Tag Archives: Positive News of Muslims of Delhi

Mazdoor Kitchen: A melange of love, salt and labour

Amazing Feats, Community Involvement / Social Issues, Women/Girls(since May26-2021), , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

NEW DELHI:

Nida Ansari, is a Delhi based development practitioner and consultant with over 12 years of experience in working with national and international non-profit foundations, grassroots organisations and funding agencies in the field of youth centric development, organisational development, agency and ending violence, community development and social entrepreneurship. She describes herself as a community campaigner, and an ‘Arctivist’ with a decade of experience of designing, facilitating and leading large scale national programs and campaigns.

She is also the co-founder of Mazdoor Kitchen, and has been closely involved with many grassroots initiatives, public campaigns associated with food security, public health, education and rights-based movements with workers, farmers, women and marginalised communities.

Q. How did the idea of the Kitchen come to be?

ND: Mazdoor Kitchen is a citizen run voluntary initiative, working to provide meals and subsistence to daily wage workers in North Delhi. Run by a dedicated team of volunteers comprising professors, students, artists and people from the community itself, it has been providing meals and ration kits to hundreds of people across north Delhi, ever since the beginning of the lockdown since May 2020.

In March, my parents – Delhi University professor Nandita Narain and her husband Rashid Ansari, a martial arts instructor and performing arts practitioner-director, joined a collective of teachers in North Delhi to start ‘Mazdoor Dhaba’ (workers’ café). It had 3 community kitchens running under its banner in North Delhi, from the garage of the Principal’s house in St. Stephens College. I remember my mother, Nandita saying , “I’d heard from many of my colleagues that this isn’t something we, at the age of 60+ years, should be doing. But we felt that even if there is risk involved, we want to take that risk; after all, when there are wars, people who volunteer, go to the frontiers to support wounded and war-affected people. And if they can do that, then the risk is surely not greater for us.”

By July, the lockdown in Delhi had ended and many in the group felt the need to shift operations away from cooking to other relief work. But my parents decided to venture out independently and started ‘Mazdoor Kitchen’ (a citizen-run voluntary workers’ kitchen) in Jawahar Nagar, Malka Ganj- as they felt there was still a need to support people with food and rations. I recalled what my father said to me in 2020 – when hoards of migrant workers walked back to their homes, on feet –  “how can I be comfortable sitting in the confines of my home, eating a hot meal, when there are people on the road who have to travel thousands of kilometres just to be safe and alive?’,”

Q. In what capacity are you associated with MK? Pls describe the team and their responsibilities.

ND: I have been associated with MK right from the beginning supporting my parents, raising funds, running the crowdfunding campaigns and building collaborations with many grassroots groups, CSRs, partners, voluntary groups.

Q. What are the pros and cons of running an independent, voluntary citizen run initiative?

ND: The 500 meals, ration kits and monthly rations that we’re able to support people with, is the pros. These meals are distributed to individuals and marginalised communities, who do not have the socio-economic means to feed themselves. Cooked meals are given in North Delhi across- Nigambodh Ghat – Monastery market road, behind geeta mandir, north delhi. These areas have a growing population of displaced vulnerable people, living on the streets – homeless, beggars, daily wage workers, migrants, rickshaw drivers, rag pickers etc. For some of these folks, the cooked meal packet that they get from Mazdoor kitchen, is their only source of food in the day.

For many migrant families, these cooked meals allow them to save some of their meagre daily earnings, which they can then put to use for other purposes of everyday living like medicines, rations , education of their children and deal with inflation.  We have also been able to generate livelihood, medical and education support through direct reliefs/ cash transfers to different families, individuals from marginalised socio-economic communities. We’ve also been able to support disaster responses to support groups during floods, and extreme hunger through kits, ration, blankets, clothes, medicines and other relief material across the country.

We’ve been able to demonstrate how a community owned – and run kitchen can benefit countless people and bring people together. But there have been a host of challenges – running a community kitchen is not easy! From being a small team, to managing with small budgets and the constant challenge of raising more funds, persuading people to donate – in face of the widespread belief that ‘since the pandemic is now over, people in the community are alright. ‘ This is a complete mismatch with reality, because poverty, unemployment, rising expenses and cost of basic living all remain a stark reality and crisis for those on the margins.

The country has been witnessing unending cycles of migration and now, reverse migration of workers who found no support in the cities and now, find no sources of income in the villages too. Most who have lost employment as industries stand devastated by the economic repercussions of the virus and the safety concerns brought about by physical proximity, will not see opportunities open up for months to come. The need to continue the work of the kitchen remains urgent. Several beneficiaries of the initiative have no other source of income or subsistence.

Q. Apart from cooking daily meals, what are the other issues MK deals with?

ND: While the initiative was born in the middle of the pandemic, as a response to the urgent need of the hour, over the last few years it has developed deeper relationships with the local communities it serves in slum colonies of Kingsway Camp, Pul Bangash, Bahadurgarh Road, Azad Market, Roop Nagar, and Patel Chest, Nigambodh Ghat. Many working-class people and migrants who had travelled back to the cities hunting for jobs depend on that one meal a day that the kitchen provides. In the heightened phases of Covid till 2021 they fed up to 800+ people daily in different communities and supplied dry ration kits, blankets, and gas cylinders, even relief material and clothes in the areas. Currently the kitchen runs daily and feeds people with up to 500 meals in a day, and supports 20-70 families with ration kits in a month.

Through a sustained effort, the initiative has also developed a keen relationship with members of the community. We also give monthly ration kits to families, medical relief and gas subsidies, Aside from food and ration, we’ve has also started a ‘livelihoods initiative’ , under which local community members (women) have been making and distributing thousands of masks and other small vendors like balloon sellers and food carts have been able to restart their businesses with small funds, Our relief efforts have included helping those struck by natural disasters with material or monetary support, supporting students from underprivileged communities pay their college fees, rickshaw pullers procure a new rickshaw if needed and medical fees.

