THE MILLI GAZETTE

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Vol. 13 No. 5 Issue Serial # 291 1-15 March 2012

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Terrorism 6,8-9,15 U.P . 3,5 Reservation 3,11 Black money 4 India/Israel 1,2,6,11,16,17 Congress/Muslims 2 Gita 4 Riots 5 AMU 7,13 Delhi Police 8-9 Secularism 11 J&K 7,10

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Analysis 11 Special Reports 3,13 Issues 2,12-13 Books 19 National 3-10 International 16-18 Speaking Out 11 Newsmakers 12 14-15 Community News Our Publications 20 Islamic Perspectives 21 Classifieds 22 Letters 23

RAW gives clean chit to Iran, needle of suspicion points towards Israel
While Indian mainstream media was wailing over the bomb blast that exploded in an Israeli diplomats car in Delhi, repeating ad nauseum Israeli claims that Iran was responsible and calling upon India to take action against Iran, one prime news channel, IBN7, told a different story in Hindi on 16 February quoting official sources but this story was soon silenced. Here is a full translation of this story:
New Delhi: Who was behind the attack on the Israeli diplomats car? Where the conspiracy was hatched? Days have passed but no concrete answers have been found. Ibn7 has come to know that Indias premier secret Intelligence agency [RAW] has sent a secret report from Bangkok. It has said in this report that the blast in Delhi was a part of a global conspiracy and it was planned either in America or Israel itself. After receiving this report, the Indian government gave clean chit to Iran. Israel just hours after the blast in Delhi blamed Iran for it but as the investigation in India progressed, Irans role in it was hard to ascertain. Even the Indian foreign minister SM Krishna gave a clean chit to Iran. As per the report of the secret intelligence unit in Bangkok, there is a similar pattern behind the blasts in Delhi, Bangkok and Georgia. In all these three blasts, low intensity bombs ware used. These blasts were conspired either in America or Israel and at all places local people were used to execute the blast. The intention was not to kill anybody. In the Delhi blast, the bomb was placed by the side of the driver so that it may cause least injury to the diplomats wife. The motive behind the blast was not to cause maximum damage but to harm Indias relations with some countries and to create an atmosphere to defame Iran in the international community. It has also been learnt from the investigation that before the blast no recce was done. According to sources, the investigators have watched the CCTV footage before and after the blast wherever the diplomats car moved or passed by. It has been established that no red colour motorbike either followed or chased the diplomats car. The Big question is what does it indicate now that India has given clean chit to Iran and Indias secret intelligence service claims that the conspiracy was hatched either in America or India? Now after such findings does Irans claim get due weightage that that it was carried out by Israels own secret agency Mossad.
MG/Yusuf

Stop rrorism! te

According to sources, the investigation has moved towards Mallappuram. There is evidence Israels intelligence agency Mossad on an incident in India 15 days prior to the blast in Delhi. RAW has arrested an Israeli couple on suspicion at Kochi in earlier occasions has used such weapons and tactics against Kerala 15 days before the blast. After initial questioning they were Islamic terrorism. Such kind of evidence has been found from let off and packed to Israel. They were living here in a rented countries like Palestine and some other Arab countries. Initially, it accommodation by paying more than the market price. It is was thought to be a counter-intelligence mechanism but some believed that this Israeli couple indulged in some anti-national believe that such kind of act can also be used in some secret misactivity and was getting help from some local people. Now to find sion against any country. The chemical used in the bomb also points to this theory. out as to whether the duo were in any way involved in the blast, According to sources, the white chemical used to wrap up the a team has been sent to Kochi. According to sources in the home ministry, investigating bomb is part of the pressure bomb. Pressure bomb is used by teams have also been sent to Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh. Israel to blast off tanks. Investigators have come to know that the Sources have informed that the teams sent to these places are couples from Israel arrested in India were in constant touch with also investigating terrorist organisations active in Kerala. National some terrorist organisations. However, the ministry does not deny Democratic Front and Islamic Youth Centre are on the top of their that the blast was carried out in association with international terlist. These two are controlled by SIMI. It is believed that people rorist organisations and local terror modules. (Translated by MG staff from Hindi. See the original story at associated with these groups might have carried out the blast. http://khabar.ibnlive.in.com/news/67291/1) Even the Lashkar-e-Toiba is named for it. In Kerala itself, 12 terror organisations linked to SIMI are active. Of these, two are in Terror jinn is out of the bottle again. It is pressure on the saffron masterminds who Thiruvananathapuram, one in not long ago when media in chorus with are found in the high ranks of RSS and Kochi, one in Kondoti and the Saffron Brigade used to parrot that VHP etc and the trail is leading to them. Not all Muslims are terrorists but all terNow the powers that be have gone rorists are Muslims. This lie was nailed back to the old game of balancing when by late Hemant Karkare, then head of an innocent Muslim organisation had to Maharashtra ATS in 2008. It was further be banned if RSS was to be touched. So e tattered by the confession of Muslim youth are again being kidnapped t fre Se a Aseemanand over a year ago. from places like Delhi and Bihar, and the hagw ts! B Now it can be safely said that all ter- chaos is for all to see: Delhi police arrestris terro ror attacks ascribed to Muslim youth were ing Maharashtra ATS, suspending their the handiwork of saffron criminals own men and NIA saying that arrested trained at umpteen places like Bhonsla terrorists were not really terrorists. Mr. Chidambaram, this is not the way Military School and Akanksha Resort under the watchful eyes of Advani & com- to fight terror. Look at the chargesheets pany. The recent past saw the acquittal of of Malegaon and Ajmer and arrest the scores of blameless Muslim youth who named RSS and VHP masterminds if you really want to go down in history as the spent years behind bars for no crime. But now, as the pressure increased on man who stopped terror in India. Should saffron terrorists, their supporters in the we remind you that all blasts stopped in media, RSS and BJP, have built pressure their tracks since Karkare started arreston the brave man at the helm of home ing the Saffron foot-soldiers? But the big s ministry so much so that he almost lost men are still out, waiting to strike at an Kamla is t his job. The pressure is in the name of opportune time. arres BJP ZAFARUL-ISLAM KHAN fighting graft but the real aim is to ease rong: w

Terror jinn is out of the bottle

2 The Milli Gazette, 1-15 March 2012

ISSUES / OPINION

India and Israel: strange bedfellows

ALI KHAN MAHMUDABAD
bilehra14@gmail.com

or the time being no one knows who carried out the attack on an Israeli embassy car in New Delhi. However, what is clear is that the perpetrators have consciously or unconsciously created a situation that could perhaps strengthen Indian-Israeli ties at the cost of Indias ties with other countries. Given the fact that many of the founding fathers of India, including Gandhi and Nehru, were opposed to the Zionist movement and settlement of alien Jews on Palestinian land, it is interesting to see why India is now developing closer relations with Israel. There are many strategic and defence reasons for this relationship but perhaps the answer also lies in the way in which certain groups from both countries have constructed and advocate a form of religious nationalism. Recently the Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed Indian Foreign Minister S M Krishna by stating that India and Israel are two ancient peoples seizing the future: in technology, in innovation, in enterprise, and I think we can seize it even better by our cooperation. On previous occasions Israeli ambassadors to India have talked about the awe and admiration in Israel for Indian history, culture and mentality. Although there is no one Indian culture, mentality or history, this talk of ancient people and Indian culture resonates with an important and politically powerful group of people in India. The RSS has a pan-Indian presence and also functions globally through various proxies. It is also the ideological progenitor of the BJP, a Hindu nationalist party. The RSS promotion of Hindutva or a form of Hindu nationalism, must resonate with

many right-wing Zionists who also view themselves as the rightful inheritors of an ancient motherland. Both groups share a nostalgia for a lost civilization and lament that outsiders forcibly dispossessed them from their homeland. The RSS has long argued that the Muslims of India can never be true Indians. V D Savarkar, one of the most influential ideologues of Hindutva, argued that although Muslims and Christians were born in India, they could never be true to its salt because it was not their holy land. Today many groups in Israel argue about the validity of citizens having to swear an oath to Israel as a Jewish state. One of the main similarities between the groups that advocate Hindutva and those that espouse right-wing Zionism is that they sacralise the nation-state. The advocates of Hindu nationalism view the nation-state as a goddess, Bharat-Mata or mother India. Similarly many Zionists hold that it is incumbent upon Jews to create a sovereign commonwealth in the Sacred Land where the Halaka or sacred law is implemented. In effect both these groups imbue geography with divine sanction. This form of religious nationalism means that anyone who criticises the politics of these groups is implicitly viewed as anti-national and therefore as anti-Semitic or anti-Hindu. nterestingly, both Zionism and Hindutva were not conceived as religious ideologies but both co-opted religious symbols and ideas in order to mould them according to a world view that was primarily centred around the idea of a nation. It is not surprising, therefore, that many of the original proponents of Zionism and founders of Israel, such as Theodore Herzl, Chaim Weizmann and Max Nordau were atheists. Similarly VD Savarkar and KB Hedgewar were self-professed atheists as were many other founders of the RSS. Recently, the leader of the BJP and a

close ally of the RSS, LK Advani gave an interview to the Indian Express saying that he was very much a secular man. It was at Advanis behest that the Congress Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao, a proponent of soft Hindutva, set up the formal relationship between Israel and India. Advani visited America in the early 1990s and was asked by Jewish lobbies as to why India had not set up formal relations with Israel. Like the Israelis, the Hindu right has also cultivated deep ties in Washington and has an active lobbying presence there. The RSS has many umbrella groups and one of them is the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) or the World Hindu Council. The VHP, along with the Friends of India Society International (FISI), actively lobby in Washington and regularly hold meetings with the American-Israeli Peace Affairs Committee (AIPAC) and other similar outfits. It is somewhat ironic that today these two groups have such a close relationship when one of the founders of the RSS, MS Golwalkar openly supported the abhorrent treatment of Jews in Nazi Germany and praised Hitler for purging the country of Semitic races Congressman Gary Ackerman from New York perhaps articulated the reason for India and Israels increasing proximity most bluntly. At a conference organised by Indian and Israeli lobbyists in 2006, he said that while Israels problem is that it is surrounded by 120 million Muslims, Indias problem is that it has 120 million Muslims. Right-wing Zionism and Hindutva are not representatives of Judaism or Hinduism but in todays world where terrorism and security have become the dominant drivers of international and domestic policies, it is important to be aware and indeed condemn those who cynically manipulate religion for political expediency. But irrespective of all the details dug out by Sachar there are political parties which still see Muslim appeasement in all corrective initiatives and visions to rectify the social, economical and educational imbalance of all these years. And in such a case the community gracefully desires to change position with the socalled under privileged and deprived majority community with the privileges and advantages Muslims enjoys. The author is a member of the Advisory Committee Airport Authority of India. He may be contacted at azizmubarki@gmail.com

Congress double-faced policy

Congresss double-faced policy Run with the hare and hunt with the hounds, has been at the cost of its credibility says AZIZ A. MUBARAKI

he response on the controversy surrounding Salman Khurshids statement at Farrukhabad about reservation was enormous with every political party vying for his head. But the question remains intact: has Mr. Khurshid done any wrong in quoting from his partys manifesto? Apparently the disapproval was triggered because he had made statements for the development of Muslims and uplift of their socio economic status. Leave aside the opposition some from his own political outfit, his colleagues have shown strong reservations about his comments and now they are silent when Beni Prasad Verma did the same challenging the Election Commission to do what it wants. Even though Muslims hardly have anything to gain from the entire controversy and they doubt even Salmans belated concerns, but then too he has shown some courage and tried to speak truth even if it was meant for political mileage. It was so gloomy to see Mr Khurshid literally isolated within his own party defending his legitimate statement about a decision announced before the elections. Regrettably this reflects the Congress culture all along. One might recall how this party shunned A. R. Antulay for his similar pro- Muslim remarks about the fake Batla House encounter on the floor of the house during UPA-1 regime, resulting in his ouster and subsequent denial of parliamentary elections ticket later in 2009 thus bringing an end to his political career as well. This run with the hare and hunt with the hounds policy has eroded Congresss credibility. In that way BJP is much more anchored and deeply rooted as they tend to stand by their leaders in whatever the outcome or circumstances be. The entire world cried foul of 2002 Gujarat riots with Narendra Modi at the centre of all negative attention or L. K. Advani facing similar flak during Babri Masjid demolition and aftermath, but the party threw its weight behind both of them. The entire Hindutva machinery was put on damage control to see the trouble through. While Khurshid was never a Muslim in the way identity politics tag leaders by community or caste. The Anglophiles
Indian Muslims Leading English Newspaper

laboured Hindi-Urdu made him incompatible with the suitable minority image, and this appeared in tune with intra-party dynamics. The traditional belief in Congress has held that only a Hindu can be a Muslim leader. Biggies like H N Bahuguna and Arjun Singh carefully cultivated the secular image to fill this slot. AICC general secretary Digvijaya Singh has modelled himself on his guru Dau saab, his controversial views on reservation, Batla House and even his Osamaji should be seen in this light. Congressmen believe that a Muslims backing of minority issues in a country with the past of Partition would draw charges of communalism, which in itself is absurd. In a country like ours every community, caste and section has its own indigenous leadership to advocate their rights i. e., Paswan and Mayawati for Dalits, Laloo and Mulayam for Yadavs, Advani and his team for upper caste Hindus but there is none to speak exclusively for rights and dignity of Muslims. Why? Why so much fuss when someone talks about Muslims in India? Muslims are no aliens but part of this country and seeking ones justifiable rights guaranteed under Constitution is no appeasement by any means. Muslims are 13.4 per cent of Indias population (2001census) and are considered to be a marginalized community because, in comparison to other communities, they have over the years been deprived of the benefits of socio-economic development according to Sachar committee report. he Dalit Muslims (considering its overall condition, the entire community must be considered as Dalit/OBC, but thats a different issue all together) are a part of society, which is completely absent from the Constitution, parliamentary democracy and debates of mainstream politics. The census report usually records the number count of the different castes included as Dalit and a brief outline on their present status. But in these reports, we find not even a trace of the population of Dalit Muslims. The deeply disturbing fact, however, is that the public sphere of our society doesnt even deem it necessary to hold discussions on this group. It is very surprising that neither the media nor the academia or even street discussions have ever included this group within the ambit of their discussion.

