khan, one of her six daughters, has given a resounding slap to all those who taunted her in the past for having only daughters.

“People often made remarks that I only have daughters. Mumtaz has made us proud, and broke the social stigmas,” said Qaiser Jahan, while speaking to ANI at her vegetable shop in Lucknow.

My daughter is equal to 100 sons, said Qaiser Jahan.

While Qaiser Jahan managers to earn Rs 300 daily, she went beyond her means to support Mumtaz Khan pursue her dreams to wear the blue jersey and represent India on astroturf.

The financial strain proved insufficient for Mumtaz Khan to fly with the girls in blue to South Africa to play for the country.


Mumtaz Khan along with other under-19 Indian girls in blue is taking the team to newer heights, with a quarter-final berth sealed. Besides beating the formidable Germany by converting the penalty shoot, Mumtaz Khan had also taken India to an unassailable lead with a 3-1 scoreline with a brilliant field goal in the 41st minute against Wales in the FIH Women’s Junior World Cup at Potchefstroom in South Africa. India finally won the match 5-1.

Her father Hafiz Khan, a vegetable vendor, has all been supportive of Mumtaz Khan’s passion for hockey.

Mumtaz Khan’s journey as a hockey player began when she went to Agra to participate in a race and was spotted by Neelam Siddiqui who trained her at KD Singh Babu Stadium’s Sports Hostel.

“I feel very proud that my daughter is playing for the country. We are getting a lot of respect because of her,” said Mumtaz’s mother.

“I feel proud that my sister is an international hockey player. Despite poverty, our parents have raised us to make us capable to do something for ourselves,” said Farha Khan, Mumtaz’s sister. (ANI)

This report is auto-generated from ANI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.

source: http://www.theprint.in / The Print / Home> India / by ANI / April 04th, 2022