Q. Would you like to share an incident that personally left a deep impact on you?

ND: In 2020-21, a migrant worker, who received daily meals from MK, from bada hindu rao- Bulla, a daily wage labourer from Bihar, had an accident and his spine was dislocated. He was admitted into Safdarjung hospital and had an operation on his spine. Bulla was living alone in Delhi, in shanties on the streets, and after hearing about his accident his family had just come to Delhi. His time in the hospital was dismal and scary to say the least, as none of the family members were literate and struggled to engage with a chaotic hospital system. Our team, including my parents, visited the hospital- and talked to the floor doc, name of the unit head etc. Bulla has had one surgery, doesn’t require another, but was paralysed from the waist down, with physiotherapy after the stitches are opened, might regain mobility in maybe six months, maybe longer, maybe never! Our team, along with the help of good folks like Ankit Jhamb of Aao Khilayein, were able to facilitate Bulla’s discharge from the hospital to a rented accommodation that we managed to procure and furnish in time for him to get there, including a much-needed air mattress.We tried to provide all the necessary things required for day to day living, and what is needed for his medical care too. We have engaged a day nurse, Raj Rani, to come and do his dressing etc. every alternate day. His recovery is going to be long, arduous and difficult. We and more importantly, Bulla and his family, needed all the help that they could get. While initial surgery costs have been taken off by the hospital, we knew that supporting a family who has no source of income ( as bulla was the main bread earner), rented accommodation for 6 months, food, medical expenses, nurse for day care, physiotherapy- will cost anything from 2.5-3 lacs in total. We were able to raise the funds to pay off Rajrani who was a compounder in a hospital and would go and do his physiotherapy every day. But eventually the trauma from his accidents were too grave – and he passed away. For me – this was a mirror image of the shattered socio-economic structure of our society – it felt futile and overwhelming, just how deep this structural inequality goes. I had the same feeling in 2022 when I started hearing about more and more migrant suicides. It made me more resolute to keep trying to do whatever bit we can, no matter how small the impact.

Q. Have you come across issues of caste purity and untouchability with respect to the menu?

ND: While distributing food we have by and large not come across caste purity and untouchability with respect to our food. All the 400+ people we feed, love our meals, they wait for us graciously. In the middle when we were shut for a week, while shifting to a new place – when we went back the 1st day so many of them came howling to us – ‘ where were you? had you forgotten about us ? ‘ Many people distribute food near nigambodh ghat, but often it is baasa, waste food. My father had told me, “The other day I had people take 2-3 meals from me; they sat on the pavement and ate those meals, telling me how hungry they were. We give the food packets to them in their hands and we ask them to take care. We give them as many meals as they ask for, as long as we have it. We try to ensure that everyone who’s standing in the line gets food. I don’t differentiate between a rag picker or a drunkard or someone who’s dressed well. I don’t question anyone; I just give them food.”

Q. Do you see MK as a long term venture especially when the State is refusing to perform its basic duties of providing food and shelter?

ND: While it is constantly challenging to raise enough funds to sustain the kitchen – we are always trying. In a country like ours, if communities were to go an extra mile, support their own local vulnerable populations just around their homes – the 80% of this country on the margins would not be as vulnerable as they are right now. Why can;t we have a community owned, run, funded and employed community kitchen in every mohalla ? Despite everything, we are trying to continue this initiative as long as we can.  My father says, “This might be just a drop in the ocean, but it is a regular consistent drop,”. My mother said to me once – ” ” There was this idea amongst friends that this sort of work doesn’t really bring about any social transformation. You are just doing charity. You are just filling in where the government should be doing it. But I don’t even see it as charity. I see myself as a beneficiary of this inequality. The fact that I have got a public funded education, there is a debt of gratitude. There is a debt. On my soul, or psyche or whatever you call it. And that is a debt that I cannot repay in one lifetime. ”

Q. Anything else you’d like to share?

ND: I would like to thank the supporters and funders of this initiative and would appeal to more people for funding. Because of them MK has been running for almost 3 years, supporting people from marginalised communities with cooked food, ration and financial assistance. I have never been prouder of our small team of 10 community members which keeps the kitchen going. With 1 in 4 suicides in India being of a migrant worker, the need for food, rations and financial assistance for marginalised communities is still very dire.

We are currently running out of funds and may only be able to sustain till the end of the year. To keep the kitchen running till 2025 and beyond, we need support to raise funds.

.To see daily updates of our work and help support our initiative, you can visit www.instagram.com/mazdoorkitchen

Aatika is a fellow at the SEEDS-TCN mentorship program

source: http://www.twocircles.net / TwoCircles.net / Home> Dalit / by Aatika S, TwoCircles.net / June 19th, 2023

Jamiatul Falah’s 34 scholars felicitated, speakers count on the institution’s days of yore

Amazing Feats, Education, , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

NEW DELHI :

Dozens of alumni of Jamiatul Falah, one of the South Asia’s finest institutions of Islamic studies, were felicitated in New Delhi on Sunday for obtaining PhD from prestigious universities in different streams, smashing the perception and prejudices built around the institution of madrasa.

The speakers enlightened the general public about the contributions made by the institution in inculcating religious teachings and moral regeneration among the students.

The distinguishing feature of the graduates of the Jamia is that they maintain good relations with each other, keep in touch in a systematic manner and always strive for the welfare of the Jamia, said Maulana Muhammad Tahir Madani, the renowned  Islamic scholar and  Nazim of Jamiatul Falah while addressing the  gathering on the occasion.

He said that Jamiat al-Falah is not just the name of an educational institution or a center or an educational institution but it is an educational movement from which many generations have benefited and this process continues.

Jamia alumni are our brand ambassadors and the university has paid special attention to women’s education so that they can play an important role in the formation of a righteous society, he added.

The secretary of the Delhi unit Old Boys Association Mohammad Ershad Alam Falahi said that Jamiatul Falah was established by a group of dedicated scholars to promote knowledge and achieve greater goals for the common good. He compared the effort to the process of creating new clothes by using old fabric, letter by letter.

Rafat Kamal Fallahi, the President of the unit, thanked the audience and appreciated the Association for presenting the accomplishments of the Delhi Unit and discussing future plans. He assured everyone that the Old Boys Association would continue to extend its support in the progress and development of the community.