One cannot ignore the difference of world view between an American Zionist warmonger like Kissinger and a traditionally pacifist Indias then foreign minister Jaswant Singh. Jaswant Singh rightly avoided reply, out of politeness. Why a country should have to have military alliances, so that it can fight wars. Why should it not try all diplomatic moves to avoid war and if time comes, why should it depend on others to join it in its own wars, like US and Israel and NATO always go about. Like a pack of hyenas, even when they can alone fight a war, and they did like in Iraq, without waiting for others to help them out. I think Indian response on both Maldives and Iran, was most well considered and had for the first time avoided a knee jerk reaction, that some trigger happy countries expect India to jump at the first whistle. Those writers who have sympathies with US and Israel, naturally use every logic to fault their own government. However, so much has now come out within the short period of a week or two on the nuances of Indian foreign policy on both subjects, it is rather too presumptuous to ignore the entire perspective and push an old jaundiced view of ideological preference when the matter involves appeasing the favourite Hindutva term the Muslim radicals, both in Maldives and in Iran. The real world is much more complicated than to be covered by ideological terminologies.

India and US have conflicting world-views

GHULAM MUHAMMED
ghulammuhammed3@gmail.com
Call/SMS: 09818120669 / 09868656614

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NATIONAL

Will Mulayam succeed in checkmating Congress?

HAIDER ABBAS

he results of parliamentary general elections of 2009 are still fresh in memory. Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav was licking his wounds after a short alliance with Kalyan Singh a convict of the Babri Masjid demolition - whom he had embraced out of political expediency as he thought that Yadavs and Lodhs (both backward castes) would work a political miracle. But Mulayam Singh Yadav was reduced instead to almost half of his tally and none of his Muslim candidates could make it to Parliament. His own party general secretary and its co-founder Muhammed Azam Khan was shown the door. And who benefited? Obviously Congress, the chief conspirator of the whole Babri Masjid issue starting with the midnight raid on of Dec 22-23, 1949, to unlocking the Masjid on Feb 1, 1986, and finally its demolition on Dec 6, 1992. Muslims, a formidable voting force in UP, gave a clear edge to Congress in that election over SP as BJP, the most rabid anti-Muslim political party, had to be held in its tracks. The lesson: Congress did not win while SP lost. Who charted the doom for SP? Muhammed Azam Khan, as Muslims deserted SP, but there was another figure too within the SP rank and file who had risen to dizzying heights Amar Singh. His role in SPs dismal performance cannot be overlooked. He had been made general secretary of the party. The way he touched the feet of Kalyan Singh before his joining SP are rooted in peoples memory. The whole tenure of Mulayam Singh Yadav (2003-07) as the CM in UP could not enthuse its workers because Mulayam simply sang to the tunes of corporates. It was surely a show of corporatocracy. There were evenings at Sahara Shaher, Lucknow with bollywood divas in attendance. Amar Singh was holding the reins while Azam Khan was as always objecting to the role played by Amar Singh. He lambasted the move of Amar Singh who had prevailed upon Mulayam Singh to offer SP support in the formation of UPA-1. Azam Khan, had said even before the 2004 results were declared that Sonia Gandhi had no past experience of public service, hence she never deserved the PM post. But while Sonia and her party regaled with a remote-controlled PM, Mulayam Singh Yadav stood stranded outside her house as an unwanted guest. Mulayam-Amar duo were not even allowed in. Congress played well to the rules of handicapping SP with support-not-required throughout the tenure until CPI (M) withdrew from UPA and SP immediately stepped in to support UPA. The last six-months of UPA-1 found a crazy India-Israel arms deals as there was no watchdog like CPI(M) to apply any brakes. UPA-1, thus, survived its last six months on SP crutches. Despite SP more than willing to oblige with its support, it could not placate Sonia as she had extracted her revenge. She reminded Mulayam Singh Yadav of his stand on her foreign origin. Moreover, Amar Singhs jibes

How can Mulayam Singh Yadav, in that case, checkmate Congress? He does have a trump card. If he makes Muhammad Azam Khan, the CM of UP, it would silence the tonguewagging of Congress for a long time to come. Mulayam Singh Yadav, could then at least, sail through well past 2014 as well as 2017.
against Sonia, often disparaged to the street-loose-talk levels, had also planted a wedge between Sonia and Mulayam too wide to be bridged. And this was something Azam loathed. Pre- and post-UP Election 2007 Mulayam Singh Yadav was a harried lot. He had done everything during his tenure to deviate from his core socialist ideology. He just kept a tokenism with Ram Manohar Lohia birth anniversaries. Socialism had taken a back seat and corporates ruled the roost. There was not even an iota of a socialist state, as cinema stars jostled for their booty. Azam Khan was relegated to the margins. He was woefully frisked by a Yadav police officer; his mobile phone was taken away at directive of Amar Singh and Shivpal Singh Yadav, Mulayams younger brother, on the occasion of the inauguration of a Hajj House at Ghaziabad. Azam lamented his diminished role, but his political commitment remained unwavering for SP. He employed his resources to build another Hajj House in Lucknow where the CM praised his minister that not a single rupee was paid off as a commission in the entire project. But, for the whole tenure Mulayam Singh could not dispel the rumour mills that his government was running with the blessings of NDA as George Fernandes was present at his oath taking ceremony. NDA fell in 2004 and UP was under. Mulayam Singh kept on with the guessing game. He provided substance to the rumours as he met Nanaji Deshmukh, an RSS ideologue, in 2005. He gave Uma Bharti, an accused in Babri Masjid demolition state guest status in 2006, he lavished state patronage with a sum of 173 crore into organising the Kumbh Mela in January 2007 and he bathed in Ganga at Allahabad but failed to visit a madrasa where some Muslim girls were molested, allegedly at the behest of his own MP Atiq Ahmed. He did not give a no-objec-

tion certificate to Maulana Muhammed Ali Jauhar University, a project initiated by Azam Khan. This was on the counsel of Amar Singh as the latter had advised to keep it hanging like the issue of Babri Masjid. All this ultimately led to a meltdown and Azam was ousted with the end result that none of SP Muslim candidates could see parliament in 2009. Estrangement continued until Sept 30, 2010 when a three judges bench decreed favouring the Hindu side saying that the site of Babri Masjid civilisationally belonged to Hindus, and that Muslims were in adverse possession for more than four centuries (!) and the bench offered in charity one third of what it said belonged to the Hindu side. Mulayam Singh said that Muslims felt cheated by the high court order. This stance made Azam and Mulayam come together again, the former was later inducted into the party after an expulsion of 21 months, and together the duo is now garnering the maximum of Muslim votes in UP -- much to the consternation of Congress! Post Election 2012 Congress has gone full throttle to throw all its resources into UP. Media has been totally coopted. BJP is in total disarray. BSP is nonchalant. SP is expecting the highest tally, hence, for the Brahmin-oriented media, Congress is the best bet. It is almost clear now that SP will emerge as the leading party and may even get a clear majority too, but if it fails, politics will step in. Would Congress come forward with its support, particularly when Presidents election is on the anvil? Would Congress, instead, try and placate Mulayam Singh Yadav in the short term and then topple his government by 2014, and UP will have to go for simultaneous assembly and parliament polls? Or would Mulayam Singh Yadav in between will find another alternative to notch up the tally in order to run the show until 2017. What is for sure now is that Congress has already started to play the 2014 game by riding piggy-back on Backward politicians like Beni Prasad Verma (Kurmi) and Ajit Singh (Jat) and the fight for the ultimate Muslim vote would be the deciding factor in 2014. This would make Mulayam Singh Yadav face a precarious situation as there would be no third-front to contest at the national level, and CPI(M), even if downcast, is also too wary of him, hence, with virtually no formidable challenge, as NDA cracks are all too visible, Nitish Kumar, Biju Patnaik and Jayalalita have already signalled for a new non-NDA alliance. Hence, Congress would then just play by upping the ante against Mulayam on the question of Muslim vote. How can Mulayam Singh Yadav, in that case, checkmate Congress? He does have a trump card. If he makes Muhammad Azam Khan, the CM of UP, it would silence the tongue-wagging of Congress for a long time to come. Mulayam Singh Yadav, could then at least, sail through well past 2014 as well as 2017.

Muslims across Tamil Nadu protest for reservation

Modi: the eternal legal Mona Lisa

Ahmedabad: Mona Lisa remains an eternal enigma for art critics. So is Modi who is simultaneously slammed as well as absolved. Each legal agency has its own verdict. While the Gujarat High Court found him guilty of inaction and negligence in controlling the riots, SIT grants him a clean chit. By describing the 2002 riots spontaneous reaction Narendra Modis Newtonian principle has been authenticated. The exoneration brings relief not only to Modi but also to Maya Kodnani, Jaideep Patel, K.G. Erda and Babu Bajrangi in the Gulbarga case. Gujarat High Court directed the government to compensate the trusts managing the 600 damaged mosques, temples and shrines. It also ordered to realize the money from those who were responsible for the destruction. Hearing a PIL filed by Islamic Research Committee, Gujarat, Justice Bhaskar Bhattacharya and Justice I.B. Pardiwala observed that the state had failed in discharging its constitutional duty of protecting the rights of citizens. The bench directed the collectors of 26 districts to receive applications for compensation within six months and report compliance. The state governments failure to table the NHRC report despite its promise to do so has also been rapped. (AG Khan)

he Tamil Nadu Thowheed Jamaath organised protests in all district headquarters across Tamil Nadu demanding 10 per cent reservation for Muslims in education and employment opportunities in the Union Government and seven percent reservation in the State. Speaking to reporters, the state president of TNTJ Moulavi P. Jainul Abedeen said the panel headed by Justice Ranganath Mishra had recommended to the Union Government that 10 per cent reservation in education and employment opportunities should be given to uplift the community. Subsequently, the recommendations were tabled in the Parliament for its approval. Justice Ranganath Mishra Commission went a step ahead to say that the Union Government should give 15 per cent reservation to the minorities and 10 per cent for Muslims within this reservation to change the living condition of Muslims across the country. The Congress party, which came to power two times, had promised in its manifesto that the party would give a 10 per cent reservation to the Muslims if it was voted to power. However, the ruling Congress, which failed to take any step in this connection these past eight years, has now promised in its manifesto for the Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls that it would give 4.5 per cent reservation for minority OBCs,

which is nothing but cheating Muslims. During the assembly election campaign, ruling ADMK president Jayalalitha has promised Muslims that she will increase the percentage of reservation from 3.5 per cent if her party was voted to power. We demand seven percent reservation for Muslims in jobs and education in the state, Moulavi P. Jainul Abedeen said. Pressing these demands, the TNTJ had held a massive conference at Island Grounds in Chennai on July 4, 2009, and now TNTJ is organising protests in all district headquarters across TN with the participation of thousands of Muslims across the state. He added that only reservation will be a permanent solution for improving the socio-economic conditions of Muslims and if the Congress Party goes on betray-

ing Muslims, it will face the consequences in the coming Lok Sabha elections said P. Zainul Abedeen

istricts like Thiruvallur, South Chennai, North Chennai, Nellai, Thiruvarur, Thanjore, Tuticorin, Madurai, Trichy witnessed huge crowds. Police officials imposed a ban in Coimbatore citing that February 14 bomb blast was held in the city on 1998, security in the city was tightened and over 1500 policemen were deployed in the city. Defying the ban, more than 2500 Muslims participated in the protest. Police started arresting people as a result. Arrested people were accommodated in a marriage hall, and all were released by 9 pm same day.

Quote, Unquote
It appears from what happened in Ahmedabad and other parts of the state from February 28 [2002] onwards, was with deliberate connivance and support of the Modi govt. JUSTICE PB SAWANT We have been shocked by reports on SITs conduct. What appeared to be an open and shut case of state having openly indulged in riots has been turned into travesty of justice. JUSTICE H SURESH

4 The Milli Gazette, 1-15 March 2012

NATIONAL
Shining India!

Indians have stashed over $500 billion in banks abroad: CBI chief
Indians are the largest depositors in banks abroad with an estimated USD 500 billion (nearly Rs. 24.5 lakh crore) of illegal money stashed by them in tax havens, CBI Director A P Singh said on 13 February. India has suffered from the flow of illegal funds to tax havens such as Mauritius, Switzerland, Lichtenstein, British Virgin Islands etc. It is estimated that around 500 billion dollars of illegal money belonging to Indians is deposited in tax havens abroad. Largest depositors in Swiss Banks are also reported to be Indians, CBI Director A P Singh said speaking at the inauguration of first Interpol global programme on anti-corruption and asset recovery. He said getting information about such illegal transactions is a time-consuming process as investigators have to peel each layer by sending judicial requests to the country where such deposits have been made. 53 per cent of the countries said to be least corrupt by the Transparency International Index are offshore tax havens, where most of the corrupt money goes. The tax havens include New Zealand which is ranked as the least corrupt country, Singapore ranked number five and Switzerland number seven, Singh said adding that there is a lack of political will in the leading tax haven states to part with information because they are aware of the extent to which their economies have become geared to this flow of illegal capitals from the poorer countries. The CBI Director said tracing, freezing, confiscation and repatriation of stolen assets is a legal challenge, a complex process which requires expertise and political will. Managing the asset recovery investigation is a complex, time-consuming, costly and most importantly requires expertise and political will. There are many obstacles to asset recovery. Not only is it a specialised legal process filled with delays and uncertainty, but there are also language barriers and a lack of trust when working with other countries, Singh said. He said global financial markets allow money to travel faster and further making tracking the money trail in such cases even more difficult which necessitates the organisation of such global training programmes as they enhance the knowledge of investigators in tracking assets created out of corrupt and criminal acts. Singh said criminals are using the territorial issues of investigating agencies to their advantage by spreading their crimes to at least two countries and investing in a third. In some of the recent important cases being investigated by the CBI such as 2G, CWG and Madhu Koda, we find that money is taken to Dubai, Singapore and Mauritius from where it goes to Switzerland and other such tax havens. For criminals, all it involves is setting up of a few shell companies and then making layered transfers from account to another in a matter of hours as there are no boundaries in banking transactions, he said. He said the World Bank estimates the cross border flow of money from criminal activities and tax evasion is around 1.5 trillion US dollars of which 40 billion US dollars is bribe paid to government servants in developing countries. Singh quoted the report to say that only five billion US dollars of this money has been repatriated during 15 years.

