Evening NEWS
DIGEST
16 Aug. 2017: 23 Zulqidah 1438:Vol:8, No:257
Indian troops foil China’s
incursion attempt in Ladakh, minor injuries on both sides after stone-pelting
New Delhi:Indian troops on
Tuesday foiled 2 incursion bids by the Chinese in J&K ’s Ladakh region but
not before stones were thrown and soldiers injured on both sides as India
celebrated 70 years of Independence. Clash near the Pangong Lake, which divides
Indian and Chinese territory, comes at a time when the two neighbours are in a
standoff thousands of miles away in the disputed Doklam plateau close to Sikkim
on India’s northeastern border. 2-month-old row has soured ties between the two
sides, with China accusing India of trespass. “Indian and Chinese troops came
face to face at two places in Finger 4 and Finger 5 areas near Pangong Lake in
Ladakh region,” a Govt source said. Finger 4 is almost 5km into Indian
territory from the line of actual control (LAC), manned by Indo-Tibetan Border
Police.When Indian troops told the Chinese to retreat, words were exchanged and
then a scuffle broke out. “Stones were thrown at each other, resulting in
injuries to troops from both sides after which finally the Chinese forces
retreated,” the source said.The nature of injuries and number of soldiers
involved could not be confirmed. The troops “disengaged” after an hour and the
Chinese patrol went back, sources said.ITBP was not available for comments and
the army refused to speak on the clash.The Pangong area is prone to such
face-offs as two-thirds of the lake is under Chinese control. Normally things
are brought under control after showing banners to the Chinese side, telling
them they are in Indian territory. There, however, have been occasions when the
Chinese refused to leave, leading to an impasse, sources said.Difference of
perception over the territory leads to around 400 such skirmishes every year
from Ladakh to Arunachal.HT
India & China troops
clash along Himalayan border
China says it has no
information of scuffle with Indian troops in Ladakh
Chinese foreign ministry
said on Wednesday it was not “aware” of scuffles between its army and Indian
forces in Ladakh where men from both sides exchanged punches and threw stones
at each other.“I am not aware of the incident,” Hua Chunying, foreign ministry
spokesperson said at the daily ministry briefing on Wednesday when asked about Ladakh
incident.She added that Chinese border troops were always “committed to
maintain peace and tranquillity” along Sino-India border. Hindustantimes
India, China hold border
meet, discuss peace a day after Ladakh scuffle
New Delhi:Indian and
Chinese officials were meeting at the border in Ladakh on Wednesday, a day
after their troops were involved in a scuffle in the area.Government sources
said a “pre-scheduled border personnel meeting” was in progress in Ladakh’s
Chushul area since Wednesday afternoon, adding the Pangong Lake incident was
also on the agenda.The two sides were also discussing strengthening of existing
mechanisms for maintaining border peace and tranquillity, the sources
said.“This is not a subject on which the govt normally makes a comment,”
defence minister Arun Jaitley said.HT
A day after Ladakh scuffle,
India & China Army officers to meet in Leh
Nepal- A de-facto
battleground for regional supremacy between India, China:AFP
Janakpur (Nepal): 3 years after its last train hit the buffers,
landlocked Nepal is building a new railway network to boost its ailing economy
-- helped by the rivalry between its powerful neighbours, China and India.The
railway to India was a lifeline for the small southern frontier town of
Janakpur, used to import everything from sweets to clothes and cosmetics and
fuelling a vibrant border economy.But it fell into disrepair after years of
neglect and since 2014 the train has sat stationary, its rusting carcass now a
playground for local children, while Janakpur’s markets are empty.“When the
train was running, we would have a lot of business. I was easily providing
(for) my family,” said Shyam Sah, whose small family-run cosmetics shop has
suffered an 80 % drop in profits since the railway closed.Now it is being
rebuilt with Indian backing, one of three new rail lines -- one funded by China
in the north and a third by Nepal itself -- that the country hopes will help
boost international trade.Nepal remains largely isolated from the global
economy, dependent on aid and remittances.In recent years Kathmandu has tilted
towards Beijing as part of a nationalist drive to decrease the country’s
reliance on New Delhi.China has responded, ramping up its diplomatic ties with
Nepal -- mostly through large-scale infrastructure investments.In 2017, Beijing
pledged $8.3 billion to build roads and hydropower plants in Nepal, dwarfing
India’s commitments of $317 million.Feasibility studies are also underway for a
Beijing-backed railway connecting Kathmandu to Lhasa in Tibet, cutting straight
through the Himalayas at an estimated cost of $8 billion. hindustantimes
OTHERS
US report slams Sangh
Parivar, BJP for religious intolerance in India
US Commission on
International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has released its 2017 annual report
accusing Hindu nationalist groups and their sympathizers for perpetrating
numerous incidents of intimidation, harassment, and violence against religious
minority communities and Dalits.US federal Govt commission, which was created by the international
Religious Freedom Act of 1998, named RSS, Sangh Parivar, and VHP as the flag
bearers of religious intolerance in 2016.“During the past year, there were
numerous reports of harassment and violent attacks against Muslims by Hindu
nationalists, including local and state BJP members. Members of the Muslim
community report that their abusers often accuse them of being terrorists;
spying for Pakistan; forcibly kidnapping, converting, and marrying Hindu women;
and disrespecting Hinduism by slaughtering of cows. Members of the Muslim
community rarely report abuses because of societal and police bias and police
and judicial intimidation by the RSS,” the report said.The report also pointed