Asim Akram (Abbu Adeem) Falahi’s book, ‘Quran, Saransh Hindi Ek Taarak,’ was also released during the event.

source: http://www.muslimmirror.com / Muslim Mirror / Home> Education> Indian Muslim > Positive Story / by Muslim Mirror Special Correspondent / May 07th, 2023

How the pandemic is depriving lovers of Urdu literature of their environment for enjoyment

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Books (incl.Biographies - w.e.f.01 jan 2018 ), Business & Economy, Community Involvement / Social Issues, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

INDIA:

Discussions and debates, critiques and readings, held at haunts of Urdu books and writing around the country have been interrupted rudely.

(From left) Shadab Rashid, Urdu drama writer Aslam Parvez, and Shakeel Rasheed at Kitabdaar | Mahtab Alam

In Malegaon

On the first Saturday of every month, the textile city of Malegaon in northern Maharashtra used to become home for lovers of Urdu literature, who meet to discuss, debate and critique new writings in the language, mostly by local writers. Organised under the aegis of Anjuman Muhibban e Adab (Association of Literature Lovers), the gathering began at around 9 pm, and went on till midnight.

Between 30 and 50 people – both writers and readers – would come together, a number that would at times go up to as many as 100 or even 150. Asif Iqbal Mirza, the secretary of the Anjuman, said the practice began 25 years ago on the suggestion of local journalist and editor Samiullah Ansari, who published new Urdu fiction in his weekly, Hashmi Awaz.

Over the years, the publication had emerged as a popular local magazine for young and budding writers to publish their works. The weekly, now in its 35th year of publication, had a considerable fan following and readership at the time. Ansari then suggested that admirers of the magazine form a group comprising readers as well as writers.

The group was initially named Anjuman Muhibban e Hashmi Awaz (Association of Admirers of Hashmi Awaz), but within a few years, its following grew to encompass more than just the readers of the magazine, and in 1998 it was rechristened Anjuman Muhibban e Adab, Malegaon. “Ansari sahib formed the Anjuman so that writers could get their new works critiqued by readers before getting them published in the weekly,” Mirza ssid.

Back then, Mirza himself wrote for a local children’s newspaper called Khair Andesh. But his association with the Anjuman helped him grow into a prolific Afsana Nigar, a short story writer. He was 17 when the group was formed; in the past 25 years, he has written and published more than 200 short stories in different publications.

Apart from Anjuman Muhibban e Adab, there are two more literary groups in Malegaon that held regular meetings until the lockdown was declared in March. No such meetings have been held since then. “Unlike earlier, we now have enough time to read and write. But the irony is we don’t have the opportunity to discuss and publish them,” said Mirza, who also runs a printing business. Several local publications had to halt their issues, including Hashmi Awaz, owing to the lockdown.

According to Mirza, although social media outlets such as WhatsApp and Facebook have, to some extent, helped to keep in touch with fellow writers and readers, the literary life of Malegaon has come to a standstill, since a large number of local writers and readers came from the working class and worked in local looms. “The year 2020 is the silver jubilee of my literary career. I had plans to publish a collection of my short stories, but thanks to the pandemic, that will not happen this year,” Mirza said with a great sense of despair.

In Mumbai

Both readers and writers have felt a deep loss during the pandemic. His love of books took Shakeel Rasheed, editor of the Urdu daily Mumbai Urdu News, to various bookshops in and around the Mohammad Ali Road area of Bombay. “Visiting bookshops was a part and parcel of my life. I feel a deep loss when I don’t visit them,” he said. For him, bookstores are not just spaces to buy books, but they also served as addas for readers and writers. As soon as some relaxations were in place, he rushed to the stores. “Par ab pahle wali baat nahi rahi,” said Rasheed. “Things are not as they were before.” The pandemic has made it more difficult to meet new people.

Shadab Rashid’s Kitabdaar publications and bookstore in Temkar Street of Nagpada was one such adda for Urdu writers in Mumbai, as was Maktaba Jamia on Sandhurst Road West. Today, Kitabdaar and a few other bookshops have opened their stores for a few hours every few days, while Maktaba Jamia remains closed. “Due to lack of public transport and fear of the pandemic, people cannot come to Kitabdaar,” Shadab said. He also edits the quarterly literary magazine Naya Waraq, founded by his late father and noted journalist and writer Sajid Rasheed.

Shadab Rashid said the lockdown brought significant hardships and losses to Urdu publishers and distributors. “It is not that people don’t want to read Urdu books anymore – the problem is they cannot buy them,” he said. “I have received lots of online orders, but I cannot fulfill them because I rely on postal services as they are the cheapest means of delivery, but the services are not fully functional yet.” His online Urdu bookshop kitabdaar.com is one of the few digital distribution platforms for Urdu books exclusively in India. Another such platform, urdubazaar.in, was recently launched from Delhi.

Owing to the discontinuation of physical interactions between readers and writers, people have lost touch with each other, since not all Urdu writers are active on social media, Shakeel Rasheed told me. “We have lost many good writers during this period and found out about their demise several days later,” he added. “Moreover, we could not participate in their last journeys.”

In Hyderabad

Another writer recounted similar thoughts after the death of noted Urdu satirist Mujtaba Hussain in Hyderabad on May 27. Hussain was awarded the Padma Shri in 2007 for his contributions to Urdu literature, but in December 2019, he announced he was returning the award to protest the enactment of the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act. “[T]he democracy for which I fought is under attack now and the government is doing that,” he had said, “that’s why I don’t want to associate the government with me.”

In Hyderabad, another centre of Urdu writing, literary activities have come to a similar halt due to the pandemic. Publications like Shagoofa, a monthly magazine of satirical writing, have been temporarily discontinued since the lockdown.

In Delhi

In Delhi, too, the pandemic has left an adverse impact on Urdu writing. Khan Rizwan, a poet and a known “addebaaz” from Delhi, loved participating in and organizing adabi addas (literary gatherings). He misses visiting the Nai Kitab book store, located in one of the many bylanes of Jamia Nagar, which is one of the famous addas for Urdu lovers in the city. Run by veteran writer and publisher Shahid Ali Khan, Nai Kitab is a haven for young and old writers alike, Rizwan said, as Shahid sahib treated them alike. “It is not just a bookshop but an institution where one got to meet noted writers and lovers of Urdu literature,” he said.