Gita not a religious book?

RAM PUNIYANI
Srimad Bhagwat Gita or Bhagwat Gita or Gita has been in the news recently for various reasons. A few months ago, the matter came up when a Siberian Court in the Tomsk City of Russia was to decide about the ban on the translation of Gita by Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupad Swami, the founder of ISKCON. The argument was that this particular translation was promoting social discord and so it should be banned. It was perceived in India as if there was a demand to ban Gita in Russia. In this context the matter came up in Parliament and a strong protest was voiced against the banning of the Hindu religious text. Later the court did not ban this particular translation and so the matters came to a rest. Incidentally, it can be reemphasized that Gita as a Hindu religious scripture is popular in Russia since centuries, and what was demanded was a ban on a particular translation and not on the Holy Scripture itself. Closer home, the M.P. high court has ruled in January this year that Gita is essentially a book on Indian philosophy, not a book on Indian religion. This judgment gave the sanction to the decision of M.P. Government to continue with the teaching of Gita Sar (Essence of Gita) in MP schools. This petition had come up in court when the Catholic Bishop Council appealed that moral values of all religions should be taught in schools and not just Gita. So now the M.P. high court stepped in to say that since Gita is a book on Indian philosophy and not on religion, it can be continued as such and the need to consider introducing the moral values from other religions as well, need not be considered. Incidentally, another BJP-ruled state, Karnataka, is also planning to introduce the teaching of Gita in its schools. While giving this judgment, one wonders if the honorable judge forgot that while the oath is administered to Hindus in his court, they are made to take the oath by placing their hand on the same holy book, as a religious book and not as a book of philosophy! One is reminded of another judgment at this time, the one known as Hindutva as a way of life. The Supreme Court was to decide whether the use of the word Hindutva in elections is tantamount to corrupt electoral practice or not, as Hindutva divides people along religious lines. Contrary to the theological, sociological and political understanding that Hinduism is a religion and that the word Hindutva is built around Hindu religious identity, the Court gave a ruling which opened the floodgates of dividing people along religious lines. This judgment (Hindutva is a way of life) exonerated someone who was indulging in divisive religious propaganda and gave legitimacy to politics in the name of religion. Now the Gita judgment has again raised questions about the nature of Hinduism, its religious texts and its religious beliefs. Opportunistically, the MP government and other believers in Hindutva who call Gita a holy Hindu religious scripture and so it should be taught in schools are keeping quiet, as this judgment suits their political agenda. The confusions prevail at multiple layers, as Hinduism is not a prophet-based religion and there is no single revealed holy book. This understanding is being used by many to take the convenient path of taking the meaning which suits their purpose. While the term Hindu is of recent origin (approximately eighth centuries old), the consolidation of Hinduism from the various prevailing religious sects has been a process which began around the time of Magadh Maurayan empire. There are many a religious scripture, many a holy book in this umbrella of Hinduism -- Vedas, Upanishads, Ramayana, Mahabharata etc. So which is the holy scripture of Hindus? While all these books are regarded as holy, over a period of time Hindu religion is being shaped around One Deity (Lord Ram), One Book (Gita) and One Clergy (Acharyas, Mahants). The verdict of the court defies logic when it proclaims, Gita is essentially a book on Indian philosophy and not a book on Indian religion. The Bhagwat Gita or Gita (Song of God) is a 700 verse scripture that is part of the epic Mahabharata. As it is drawn from the Mahabharata, it can be labelled as Smriti text. Some sects of Hinduism give it the status of Upanishad, thereby making it sruti (revealed) book. It is also regarded as representing the summary of teachings of Upanishadic and so it is also called Upanishad of Upanishads. In this Holy Scripture, Lord Krishna teaches Arjun his duties as a prince belonging to Kshtriya Varna. Arjun was faced with the dilemma of a war in which there was the possibility of killing his own kin, cousins and others. Lord tells Arjun that it is his holy duty to undertake the war. Lord elaborates on different Yogas, and so Gita is often described as a core of Hindu theology. As most holy scriptures are revelations from the supreme God, in Gita also Krishna reveals his identity as the Supreme Being himself (Svayam Bhagvan). He blesses Arjun with the awe-inspiring vision of divine universal form. The Gita elaborates on the central part of Hindu theology, the origin of Varnas. In Purush Sukta of Vedas, Lord Brahma narrates as to how he created the four Varnas from the body of Virat Purush. In the Gita, on similar lines, Lord Krishna also tells about the divine origin of Varnas. The Lord says that the fourfold order was created by him according to the divisions of quality (guna) and work (karma). One knows that the origin of Hinduism is different from that of prophet-based religions. Here, there has been an evolution of Hinduism over a period of time and today, while Hinduism is a religion, Gita is its Holy Scripture. To take the stand that it is Indian philosophy and not religious in nature is far from the truth. There is philosophy also in all Holy Scriptures. Notwithstanding this, they are primarily religious scriptures. The verdict of the court needs re-examination as it does not conform to the belief of millions of Hindus; neither can it stand the scrutiny of rational understanding about Hinduism as a religion. From the religion of pastoral Aryans to the practices of Hindus today, there is a long journey. The communal forces want to introduce this text in schools to not only impose Hinduism on this country but also through this book, they aim to reinforce the concept of Varna, which is one of the core doctrines of Hinduism, and Gita narrates this by attributing Varna to the divine creation by the Lord Himself. While there are many a philosophical formulation in this divine book, there is also the subtle defence of what Hindutva politics wants to bring in today, Varan-Jati in a repackaged form. (Issues in Secular Politics)

Most Indian kids underweight: CRY

Kolkata: Around 48 per cent of children under five years of age in India are underweight, ranging from 20 per cent of the child population (under-five years) in Sikkim to a whopping 60 per cent in Madhya Pradesh, according to an NGO, Child Rights and You (CRY). Quoting data from the National Family Health Survey (NFHS3) report on health and nutrition, the NGO said in a statement that one out of every five children under five years is wasted (low weight for height), while seven out of every 10 children aged six to 59 months are anaemic. The effects of malnutrition are irreversible as it prevents children from growing to their full potential, CEO of CRY Puja Marwaha said. Its effects are inter-generational -- a malnourished child suffers with diminished cognitive development, poor school performance and physical development, thus impacting his/her productivity as an adult, and for women it leads to giving birth to low birth weight babies, she said. More than a quarter of the babies born in Bihar, Delhi, Punjab, Rajasthan and Tripura are low in birth weight, while Haryana leads the list with 32.7 per cent of its child population weighing below par. The standard weight of a normal child at the time of birth is 2.8 kg as prescribed by the World Health Organisation (WHO). Contrary to common perception, metropolitan cities like Mumbai, country capital New Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR), too, have not escaped the grasp of malnutrition, where more than four out of every 10 children are stunted, the statement said. On an average, 74 children out of 1,000 do not live to see their fifth birthday in India. States like Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha and Jharkhand have even higher under-five mortality rate of 90 per 1,000, with more than 50 per cent of them dying from malnutrition. The immunisation rate of children in the age of 12-23 months is quite low, with an average of 43.5 per cent. Not a single state has achieved the target of total immunisation. Poor antenatal care for mothers contributes to the number of wasted and stunted children, making it increasingly difficult for them to escape the clutches of malnourishment, according to the statement.

SC slams Modi for spurious case against Teesta

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on 21 February questioned the Gujarat government for initiating a probe against social activist Teesta Setalvad for her alleged role in a case of illegal exhumation of the bodies of the 2002 riot victims, saying it is a spurious case to victimise her. This is a hundred percent spurious case to victimise the petitioner (Setalvad), said a bench of justices Aftab Alam and Ranjana Prakash Desai. While criticising the state government for beginning the probe against Setalvad, it added, this type of case does no credit to the state of Gujarat in any way. This case is hundred percent spurious. In other cases against petitioner, there may be something, the bench said. Besides this case, the Gujarat government has also lodged criminal proceedings against her in other riot-related cases. The bench was of the view that it was not correct on the part of the Gujarat government to go ahead with the case. It asked senior advocate Pradeep Ghosh, who appeared for the Gujarat government, to go through the First Information Report (FIR) of the case and advise the government not to proceed with it. You advise your client not to proceed with this type of case. You should show some responsibility and tell the government not to proceed with the case, the bench said. The bench was hearing a petition by Setalvad against the May 27 order of the Gujarat High Court, which had refused to quash the FIR registered against her at a police station in Panchmahal district of the state on exhumation of the bodies from a graveyard near river Panam. While making the critical remarks against the Gujarat government for initiating the probe against Setalvad in the body exhumation case, the bench said its interim stay, imposed on July 29, 2011 on criminal proceedings against Setalvad in the case would continue till the next date of hearing. Vadodara: Actress-film maker Nandita Das on 6 February compared Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi with Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler. Without taking Modis name, Das said, It was during Hitlers time that Germanys best roads were constructed. These roads, even today, are considered to be the best connecting European cities. Germany got the best hospitals during Hitlers time. He was a music lover, a vegetarian and non-alcoholic. But nobody, not even Germans, remember him for this, Das said while talking to mediapersons. Das was trying to counter the argument that the riots apart, Modi has been a good administrator who has brought considerable economic growth and development to the state. The human rights activist, who is known for making her directorial debut with the film Firaaq based on the aftermath of the Gujarat riots, made these comments when questioned on the difference between Gujarat in 2002 and Gujarat in 2012. Das said there were many who advised her to forget (the 2002 riots) and move forward. They say whatever happened has happened. But there are still some people who talk about Mahmud of Ghazni. There are still some people who refer to a community as having the blood of Auranzeb. For those who have lost their near and dear ones, ten years are not enough to forgive and forget. At an individual level, no amount of money can help those people to move on, she said.

Nandita draws parallels between Modi and Hitler

The Milli Gazette, 1-15 March 2012

NATIONAL

Mayawatis Dalit Report Card

HAIDER ABBAS

ucknow: A political storm is brewing in UP. It is still quite preposterous to forecast that there would be a change of guard in UP, but as the trends suggest, the state government is battling under a rampant anti-incumbency factor which might spell a doom for the BSP-run government in the state. But, notwithstanding all the typical hype of the anti-incumbency factor, the political scene today demands a clear understanding as to what could really mar the prospects of BSP on its own home turf. Political pundits have had their field day these past few weeks. The upper caste Hindu Brahmins were deserting BSP; Muslims have chosen SP etc. So who then would be voting for BSP? Of course, Dalits! But, here is where everything would go wrong as the BSPs proverbial captive Dalit votebank, aka Harijans or untouchables, is perhaps likely to look the other way, and this is where it hurts the most. Perhaps, this serious change was waiting to happen, and it would be only BSP which is to blame itself. And why this somersault could happen, needs a clinical understanding so as to fathom the deep waters of UP politics. Why do Dalits look so disenchanted is a most baffling question. Well, if Akhil Bhartiya Chamar Mahasangh, which has its bodies spread in more than half a dozen states in the country, is to be believed, then the BSP governments latest tenure can only be highlighted for its marked departure from not only its core-ideology but probably for all that BSP had once stood for. Dalits, who stand at the lowest rung of Hindu society, find themselves in utter shambles and confronted by a betrayal of the worst kind at the hands of Mayawati who preferred to invest thousands of crores in building parks and statues for herself and her mentor Kanshi Ram, whereas she should have utilised those funds to open thousands of schools and clinics in Dalit localities. But she preferred to become a modern Czarina instead. She dumped her own people and made it sure that her people remain a toiling lot as their ignorance and illiteracy would perhaps assure a permanent loyal votebank. But could such a twisted logic make sense in a democracy? Hence Mayawati was seriously caught on the wrong foot as elections approached. Chamar Mahasangh leadership sat at more than a hundred meetings throughout the last five years to articulate a policy and also understand how and why Mayawati had divorced her Dalit agenda. Harnam Singh Gautam is the general secretary of the organisation who moves on a bicycle but is armed with thousands of newspaper clippings collected from across UP on the atrocities perpetrated against Dalits during the last five years. When Chamars sighed a relief in 2007 it soon proved to be a short-lived dream as Brahmins, the group ideologically opposed to BSP, were the recipients of unabateddoles from the Mayawati government. Brahmins took a U-turn out of political necessity and now have changed their priorities, while Chamars remained the same harried lot, he said. Harnam Singh said that Jatavs, a sub-caste to which Mayawati belongs, form around 20 percent of the overall Scheduled Castes in UP. Ten percent belong to Koeris, Dohre, Rainger, Pasi, Dhanuk, Dhobi, Khatik etc and around 70 percent of them are made up of Raidasas who draw inspiration from Raidas, a Chamar social reformer who lived during the Mughal times, and they are non-Buddhists while Jatavs are Buddhists.