out that Muslim and Dalits are often attacked by so called “cow protector”
vigilantes, the Hindu nationalists, for allegedly slaughtering, selling, or
consuming cow products. It mentioned several incidents, including the July 2016
incident of Gujarat’s Una, as example for this.It also mentioned attacks
against Christian and Sikh minorities. Report highlighted the plight of
Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. “These violations were most frequent and
severe in 10 of India’s 29 states. National and state laws that restrict
religious conversion, cow slaughter, and the foreign funding of NGOs and a
constitutional provision deeming Sikhs, Buddhist, and Jains to be Hindus helped
create the conditions enabling these violations,” the report read. The report,
which placed India on the tire 2, where the country has been since 2009,
criticized BJP for its ties with the Hindu nationalists groups.It said, “While PM
Narendra Modi spoke publicly about the
importance of communal tolerance and religious freedom, members of the ruling
party have ties to Hindu nationalist groups implicated in religious freedom
violations, used religiously divisive language to inflame tensions, and called
for additional laws that would restrict religious freedom.” americanbazaaronline
Violence by cow vigilantes
increased in India in 2016: US report
Cow vigilantism has
increased in India; minorities feel vulnerable, says US report
Rohith Vemula not a Dalit, suicide
triggered as not happy with worldly affairs: Centre's Commission Report
Rohith Vemula was not a
Schedule Caste, action by university authorities didn’t trigger his suicide,
there was no undue pressure from ex-HRD minister Smriti Irani or BJP leader
Bandaru Dattatreya in the case, found a one-man judicial enquiry commission
setup by the HRD ministry.There was widespread outrage following Vemula’s
suicide with rights groups alleging that he had been discriminated against due
to his caste and expulsion by the university had led to his suicide. After
Vemula’s suicide on 17th Jan.2016, Dalit groups asserted that Vemula was one of
theirs and that he had been a victim of oppression by BJP, including Irani and
Dattatreya. The commission says that “none of the above in any way influenced
the university authorities and they were just discharging their functions as
the representatives of the public.”In a 108-page report which can be found on
the MHRD website, AK Roopanwal commission has said that since Vemula’s mother
belongs to the Mala community, she and Rohith could not be included in the
Schedule Caste.Vemula and 4 others had been expelled from their hostels by the
University of Hyderabad and the commission says that it was not the reason that
contributed to the university scholar taking his life. It says that there was
“no evidence of any factor circumstance available on the record which dragged
him to commit suicide and no one is responsible for his death.” Out Look india
Rohith Vemula Not a Dalit,
Committed Suicide Due to His Own Problems, Says Inquiry Commission Report
No action required against
anyone in Rohith suicide case: Centre
Una Again? Dalits ‘thrashed’
by ‘Upper Castes’ in Gujarat
A Dalit man and his mother
were thrashed allegedly by a group of 15 'upper caste' men for skinning a dead
cow near a crematorium at a village in Anand district of Gujarat, instead of
the place where cattle are disposed of, police said on Tuesday.The incident
took place almost a year after four Dalit men were allegedly beaten up by the
cow vigilantes at Una in the Gir-Somnath district, triggering an uproar across
the country.In his complaint lodged with the Sojitra police, the 22-year-old
man alleged that around 15 Rajput men, all from Kasor, stormed into his
residence on Saturday night and started verbally abusing him and his
45-year-old mother by referring to their caste.When he protested, the mob
allegedly thrashed the duo and threatened them with dire consequences, DSP,
Khambhat division, DD Damor said.No arrest has been made so far, Damor said. Thequint/PTI
Mob Lynchings in India:
Oppressed groups unite in solidarity against Hindu nationalist attacks
New Delhi: From California
to Gujarat and UP to New York, groups impacted by a rising tide of mob
lynchings of minorities in India are taking to the streets to protest. The
month of July witnessed a wave of demonstrations by people concerned that
India’s ruling party, BJP, has inspired a huge increase in mob violence since
taking power in 2014. “All of India’s religious minorities and oppressed
classes are suffering attacks by the same Hindu supremacist elements,” said
Arvin Valmuci, a communications director for Organization for Minorities of
India (OFMI) in a press statement.Politicization of cow worship is central to
the violence. Laws in 21 of India’s 29 states criminalize the slaughter of
cattle to one degree or another. “Although most of the laws were passed decades
ago, the BJP has made “cow protection” a core plank of its political platform,”
alleged the statement. Twocircles
Kerala's alleged 'Love
Jihad' case:SC orders NIA probe into woman’s conversion, marriage
New Delhi: Supreme Court
has directed NIA to conduct a probe into the alleged “love jihad” marriage in
Kerala after the central agency said it was not an isolated case but had
similarities with another where allegations about a well-oiled mechanism to
convert women from Hinduism to Islam were made.A bench headed by Chief Justice
JS Khehar said retired SC judge justice RV Raveendran will monitor the probe to
ensure the inquiry is fair.The bench’s order came on a petition filed by
Kerala-based Shafin Jahan, a Muslim man whose marriage with a Hindu woman was
annulled by the Kerala high court describing it as a case of “love jihad”.Love
jihad is a term certain Hindu groups use to allege an Islamist strategy of
converting Hindu women through seduction, marriage, money or threat.The top
court refused to consider Jahan’s lawyer Kapil Sibal’s request to interview the
woman. The senior advocate said the woman was a doctor and a major who could
not be kept under lock and key.“Have you heard about the Blue Whale challenge?