Rizwan would visit the shop at least twice a week, and meet a new literature enthusiast or writer, or find out about a new book or risala /parcha (journal/magazine). “I miss the black tea and chips that Shahid sahib served us with love and affection,” he recalled. “He is a storehouse of information, and several veteran writers were his friends, so he would tell us stories all the time.”

I couldn’t agree more with Rizwan. I have been visiting Nai Kitab once every few months for more than a decade now, and on each of my visits, after asking khabar-khairyat, Shahid sahib would say, “Achcha aap bahut dino baad aayen hain, ye nayi kitaabein aayi hai dekh lein (Since you’ve come after a long time, here are some new books).” Last year, when I visited the bookshop around this time, he directed me towards dozens of books written by noted Urdu satirist Fikr Taunsvi and Shaukat Thanvi. I immediately bought all of them, as they were usually out of print and seldom available.

As the person in charge of the Maktaba Jamia, the publication division of Jamia Millia Islamia in Bombay, Shahid Sahib befriended writers and poets like Jan Nisar Akhtar, Meena Kumari, Sahir Ludhianvi and Jagan Nath Azad. Some of them were regular visitors to the Maktaba Jamia. Though he moved to Delhi after serving the Maktaba for several decades, he did not stop hosting literature lovers. He then founded Nai Kitab publishers and a quarterly journal by the same name.

It was in 2007 at his bookshop that I first chanced upon Shamsur Rahman Faruqi’s celebrated novel Kai Chand The Sare Aasman, later translated into English as The Mirror of Beauty by the author himself. The novel went on to become a major critical and commercial success.

Faruqi was also associated with the Nai Kitab journal as chairperson of its advisory council and would visit the shop once in a while. The journal eventually stopped publication owing to Shahid sahib’s failing health, but he continued with the bookstore as it was like “oxygen for him”, he had once told me.

Waiting for freedom

Some writers have managed to turn the lockdown into a creatively productive period. “Personally, the pandemic has proved as a blessing in disguise as I read books I wanted to for years and finish other important work, such as recording videos of Urdu literature lectures,” says Khalid Mubashir, a poet and assistant professor of Urdu literature at Jamia. He quickly added, however, this was not common, as most writers and poets were stuck at home, either because of their age or in fear of the pandemic. “Moreover, not all writers have access to technology and books like I do. I am fortunate enough to have friends who helped me with technology to do something substantial during this period.”

Mubashir’s videos, as many as 60 of them, are each about 30 minutes long, and cover the history, evolution and development of Urdu and its literature in the subcontinent. Though the lectures are prepared keeping in mind the need and syllabus of Urdu literature students, ordinary Urdu lovers can also benefit from them. All lectures are available on the YouTube channel Safeer e Adab.

Similarly, although younger poets like Mohammed Anas Faizi from old Delhi have been trying to keep Urdu literature gatherings going by using social media, online addas do not have the feel and impact of offline and in-person gatherings. “Technology and social media can only help to a certain extent. Online gatherings, mushairas and addas cannot substitute for the real ones, no matter how well they are done,” he said.

With apologies to Faiz Ahmad Faiz, what the Urdu writers, poets and addebaaz seem to be telling the pandemic is:

Gulon Mein Rang Bhare Baad e Nau Bahar Chale
Chale Bhi Jao Ki Gulshan Ka Karobar Chale

Mahtab Alam is a multilingual journalist and until recently was the executive editor of The Wire Urdu. His Twitter handle is @MahtabNama.

This series of articles on the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on publishing is curated by Kanishka Gupta.

source: http://www.scroll.in / Scroll.in / Home> Publishing and the Pandemic / by Mahtab Alam / July 14th, 2020

Arvind Kejriwal does not play Muslim card: Aaley Mohd Iqbal, AAP’s pick for Delhi Deputy Mayor post

Amazing Feats, Community Involvement / Social Issues, Leaders, , , , , , , , , ,

NEW DELHI :

Attributing his victory to the trust of the people in his ward, he said: “I am a workaholic and I’m always available to lend ears to people’s grievances in the walled city.”

A seasoned politician, Aaley has had a long career, vacillating between different parties – he contested as an independent in 2012, aged 22; in 2017, on a Congress ticket, and in 2022, after he was fielded by AAP. (Twitter/Aaley Muhammad Iqbal)

A day after he was selected by the AAP as its deputy mayor candidate in the MCD, three-time councillor Aaley Mohammad Iqbal told The Indian Express he might become the first Muslim to be nominated to the post in many years.

“The last person for the post from our community was in 1977. This sends out a message that AAP is a party Muslims can trust, and their rights will be protected. (CM) Arvind Kejriwal ji chose me because I am a senior councillor; this is my hat trick (election win), and that is not a mean feat. I won with the highest margin (in the MCD polls).

Calling this appeasement or tokenism is not right, it forgoes my achievement, and Kejriwal ji does not play ‘Muslim card,’” he told The Indian Express.

Aaley won from the Chandani Mahal ward with a margin of 17,134 votes, the highest in the MCD polls.

Attributing his victory to the trust of the people in his ward, he said: “I am a workaholic and I’m always available to lend ears to people’s grievances in the walled city. The population is mostly lower and middle class… Like my father, I have always been there for them.” His father is AAP MLA Shoaib Iqbal, a six-time MLA from Matia Mahal who joined the party in 2020, along with his son.

A seasoned politician, Aaley has had a long career, vacillating between different parties – he contested as an independent in 2012, aged 22; in 2017, on a Congress ticket, and in 2022, after he was fielded by AAP.

Aaley said his brief stint with Congress made him realise how powerless they were. “I knew if I had to do something, I would have to join those in power.”

On the AAP’s poor show in Northeast Delhi in the MCD polls – the first election after the 2020 riots – he said there was so much to be done in those wards where the party put up a sub-par performance. “We have to go to the ground, talk to people and analyse what went wrong. Especially in Northeast Delhi. However, AAP managed to pull wards in Chandni Chowk constituency under its sway.”

Of the 19 MCD seats in Northeast Delhi areas hit by the violence, the BJP bagged 12, the Congress two and the AAP four.