The political calculus which is likely to get Mayawati on the wrong foot is due to the total alienation of Raidas who in large numbers have this time chosen to vote for SP.
Chamars are cobblers and traditionally they have been into trading in animal hides and feeding on dead animals. Chamars are spread all over UP. Koeris are found around Kanpur and some adjoining areas. They are worse off, as they could not perform such acts and were supported by Chamars. Dohre are found around Kannauj and Jhansi. Chamarmaghta and Mus-hars were landless and in perpetual poverty and therefore took to begging. Pasi are found around Lucknow and Sitapur areas, Rainger are found in western UP and their presence is quite miniscule Dhanuk are oil-massagers and barbers and their women work as midwives and are found across UP. Balmikis are manual scavengers and have a pan-UP presence. Khatiks are mostly fruit vendors and are educated, urbane and communal too, as they had been traditionally associated with BJP. The worst hit are Raidas who make the biggest chunk of Chamars while those who found it more difficult to survive took to a Jatav certificate, and are spread across UP. The political calculus which is likely to get Mayawati on the wrong foot is due to the total alienation of Raidas who in large numbers have this time chosen to vote for SP. Chamar ideologues differed with Mayawati from the very onset when Kanshi Ram had formed the first government with BJP in 1995, but they somehow clinged with the party due to its nascent state then, but from 2007, they found the BSP too on the same track as atrocities, rapes, gang-rapes and murders of Chamars went on with the same routine as it was taking place during the days of Congress during the first four decades after independence. To add injury to insult, the BSP government with-

drew many cases of Dalit atrocities, registered under SC/ST Act, in the name of public interest! Mayawati would always sieze any Dalit atrocity to protest but did not care when Dalit women were raped (mostly by Upper Caste Hindus) with a virtual ban on the publication of any such news or at best downplaying it. It is only in the last year of her tenure when media had started to muster some courage to publish such news. BR Ambedkar, of course, is the messiah who liberated the Dalits and Backwards to finally claim their stake in public life but he never advocated the installation of statues, a Brahmin venture, as such steps were detrimental to human development, but Mayawati who throughout her tenure garlanded Lord Krishna on his birthday, also made her people high on such opium. The birth anniversary of Ambedkar on 14th of April, had seen lathis raining on Dalits, books of social reformers like Jyotiba Phule, Shahuji Maharaj and Ambedkar were banned while those who protested were thrown into jails by a government which came to power in the name of Ambedkar. Dalit and Shudra (every non-Upper Caste Hindu is a Shudra) organisations were banned from staging public protests, their meetings were denied media coverage which remains controlled by Brahmins. The last five years found many examples of Dalits being branded as gangsters for making spurious liquor, even a 13-yearold Dalit boy was arrested under Goonda Act, whereas, the top echelons of power were engaged into an unprecedented loot of the state, minting billions through unscrupulous corrupt means, and those who had brought BSP to power as its committed cadres received the same contemptuous centuries-old maltreatment. Dalit women were raped and in some cases the police action was to shield the criminals. Final Reports (FRs) filed by police were always tailor-made to close the case at the behest of political powers. A Dalit woman was murdered and her body was thrown in a jungle under Mishrik Police Station in Sitapur and no action was taken on the same. Another one was raped but the report was not registered; the case was taken to court which ordered the report to be registered but FIR came to the rescue and the same woman was later murdered. All this could happen unhindered even during the ostensible BSP rule! There have been hundreds of cases where reports were not at all registered. Would such a government ever be called as that of Dalits! The building of parks for the recreation of upper castes is all that Mayawati could do. Dalits who had money gave it to get their relatives into jobs. Otherwise, the whole tenure has been a nightmare for Dalits. The chinks in Mayawatis arsenal are highly visible as the largest chunk amongst the Chamars is looking for an alternative. Moreover, Mayawatis move to drop almost half of her sitting MLAs (due to corruption charges) has boomeranged as they are now working to stall BSP at every cost. Around half a dozen ministers were sacked due to indictment by the Loyayukta on charges of corruption. There is nowadays a growing tally of suicides by government employees allegedly involved in the NHRM scam. Given the circumstances, only a miracle can help BSP return to power in the state. It seems SP would emerge as the largest party and may form the new government. It is time to tread with extreme caution for anyone who would be crowned in UP by midMarch as the first test is lurking ahead in 2014 when the whole nation would go to polls.

Shia-Sunni riots in Lucknow on the occasion of Prophets birthday

Lucknow: Prophet Muhammads (pbuh) birthday was celebrated here on 5 February and different meetings and processions passed off peacefully but at night, riots erupted between Shias and Sunnis in Sadatganj thana area and incidents of stone pelting from both sides took place in which some people were injured. Police somehow brought the situation under control and posted additional force near Dargah Hazrat Abbas and other sensitive places. However, next day (6 February) riots started again in the morning and by noon sectarian riots spread to many other localities in the city inspite of all efforts by the police to control it. In addition to stone pelting, cases of looting, arson and firing also were reported intermittently in some affected localities. About half-a-dozen shops were set afire and some shops were looted. More than two dozen persons were injured in stone pelting and firing incidents. Police used lathis, tear gas shells and also reportedly resorted to firing to disperse the rioting crowds, though police denied the firing. In stone pelting cases, about half a dozen police personnel were reportedly injured. In addition to normal police force, STF, PAC and RAF personnel were also stationed at sensitive places and patrolling continued in large areas. Many arrests were also made. The riots were brought to an end finally but some important Muslim leaders questioned the role of the administration officials as they suspect a deliberate attempt and conspiracy on their part and also on the part of communal and mischievous elements. Eidgahs Imam Maulana Khalid Rasheed Firangi Mahli said that the main events of the observance and celebration of Prophets (pbuh) birthday, i.e., meetings and processions passed off peacefully and riots and deterioration of the condition occurred later when there were no processions and this is beyond comprehension. All this appears to be part of a conspiracy and hence Muslims have to be very cautious and vigilant. He said that Muslim youth are progressing in business, education and services and their economic and educational conditions are also steadily improving which is not palatable to some elements and outfits, hence all this is being done deliberately and surreptitiously so that Muslims are not able to progress and move forward. All these riots are politically motivated. Hence we strongly appeal to Muslims to exercise restraint and patience and take all possible steps to maintain peace for the sake of themselves and the future of their children because only we will be the suffers, he siad. All India Milli Councils general secretary, Dr. Manzoor Alam more or less expressed the same feelings, saying that AIMC has always been trying right from the beginning to promote unity and understanding among all sects and groups of Muslims and by the grace of God we have succeeded to a great extent in this but sometimes misunderstandings do take place, leading to confrontations and conflicts. He made a sincere appeal to the people to do their best to avoid such situations so that our unity and strength should not weaken. In the background of assembly elections, he said, fascist elements are probably trying to create misunderstandings and dissensions between Muslims so that their united votes may get divided, which will help them to win. Expressing great sorrow over the present Lucknow incident, Dr Alam appealed to all sects and groups of Muslims to always maintain and strengthen their unity in the face of lurking dangers. persons, including six police personnel were injured. According to police sources this clash took place on the night of 7 February when some persons of a group desecrated the religious place of another community. This obviously led to a clash between the people of different communities who resorted to stone pelting on each other. Police resorted to lathi charge and firing of tear gas shells to control the situation. It may be stated incidentally in this connection that a bye election, necessitated by the death in October 2011 of Shankar Koel assembly constituency MLA, who also was a minister, C. Krupa Swamy, is to take place. According to police, the people of the community whose religious place was desecrated, had taken out a protest demonstration which was attacked and stones were pelted by unknown people. Suspecting that stones must have been pelted by the people of the other community, a clash took place and pelting of stones, soda water bottles etc. was resorted to by the people of both communities. Many shops, houses and vehicles etc. were set on fire. According to police, situation was soon brought under control and additional police force was posted at strategic and sensitive places.

Tirunelvelli: Communal riots erupted in this city of Tamil Nadu on 7 February in which sixteen

Communal riots in Tamil Nadus city

MG NEWS DESK

6 The Milli Gazette, 1-15 March 2012

NATIONAL

A Car Bomb that exposed Indias Sham sovereignty

ARUN SHRIVASTAVA
arunshrivastava.1951@gmail.com New Delhi: The important thing about the February 13 attack on an Israeli diplomats car (Number: 109 CD 35; blue number plate with CD meaning Diplomatic Corps) is that it happened within the square mile of sanitized Delhi that rules over 1.2 billion Indians. This is an intensely patrolled area; at every intersection you will find a fast police car with armed policemen to cordon off an entire street or several streets within seconds of any terrorist event. Therefore, it is simply inconceivable that a lone rider on a motorbike stopped by the Israeli diplomats car, attached an explosive device, and scooted away from the scene before the car blew up. And all of this within seconds. Either the policemen were sleeping -- all of them, at the same time -- at quarter past three in the afternoon; or something else happened. The lone eye witness who saw something being attached could have been any one, or anything, we dont know. On Aurangzeb Road, an address to die for in Delhi, every hour 1500-2000 cars move. By counting the stately mansions on this road, you can arrive at an approximate figure of Indias current dollar billionaires. About fifteen years ago, one of the residents of Aurangzeb Road, a well-connected big industrialist, was offered several million dollars in monthly rent and a deposit of a corpus of Rs 500 million in any bank anywhere in the world. This is one of the most beautiful homes on Aurangzeb Road and the person who offered the deal was the then Israeli Ambassador to India. Some folks are extremely pushy and today the Israeli Embassy is located somewhere on this very Aurangzeb Road. Within hours of the attack that injured the wife of an Israeli diplomat, the Israeli Government was spewing venom on Iranians. And within hours, an embarrassed Indian Foreign Minister SM Krishna, recently back from his Tel Aviv sojourn, came out with a guarded statement that investigations have started [whatever that may mean]. By evening the American Zionist lobby had passed its judgment that Indias relationship with Iran is a violation of decent international behaviour. Need Indians remind the Zionist lobby that Indias relationship with its West Asian neighbours goes back six millennia [i.e., 6,000 years x 365 days=2.19 million days] if not earlier? Zionist Israel arrived in these parts about six decades ago and that too illegally. Zionist bankers bank-rolled the British occupation of brought about a global outcry almost in unison against anti-semitism and the vicious designs of Islamic terrorists. And within hours Abraham Foxman, Director of the Anti Defamation League, came out with his own variety of venom: This brutal attack once again shows that terrorists single out Jews. The attack is a reminder that the world must stand up against all terrorism, because in the end no one is safe until terrorism is combated in all its manifestations. It never occurred to this foxy Foxman that a determined terrorist would spare Chabad House told to leave. Is the Delhi car bombing related to the pressures being brought on by Israelis [the tail] that wags the dog (London and DC) for India to rethink buying oil and gas from Iran violating the international sanction imposed by a few imperialist powers? Blow up a few more high profile Israelis, in the square mile of the power centre of India and worlds mainstream media would blow your TV screens -- so loud would be the condemnation of Islamic Jehadists from Iran. Holding 1.4 trillion dollars of ill-gotten gains in the Zionist banks, the Indian political class will capitulate. Or lose their cash and properties in Monaco, London, Paris, and Cayman Islands. Hasnt it already? When 9/11 happened, the senile PM Vajpayee wanted Baby Bush to select his India as a key partner in Wests sham GWOT. His home minister, another senile politician Lal Krishna Advani, went to Tel Aviv a year earlier to forge an alliance to fight Islamic terrorists, giving vital operational base to the Mossad in sensitive Kashmir. Headed by Eli Katzir of the Israel Counter-Terrorism Combat Unit and Israeli military intelligence officials, a new era of cooperation with worlds Zionism started and with each passing year, the Indian intelligence architecture got more and more deeply penetrated by those very forces that engineer terrorist acts worldwide. Dont the Indian intelligence agencies know what is going on? Of course they do; just as top operatives in the CIA and FBI know what was going on; the serious ones within French, German and British intelligence also know what is going on. And they all know that Car No. 109 CD 35 has served the purpose of terrifying the political class within the square mile. But the folks who live within that square mile have stashed too many billions in Israel friendly banksters banks not to take it rather seriously. (salem-news.com) The writer is an accredited management consultant, highly experienced researcher and writer. He studied in India and England.

An Iranian scientist killed by Mossad

How many Iranian nuclear scientists have been done in by the Mossad? Hourly, we hear that Iranians must be stopped from becoming a nuclear power. Hourly we hear that Iran is a terrorist country; switch on the neo-liberal imperialist TV channels CNN or BBC or Fox and the presenters are usually frothing with spittle drooling from the corner of their slavish mouths.
for two victims when he/she can attack thousands living illegally in the remote villages in Kullu valley and around Dharamshala [Dalai Lamas de facto capital]. Over 10,000 Israelis, mostly from the armed forces, come here annually, live illegally, smoke pot and screw around. Very soon, Yiddish, the Ashkenazi lingo, will become the second language in these parts. I know these villages very well. Why has the Chabad House been under investigation in India? In February this year, the Israeli couple running the Mumbai Chabad was told to leave India. 4000 Chabad Houses in 73 countries, ostensibly to provide support to visiting Israelis, perhaps to supply pure Kosher meat, in reality a huge global network of Crack. And this is not an isolated event. Since Mumbai mayhem, many Israelis all over India have been

large parts of Asia [East, South and West] and extracted their pound of flesh by dispossessing the Palestinians. Perhaps they made an offer that the Palestinians refused, just as the Indian businessman on Aurangzeb Road; and so they acquired a prime property in West Asia by force, and by deceit on Aurangzeb Road. How many Iranian nuclear scientists have been done in by the Mossad? Hourly, we hear that Iranians must be stopped from becoming a nuclear power. Hourly we hear that Iran is a terrorist country; switch on the neo-liberal imperialist TV channels CNN or BBC or Fox and the presenters are usually frothing with spittle drooling from the corner of their slavish mouths. What was the role of Mossad in Mumbai mayhem on the night of 26th November, 2008? The killing of Rabbi Gavriel and Rivka Holtzberg

Mangalore: The defamatory statements against Muslim community by RSS leader Dr Prabhakar Bhat Kalladka during his speech at the Hindu Samajotsava is strongly condemned by the Muslim Central Committee, Al Haj K S Mohammed Masood, president of The Muslim Central Committee (DK and Udupi district) said here on Jan 24. At a press conference, Masood said that during the Samajotsava in Uppinangady on Sunday January 22, Bhat humiliated the women of Muslim community, which is unfortunate and regrettable. We would have co-operated with Samajotsava, but calling the whole community as thieves and cheats is strongly condemned, he said. The love jihad allegation levelled by Bhat is baseless, he added. Bhat has an attitude of questioning the presence of police. He has also been disturbing communal harmony. He should be immediately arrested and be barred from entering the district, said Masood. He also criticized Bhat for belittling Shariah, the Islamic law. He informed that a protest will be held in front of the DCs office here on January 30 urging police to book Bhat under goonda act and arrest him. Aligarh February 20: Responding to the news reports appeared in some section of the national press alleging of a gender bias in not allowing the girl students of Womens College of the Aligarh Muslim University to the Maulana Azad Library, the Aligarh Muslim University today clarified that it provided equal opportunity to all boys and girls and there was no gender bias in practice in the century-old institution. Maulana Azad Library never denied access to the female students and provided the reference reading facility to all the 8266 male and 3670 female students registered as bonafide users of the library during the session 2010-2011. Undergrad girl students use of library in AMU Aligarh Muslim Universitys PRO Rahat Abrar issued the following statement on 22 February responding to some reports in the press about denial of undergraduate girl students to visit the central library: Maulana Azad University provides facilities as the reference library for higher academic and research purposes. It alone cannot cater the needs of all the 27000 students of the University as about 5000 to 6000 students visit the library every day. Further, the various departments, centres, academic units and the colleges including the Zakir Husain College of Engineering & Technology, J. N. Medical College and the Womens College have their own well-furnished libraries fulfilling the needs of their students. The undergraduate students of these departments and colleges do not need to move to Maulana Azad Library for reading purposes except they need to refer to the research oriented books, journals and annals. The girl students in addition have such facilities in their residential halls as well besides being provided all the online facility through the Maulana Azad Library. The undergraduate classes for students of the Womens College are organized in the College campus itself, which is located quite at a distance from the Maulana Azad Library. It may not be possible for the students to go to the Library in day time as their classes may be adversely affected. It is, however, noteworthy that the Research Division of Maulana Azad Library has a remarkable attendance of girls who use to come, sit and access research orientMG NEWS DESK ed resources of the library.