Such things can drive people to do anything. We want inputs from all sides
before we take a final decision,” Chief Justice Khehar told Sibal.The bench
also assured him that it would speak with the woman before passing any final
orders. Additional solicitor general Maninder Singh told the court that the
case was not an isolated case and the bench agreed with him, saying the HC
order also mentioned it.Sibal initially objected to NIA probe and raised
apprehension over its credibility as an independent agency. “I can file an
affidavit pointing to so many U-turns it has taken in several cases,” Sibal
contended. To this, the CJI said: “If we order some other agency (to conduct
the probe) there would be some opposition.” He then suggested the probe be
supervised by a retired SC judge.The senior counsel later agreed and the court
said it will hear the matter after NIA completes its probe.HT
If sent back forcibly,
we’ll be killed: Rohingya Muslims on deportation
Hyderabad: Centre’s
decision to deport an estimated 40,000 Rohingya Muslims to their native country
Myanmar has triggered panic among 4,000-odd members of the ethnic group taking
refuge in the old city of Hyderabad for the past six years. Moulana
Hameed-ul-Haq (50), a cleric at one of the Rohingya settlements in Balapur,
says, “It will be better if we are killed in India than in our own country. We
will anyway be killed if we are forcibly sent back.” Moulana had fled Myanmar
after 2011 violence in which thousands of Muslims were allegedly massacred by
the Myanmar military and radical Buddhist monks. He reached Hyderabad through
Bangladesh along with hundreds of other Rohingyas. “Indian Govt was kind enough
to acknowledge us as refugees. Telangnaa Govt has been looking after us really
well and we feel safe and secure here. Now, suddenly the news about we being
sent back has caused a lot of panic among us,” said Moulana. Sultan Mohammad
(70), who arrived in India three years ago after deserting his agricultural
land at Rakhine state in Myanmar, works as a teacher in Hafiz Baba Nagar. “The
military personnel attacked my house and destroyed all my property. I came to
Hyderabad along with my wife and two sons. We are thankful to the Modi Govt for
allowing us to stay here as refugees. I am nearing death and I want my family
to survive,” said Sultan. Though the Govt estimates say there are 40,000
Rohigya Muslims in India, Mazher Hussain, director of Confederation of Voluntary
Associations, NGO which has partnered with UN High Commission for Refugees
(UNHCR), says the number is not more than 16,000. “They are not illegal
migrants as claimed by Govt, but are refugees as per UN convention. In
Hyderabad, all of them have been given identity cards by UNHCR,”said Hussain. Rohingya
Muslims have been living in subhuman conditions in slums. Each family pays
around ~600 as rent per month. “Nearly 80% of Rohigya Muslims living in these
settlements are rag pickers or daily wage workers,” M. Moosa Azmi, a
registration officer working with UNHCR.HT
Adani mining giant faces
financial fraud claims as it bids for Australian coal loan: The Guardian
A global mining giant
seeking public funds to develop one of the world’s largest coal mines in Australia
has been accused of fraudulently siphoning hundreds of millions of dollars of
borrowed money into overseas tax havens.Indian conglomerate the Adani Group is
expecting a legal decision in the “near future” in connection with allegations
it inflated invoices for an electricity project in India to shift huge sums of
money into offshore bank accounts.Details of the alleged 15bn rupee (US$235m)
fraud are contained in an Indian customs intelligence notice obtained by the
Guardian, excerpts of which are published for the first time here. The
directorate of revenue intelligence (DRI) file, compiled in 2014, maps out a
complex money trail from India through South Korea and Dubai, and eventually to
an offshore company in Mauritius allegedly controlled by Vinod Shantilal Adani,
the older brother of the billionaire Adani Group chief executive, Gautam
Adani.Vinod Adani is the director of four companies proposing to build a
railway line and expand a coal port attached to Queensland’s vast Carmichael
mine project.The proposed mine, which would be Australia’s largest, has been
the source of years of intense controversy, legal challenges and protests over
its possible environmental impact.`Expanding the coal port to accommodate mine
will require dredging an estimated 1.1m cubic metres of spoil near the Great
Barrier Reef marine park. Coal from the mine will also produce annual emissions
equivalent to those of Malaysia or Austria according to one study.One of the
few remaining hurdles for the Adani Group is to raise finance to build the mine
as well as a railway line to transport coal from the site to a port at Abbot
Point on the Queensland coast.To finance the railway Adani hopes to persuade
the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility (Naif), an Australian Govt -backed
investment fund, to loan the Adani Group or a related entity about US$700m in
public money. While it awaits the decision on the loan, in Delhi the company is
also expecting the judgment of a legal authority appointed under Indian
financial crime laws in connection to allegations it siphoned borrowed money
overseas.
1984 anti-Sikh riots: SC
panel to assess 241 cases
New Delhi:The Supreme Court
on Wednesday said it would appoint a supervisory committee comprising two of
its former judges to vet if the investigation into 241 anti-Sikh riots cases
was properly conducted before they were closed by a SIT.The SC was informed in
March that 199 cases were closed as the trail had gone cold and investigation
was on in another 59 cases. Appearing before a Bench led by Justice Dipak
Misra, Additional Solicitor General Tushar Mehta submitted that 42 cases have
been further closed while charge sheets were filed in 12 and investigation was
pending in five more.To this, the Bench said it intended to appoint the
committee to go through the records of the 241 cases closed and confirm that
there is nothing more to do on them. The committee would report back to the
court in three months, the Bench recorded. The names of the two judges would be
finalised after consultations, it said.The case is next scheduled for Nov. 28. thehindu
UP: 3 men booked for cow
slaughter under NSA
Muzaffarnagar:3 men
arrested in June for allegedly slaughtering cows have been booked under National
Security Act (NSA), a senior district official said on Wednesday. According to DM
GS Priyadarshi, Khalil, Bhura and Inam Qureshi were booked under NSA on the
recommendation of the local police on Tuesday evening.They were arrested on
June 24 for allegedly slaughtering cows in Katka village under Jansath police
station in the district and one quintal of beef was seized from their
possession, he said.The accused have been in jail since then, added Circle
Officer SKS Pratap.PTI
Urdu is language of entire
country, sad that it has become a politicised issue: Hamid Ansari
New Delhi: Urdu was not
only the language of Muslims but of the entire country, former Vice President
Hamid Ansari said on Tuesday while asserting that now it was being spoken
across the world.He expressed disappointment that Urdu had become a politicised
issue and said, “...an opinion was formed that Urdu belongs to Muslims.”He was
speaking at the launch of the Urdu version of online news portal ‘The Wire’.He further
said one can easily find Urdu speaking people in south India, in West Bengal
and in other parts of the country.“It is the language of the entire country,”
he said, adding that nowadays there were Urdu speaking people in Canada, US,
Australia and other parts of the world.When asked if Urdu could also be a means