Aaley also addressed the complaints surrounding Kejriwal’s absence when other leaders were visiting riot-hit areas. “He was in the Vidhan Sabha speaking about the issue… and constantly talking to the L-G and the Delhi Police commissioner. Since the Delhi government does not have law and order under its jurisdiction, he appealed to the Ministry of Home Affairs to deploy forces,” he said.

source: http://www.indianexpress.com / The Indian Express / Home> Cities> Delhi / by Aiswarya Raj / New Delhi – December 26th, 2022

Shelly Oberoi set to be Delhi MCD Mayor, Aaley Muhammad Iqbal her Deputy

Community Involvement / Social Issues, Leaders, , , , , , , , , , ,

NEW DELHI :

Shelly Oberoi, the councillor from Ward No. 86 in Patel Nagar, is AAP’s Mayoral candidate, while the name of Aaley Muhammad Iqbal has been proposed for the post of Deputy Mayor.

New Delhi: 

Weeks after the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) wrested control of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) from the BJP, which was at the helm for three consecutive terms, AAP on Friday announced its candidates for the posts of Mayor and Deputy Mayor.

Shelly Oberoi

Shelly Oberoi, the councillor from Ward No. 86 in Patel Nagar, is AAP’s Mayoral candidate, while the name of Aaley Muhammad Iqbal has been proposed for the post of Deputy Mayor.

Oberoi (39) joined AAP as an activist in 2013 and was the party’s Mahila Morcha vice-president till 2020. As a first time councillor, she registered victory on a BJP stronghold in West Delhi. A former visiting assistant professor at Delhi University and a first-time councillor, Oberoi contested the elections from former Delhi BJP chief Adesh Gupta’s home turf of East Patel Nagar, and defeated her rival Deepali Kumari by 269 votes.

Oberoi holds a PhD in management studies from IGNOU’s School of Management Studies. Along with Delhi University, She also taught at several other universities such as NMIMS, IP and IGNOU.

The first-time councillor, who is a lifetime member of the Indian Commerce Association (ICA), has several awards and accolades to her credit that she received in different conferences.

“I am feeling honoured as it will be a big responsibility. I shall give my best to fulfil the expectations of people and my respected party members”, Oberoi had said after she was named AAP’s Mayoral candidate.

From an ordinary AAP worker to being nominated for the Mayor’s post, her journey has truly been overwhelming, she said in a tweet.

Her main focus, Oberoi said, will be fulfilling the 10 guarantees promised by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal by working together with all the councillors to knock off the city’s ‘garbage capital’ tag.

“My eyes are full of dreams to fulfil the committments of Arvind Kejriwal and his 10 guarantees,” she said.

However, it should be mentioned that AAP has named her candidature for only three months.

At the first MCD meeting to be held on January 6, the 250 municipal councillors will take oath and elect the Mayor and Deputy Mayor besides six members of the standing committee. The post of the Mayor is reserved for a female councillor in the first of the MCD’s five-year tenure.

After the Mayor is be elected on January 6, she will remain in office till April. Election for Mayor’s post will be held again in April.

Aaley Muhammad Iqbal
Aaley Muhammad Iqbal is 3rd Time Muncipal Councillor of MCD ward Chandni Mahal and former Chairman City Zone MCD.

He is a businessman.

source: http://www.ummid.com / Ummid.com / Home> India / by Ummid.com with inputs from IANS / December 25th, 2022

Jamia Millia Islamia: 12 Research Scholars Selected For Prime Minister Research Fellowship

Education, SCHOLARSHIPS, Useful / SCHOLARSHIPS, Women/Girls(since May26-2021), , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

NEW DELHI :

Jamia Millia Islamia(JMI) expressed its pride in being awarded the Prime Minister Research Fellowship (PMRF) of 12 research scholars of the university under the Lateral Entry Scheme of the May 2022 drive.

New Delhi:

Jamia Millia Islamia(JMI) expressed its pride in being awarded the Prime Minister Research Fellowship (PMRF) of 12 research scholars of the university under the Lateral Entry Scheme of the May 2022 drive.

According to the PMRF Coordinator, JMI Professor Abdul Quaiyum Ansari, the researchers will individually get a fellowship of Rs 70,000 for the first two years, Rs 75,000 for third year, Rs.80,000 for the fourth and fifth year respectively. Apart from this, each fellow will get a research grant of Rs. 2 Lakhs per year (a total of Rs 10 Lakhs for five years) under the PMRF.

The JMI has improved its performance significantly as in 2021 six research scholars were selected for the PMRF under the Lateral Entry Scheme of the December 2020 drive. The university has also shared the name of students, their recommender and the Department/Centres selected for Lateral Entry Scheme of the May 2022 drive

1.Nadeem Ahmad recommended by Professor Quamrul Hasan – Civil Engineering

2. Mohammad Ariz recommended by Professor Tarikul Islam – Electrical Engineering

3. Mohammad Masood recommended by Professor Mohammad Mahfuzul Haque – Biotechnology

4. Gulnaz Tabassum recommended by Dr Kapil Dev – Biotechnology

5. Ayesha Aiman recommended by Professor Seemi Farhat Basir – Biosciences

6. Sakeena Masrat recommended by Dr Rafiq Ahmad – CNN

7. Mudasir Younis Sofi recommended by Dr Mohd. Ajmal Khan – Physics

8. Shah Masheerul Alam recommended by Dr Javed Ali – Physics

9. Shelly Bhardwaj recommended by Dr Amit Kumar – Chemistry

10. Sneha Shukla recommended by Professor Saif A. Chaudhry – Chemistry

11. Abdus Samad recommended by Dr Shama Parveen – CIRBSc

12. Nuha Abeer Khan recommended by Dr Mohan C. Joshi – MCARS

While conveying best wishes to the successful candidates of the university, JMI Vice-Chancellor Professor Najma Akhtar said: “JMI stands for excellence and strives hard to provide its students every possible support to achieve great heights. This performance reflects university’s focus on high quality research and I am particularly happy that six out of the twelve students are girls. I hope that it would inspire other students particularly girl students of the university to do well in science and engineering research.”

source: http://www.ndtv.com / NDTV / Home> Education / by Adarsh Srivastava / October 26th, 2022

Armistice Day: Remembering Forgotten Indian Heroes of WW1 Through Urdu Poetry

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BRITISH INDIA :

The four years of the World War 1 saw the service of 1.3 million Indians, of whom 74,000 never made it back home.