Mangalore Muslim Central Committee condemns Prabhakar Bhat

NCTC: Political slugfest over fight against terror

New Delhi: The National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC), which was to become operational from 1 March this year, has been temporarily put on hold and a final decision would be taken in consultation with the chief ministers of states opposed to it. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during his meet with Mamta Banerjee on 22 February assured her that he has asked the Union home minister to discuss the issue with the chief ministers of the state in order to arrive at a common point. NCTC has been caught in a political logjam because UPA ally Mamata Banerjee along with some other chief ministers have opposed it on the ground that it violates the federal structure of the states. The regional club comprising chief ministers of Orissa, Tamil Nadu, Bengal, Gujarat, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Tripura in addition to J&Ks Farooq Abdullah and others have taken a tough stand and have expressed their concern over the issue either by writing to the prime minister or simply raising the issue through the media. The NCTC enjoys every right to trespass into any state and arrest any suspect without informing the local government. But the big question is: would this right given to the NCTC not be misused. So far the Union governments stand on the functioning of the NCTC has been that it has been formed under the existing law (the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act of 1967) and it clearly says that it can be applied across India. From across the country 12 chief ministers have stated their position that they will not accept the NCTC without amending its provisions because it does interfere with the rights of the states. Nitish Kumar in his letter to the prime minister said that NCTC created within the Intelligence Bureau, an intelligence organisation which is not accountable to parliament, is flawed. The Union home minister in his reaction has said that the security of the country is a shared responsibility and without coordination among the states the war against terror cannot be fought and won. RK Singh, Union home secretary has said that the Centre is responsible for fighting those who wage war against the nation and it cannot be won if the states start working independently. Allies hammering on every issue to exert political pressure to bargain for more funds may sometime be politically helpful but not always. Political barter system indulged in by the allies or the regional parties against the central government is certainly not a healthy sign in a mature democracy. At least on some key issue the political parties must put their self or personal interests on the backburner. Nevertheless, groupism on the pretext of opposing NCTC is an indication of emergence of a new political entity of regional players in search of a level playing field vis-a-vis the Centre while keeping an eye on the coming general elections. (Mohammad Naushad Khan)

Attempt to provoke communal riot in Maharashtra town

A mischievous attempt was made by some unknown person/s to provoke Hindu-Muslim riot by throwing the slaughtered head of a pig in a mosque in Jamkhed, district Ahmadnagar (Maharashtra) on 14 February. When some persons saw it in the early morning near the wazu khana (place in mosque where ablutions are made) they immediately informed the Masjid authorities. When they complained about this in police station, the local police arrived at the scene and recorded the panchnama and took photos also. District S.P., Krishn Prakash reached Jamkhed at the earliest and ordered an enquiry and issued instructions to local police to keep a strict watch on such mischievous elements because a similar case had occurred about ten days earlier also in the same town near a dargah. Yet another incident of almost similar nature had taken place in Usmanabad districts Paranda village. District S.P., Krishn Prakash summoned all local persons who rear pigs. The slaughtered head was probably thrown in the mosque between two and four in the early morning. President of Jamiatul Ulama of Maharashtra Maulana Hafiz Nadeem Siddiqi contacted the S.P. on phone and exchanged views with him about such mischievous acts that have taken place rather frequently and pose serious dangers to the law and order situation. At the same time he made an appeal to Muslims to remain calm and peaceful. District Ahmadnagars head of Jamiatul Ulama alongwith a delegation of some prominent persons personally met the S.P. and requested him to instruct his men to keep a watchful eye on people who want to vitiate atmosphere by such provocative acts. The S.P. assured him that instructions have already been given to the local police to maintain strong vigil and to haul up the culprits. (NA Ansari)

The Milli Gazette, 1-15 March 2012

SIT shielded perpetrators of crimes

R B SREEKUMAR
edia reports on Special Investigation Teams (SIT) Final Report u/s 173 CRPC on Mrs. Zakiya Jafris complaint/FIR against the CM Narendra Modi and 62 others generally confirm the exoneration of nearly all culprits for want of evidence. Indeed, it is a flabbergasting and frustrating development for all those who value the Rule of Law, social cohesion and unity of our motherland. If media version is true, the riot victim survivors and those officers who risked their careers and marshalled evidence against perpetrators of mass crimes would descend into abysmal depths of agony and depression. A hypothetical exercise as to what could have been done by the clever brains in SIT for building an impenetrable defence for the brigands liable for riots will be rejoicingly rewarding. Any police officer with the satanic motive to defend the indefensible accused of the riots would travel through the following roadmap to denigrate, marginalize and invalidate copious evidence available on (1) scheming and consummation of anti-minority carnage, (2) subversion of the State Administration to delay and deny justice to riot victims and (3) intimidation of witnesses to block the flow of evidence against the State Government functionaries, narrated in Mrs. Jafris FIR. Witnesses had, reportedly, tried to prove the conspiracy by the State Govt. by stressing on facts, i. e., (a) CM giving instructions in a late evening meeting on 27-2-2002, of officers at Gandhinagar to give a free play to Hindu revengefulness in the context of death of 59 Hindus in Godhra train fire incident. SIT would find contradictions in the semantics of three versions about the above CMs instructions, in the depositions of the late Haren Pandya (to the Citizens Tribunal), R B Sreekumar and Sanjeev Bhatt (both before judicial bodies). Moreover, Haren Pandya and Sreekumar were not present in the meeting. Bhatts presence in the CM meeting is also questioned after refusal by his subordinate officer Pant to support him. (b) Secondly, allegations about bringing dead bodies of Godhra train fire victims to Ahmedabad city, VHP leaders accompanying the bodies and so on, would not be deemed to be incriminating as these actions were taken at the request of the relatives of deceased persons by the CM. (c) SIT would also be reluctant to draw any adverse inference on facts like (1) the Govt. not keeping minutes of meetings chaired by the CM and other senior officers, (2) positioning of Ministers in DGP and CP, Ahmedabad offices on VHP-sponsored bandh day on 28th February, 2002, (3) transfer of officers who took effective actions against the rioters in the thick of riots, i.e., Rahul Sharma, Vivek Shrivastava, M D Antani etc., despite DGPs objection, (4) rewarding those who collaborated in riots, (5) CM characterizing the riots as operation of the Newtons Law, (6) failure of the Govt. to take action against media making communally inciting reports and (7) non-implementation of regulations on riot control in Gujarat Police Manual, other Govt. documents, which facilitated riots. These are to be deemed as mere administrative omissions without any malicious motive. The evidence supporting the charge of subversion of the Administration are (1) failure to take follow-up action on reports from State Intelligence Branch (SIB) for countering the anti-Muslim bias of Govt. officials, i.e., police and public prosecutors not performing their duties properly and this resulting in damage to cases of riot victims. Pertinently, the prejudice of Modi administration was adversely commented upon by the Apex Court in the orders, (a) transfer of cases to Maharastra for trial, (b) entrusting investigation to CBI, (c) reopening 2000-odd closed cases by Gujarat Police and their reinvestigation, (d) constitution of SIT in March, 2008 for reinvestigation of major carnage cases like Gulbarg Society, Naroda-Patia, Sardarpura etc. and Mrs. Jafri complaint against Modi and 62 others, (e) use of the instruments of reward and punishment to coerce officials to support the hidden anti-minority agenda of government, (f) appointment of pro-VHP advocates as Public Prosecutors, (g) giving false report to the Central Election Commission about Gujarat situation for holding of early Assembly elections, as revealed in the Commissions Report dated 16th August, 2002, and so on. Significantly the Apex Court observed that Gujarat Administration acted like Nero during riots, while innocents were being killed in the streets. Recently, Gujarat High Court also found fault on 9th February, 2012 with the Modi Government for its failure to protect the socio-religious institutions of the minorities. These intentional actions would be viewed by SIT as trivial and not as part of subversion of the Criminal Justice System (C. J. S.), calling for prosecution of those responsible u/s 166, 186 and 187 IPC. The unchallengeable material evidence, including audio cassette, about intimidation of a senior police officer by Home Department officials and a Government pleader would be bypassed by SIT. The illegal move of the officials for forcing an officer to commit perjury before the Judicial Commission would be misjudged by SIT as part of duties of Home Department officials. Can a witness deposing before a Judicial Commission be tutored and pressurized to suppress facts and speak in favour of the Government, by the officials from his supervisory department? Public Prosecutors can legally brief prosecution witnesses in a criminal case and not a witness who is free to present any truthful data to the Judicial Commission. Such a witness can be charged only for telling lies on oath. Here is a strange case of Government officials pressurizing a witness to commit perjury. What could be

If the criminals responsible for multiple crimes during the riots are declared innocent, the blame should fall on the investigating agencies, viz. Gujarat Police and SIT and not the Judiciary which had given unambiguous indications about the line and thrust of investigation to be pursued by the police.
the quality and evidential merit of statements by a witness to a Commission, probing into the culpable role of Government officials in riots, if they are tutored by those in the Administration responsible for genocidal crimes ? Recommendation by Amicus Curiae, appointed by the Apex Court, Shri Raju Ramachandran, could be ignored by the SIT as the Apex Court itself had in its order dated 12th September, 2011 observed that It will be open to SIT to obtain from Amicus Curiae copies of his reports submitted to this court. Thus it is not a binding order. So SIT could appoint its own Legal Advisor and get his stamp of approval on any decision of its choice, on the processing of evidence. Reportedly this was exactly what the SIT did. SIT could also ignore the reported Amicus Curiaes recommendation to prosecute Modi u/s 153-A IPC for his statement about operation of the Newtons Law because this was done by the CM after the incident of killing Mr. Ahsan Jafri on 28th February, 2002. Further, the evidence of SIT is exclusively for the case of Gulbarg Society registered by Gujarat Police on 28th February, 2002 and not on Mrs. Jafris petition to the Apex Court, which, the court did not treat as a separate FIR. SIT could freely use its inherent power of discretion on gauging the value of any evidence, material, input or suggestion received by it from anybody as valid and relevant or otherwise. Expectedly, SIT would undermine the credibility of evidence from those who provided data incriminating Narendra Modi and his collaborators, figuring in Jafris complaint, like R B Sreekumar, Rahul Sharma and Sanjeev Bhatt - all police officers - on technical and flimsy grounds. Rahul Sharmas electronic data linking the accused, BJP leaders and police officers could be declared invalid, for want of original material and report to the higher officers. Similarly further investigation on Government documents provided by Sreekumar and Bhatt could be avoided on the grounds of nonavailability of original papers, generic nature of intelligence reports (though SIT has no accessibility to or authority over case papers for unearthing officer-wise defaults), legality of using classified and privileged documents for investigation and so on - all these actions were for the advantage of the accused. The unconditional offer by Sreekumar and Sanjeev Bhatt to undergo narco and brain finger-print tests could be ignored. These would avoid possibility of getting collateral and corroborative evidence in support of Sreekumars semi-official register, containing information on numerous illegal orders by the CM and other higher officers and also on Sanjeev Bhatts several legal instruments. Brilliance of Judges evaluating materials and evidence collected with a pro-accused orientation would not be adequate to bring out the truth behind crimes. Investigation is a skilful art that can be successful only through deep penetrating drive and acumen of seasoned and honest police officers. Strictures from Judiciary also would not nullify pitfalls in the collection of evidence and would not be purposeful for prosecuting an accused. In fact, plenty of adverse comments from the Apex Court and Gujarat High Court are available against the Modi Government, but this could evoke only media discussion and has no evidential value. If the criminals responsible for multiple crimes during the riots are declared innocent, the blame should fall on the investigating agencies, viz. Gujarat Police and SIT and not the Judiciary which had given unambiguous indications about the line and thrust of investigation to be pursued by the police. Presumptions and inferences from Judicial censor had to be probed with insightful competence and material should be collected to confirm the letter and spirit of the Courts observations. SIT would heedlessly avoid taking recourse to this straight and narrow path, for reasons best known to the SIT officials. Without any dilution of reverence to the Judiciary, one can assert that even great authors of world renowned detective literature, like Arthur Conan Doyal, Ian Flaming and Agatha Christy had not created any character of a Judge, astutely driving cops to catch offenders lost in the layers of mystery. Riot victims feel that SIT had used tools of skill, discernment and caution, available to them for collection, collation, analysis and submission of evidence to the Court in favour of the perpetrators of various crimes in 2002 riots. Will Judiciary be able to sift through the materials before it and adjudicate to deliver long-delayed justice to the wretched of the earth, who bore the brunt of 2002 man-made communal holocaust? World at large is waiting for the D day. (countercurrents.org) R B Sreekumar is former Director General of Police, Gujarat