of livelihood, he said no but that did not mean one should not learn it.He said
it was the biggest shortcoming of Urdu but what one can say and describe in the
language cannot be done in any other language.PTI
Hamid Ansari Launches Urdu
edition of The Wire
New Delhi: Former Vice
President of India Hamid Ansari on Tuesday launched the Urdu edition
(thewireurdu.com) of The Wire news website at Constitution Club of India. Under
the leadership of Siddharth Varadarajan, former editor of The Hindu, The Wire
was launched in May 2015 as an independent, not-for-profit website for news and
analysis. In less than two and half years, it has established its respectable
position among the Indian media. In February this year, The Wire had launched
its Hindi edition (thewirehindi.com). Eminent journalist-activist Mahtab Alam
will be editor of Urdu Wire.The wire is run by not-for-profit company
Foundation for Independent Journalism with donations from public.indiatomorrow
Independence Day 2017: All
Kashmiri markets remain closed as separatists call for shutdown
Despite the protest call,
all official functions including parades, flag hoisting and cultural programmes
were held peacefully across the Valley.While educational institutions, Govt offices, banks and post offices remained
closed because of the holiday, no public or private transport moved on the
roads. Markets remained closed in Srinagar city and all other major cities and
towns of the Valley.Train services between Baramullah and Bannihal were
suspended in the wake of the protest call.Cellular and internet services were
down for over five hours and were restored after the official parades at the
district headquarters ended.IANS
Kashmir terror funding: NIA
raids 12 locations linked to family, aides of top businessman Zahoor Watali
New Delhi:NIA today carried
out raids across 12 locations in Srinagar and parts of North Kashmir in
connection with the terror funding case.Sources in NIA said that premises
belonging to family, relatives and aides of influential businessman Zahoor
Watali were raided.Watali, Srinagar businessman, has been under NIA scanner for
nearly two months and has been called for repeated questioning at the agency's
Delhi HQRS.Besides Srinagar, locations in Baramulla and Handwara were searched
by NIA officials today. Watali is known for his proximity with mainstream
politicians as well as separatists in Kashmir."The case is regarding
terror funding so we expect to get some incriminating documents related to
fuelling unrest in the Valley," sources said.The premises searched by NIA
included that of Watali's three close associates, two brothers-in-law and
Handwara-based in-laws. Zahoor Watali's properties in Delhi, Mumbai, Chandigarh
and Dubai are also under the scanner, said sources in the NIA. The house of
Shafi Rishi, an advocate reported to be close to Watali, was also raided. NIA
also searched Watali's driver Mohammed Akbar's house and the house of one
Ghulam Mohammad Bhat in Tarhama village, who is the munshi in a plywood factory
run by Peerzada Ghulam Nabi. Nabi's house too was searched. India today
Kashmiri separatists' Joint
statement says their leaders subjected to inhuman treatment in Tihar jail
Srinagar: Joint resistance
leadership on Tuesday alleged that the workers and leaders of their fold
arrested by NIA have been subjected to psychological torture and inhuman
treatment by NIA and the authorities in Tihar jail.In a statement, the
leadership comprising Syed Ali Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Muhammad Yasin
Malik expressed concern over the “ill and inhuman” treatment meted out to
senior resistance leader Shabir Ahmad Shah in Tihar jail, saying, he is not
allowed to take medicine and is lodged among notorious criminals. The
leadership condemning the solitary confinement of Shabir Shah, Ayaz Akbar,
Shahid-ul-Islam and Farooq Ahmed Dar (Bita Karate) said they are continuously
harassed. It expressed grave concern over the deteriorating condition of
political prisoners lodged outside state jails saying they are are denied
facilities as per jail manual. Leadership also expressed serious concern over
the “ill treatment” meted out to Syeda Aasiya Andrabi, Fehmeeda Sofi, Mushtaq-ul-Islam,
Masarat Alam Bhat, Amir Hamza Shah, Moulana Sarjan Barkati, Mir Hafeez ullah,
Mohammad Yousaf Falahi, Mohammad Yousuf Lone, Rayees Ahmad Mir, Abdul Gani
Bhat, Mohammad Rafiq Ganai, Abdul Rahman Tantray, Tahir Ahmed Mir, Farooq Ahmad
Tawheedi, Tanvir Ahmad War, Fayaz Ahmed Das, Atif Hussein Sheikh, Waqar Ahmed,
Haji Mohammad Rustam Bhat and scores of others.Kashmir Reader
Modi govt's J&K policy
has created space for Pakistan to misbehave: Rahul
Bengaluru: Congress vice
president Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday flayed the J&K policy of the Narendra Modi Govt , alleging
that it has created a space in the troubled state for Pakistan to "misbehave".His
attack on the Govt at a party rally
comes a day after Modi, in his Independence Day address, reached out to the
Kashmiris, saying abuses and bullets would not resolve their problems but
embracing them would."He (Modi) has created an environment in J&K of hatred and anger, and the only people who
benefit from violence and hatred are the Pakistanis," Rahul said.PTI
One cannot embrace with a
gun in hand, P Chidambaram on PM Modi’s Kashmir speech
New Delhi;In a jibe at PM Narendra Modi’s reference to Kashmir in his
address on the occasion of the 71st Independence Day, senior Congress leader P.
Chidambaram said “one cannot embrace with a gun in hand.”PM Modi had said that
his Govt is committed to the “lost
glory” of Kashmir. “Na gaali, na goli, parivartan hoga gale laga ke (Neither
bullets nor brickbats will solve the Kashmir issue, only love will),” the PM
said. “I want to tell the youth of Kashmir and I’ve said this time and time
again, come into the mainstream, you have a right to speak in a democracy,” he
added.
Remove 'Sindh' from
national anthem, we'll sing it: Lucknow's Nadwatul Ulema
Lucknow: Clerics, teachers
and students of world renowned Islamic seminary Darul Uloom Nadwatul Ulema
celebrated the Independence Day with enthusiasm. After hoisting of the national
flag at the top of the old building of Nadwa, teachers and students sang 'Saare
Jahan se Accha Hindostan Hamara' followed by special prayers for the safety and
prosperity of the country. "It has been a tradition since 1947 to offer
special prayers for the country after hoisting flag on the Independence day. It
was followed this year as well," said Nadwa Maulana Khalid Ghazipuri
Nadwi, a cleric. When asked why national anthem was not sung, he said that 'Jan
Gan Man..." has the word 'Sindh' which is now in Pakistan. We cannot pray
for Pakistan. If Govt removes the word,
we will sing it proudly," he added.Nadwa is not affiliated with the UP
Madrassa Board which directed all madrassas to celebrate Independence Day and
videograph it as an evidence."Though we have not received any directions
from the Board, we read in newspaper that Govt wants madrassas to keep
evidence, hence we conducting photography and video recording of the
events," said Maulana Dr Saeedur Rehman Azmi, principal of of the
institution."We celebrate Independence every year but it is the first time
that media has come to record the event, said Mohammad Saqib a student pursuing
Aalim course. "We have a group song team which practiced for months to
sing Sare Jahan Se Achcha," said Mohammad Intekhab a student.On the other
hand, students and teachers of Maulana Azad Memorial Madrassa in Balaganj,
affiliated to UP Madrassa Board, also celebrated Independence day with flag
hoisting and national anthem. Principal Qari Sabir Husain said the madrassa has
been doing this for years. Had media paid attention earlier, the myth that
madrassas don't celebrate national days would have been busted long ago."