Armistice Day: Remembering Forgotten Indian Heroes of WW1 Through Urdu Poetry

The First World War , or the Great War as it is also called, raged across Europe and several war arenas scattered across the world from 28 July 1914 to 11 November 1918. These four years saw the service of 1.3 million Indians, of whom 74,000 never made it back home. For their families, the war was something they couldn’t quite understand.

Given the large-scale Indian involvement in a war that the majority of Indians could not fully comprehend, we shall once again look into the mirror of Urud to see how the poet viewed the momentous years of the Jang-e Azeem as the Great War came to be called in Urdu.

Several poets, lost in the veils of time and virtually unknown today, made interventions as did the more famous ones who continue to be well known though possibly not in the context of what they had to say about World War I.

Urdu’s Rendition of the Greatest Human Tragedy

Presented below is a sampling of the socially-conscious, politically-aware message of the poets of the times. Not all of these poets are well-known today nor is their poetry of a high caliber yet fragments of their work have been included here simply to illustrate how the poet had his finger to the pulse of his age and circumstance.

Let us begin with Sibli Nomani and his wryly mocking Jang-e Europe aur Hindustani that deserves to be quoted in full:

Ek German ne mujh se kaha az rah-e ghuroor

‘Asaan nahi hai fatah to dushwar bhi nahin

Bartania ki fauj hai dus lakh se bhi kum

Aur iss pe lutf yeh hai ke tayyar bhi nahin

Baquii raha France to woh rind-e lam yazal

Aain shanaas-e shewa-e paikaar bhi nahin’

Maine kaha ghalat hai tera dawa-e ghuroor

Diwana to nahi hai tu hoshiyar bhi nahin

Hum log ahl-e Hind hain German se dus guneh

Tujhko tameez-e andak-o bisiar bhi nahin

Sunta raha woh ghaur se mera kalaam aur

Phir woh kaha jo laiq-e izhaar bhi nahin

‘Iss saadgi pe kaun na mar jaaye ai Khuda

Larhte hain aur haath mein talwar bhi nahin!’

(Consumed with pride, a German said to me:

‘Victory is not easy but it isn’t impossible either

The army of Britannia is less than ten lakh

And not even prepared on top of that

As for France, they are a bunch of drunks

And not even familiar with the art of warfare’

I said your arrogant claim is all wrong

If not mad you are certainly not wise

We the people of Hind are ten times the Germans

Cleary you cannot tell big from small

He listened carefully to what I had to say

Then he said something that can’t can’t be described

‘By God, anyone will lay down their life for such simplicity

You are willing to fight but without even a sword in your hand!’)

That the Urdu poet was not content with mere high-flying rhetoric and was rooted in and aware of immediate contemporary realities, becomes evident when Brij Narain Chakbast declares in his Watan ka Raag (‘The Song of the Homeland’):

Zamin Hind ki rutba mein arsh-e-aala hai

Yeh Home Rule ki ummid ka ujala hai

Mrs Besant ne is aarzu ko paala hai

Faqir qaum ke hain aur ye raag maala hai

Talab fuzool hai kante ki phool ke badle

Na lein bahisht bhi hum Home Rule ke badle

(The land of Hind is higher in rank than the highest skies

All because of the light of hope brought forth by Home Rule

This hope has been nurtured by Mrs Besant

I am a mendicant of this land and this is my song

It’s futile to wish for the thorn instead of the flower

We shall not accept even paradise instead of Home Rule)

Poems Charged With the Spirit of Revolution

Similarly, Hasrat Mohani, in a poem called Montagu Reforms, is scathing about the so-called reforms that were given as SOPs to gullible Indians during the war years, which were mere kaagaz ke phool (paper flowers) with no khushboo (fragrance) even for namesake. The poem ends with a fervent plea that the people of Hind should not be taken in by the sorcery of the reforms.

Ai Hindi saada dil khabardar

Hargiz na chale tujh pe jadu

ya paayega khaak phir jab inse

Iss waqt bhi kuchh na le saka tu

(O simple people of Hind beware

Don’t let this spell work on you

If you couldn’t couldn’t take anything from them now

You’re not likely to get anything at all)

Josh Malihabadi who acquired his moniker of the shair-e- inquilab or the ‘revolutionary poet’ during the war period, talks with vim and vigour of the revolution that is nigh, a revolution that will shake the foundations of the British empire in his Shikast-e Zindaan ka Khwaab (‘The Dream of a Defeated Prison’:

Kya Hind ka zindaan kaanp raha hai guunj rahi hain takbiren

Uktae hain shayad kuchh qaidi aur torh rahe hain zanjiren

Divaron ke niche aa aa kar yuun jama hue hain zindani

(How the prison of Hind is trembling and the cries of God’s greatness are echoing

Perhaps some prisoners have got fed up and are breaking their chains

The prisoners have gathered beneath the walls of the prisons)

Satire, Pain and Passion Punctuate These Poems

The ever-doubting, satirical voice of Akbar Allahabadi— a long- time critic of colonial rule and a newfound admirer of Gandhi, shows us the great inescapable link between commerce and empire that Tagore too had alluded to:

Cheezein woh hain jo banein Europe mein

Baat woh hai jo Pioneer mein chhapey…

Europe mein hai jo jung ki quwwat barhi huwi

Lekin fuzoon hai uss se tijarat barhi huwi

Mumkin nahin laga sakein woh tope har jagah

Dekho magar Pears ka hai soap har jagah

(Real goods are those that are made in Europe

Real matter is that which is printed in the Pioneer…

Though Europe has great capability to do war

Greater still is her power to do business

They cannot install a canon everywhere

But the soap made by Pears is everywhere)

The great visionary poet Iqbal, who is at his most active, most powerful during these years, does not make direct references to actual events in the war arena;

nevertheless, he is asking Indians to be careful, to heed the signs in Tasveer-e Dard (‘A Picture of Pain’):

Watan ki fikr kar nadan musibat aane waali hai

Tiri barbadiyon ke mashvare hain asmanon mein

(Worry for your homeland, O innocents, trouble is brewing

The portents of disaster awaiting you are written in the skies.)