Aligarh: Acting Vice Chancellor of AMU Prof. Sibghatullah Farooqi said here in an interview that the University is going through an acute financial crisis because of which all its developmental activities and educational plans have come to a standstill. He said that for the past three years UGC did not increase even a single penny in its grant. Strongly criticising the Congress-led UPA government at the centre he said that the Congress party has certainly given a big jolt to the Muslim community which has created a financial crisis for this University. He said that for the past three years UGC has not added any thing to the Rs. 21.50 crores for plan expenses with the result that many educational schemes of starting new courses have been shelved. He said that about 95 percent of non-plan (traditional) expenses are spent for salaries and other routine expenses. He said that the annual budget of this University is about Rs. 550 crores. He said that the government is constantly pressurising us to reduce expenses and since a part of the existing budget is being used for new centres opened at Murshidabad, Kishanganj and Mallapuram, financial problems have become all the more acute. He said that AMU is the only university of the country where the maximum number of teachers and other employees are working on daily wages basis but even then we are being pressurised to reduce expenses. Speaking about new courses he said that many courses of a professional nature are no longer being taught in this University and he wants to improve BBA, B. Pharmacy, Para medical courses, mass communication departments from the new academic year but financial problems come in the way of putting these plans into practice. He further said that the union minister for health and family welfare Ghulam Nabi Azad has promised to provide Rs. 130 crores for setting up a para medical institute. He said that he will soon be meeting him (the minister) who has promised further cooperation. Regarding certain unpleasant incidents taking place in the university and criticising a section of the media he said that some newspapers exaggerate minor incidents and from this point of view these newspapers take special interest whereas much worse incidents in other educational institutions are ignored. Regarding unpleasant incidents he said that this University has no proper campus and there is no proper demarcation. There are 18 residential halls in which about 12000 students live and many outsiders also come to meet them. At present there are about 25000 students (boys and girls) from schools to university level who live here. He said that no other educational institution has such a large number of students. Moreover, there are other neighbouring localities also and there are only two gates in the campus. Under these circumstances if some unpleasant incidents take place it is not something extraordinary, but such incidents are presented by some media houses in such a way as if there is no law and order here, he said. As regards selection of a new Vice Chancellor he said that the Universitys Executive Council will convene a meeting to prepare a panel of five names. About the present atmosphere in the University he said that an atmosphere of suspicion and distrust prevails here because of which a state of tension is found here. In reply to another question about seeking the cooperation and help of some corporate houses for tiding over financial difficulties as some other universities are doing, he said that Azim Premjis Wipro group was contacted but these corporate groups put forth their own conditions, particularly in matters of administration and admission but the University cannot accept their terms because it is a historical institution and its standing will be affected.

NATIONAL AMU facing financial crisis

Hoardings on Waqf lands to generate income

New Delhi: Delhi Waqf Board is looking for ways and means to supplement its income and one of the steps taken to this end is to put up hoardings on some of its lands and buildings at strategic places where it can get a good income. The Board expects to get an additional income of Rs. 10 to 12 lakh per month in this way. At present the Boards income from all the sources is around Rs. 18 lakhs a month but its monthly expenses are about Rs. 32 lakh. With this decision of putting up hoardings the income may reach Rs. 30 lakh. Some other decisions taken in this meeting held on 11 February, which was the second after the Boards reconstitution and attended, in addition to chairman Chaudhari Mateen Ahmad, by CEO Azimul Haq, Maulana Qasim Rahimi, Rana Siddiqi, Mufti Ejaz Arshad Qasmi and section officer Muhammad Arif, were to purchase and install a Bio-metric Attendance Machine for recording attendance of its employees. Boards chairman was to meet L.G. Tejinder Khanna regarding Dargah Aashiqullah, the constitution of a committee to supervise internal matters of some mosques in Naaee Walan, Karol Bagh, Bara Hindu Rao etc., reconstruction and possible extension of the mosque at New Delhi railway stations platform No. 2. It was also decided to increase the salaries of Imams and Muazzins but only if the income of the Board increases. Before holding this meeting the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) had issued instructions to the Board for the purchase of one video and two digital cameras for visual recording of Waqf properties. It was also decided in this meeting to get all documents and works of the Board digitalised in two weeks. Positive changes in Boards website also are to be made so that timings of namaz in different mosques under the Board, tel. nos. of Imams, Muazzins etc. could be made known to people.

MG NEWS DESK

8 The Milli Gazette, 1-15 March 2012

NATIONAL

Delhi Police Special Cell: Encounters, Frame-ups, Impunity

MANISHA SETHI
An RTI enquiry has revealed that Delhi Police Special Cells conviction rate is a paltry 30 per cent. Nearly 70 per cent of the accused it charge-sheeted over the past five years were acquitted for want of credible evidence. Do these figures tell us something? A news story in a leading English daily bemoans this trifling record and quotes a senior police officer attributing this to the fact that police sometimes get tangled in cross evidences and it becomes tough when you rely more on circumstantial evidences. [i] This evokes the image of a bumbling policeman, reminiscent almost of Jacques Clouseau, tripping over reams and strings of evidences, in an impossible attempt to build a watertight case against the villains. But Special Cell couldnt be farther from this sort of cute sloppiness. These bare statistics of 30-70 must be read in conjunction with court judgments and the track record of the Special Cell itself to arrive at the big picture. It is not shoddy investigative skills-a pardonable offence; or poor infrastructure-a justifiable excuse again-but the simple non-existence of a case that is allowing the accused to secure acquittals. Created in 1986 to tackle terrorism and high profile crime, Special Cell has become a law unto itself, a marauding force, encountering and detaining suspects almost at will. This is not a charge of bleeding heart liberals and human rights wallahs alone, but a fact corroborated by judgment after judgment of the city courts. There is a nauseating familiarity to the narrative of the Special Cells busting of terror modules. This is the stream of events as is usually recorded in the FIRs: secret information is received by the police about the entry of a dreaded terrorist into Delhi via bus/car/railways to meet an aide to conspire about an attack or pass on arms and ammunition. Losing no time, a party is readied and dispatched to the spot. The police party unsuccessfully entreats civilians to join them as public witnesses. An encounter ensues. The terrorist is apprehended. Cash, arms, and caches of explosives recovered, and the terrorist and the booty displayed suitably in a press conference. Glory invariably follows. It is only years later, with the accused already having spent years in jail-his business destroyed, his children out of school, and in many cases, family members suffering from severe mental depression-that the truth starts to emerge. This is the terrible truth of illegal detention, torture, extortion and frame-ups. On 14 June 2005, Moinuddin Dar and Bashir Amed Shah travelled to Delhi from Kashmir in connection with their tea business carrying with them about 4.5 lakh rupees in cash for transactions. [ii] As was their custom, the duo stayed in a hotel in Karol Bagh. They befriended two fellow Kashmiris who were booked into a room close to theirs. Two evenings later, when Dar was relaxing in his room and Rehman out with their new friends for dinner at Nizaumddin, there was a knock on the door. Dar found two men at his door, one of them claiming to be Ravinder Tyagi of the Delhi Police Special Branch. The other man was Major Sharma of the Indian Army posted in Kashmir. Dars nightmare had begun. Over the next couple of days the four Kashmiri men were detained in the hotel by the police, subjected to torture and indignities and forced to sign blank sheets of paper. Slowly, Tyagi and his men turned the hotel into their private torture chamber collecting thirteen Kashmiris in its rooms. The men were taken to the Dhaula Kuan Police Station where senior police officers demanded money in lieu of freedom. Nearly two weeks after they were illegally confined in their hotel room, Dar, Bashir and two other men, Saqib Rehman and Nazeer Ahmed Sofi-the last picked up from the Delhi airport when his flight landed from Srinagar on 20th June-were driven to the Police headquarters in ITO. As they got off from the police vehicle, they noted a frenzied media presence-the four were thrust in front of the cameras by a

Created in 1986 to tackle terrorism and high profile crime, Special Cell has become a law unto itself, a marauding force, encountering and detaining suspects almost at will. This is not a charge of bleeding heart liberals and human rights wallahs alone, but a fact corroborated by judgment after judgment of the city courts.
preening Tyagi who claimed to have arrested them after an encounter on the National Highway 8 near the IGI airport. A press photo of a smooth Tyagi and dazed-looking accused, separated only by a row of seized arms and explosives, survived. This public moment of glory was to be one of the key evidences to nail the lie of police claims. The prosecutions story was that on 27 June 2005, a secret informer (but of course!) apprised Ravinder Tyagi-then posted as SI in Special Branch of Dhaula Kuan-of the nefarious designs of two Kashmiri terrorists, Masood and Zahid.[iii] Tyagi asked his source to develop this information further. After a brief lull, on 1 July, the secret informer resurfaced with the valuable news that the two terrorists along with two associates, ferrying a huge consignment of arms and ammunition, were headed into Delhi from Jaipur in a blue Tata Indica (HR26S0440). Tyagi led a police party and sat waiting on the national Highway and voila along came the blue Tata Indica in the early hours of 2 July. After a chase-involving cross fire and hurling of hand grenades-worthy of a Bollywood potboiler, the terrorists were apprehended. Zahid was none other than Dar. The deposition of the star witness Ravinder Tyagi crumbled under the scrutiny of the judge. Tyagi could not reveal to the court his secret informer-nor reply to why he felt no urgency to inform about the impending terror strike to the IB or even his seniors. The judge firmly held that no one could be convicted on the basis of secret information which could not be tested on the touchstone of the cross examination by the accused [iv]. The court dismantled the case screw by screw, bolt by bolt. An army combatant uniform was ostensibly seized from the terrorists and traced by the policeto a tailor in Gopinath Bazar in Delhi Cantt. The police rushed off to verify the same in the official vehicle (no. DL1LD1264) and did indeed discover the tailor plying his trade in the market. The tailor when produced in the court not only identified Dar but also admitted to selling the uniform to him. So far so good. The log record of the vehicle in which the police party had paid the tailor a visit showed no movement on the said day; the vehicle had remained parked all day at the Police Station. [v] But never mind that-it could have been a simple mistake-perhaps they clean forgot to make this important entry in the log book. Never mind also that the tailor sometimes claimed that Dar had purchased a readymade uniform and at other times said that the uniform had been made to measure on Dars order. He must have, after all, prepared several of these uniforms for scores of clients and it would be unfair to expect him to remember the precise details of all of those. But certainly, it was very odd that the tailor turned out to be a stock witness of the police, appearing and giving evidence in many cases on behalf of the police (odd also how criminals and terrorists made a beeline for the same tailor when they needed fake army uniforms). On closer examination of his testimony, the tailor conceded that he operated his shop from a pavement which left him at the mercy of police and MCD officials, and false testimonies were his way of paying hafta to the police. It was in fact he, who had been summoned to the Dhaula Kuan PS where Dar was duly exhibited to him. [vi] A sketch of Palam airport was apparently recovered from the pocket of Dar-a point used by the prosecution as proof of the terrorist conspiracy. The court, however, noted that for the sketch to be kept in the pocket, it would have to be folded more than twice. The fact that there was a single fold longitudinally with no creases suggested that the sketch had been planted as an afterthought. Also, the police upon recovering the sketch made no attempt to either corroborate Dars handwriting on the sketch, not to inform the Palam airport authorities about a possible terror attack. [vii] The Tata Indica, which was supposedly the vehicle of choice of the alleged terrorists was shown to be stolen and an FIR produced in this regard. The FIR turned out to be in fact about another car. Moreover, the records showed that the car was registered with the transport authority months after it was supposedly misappropriated-leading the court to conclude that Tata Indica Car was planted and merely used as a tool to falsely implicate the accused persons in this case. [viii] But best of all-and the most brazen of allwas the press conference on the day of the encounter. The police merrily forgot to account for it in their case. Sub Inspector Mahender Singh deposed in the court that he took the accused alongwith him from the encounter site to P. S. Kapasahera at 10.45 a. m. from where he reached Hotel Baba Continental, Karol Bagh, at 12 noon, left from there at 1.30 p. m. for the Patiala House Courts. [ix] So when did the press conference take place? There was no press conference, the prosecution firmly responded. But for the photograph of Tyagi strutting his catch published in a Hindi daily which was preserved by the defence. Circumstantial evidence, says a senior police officer, is the bane of prosecution, allowing many accused to walk free. But what of forged evidence and circumstances spun out of thin air? And dont forget the figure of Major Sharma who accompanied Tyagis team to the hotel in Karol Bagh. Sharma belonged to Army intelligence and had been posted in Kashmir for six years and subsequently transferred to Delhi as Lt. Colonel. Dar and another co-accused Abdul Majeed Bhatt had worked for the surrender of several militants before the police in Kashmir. Sharma got the wind of it and sensing the possibility of awards urged the duo to arrange for surrender before him.[x] Stung by the rejection of his offer, he colluded with Tyagi to implicate these men in this charade of a terror plot-a point not unobserved by the Court: They [accused] are totally innocent and have been framed in this case by the aforesaid four police officers in order to achieve their personal gains and/or to settle petty personal scores, be that at the behest of one Major Sharma, whose attempts to persuade accused Gulam Moinuddin Dar to work for him in getting the militants surrendered in Kashmir were spurned by him (Gulam Moinuddin Dar) or to earn undue honours or awards for themselves. [xi] This is by no means the solitary case of manipulated evidence and motivated investigation-nor a rare instance of cynical complicity between Intelligence and counter-insurgency forces. Many would be familiar with the case of Irshad Ali and Md. Qamar, informers for the IB, who tired of risking their lives, refused to infiltrate a Kashmiri insurgent organization as demanded by IB officers and were punished for their stubbornness by being abducted by the Special Cell-and surprise, surprise, Ravinder Tyagi played a key role here in this operation as well-tortured unnecessarily for months and then produced before the media as Al Badr terrorists caught with arms and explosives, getting off a bus at Mukarba Chowk at Delhi border. [xii] The duos telephone call records showed that they had been long in touch with IB; the bus tickets produced before the court were of a day previous to that on which Irshad and Qamar were allegedly arrested. In its closure report, CBI, which had been directed by the High Court to investigate the case, called for the prosecution of three officers of the Special Cell -- Vinay Tyagi, Subhash Vats and of course Ravinder