Ghazipuri told students that Nawab Sirajuddaula and Tipu Sultan were among
first freedom fighters. Prominent freedom fighters associated with Nadwa
include Maulana Shibli Nomani, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, Maulana Allama Iqbal
and Maulana Hasrat Mohani.TOI
UP madrasas defy Yogi govt
order, refuse to sing anthem, record I-Day events
Bareilly/Meerut/Kanpur:Many
madrasas across Uttar Pradesh defied on Tuesday a controversial state Govt diktat that asked staff and students at the
Islamic educational institutions to sing the national anthem and videograph
Independence Day celebrations.In Kanpur, Meerut and Bareilly, 3 of the biggest
madrasa centres in the state, students sang Saare Jahan Se Achha, a 20th
century patriotic song penned by the poet Mohammad Iqbal and didn’t record
proceedings, saying they didn’t want to give proof of their patriotism.
“Students hoisted the flag and celebrated the occasion with traditional
fervour. Govt order is an attempt to test our patriotism which is wrong,” said
Haji Mohd Saleeh, convener of the Sunni Ulema Council. But many of the state’s
16,000 madrasas didn’t take the order well and many prominent clerics publicly
opposed the order. UP has one of the highest proportions of Muslims in the
country, nearly a fifth, and just 600 of the madrasas are Govt aided.In Bareilly, students at the
Manzar-e-Islam – the biggest Barelvi madrasa in the city – hoisted the
Tricolour but didn’t sing the national anthem. Instead, around 500 students gathered
at the open prayer hall to sing ‘Sare jahan se achha’. The madrasa authorities
also refrained from videography. Mediapersons were not allowed to cover the
main event, which lasted for over an hour.“Traditionally, we do not sing the
national anthem during Independence Day or Republic Day celebrations. We only
followed convention this time,” a senior cleric told HT on the condition of
anonymity.The decision to oppose the Govt order was taken by senior cleric Asjad Miyan,
a descendant of 20th century Islamic religious leader Ahmed Raza
Barelvi.Barelvi clerics justified their decision, alleging the national anthem
was written in praise of George V, the then king of England. “Singing of the
national anthem belittles the struggle of our freedom fighters.Thereby, it has
been unanimously decided that such songs will not be sung on Independence Day,”
they said in a press release.In Meerut, all madrasas organised Independence Day
programme on their premises and hoisted the Tricolour. Teachers and Muslim clerics
addressed the students on the sacrifices made by all communities, including
Muslims, in India’s freedom struggle. Mufti Syed Ahmad of madarsa Noor-ul-Islam
in old city said, “We cannot worship anyone else other than Allah.”In Kanpur
too, orders to videograph the event or sing the national anthem weren’t
followed. Haji Mohd Saleeh said the students sang ‘Saare jahan se Accha’ to
show their love towards their country. “For us it is also a national song,” he
said.HT
We don’t need to proof our
nationalism, Muslim clerics defying Yogi-govt diktat to record I-Day
celebration said
BJP MLA ensures I-Day
celebrations in Jewar madrassas
BJP MLA Dhirendra Singh of Jewar
constituency made sure that the madrasas in his constituency celebrated
Independence Day and hoisted the National Flag, on the instructions of CM .“I
celebrated Independence Day at the Qasim-Ul-Ulum madrasa. Our volunteers made
sure that other madrasas also celebrate this important day with all the
respect. People in my constituency showed a lot of interest in the
celebration,” said Dhirendra Singh.Clerics of madrasas were happy for the
limelight and said that at least people will pay attention to the development
and modernisation of these institutions now.“We never had any issues in
celebrating Independence Day. The only problem we came across was that few
people were not comfortable singing Vande Mataram. This is our country and we
have taken part in the freedom struggle and no Muslim has any objection to the
celebrations until it interferes with our religious teachings,” said Mozzam
Khan, who works in close association with the MLA.“Tomorrow, if the Communist
Party comes into power, they will ask us to say ‘Lal Salaam’. So, this doesn’t
mean that every party will come and force us into singing or saying things that
they believe in,” added Khan.HT
In Mumbai 75 madrassas,
masjids hoisted national flag, sang national anthem:HT
Mumbai: On Tuesday, as many
as 75 madrassas and masjids hoisted the national flag and sang the national
anthem to celebrate the 70th Independence Day of India.Muslim clerics and
Ulemas (scholars) unfurled the tricolour at various places in the city and
followed it up with sermons and call for peace. Bhendi Bazaar hosted the
biggest flag-hoisting ceremony. More than 150 people sang the national anthem
in unison. Anand Raj Ambedkar, grandson of Babasaheb Ambedkar, was the chief
guest.“This was not our first Independence Day celebration and the numbers were
also comparatively larger than last year. Some madrassas and masjids celebrated
the day for the first time,” said Maulana Syed Moinuddin Ashraf, also known as
Moin Miya, from Sunni Jama Masjid and founder of the Maharashtra Muslim Front.
“We wanted to send out a message that Muslims care for the country too. We
played as much part in the country’s Independence as anyone else. Our patriotic
feelings are unparalleled,” Maulana added. Other madrassas organised events
after Tricolour was hoisted. Chishti Hindustani Masjid in Byculla has been
celebrating the day for more than 50 years.“There was a special sermon and the
chief guests called for peace in the country. Our masjid has been hoisting the
national flag ever since the country achieved independence. But there seems to
be a sudden bout of patriotism among the community,” said Mohammed Irfan
Aleemi, president of Aleemi Movement of India and member of All India Imam
Tanzeem. Another madrassa in Mumbai celebrated the day for the first time.