Adopting a fake admiring tone, Ahmaq Phaphoondvi seems to be praising the sharpness of the British brain in Angrezi Zehn ki ki Tezi (‘The Cleverness of the English Mind’) when he’s actually warning his readers of the perils of being divided while the British lord over them.

Kis tarah bapa hoon hangama aapas mein ho kyun kar khunaraizi

Hai khatam unhein schemon main angrezi zehn ki sab tezi

Ye qatl-o khoon ye jung-o jadal, ye zor-o sitam ye bajuz-o hasad

Baquii hii raheinge mulk mein sab, baqui hai agar raj angrezi

(Look at the turmoil and the bloodshed among our people

The cleverness of the English mind is used up in all such schemes

This murder ’n mayhem, wars ’n battles, cruelties ’n malice

The country’s garden is barren, with nothing but dust and desolation)

Towards Freedom and Fervour..

Zafar Ali Khan sounds an early, and as it turns out in the face of the British going back on their promise of self-governance, entirely premature bugle of freedom. While warning his fellow Indians to change with the changing winds that are blowing across the country as the war drags to an end, he’s also pointing our attention to the ‘Toadies’, a dreaded word for the subservient Indians who will gladly accept any crumbs by way of reforms in his poem Azaadi ka Bigul (‘The Bugle of Freedom’):

Bartania ki meiz se kuchh reze gire hain

Ai toadiyon chunne tum innhe peet ke bal jao

(Some crumbs have fallen from the table of Britannia

O Toadies, go crawling on your bellies to pick them)

In the end, there’s Agha Hashar Kashmiri who, in a sarcastic ode to Europe called Shukriya Europe, thanks it for turning the world into a matamkhana (mourning chamber), and for having successfully transformed the east into an example of hell.

Utth raha hai shor gham khakistar paamaal se

Keh raha hai Asia ro kar zaban-e haal se

Bar mazar-e ma ghariban ne chiraghe ne gule

Ne pare parwane sozo ne sada-e bulbule

(A shout is rising from the dust of the downtrodden

Asia is crying out and telling the world at large

On my poor grave there are neither lamps nor flowers

And not the wing of the moth or the sad song of the nightingale.)

(Rakhshanda Jalil is a writer, translator and literary historian. She writes on literature, culture and society. She runs Hindustani Awaaz, an organisation devoted to the popularisation of Urdu literature. She tweets at  @RakshandaJalil

This is an opinion piece and the views expressed above are the author’s own. The Quint neither endorses nor is responsible for the same.)

source: http://www.thequint.com / The Quint / Home> Voices> Opinion / by Rakshanda Jalil / November 11th, 2022

Khalid Jawed’s ‘The Paradise of Food’ wins the JCB Prize for Literature 2022

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NEW DELHI :

The literary work is the fourth translation and the first Urdu work to win the JCB Prize

(Left to right) Mita Kapur, literary director, The JCB Prize for Literature; Sunil Khurana, chief operating officer, JCB India; winning author Khalid Jawed; translator of ‘The Paradise of Food’ Baran Farooqi and jury member AS Panneerselvan
JCB Prize

Khalid Jawed’s The Paradise of Food has been awarded the JCB Prize for Literature 2022. The book was chosen by a panel of five judges. 

The Paradise of Food has been translated into English from Urdu by Baran Farooqi and published by Juggernaut. The Rs 25 lakh prize was awarded to the author virtually by Sunil Khurana, chief operating officer, JCB India, and A.S. Panneerselvan, chair of the jury for 2022, at a hybrid event organised at The Oberoi, New Delhi. Khalid Jawed also received the trophy — a sculpture titled ‘Mirror Melting’ by Delhi artist duo Thukral and Tagra.

The Paradise of Food, which is the fourth translation to win the JCB Prize and the first in Urdu, is a bildungsroman that traces the narrator’s journey through life anchored in a middle-class Muslim joint family. 

The jury comprised Panneerselvan, journalist, editor and columnist; author Amitabha Bagchi; J Devika, historian, feminist, social critic and academician; author Janice Pariat and Rakhee Balaram, assistant professor, Global Art and Art History at the University of  Albany, State University of New York. The award ceremony began with a welcome note from Mita Kapur, literary director of the JCB Prize, and an address by Deepak Shetty, CEO & managing director, JCB India. Classical dance performances by Shriram Bhartiya Kala Kendra led up to the grand announcement.

Speaking about the merit of The Paradise of Food as a piece of literature, Bagchi commented, “This singular and moving book shines a scintillating light on the violence at the heart of human civilisation. The language contains several beautiful and unusual formulations that are a literary achievement by both the author and the extremely skilled translator. A literary landmark in a less-celebrated genre of Urdu’s grand literary tradition, this work deserves to be widely read in India and beyond.” 

Other members of the jury, too, unanimously appreciated Jawed’s book. Rakhee Balaram described the work as a “book of indescribable brilliance” and to J. Devika, it was a “powerful ice-pick in the winter of civilisational crisis that has engulfed the countries of South Asia”.

source: http://www.telegraphindia.com / Telegraph India / Home> My Kolkata> Events> Literary Event / by My Kolkata Web Desk / November 20th, 2022

Hakim Ajmal Khans last resting place: in a forgotten corner of Delhi

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NEW DELHI :

Hakim Ajmal Khan a philanthropist, freedom fighter, famous hakeem and nationalist is a well known personality.

So I was very surprised when I was told that his grave was I one corner of The Hazrat Rasool numa compound in Panchkuian Road of Delhi

Now it’s a slum

In between a whole row of beds tucked away in one forgotten corner sleeps one of the greatest leaders of our Freedom movement. Revered by Muslims and Hindus alike.

Yes it was Hakim Mohammad Ajmal Khan. I checked up his dated on the net to find they were correct.

The lady who lives there then showed me many graves of Hakeems from his family scattered around the beds and chores of daily life.

Amita Paliwal a Delhi historian and keen heritage lover informs me this is probably the famous Doctor’s lane where Bernier apprenticed to learn Unani medicine.

It may have been famous then but it’s forgotten now and I don’t know why his very rich trust( he had gifted most of his income to charity) and rich family doesn’t do something about it.