Tyagi for lying under oath and creating false evidence, among other serious offences. [xiii] This was not all. Inspector Santosh Kumar, the CBI investigating officer, fearing for his safety following threats moved an application in the court of additional sessions judge seeking protection from Sub Inspector Vinay Tyagi who was threatening him with dire consequences. [xiv] In 2005, the Special Cell emerged heroic after averting a major attack on the Indian Military Academy (IMA), Dehradun, by apprehending four terrorists following a fierce encounter in Uttam Nagar in South west Delhi. [xv] There was, as usual, the mandatory press conference where the prize catches were displayed for the media and the brave Special Cell officers vied to be photographed with the terrorists they had nabbed. Five years after they were sent to jail for being Laskhar-e-Toiba (LeT) militants planning a daring attack on IMA, the court ruled that they had been set up by the Special Cell [xvi]. It was a familiar tale of lies, misrepresentation of facts, and contradictions, which could not stand the scrutiny of cross examination. [xvii] The remittances by one of the accused, Haroon, through Western Union were shown to be the monies used by LeT to fund the IMA campaign. It turned out to be repayment of a loan to a generous uncle who financed Haroons travel to Singapore. The email transcripts between Haroon and his Pakistani handler were proved to be fabrications by the police. The recoveries from the home of Iftikhar, a student of Biotechnology at an Institute in Dehradun, demonstrated in the Special Cells view his deep involvement in the conspiracy. Ignore for a moment the Special Cell norm of preparing a seizure list in the absence of any independent public witness and focus on two key items seized: a pass to the IMA parade and a diary containing inflammatory passages from the Quran and a note declaring vengeance for Gujarat 2002. The pass turned out to be five months old, the parade already over long before the busting of the IMA terror plot. More interesting was the fact that all officers of the Special Cell developed amnesia in court about which of them had visited Dehradun to conduct the raid. Neither could they remember whether the revenge note was written out in Hindi or English. The court was inclined to listen to Iftikhars charge that he had been forced to scribble out the revenge note in his diary next to the passages from Quran (which were not in any way inflammatory). Perhaps they were inspired by the Maharashtra ATS which has perfected and peddled the Revenge theory so well that it has acquired the currency of an axiom. Maharashtra ATS is not the only inspiration. 9/11 fascinates the Special Cell just as much. Imran Kirmani, an aeronautical engineer, was picked up from his home in November 2006 and presented before eager reporters as the sensational LeT catch [xviii] planning a 9/11 type strike in Delhi. In October 2011, the court dismissed the flimsy secret information which, no surprises by now, RavinderTyagi, had received about the plot. Moreover, there were others in the Special Cell, Sub-Inspectors RS Shehrawat and Ramesh Lamba as well as ACP SK Yadav who claimed in the court to be recipients of this valuable secret information. The FSL report contradicted the Special Cell claim that RDX was seized from Kirmani. The court noted fudging of records, namely the ruqqa (note), which was originally recorded to be of two pages but which mysteriously expanded to seven pages when attached with the chargesheet. It was strange also, commented the court, that having apprehended a dreaded LeT terrorist, the Special Cell made no attempt to determine their hideout.[xix] The Special Cell also tried to inject a dose of 9/11 in the Delhi blasts 2008 case by alleging that one of the accused, Shahzad, apparently a trained pilot, was the head of the aerial module of Indian Mujahideen. [xx] But their theory crashlanded rather quickly after it was discovered that Shahzad had never ever enrolled in a flying course, and had zero flying skills. [xxi]

Continued on the next page

The Milli Gazette, 1-15 March 2012

NATIONAL
Continued from the previous page
ing the overturning of acquittal of Dar and others, and the second So, difficulty of tying down slippery circumstantial evidence- asking for a stay on criminal proceedings against them. Indeed, in response to an RTI application filed by Jamia or simple frame ups which cant pass the test of evidence and Teachers Solidarity Association (JTSA) seeking information if the law? The Special Cell hopes that the burden of evidence can be considerably lowered in cases of terrorism, where patriotism, courts order of filing an FIR and departmental enquiry had been national security and even prejudice can be called upon as initiated, the Delhi Police responded that they had neither filed an dependable alibis. When asked for evidence to prove the implica- FIR nor initiated a departmental enquiry as the police officers had .[xxx] Had not the Commissioner of tion of Md. Salman in the Delhi blasts case by the judge, the pub- appealed against the order Police read the verdict of the court which blew the prosecution lic prosecutor continually spoke of the dangers terrorism posed to the country. When asked how Salmans innocuous telephone case to smithereens? Did the senior authority in the Delhi Police conversations demonstrated his guilt, the PP invoked the climate feel no moral obligation to conduct an enquiry in the aftermath of of fear created by terrorism and how India was waging a war on such a damning indictment of its decorated officers? Are they terror. He, no doubt, hoped that war on terror would be viewed by unaware of the CBI closure report which indicts the Special Cell for falsely framing innocents? Have they paused to ask how the the court as legitimate substitute for evidence. [xxii] Counter-insurgency spawns its own political economy; the Special Cell manages to produce explosives and vast amounts of promise and prospect of promotions, cash awards, public adula- cash to be displayed at press conferences? Is it the case of a few tion, glorification by a pliant media, all work to lubricate a machin- rogue officers? Rathi and his band of nine merry shooters continery which transforms innocents into terrorists. It should come as ued to serve in the police even when they were convicted by the no surprise that the ascent of citys encounter specialists-S. S. lower court on the ground that their appeals against such convicRathi, L. N. Rao and Rajbir Singh-in police hierarchy was swift, all tion are pending before the superior courts, an outraged High [xxxi] receiving out of turn promotions and rapidly reaching the rank of Court noted seeking the response of the MHA. If it had just been a handful ACPs; in fact Rajbir Singh of bad apples, then surely they became the only officer to be Counter-insurgency spawns its own political would have been suspended promoted to ACP rank in a mere thirteen years after join- economy; the promise and prospect of promo- and taken off duty years ago. ing as sub inspector in 1982. tions, cash awards, public adulation, glorifica- Instead, what they received promotions [xxiii] Their dizzy rise was facilition by a pliant media, all work to lubricate a werea medals, rapid to kill. and virtual license tated by the suffering of men machinery which transforms innocents into terOne suspects that this is like Dar and Bashir Ahmed, and rorists. It should come as no surprise that the deeper than that. The Special countless others whom they ascent of citys encounter specialists-S. S. Cell-or the various ATS and STF claimed to have shot down in Rathi, L. N. Rao and Rajbir Singh-in police hier- forces for that matter- represent difficult crossfire ops. Remember the encounter archy was swift, all receiving out of turn promo- our impatience with due process at Connaught Place in 1997? tions and rapidly reaching the rank of ACPs; in of law and the increasing impuniTwo businessmen were fact Rajbir Singh became the only officer to be ty afforded to those we see as gunned down point blank by promoted to ACP rank in a mere thirteen years custodians of national security. They are to the police forces these brave men of the Special after joining as sub inspector in 1982. what AFSPA is to the army: Cell led by S. S. Rathi. Or Ansal enjoying utter impunity with Plaza in 2002? Within hours of almost a blanket immunity. gunning down of two Kashmiri terrorists in the basement of this Just a week after the Ansal Plaza encounter, inaugurating the upscale shopping centre on Diwali eve, the then Home Minister LK Advani rushed to the encounter site to bathe in the afterglow Asia Pacific Human Rights conference, Prime Minister Vajpayee of the glories of Special Cells operation. (And the Police used his was advocating the erosion of human rights as a necessary corolpresence to seal the authenticity of the encounter). [xxiv] The jin- lary to the war on terror: we have sometimes to take tough decigoistic hype created by the Ansal Plaza encounter was punctured sions, even infringing some of our freedoms and abridging some by a good doctor, Dr. Hari Krishna, who contradicted the police of our human rights temporarily, to firmly counter terrorism. [xxxii] A sentiment echoed by former Chief Justice and current story that two terrorists had driven into the shopping complex in a chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission when he Maruti 800; instead, he said, he had seen the two men, barely able to stand or walk, being almost dragged by the Special Cell deemed encounters as unavoidable sometimes the law and officers and then shot in cold blood. For years, Dr. Hari Krishna order problem is increasing. Criminals are taking law into their was hounded and threatened: old cases, long settled were raked, hands, attacking even the police. Police have to take control of [xxxiii] his reputation tarnished, his claims of being present at the site of the situation. Our popular culture has served this attitude well-and has encounter dismissed by doctoring the records of his mobile indeed helped shape it. Bollywood has celebrated the instant jusphone through collusion with a cellular company. [xxv] But who shall bell the cat? The courts have on numerous tice that encounter specialists represent and ridiculed human occasions passed strictures against the Special Cell, noting rights concerns. Plans are afoot to mount a bio-pic of ACP Rajbir Singh (he of especially its predatory ways, even asking for filing of FIRs the infamous land deals and mysterious killing). Titled apparentagainst them and departmental enquiries (as in the case of Dar [xxxiv] the film is perhaps intended to sweetand Bashir Ahmed) or directed for their prosecution (as in the Al ly, Klub Lodhi Road, en and gift wrap the ugliness of encounter killings and frame ups Badr frame up and CP encounter). Despite repeated offences, Special Cell officers remain the darlings of the Delhi Police top Rajbir Singh and Special Cell indulged in, just as Ab Tak Chappan brass receiving their protection, patronage and legal aid. In every glamourized Daya Naik and Mumbai encounter specialists. The real cause for concern should not be the low rate of consingle case where action was called for against them, appeals viction in the cases cracked by the Special Cell-but the appalling were filed to avert prosecution. Additional DCP of the Special Cell, Ravi Shankar, one of the key officers chosen to lead the lack of prosecution of the officers of Special Cell and the near investigation in the Delhi High Court blast in mid-September 2011 total absence of any departmental enquiry or action against them. was found to be extorting money by threatening to implicate people in false cases. [xxvi] Shankar and his co-accused appealed against the CMMs order seeking the filing of an FIR in a city court and indeed were able to wrest a stay. [xxvii] While as individuals they have the right to legal recourse, one must seriously ask how the state continues to back them in their legal battles. The sentencing of Rathi and nine of his men who were found guilty of killing in cold blood in the CP encounter was repeatedly appealed against and was finally upheld by the Supreme Court in May this year-thirteen years after they carried out the execution. [xxviii] It was only in 2009 that a Delhi court allowed Dr. Hari Krishnas evidence to be recorded. But by then, the prime witness had battled years of intimidation and the chief accused, ACP Rajbir Singh, had been killed in shady circumstances by a property dealer in Gurgaon amidst talk of unseemly land deals. Whatever the truth of these allegations, one thing was certain: the Special Cells elite position and wide powers allowed it to subvert the rule of law, turning it into a rampaging monster. Salman was discharged. Moinuddin Dar and Bashir Ahmed were acquitted, as were Irshad Ali and Qamar, as did Iftikhar, Haroon and Kirmani gain their freedom. [xxix] But after brutal torture, public ignominy and condemnation, humiliating press conferences, years in prison, loss of employment and businesses, broken families, the ever-present terror of the police, and fear as constant companion. Why does the government-which consistently blocked all enquiries into the Batla House encounter, which expressed satisfaction with the reports placed by senior police officers, on which basis it dismissed, indeed violated the NHRC procedural requirement for a magisterial enquiry-stand with these repeat offenders of the Delhi police? Ravinder Tyagi and investigating officer Mahinder Singh have filed two writs in the High Court: one, seek[xv] Slain Militants had Plans to Attack IMA, Tribune News Service, 6 March 2005, New Delhi. 3 LeT militants killed in Police Encounter Times of India, 5th March 2005 (http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2005-0305/delhi/27847966_1_three-militants-police-encounter- special-cell.) The encounter-and following it, the arrests, were accepted as the undisputed truth in the media. One commentator linked this abortive attack on cadets at the Indian Military Academy in Dehra Dun to an alleged dreaded kingpin of Lashkar -e Tayyiba, bin Aziz. Harvest of Hate by Praveen Swami, Frontline, Volume 23 - Issue 05: 11 - 24 March 2006. (http://www.hindu.com/fline/fl2305/stories/20060324005001900.htm). [xvi] Delhi Court Acquits Four in IMA Attack Conspiracy, Times of India, 8th January 2010. (http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2010-0108/delhi/28137749_1_ima-indian-military-academy-acquits [xvii] See the reports in Terror thats Wasnt by BrijeshPandey, Tehelka magazine, Vol. 7, Issue 08, 27 February, 2010 (http://www.tehelka.com/story_main43.asp? filename=Ne270210terror_that.asp). [xviii] RDX Seized in Delhi: Two Arrested, The Hindu, 23 November 2006. The leader to the report said: Leads to seizure of 1.65 kg of RDX, timers and Rs. 4.5 lakh Police suspect that the outfit had planned to carry out a major terrorist strike. (http://www.hindu.com/2006/11/23/stories/2006112314650100.htm) [xix] http://www.indianexpress.com/news/held-for-9-11type-plot-no-case4-years-later/854879/0 [xx] UP cops nab IM Terrorist planning Aerial Strike by Pervez IqbalSiddiqui, Times of India, 2 February 2010 (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/UP-cops-nab-IM-terrorist-planning-aerial- strike/articleshow/5525935.cms). The story reported that Shehzadhad undergone a training to fly planes from an institute in Bangalore and had surfaced as a leader of the module designated to execute aerial terror attacks. See also: http://zeenews.india.com/news/nation/nabbed-im-operative-was-planning-air- attacks_600855.html. [xxi] Mail Today, 6 February 2010. [xxii] Suspected IM Man discharged in 2008 Serial Blasts Case, Times of India, 07 February 2010 ( h t t p : / / a r t i c l e s . t i m e s o f i n d i a . i n d i a t i m e s . c o m / 2 0 11 - 0 2 07/delhi/28363947_1_serial-blasts-rajiv-mohan-khalil- ansari). See also Show me the evidence, says Judge. The Prosecution is able to produce none! Md. Salman discharged from the 2008 Delhi Blasts Case! (http://www.countercurrents.org/jtsa050211.htm [xxiii] Our Encounter Specialists, Indian Express, 18 October 2007 (http://www.expressindia.com/latest- news/our-encounter- specialists/229578/). [xxiv] Delhi Police under Fire after Ansal Plaza Shootout by PratyushKanth and SiddharthSrivastav, Times of India, 5 November 2002. (http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2002-1105/delhi/27307307_1_three- diaries-ansal-plaza-delhi-police). [xxv] The NHRC issued directives to the Police to ensure the safety of the eye witness but the harassment continued unabated. PUDR wrote to the NHRC to intervene as late as 2007. (http://www.pudr.org/content/letternhrc-harassment-ansal-plaza-shootout-witness). Dr. Hari Krishna also shared his experience in a presentation at the release of the report, Batla House Encounter: Unanswered Questions, (JTSA), JamiaMilliaIslamia, 20 February 2009. [xxvi] Audio CD blew lid over Special Cell Extortion Racket, Indian Express, 15 September 2011. (http://www.indianexpress.com/news/audio- cd-blew-lid-off-special-cellextortion/846934/) and Crime Branch Cop in the Dock over Extortion, Times of India, 14 September 2011.http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-0914/delhi/30154068_1_special-cell-mcoca-case-delhi- police [xxvii] Court stays FIR against Special Cell Personnel in Extortion Case, Indian Express, 23 September 2011. ( http://www.indianexpress.com/news/court-stays-fir-against-special-cellpersonn/850450/). [xxviii] Fake Encounter case: Supreme Court Upholds Life Sentence of Rathi, Jagran Post, 2 May 2011. (http://post.jagran.com/fake- encountercase-supreme-court-upholds-life-sentence-of-rathi-9-others-cops1304350487). [xxix] KPS Gills South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP), a one-stop documentation of terror attacks since 1997 continues to happily list all those acquitted as terrorists, and all proven frame-ups as terror attacks. (see http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/india/database/Delhi_Incidents.h tm) [xxx] JTSAs application was filed on 23.03.2011 under the RTI Act 2005. A communication dated 06.04.2011 (no. 2818 (701)/DIC/SWD) was received from the office of the Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police-I Cum PIO, South West District, Dwarka, New Delhi. [xxxi] CP Encounter: Why wasnt ACP Dismissed, asks HC, PTI, 13 January 2011. (http://news.outlookindia.com/items.aspx? artid=708354) [xxxii]The Hindu, 12 November 2002. [xxxiii] Is Justice Balakrishnan holding a devils brief?,A Statement by the Asian Legal Resource Centre, 30 July 2010. (http://www.humanrights.asia/news/alrc-news/ALRC-STM-004-2010) [xxxiv] Now a Flick on ACP Rajbir Singh, Hindustan Times, 8 October 2011. According to the official website of the film, it will be an insight on the true stories of these extraordinary men who took leadership and responsibility in finishing crime in Delhi.