Maulana Ibrahim Aasi from Agripada said, “Independence Day is the right day to
show everyone that we are patriotic too. The nation is as much ours as it is
anyone else’s from any other faith.”
No space to RIP: Delhi
graveyards vanish as realty spaces expand to meet housing crunch
New Delhi:Faced with a
severe housing crunch, the Capital's growing population is making inroads into
the dead zone. There are at least 70 residential colonies, office complexes and
prominent buildings in Delhi sitting on what used to be graveyards.This is the
conclusion Delhi Minorities Commission (DMC) has reached after a year-long
study of Muslim burial grounds in the national Capital. These realty spaces -
of several acres and worth crores - mainly in south, southeast, east and outer
Delhi have been encroached upon by people and even Govt agencies.Delhi Wakf Board, which is the
custodian of these valuable sites for the minority community, just looked on,
says the commission. Several people had complained to the DMC, which looks
after the affairs of Sikhs, Muslims, Christians and Buddhists, about the lack
of entombment spaces for their dead. In the past few years, Muslims have had to
"reuse" graveyards after saturation every 2 to 3 years.Several
insensitive but last resort practices such as "advance booking" and
"bids" from Rs 50,000 to Rs Rs 1 lakh were also being made for the
two yards of burial space.DMC officers said a study is ongoing regarding
Christian cemeteries also, space for which is fast shrinking. Mail Today had
carried a report on how Delhi's dead can no more rest in peace due to
urbanisation and population explosion in April 2016."We commissioned a study
on the phenomenon through a third party and the report was submitted to us
recently. It compared various land records from even pre-1947 to the current
situation on-ground. These included reports by British and Indian district
commissioners and more recently, DDA files," Dr Zafarul Islam, chairman of
DMC, told Mail Today."We found that many graveyards had simply vanished.
They were eaten up by colonies bit by bit. Now the community is having problems
finding space to intern its dead."He pointed out that since most of these
kuccha colonies became semi or fully authorised, they simply refuse to vacate.
"Litigation is a difficult option. The waqf board should have prevented
this from happening," he said.Many Muslim-dominated areas such as Jamia
Nagar, Batla House, Shaheen Bagh, colonies in Okhla, Shahzada Bagh in Inderlok
and old Delhi face an acute shortage of space for burials.Report will now be
submitted to the DDA, National Commission for Minorities and the ministry of
minority affairs for action, he said."We will ask the DDA to compensate us
with adequate amount of land in different parts of Delhi," senior officers
in the DMC said.india today
CJI appeal to lawyers: Make
people from all religions proud
Chief Justice of India J S
Khehar has said he was “happy to be in a country which could honour you to be
proud of your religion” and reminded lawyers that they “should make persons
belonging to every religion proud.” “Whether it is Christians or Buddhists or
Hindus or Zoroastrians or Muslims or Jains. Everybody should be proud in his
own religion to be an Indian. Everybody should be proud in his own ethnicity,
proud of it, to be a northeast Indian, proud of being an Indian and that’s what
Constitution is all about,” he told a gathering of Supreme Court judges and
senior lawyers at Independence Day celebrations organised by Supreme Court Bar
Association. The event was also attended by Union Law and Justice Minister Ravi
Shankar Prasad. CJI said he was born in Kenya when it was a British colony. His
forefathers had migrated there fleeing their home in Lahore to evade arrest by
British. “In a colony, you are the subjects of the empire. And when you get
independence, you become, each one of you, citizens of a free country. On
paper, it seems nothing.” He went on: “After you are a citizen, you are neither
inferior nor superior to anyone… And that is how in our country, we have a
President who is a Dalit who spend his childhood in a mud hut, we have a Vice
President who is an agricultaralist who started his political career pasting
posters, we have a PM who used to be…a tea vendor and you have a Chief Justice
who was not a citizen of this country to start with and when he did become a
citizen… he was equal to everybody else and he had an equal opportunity. This
is what citizenship is. This is what independence is…” indianexpress
RBI hasn’t finished
counting yet, where did PM get demonetisation cash figures from? asks Congress
new delhi: Congress on
Wednesday questioned PM Narendra Modi’s
demonetisation figure he quoted during his Independence Day speech from the
ramparts of the Red Fort on Tuesday. Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha and
senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad wondered how PM quoted the cash amount recovered
post-demonetisation when RBI hasn’t finished counting yet. Azad said, “PM said Rs
3 Lakh crore came back to banking system post-demonetisation, RBI has not
finished counting yet, how did PM get this figure?”
Maharashtra lawyer files
plea terming PM’s Independence Day speech unconstitutional
Aurangabad: A city lawyer
has filed a plea questioning the contents of PM Narendra Modi’s Independence Day speech,
claiming it has violated constitutional provisions. In her complaint addressed
to CM Devendra Fadnavis and lodged with MIDC Police Station, advocate Rama
Vitthalrao Kale has contended Modi referred to India and Bharat as “Hindustan”,
several times in his 55-minute long speech from the Red Fort on Tuesday. “As
per the Article 1 of the Constitution, India or Bharat are mentioned. Nowhere
in the constitution there is a mention of ‘Hindustan’ which signifies the
religious name of the country,” Kale told IANS. She claimed that the
“disrespectful” reference to India as “Hindustan” before an audience of 125
crore Indians and many more people around the world, has hurt the sentiments of
all patriotic countrymen.IANS
Doordarshan, AIR blacked
out my Independence Day speech, told me reshape it: Tripura CM Manik Sarkar
A row erupted in Tripura
Tuesday when CM Manik Sarkar, who heads a Left Front Govt in the state, alleged that Doordarshan and All
India Radio refused to broadcast his Independence Day address unless he
“reshaped” it.PTI report from Agartala quoted a statement from CMO:“CM clearly stated that he would not change a
single word and described it as unprecedented, undemocratic, autocratic and
intolerant step.”