You can read more about him below I have taken it from

He was the founder of the Jamia Millia Islamia in Delhi. He is the only person to have been elected President of both the Indian National Congress and the Muslim League, as well as the All India Khilafat Committee.Hakim Ajmal Khan was born in 1863 to the illustrious Sharif Khani family of Delhi, family that traces its lineage to court physicians who served the Mughal emperor Babur, the founder of the Mughal Empire in India.

Khan studied the Qur’an and traditional Islamic knowledge including Arabic and Persian in his childhood, before studying medicine at home, under the tutelage of his relatives. All of whom were well-known physicians.

His grandfather Hakim Sharif Khan sought to promote the practice of Tibb-i-unani or Unani medicine and for this purpose, had setup the Sharif Manzil hospital-cum-college that was known throughout the subcontinent as one of the finest philanthropic Unani hospitals that charged no fees from poor patients.

Once qualified, Hakim Ajmal Khan was appointed chief physician to the Nawab of Rampur in 1892. Soon he met Syed Ahmed Khan and was further appointed a trustee of the Aligarh College, now known as the Aligarh Muslim University.

Hakim Ajmal Khan took much interest in the expansion and development of the indigenous system of medicine, Tibb-i-Yunani, or Unani. Khan’s family established the Tibbiya school in Delhi, in order to expand the research and practice of Unani.

As his family of Hakims served as doctors to the British rulers of India, in his early days Hakim Khan supported the British. He was part of a deputation of Muslims that met the Viceroy of India in Shimla in 1906 and even supported the British during World War I. In fact, the British Government awarded him the titles Haziq-ul-Mulk and Qaiser-e-Hind for his contribution to the expansion of the Unani system of medicine.

But once the British government changed its stance and sought to derecognize the practice of Indian schools of medicine such as Ayurveda and Unani, this turn of events set Hakim Ajmal Khan gathering fellow physicians on one platform to protest against the Raj.

Actually, Hakim Ajmal Khan’s political career commenced with his writing for the Urdu weekly Akmal-ul-Akhbar, which was founded in 1865-70 and run by his family.

Subsequently, when the British clamped down on the freedom movement and arrested many Muslim leaders, Hakim Ajmal Khan solicited Mahatma Gandhi’s assistance and together they joined others to start the Khilafat movement. He was elected the President of the Congress in 1921, and joined other Congress leaders to condemn the Jallianwala Bagh massacre. He was imprisoned for many months by police authorities. Hakim Khan’s pursued his political career side-by-side his medicinal and educational endeavours. Often, the interests overlapped.

Hakim Ajmal Khan resigned from his position at the AMU when he realized that its management would not endorse the Non-Cooperation Movement launched by the Indian National Congress. He envisaged a place of learning that would be free of government control. He worked towards this aim with the help of other Muslim luminaries. Together, they laid the foundations of the Jamia Millia Islamia (Islamic National University) in Aligarh in 1920, in response to Mahatma Gandhi’s call for Indians to boycott government institutions. The JMI subsequently moved to Delhi and slowly grew to be the prestigious university it is today.

Ajmal Khan served as its first Chancellor until his death. He was a key patron of the university, financially bailing it out of sticky situations throughout the rest of his life.

In fact, Hakim Ajmal Khan also established the Tibbia College for higher studies in medicine. Realizing the need for private funding, he simultaneously established a commercial venture the Hindustani Dawakhana to manufacture Unani and Ayurvedic medicines and issued a diktat that doctors practicing in the Sharif Manzil could only recommend medicines from the Dawakhana. The Dawakhana is known to have patented 84 magical herbal formulas.

Tibbia College is presently located Delhi’s Karol Bagh area. As a mark of respect to this man, Karol Bagh’s most popular part is still called Ajmal Khan Road.

Hakim Ajmal Khan died in 1927. In the ensuing years, both the Sharif Manzil and the Dawakhana have languished for want of upkeep and restoration.

Although Hakim Khan renounced his government awards during the freedom movement, Indians who appreciated his work and held him in high esteem conferred upon him the title Masih-ul-Mulk (Healer of the Nation).

Freedom fighter, educationalist and beyond doubt, the greatest contributor to Unani medicine in India in the 20th century: Hakim Ajmal Khan.

Dr. Khan died of heart problems on December 29, 1927. He was succeeded in the position of JMI Chancellor by Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed Ansari.

Rana Safvi is the author of the book “Where Stones Speak”.

source: http://www.twocircles.net / TwoCircles.net / Home> Articles / by Rana Safvi / May 08th, 2016

Super Featherweight boxer Md Azahar crowned WBC India champion

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NEW DELHI :

pix: asianboxingcouncil.com

Delhi boxer Md Azahar was crowned the WBC India champion in the super featherweight division after registering a unanimous win over Dharamvir Singh.

The judges scored the fight 79-72, 76-75 and 79-72 in Azahar’s favour after 32 minutes of boxing on Sunday night.

The 25-year-old Azahar lost the first round on all three judges’ cards but went on to win the next seven rounds convincingly.

Azhar, proved to be the better technical fighter before a partisan crowd. He now has a record of five wins and as many losses with four knockouts to his name.

“I was comfortable, just sticking to doing what I do best,” Azahar said.

“The game plan was to hit and not get hit. I fought a good smart fight. He couldn’t hit me with any of his best shots.” Dharamvir, on the other hand, has a record of seven wins and four losses. His previous loss had come over three years ago before the COVID-19 pandemic.

WBC India Champion - Md Azahar
pix: indianboxingcouncil.com

The Indian Boxing Council-sanctioned fight night witnessed seven other fights.

In an exciting four round cruiserweight contest, Jaskaran Singh from Punjab won a points decision over debutante compatriot Harsamardeep Singh.

Middleweight Shiva won a close six round bout against Karanjeet Singh.

Shiva was making a comeback after two years and looked rusty in the early rounds. Karanjeet, despite his record of four losses, looked comfortable and even took the second and third rounds. But Shiva, hung on. The final scores were 58-56, 58-56, 58-56.

source: http://www.sportstar.thehindu.com / SportStar / Home> Boxing / by PTI text) / pix: sources as credited above / August 29th, 2022