'No freedom from social
boycott in this AP village: Dalits hold black flag rally on I-Day eve
At Garagaparru village in
Andhra Pradesh’s East Godavari, India’s 71st Independence Day was not
celebrated by the Dalits. Instead on the eve of Independence Day, around 200
Dalits wore black ribbons and took out a black flag rally to mark their dissent
after allegedly facing a social boycott for four months. The alleged social boycott against Mala
(Dalit) residents by the upper caste villagers began in April after a statue of
Dr BR Ambedkar was installed. The social boycott, they alleged, included
speaking to Malas and letting them work on the fields of upper caste
villagers.Fed up of the social boycott, 200 Dalits from Chrstianpeta (Dalit
colony) took out a rally on Tuesday towards the main village. Following the
rally, Dalita Mahasabha state president Chintapally Guruprasad, Buddhist
Society of India district president R Mani Singh, and Dalit activist Charabanda
Raju addressed the gathering.
Woman 'boycotted' over
support for Dalit farmer:BBC
An Indian woman in the
southern state of Telangana says she is being "socially ostracised"
because she supported a farmer from the Dalit (formerly untouchable)
community.Sama Indira, 50, from the upper caste Reddys, says her community
association has imposed a fine of 5,000 rupees ($78; £60) on anyone who talks
to her.Police said the dispute was about land she had leased to a Dalit
farmer.Caste-based discrimination continues to take place in parts of India.The
Indian caste system divides Hindus into four hierarchical groups. Those outside
the caste system are considered "untouchable". Members of Ms Sama's
family told BBC Hindi's Imran Qureshi that the conflict is over two acres of
her land that she leased to a Dalit farmer, Koppaveli Lakshmi, more than 10
years ago.They say the trouble started when another member of the Reddy
community recently purchased land close to her property and started objecting
to the Dalit family passing by his piece of land to work on their plot.The
Dalit family's entire crop was destroyed a few months later, prompting Ms
Koppaveli to go to the police, accompanied by Ms Sama."Village Reddy
association wanted me to cancel the lease agreement with her, but I refused to
do that because Lakshmi is a childhood friend of mine. That's why they are
boycotting me," Ms Sama told BBC Hindi, adding that she was "deeply hurt"
by the move.
MP: BJP wins, Cong improves
tally in urban body polls
Bhopal: BJP, on Wednesday
won 26 out of the 43 posts of presidents of urban bodies while Congress
improved its tally to 14. Independent candidates won three posts of presidents.
The votes for elections in these bodies were cast on August 11.Describing the
outcome as satisfactory, Congress chief Arun Yadav said the results proved that
people have voted for change. Opposition leader said the Congress had nearly
doubled its tally of presidents in these bodies. BJP won presidents’ elections
in Congress strongholds of Kailaras and Dabra. BJP lost three seats of
councilors in the by-elections held in 2 Nagar Parishads in Mandsaur district,
the epicenter of violence in June. The party, however, described the
by-elections for councilors’ posts in Shyamgadh and Garoth Nagar Parishads in
Mandsaur district as insignificant. indianexpress
PFI leader among two
arrested in RSS worker murder case
Mangaluru: Dakshina Kannada
police have arrested 2 persons, including a Popular Front of India (PFI)
leader, in connection with the murder of Sharath Madiwala (28), an RSS
activist, in BC Road last month. The police are on the look-out for five more
persons suspected to be involved in the murder. The names of the arrested
persons were given as Kalilullah (30), president, Chamarajnagar unit of PFI,
and Abdul Shafi (36) of Sajipamunooru village, Bantwal taluk in Dakshina
Kannada. Shafi is said to be associated with the PFI but the police are yet to
ascertain it. P. Harisekaran, IGP (Western Range), said on Tuesday that the 2 have been accused of
giving shelter to those involved in the murder of July 4. They have been accused
of arranging vehicles for the crime. thehindu
Don’t know why Jharkhand
govt is after me, says Hansda Sowvendra Shekhar
Jharkhand: Hansda Sowvendra
Shekhar, a doctor and the author of book “Adivasi Will Not Dance”, a collection
of 10 short stories in English, was suspended by his employers, the Jharkhand Govt,
on Friday, for allegedly portraying Santhal women in a bad light.One of the
stories in the book, ‘Nov.Is the Month of Migrations’, is about a Santhal woman
who trades her body for Rs 50 and a couple of bread pakoras. Santhals are a
tribe who mainly live in Jharkhand, Odisha, West Bengal, Bihar and parts of
Assam.Shekhar, 34, a doctor based in Pakur, 400 km from Ranchi won the Sahitya
Akademi Yuva Puruskar in 2015 for his novel “Mysterious Ailment of Rupi
Baskey”. He was suspended by Govt for
not taking prior permission to write the book.The book was published in 2015
and caused a stir among the Santhals. In the first week of August, Shekhar’s
effigy and the copies of books were burnt by a group of tribals in Pakur, where
he works as a Doctor. Shekhar has also alleged of facing continuous online
abuses and threats after the book was published in 2015. TCN
WORLD
Brotherhood-led coalition
wins big in Jordan local polls
A coalition led by the political
arm of the Muslim Brotherhood has won 76 seats in yesterday’s local and
provincial elections in Jordan, according to a coalition member. National
Alliance for Reform won 25 seats in provincial councils, out of the 48 seats
the bloc vied for,” Murad Al-Adayla, head of the election panel at the Islamic
Action Front (IAF), the political arm of the Muslim Brotherhood group, told the
Anadolu Agency. National Alliance for Reform is a broad coalition of parties
led by IAF.Al-Adayla said the bloc also won the seats of 3 municipal chiefs,
including the provincial industrial city of Zarqa.“At the level of local
councils, the coalition won 41 seats, out of 88 candidates,” he said, adding
that the bloc has also helped three candidates, who were not on the coalition
lists, to win the seats of municipal chiefs during the polls.Official results
are yet to be announced.Over 1.3 million people – or 31 % of those eligible – voted in yesterday’s local
and provincial elections, according to the country’s election commission.A
total of 6,622 candidates competed for 2,109 local council seats and 350 in
provincial council seats. middleeastmonitor
Saudi to reopen border with
Iraq after 27 years
Saudi Arabia plans to open
the Arar border crossing with Iraq for the first time since 1990, according to
Saudi local news media and officials.Abdul Aziz al-Shammari, Saudi charge
d'affaires in Baghdad, said on Tuesday "the crossing that will open soon
will be dedicated to the transportation of goods". Mecca paper reported
that Saudi and Iraqi officials toured the site on Monday and spoke with Iraqi
religious pilgrims, who had access to the crossing only once annually during
the Hajj pilgrimage season.Sohaib al-Rawi, governor of Iraq's southwestern
Anbar province, whose staff was on hand for the ceremonies, said the Iraqi Govt
had deployed troops to protect the
desert route leading to Arar and called its opening a "significant
move" to boost ties."This is a great start for further future
cooperation between Iraq and Saudi," said al-Rawi.The border was closed
after Baghdad and Riyadh cut ties following former Iraqi President Saddam
Hussein's invasion of Kuwait. Sadr's office said his meeting with Mohammed bin
Salman, the Saudi crown prince, resulted in an agreement for Saudi Arabia to
donate $10m in aid to Iraqi Govt and
study possible investments in Shia regions of southern Iraq.The opening of
border crossings for trade was also on a list of goals for the talks published
by Sadr's office. aljazeera
Saudi denies seeking
mediation with Iran
Saudi Arabia has denied
reports that it is seeking mediation with regional Shia rival Iran.An official
Saudi source said today that the current Iranian regime “cannot be negotiated
with”. “Saudi Arabia has not requested any mediation in any way with the
Republic of Iran,” source said in a statement cited by official SPA news
agency.The denial came after Iraqi Interior Minister Qasim Al-Araji said Riyadh
has officially asked for Iraq’s mediation to ease tensions with Tehran.Saudi
source renewed accusations that Tehran is “spreading terrorism and
extremism”.He went on to call on countries around the world “to work to deter
the Iranian regime from its hostile actions and compel it to comply with the
international law.”middleeastmonitor
Report: Al-Assad used
chemical weapons 5 times after Khan Shaykhun
NGO, Syrian Network for
Human Rights, said that it had recorded the use of chemical weapons five times
by the Syrian regime after the attack that targeted the city of Khan Shaykhun,
in rural, Idlib last April.The report, issued by the London-based network,
documented chemical attacks conducted by
the Syrian regime on opposition sites in Damascus as well as its hinterland.The
network also asserts that the Syrian regime did not stop using chemical weapons
after the US administration’s bombing of Shayrat airbase, from where aircraft
carried out the attack on Khan Shaykhun took off. Report noted that the Syrian
regime has tended to carry out small chemical attacks that do not leave a large
number of victims, fearing that huge attacks would draw the attention of the
world and “embarrass decision-makers and push them to respond.” middleeastmonitor
Irad: Thousands flee as air
raids hit ISIL-held Tal Afar
Thousands of Iraqis have
fled an ISIL-held town west of Mosul as Iraqi and coalition warplanes step up
attacks before a ground offensive to drive out the group.Iraqi warplanes
carried out air attacks on Tuesday against ISIL positions in Tal Afar in
preparation for a ground assault to retake the town near the Syrian border, the
military said.Plans to retake Tal Afar were announced on Monday by federal
police chief Lieutenant General Raed Shakir Jawdat, who said "armoured and
elite units" were headed for the town.On Monday, hundreds of exhausted
civilians were brought by Iraqi army trucks from the front line to a
humanitarian collection point just west of Mosul. Many described a harrowing
journey of a day or more from Tal Afar, with no food or water.Alia Imad, a
mother of three whose family paid $300 to a smuggler to lead them to safety,
said there is no drinking water left in the town. Lise Grande, the UN
humanitarian coordinator, told AP that the conditions in Tal Afar are
"very tough"."Thousands of people are leaving, seeking safety
and assistance. Families escaping northeast are trekking 10 and up to 20 hours
to reach mustering points. They are exhausted and many are dehydrated when they
finally arrive," she said.Anwar Hama, of the Iraqi air force, told AP that
air raids this week have targeted ISIL HQRS, tunnels and weapons' stores. Their
participation in the coming offensive could heighten sectarian and regional tensions.
Tal Afar was once home to Shia and Sunni Arabs, as well as a sizable ethnic
Turkmen community with close ties to neighbouring Turkey.Turkish officials have
expressed concern that once territory is liberated from ISIL, Iraqi Kurdish or
Shia forces may push out Sunni Arabs or ethnic Turkmen. aljazeera
Sierra Leone:Floods kill
more than 300, fears rise for 600 missing
Sierra Leone entered a
week-long mourning period for the victims of flooding that killed more than 300
people, with fears rising for at least 600 missing people.3 days of torrential
rain triggered mudslides on Monday in the Regent area of the Sierra Leonean
capital, Freetown, and massive flooding elsewhere in the city, one of the
world's wettest urban areas. The exact death toll was unclear.Rescue workers
recovered almost 400 bodies, Reuters reported, citing Freetown's chief coroner.
A Red Cross official told AFP that the death toll was around 300 people on
Tuesday evening.
Ousted Pakistani PM Sharif
challenges dismissal
Ousted Pakistani PM Nawaz Sharif has challenged his
disqualification from office, requesting a review of the verdict which saw him
dismissed for failing to declare his wealth on a parliamentary declaration.In
three legal petitions submitted to the Supreme Court on Tuesday, Sharif termed
the landmark verdict as "suffer[ing] from errors floating on the surface
of the record".A 5-member bench of the Supreme Court disqualified Sharif
on July 28, making him the latest PM in
Pakistan's 70-year history not to be allowed to complete his term in office.
FLASH: VIEWS & NEWS
Hamid Ansari: an
intellectual liberated: T.P. Sreenivasan, Deputy Permanent Representative of
India to the UN
PM’s large narratives-
corruption, growth invite questions. His neglect of communal peace is notable:
Ashutosh Varshney
What Seema Mustafa’s
memoir, Azadi’s Daughter, tells you about Indian Muslims: Book review, Danish Raza
War room 2.0? US Air Force
upgrades Middle East command center
Hamas openness toward Egypt
makes it ‘more realistic,’ claims analyst
Compiled and edited by Anwarulhaq (Released at: 7:54 PM)
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