Notes
[i] 70 % Acquittals in Special Cell Cases by DwaipayanGhosh, Times of India, 8 October 2011. (http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/201110-09/delhi/30259861_1_special-cell-chargesheeted-p-n- aggarwal). [ii] Personal interview with Moinuddin Dar. [iii] Based on the text of the judgement delivered by ShriVirenderBhat, ASJ, Dwarka Courts, New Delhi; State versus SaqibRehman and Others (SC no. 24/10) delivered on 2 February 2011. [iv] Ibid., p. 29. [v] Ibid., p. 66. [vi] Ibid., p. 67. [vii] Ibid., p. 63. [viii] Ibid., p. 74. [ix] Ibid., p. 78 [x] Personal interview with Moinuddin Dar [xi] Ibid., p. 109. [xii] Trail of Terror Cops by NirmalangshuMukherji, Revolutionary Democracy, Vol. XIV, No. 2, September 2008. [xiii] CBI indicts Special Cell of Delhi Police, Hindustan Times, Nov 16, 2008. (http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/Print/351960.aspx) [xiv] Special Cell Cop threatens CBI Sleuth, by Aman Sharma, Mail Today, 15 January 2009. (http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/Special+cell+cop+threatens+CBI+sleut h/1/25317.html).

(Source: kafila.org)

10 The Milli Gazette, 1-15 March 2012

NATIONAL

Army enjoys no immunity for violations: Amnesty

AFSANA RASHID, SRINAGAR

mnesty International, an international human rights group, has stated that security forces cannot claim immunity under the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), but must face trial for violations. Members of the army must stand trial when facing charges of serious violations of human rights, instead of hiding behind the controversial AFSPA, 1958, said the Amnesty in a press statement issued on February 7. Welcoming the Apex Courts observation that security personnel involved in rape and murder couldnt invoke AFSPA, Amnesty Internationals Asia-Pacific Program Director Sam Zarifi said, For far too long, Indian security forces have used AFSPA as a cover for serious human rights violations. The Supreme Courts statement should finally allow some light to be shed on some of the armys most gruesome violations - providing some hope for justice for victims and a step forward, imposing rule of law. Zarifi added there should be no need to obtain prior approval for prosecuting security personnel charged with having committed grave human rights violations such as rape and murder. The Supreme Court on February 4 noted that the army couldnt invoke AFSPA to avoid prosecution of eight officers charged with the March 2000 killing of five Kashmiri villagers at Pathribal. The court was hearing the CBI challenge against the armys invocation of AFSPA against prosecution of eight officers chargesheeted in Pathribal fake encounter in March 2000. While the army claimed that five were Lashkar-e-Toiba militants involved in the killing of 35 members of the Sikh community at Chattisinghpora in the valley, they had however, turned out to be locals from nearby villages of Brariangan, Halan and Anantnag, as per investigations by CBI. While the Courts remarks open a chance for the prosecution of eight army personnel, Amnesty International reiterates its demand for repeal of AFSPA that has been in force in the state since 1990 and in various parts of north-east India for over five decades, said Zarifi. Citing human rights defenders in India, he said Union Home Ministry has recommended only eight out of 50 cases for which the Jammu and Kashmir government had sought approval for prosecuting security personnel for human rights violations including torture, rape and extra-judicial executions. The Defence Ministry has denied approval in all 50 cases, he added.

Zarifi further stated AFSPA has provisions protecting personnel engaged in armed operations in designated areas from any legal proceedings unless it is approved by the Union government. This rarely happens in practice, as a result of which these laws have provided impunity to perpetrators of grave human rights violations. Even JKLF chairman Mohammad Yasin Malik, while addressing a public rally at Watergam in Rafiabad on February 17 alleged that security forces have made the life of common masses miserable especially in rural areas where theyve become a law unto themselves. Under cover of AFSPA, Disturbed Area Act and PSA, they arrest and kill anyone. Forces arent accountable to anyone. Meanwhile Hurriyat (M) on February 14 decided to bring economic and humanitarian aspects of the Kashmir issue to the fore. It said that the time has come to move beyond politics and bring to the fore those issues which are vital for the survival of Kashmiris.

February 19. Nazir Ahmad Teli, president Traders Association, while calling for a shutdown, demanded a probe so that the culprits are brought to book. Police said that it has started investigations. No militant outfit has owned responsibility.

Decision on corrupt minister after polls

Union Minister and National Conference president Dr Farooq Abdullah has said that a final decision on the fate of education minister, Peerzada Mohammad Sayed will be taken by the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) chairperson Sonia Gandhi after Assembly polls in several states across the country. The Union Minister, while speaking to the media on the sidelines of a party function at Jammu, February 18 said, Let us wait for what UPA chairperson will have to say on the issue after completion of the ongoing elections in different states of the country. Sayed was divested of the education portfolio, after he was accused of helping his foster son, Imam Sauban to qualify the secondary school examination by unfair means in 2009. Interestingly, Sauban recently passed 12th standard examination with distinction. Dr Abdullah however, said that the minister was within his rights to submit his resignation to the Congress high command instead of the chief minister. Sayed by-passed the chief minister Omar Abdullah and sent his resignation to the party high command after the latter announced an inquiry into the matter by the crime branch. I have resigned from the council of ministers and have forwarded my resignation to the party high command, said Sayed, while addressing media at Jammu, February 10. A local news agency KNS quoted the minister as saying, I dont want to create problems for Congress and Sonia Ji. The Chief minister isnt my boss, but Sonia ji is. Education minister resigned on February 10 after the crime branch confirmed use of unfair means by ministers foster son in connivance with officials from the Board of School Education (BOSE) and education department. Crime branch also indicted six officials including BOSE chairman, the then deputy director academics and four others for facilitating the same. A report by the crime branch noted that there were two different hand writings on three answer sheets of the ministers son. Youth in the ministers village, Damhal in south Kashmir reportedly celebrated his resignation with fire crackers. The minister however, said that the issue has been raked up to malign him. Prince Salman, Antony said Riyadh and New Delhi would work together in the area of hydrography. Potential areas of cooperation in this field include exchange of information, nautical cartography and hydrographic surveys of important coastal areas, ports, harbors and designated sea areas. "We are also examining the possibility of entering into an agreement in this field," said the Indian minister, adding there will be substantial expansion in cooperation in the area of training. Both sides will send their respective defense officers to the other country so they can get to know each other and to join training programs, he added. Antony pointed out the two countries have agreed "to explore the possibility of working together in the area of defense production." To this end, he noted the defense officials of Saudi Arabia will visit India and Indian defense personnel will come to the Kingdom to see the defense production facilities for themselves and to map out areas of cooperation in defense production. India is keen to boost its domestic production of defense equipment and warfare tools. Asked about reports that India will be building a mountain warfare training school in Saudi Arabia, Antony said all issues will now be looked into by the joint committee. He said the Gulf region is of immense importance in India's foreign policy. It provides more than half of India's oil imports, said Antony. The region is perhaps the largest trading partner of India with a total two-way trade reaching $ 130 billion in 2010-11, the minister said.

Protests over murder of youth

rotests broke out in Laiser Rafiabad in north Kashmirs Baramulla district against the killing of a youth, Ashiq Hussain allegedly by security forces on February 10. Later, both government and army announced separate inquires in the incident. Scores of people from Laiser and its adjoining villages took out a protest march, a day after the incident. Police resorted to lathi charge and fired several tear gas shells to disperse them. DGP Kuldeep Khoda and GOC of 15 Corps General Hasnain were on the spot trying to pacify the protesters. The family members allege that Hussain, 20, son of Muhammad Akbar Rather was shot dead by 32 Rashtriya Rifles, when he came out of his house after his sisters were frightened on seeing some soldiers on their premises. Shafiqa, one of Hussains sisters shouted why have they killed him. He wasnt related to any subversive activities. His mother, Misra Begum, while wailing said that she had a lot of expectations from her son. Local residents argue that there were no directions from the police or army that people shouldnt venture out from their houses after dusk. The state government on February 11 ordered a magisterial probe into the killing. Meanwhile, Sopore town on February 20 observed a complete shutdown against the killing of a youth, Omar Rasool Kaboo by unidentified gunmen. Twenty-year-old Kaboo, who was a motorcycle mechanic, was shot dead outside his house on

Police has no constitutional right to take illegal action

New Delhi: A public discussion on 'Illegal arrests of Muslim youth and our responsibilities' was held at Jamaat-e Islami Hind headquarters on 18 February. It was chaired by the Amir-e Jamaat, Maulana Syed Jalaluddin Umri. Speaking on this occasion, Advocate Mobeen Akhtar said that ever since the Israeli embassy was been set up in India in 1992, a number of fake terrorist organizations with Muslim names have sprung up and a chain of arrests of Muslim youths under false and fictitious charges has started all over the country. Advocate Akhtar said that the negative and biased role of the national media is also responsible for creating these problems. He said that police has no constitutional right to take illegal action on the pretext of false and framed up charges. Mr Akhtar advised the Muslim youth that if despite this, someone (e.g., Police) tries to take any illegal action, they should show alertness, unity and collective activism to compel the police to desist from violating law and violate procedures. He asked Muslim organizations and their leaders to unite in their approach towards this problem. He added that Muslim individuals should also to register their legal presence at schools, colleges, work places and also at public places, and they should keep tickets and passes issued by public transport and at public places wherever possible. Advocate Akhtar said, while advising Muslim youth, that because of the possession and availability of these documents, which are admissible in the courts of law, it would not be easy for the Police to implicate the innocent in false cases and show false recovery and concocted arrests at pre-planned and fabricated places. He said that common people want to live in peace but it is the government or the Establishment which sponsors and patronizes terrorism as and when needed. He further said that Muslims should bring to notice cases of police harassment or excesses in any form to the state and/or national minority commissions and also try to solve problems facing them through RTI and other legal means, most preferably in groups. After taking up some queries, Advocate Akhtar concluded with an appeal that Muslim youth should be firm believers and should have full faith in God despite all challenges and must abstain from emotional or violent reactions and should never be guided by fear psychosis. Maulana Jalaluddin Umri in his concluding remarks, said that the problem of "Islamic" terrorism was created after 9/11 and Muslims were specially targeted. He added that in spite of this, Muslims should try their best to take advantage of the constitutional and legal rights available to them. He laid emphasis on creating an atmosphere in which nobody should feel left alone, and assured that a large number of people are with the victims of state terror. He said that milli (Muslim) organizations and their members are concerned about the solution of millat's problems and they are also working for safeguarding the millat's rights and these organizations, Insha Allah, will not leave the victimized people alone. (Nadim Ahmad )

Riyadh: Saudi Arabia and India agreed on 14 February to set up a joint panel that will be entrusted with the task of preparing a road map for defense cooperation and to work out details of a proposed defense pact to be signed later in Riyadh. This joint committee will also prepare a draft agreement to be endorsed by Riyadh and New Delhi in the field of hydrography, said A. K. Antony, Indian defense minister, after holding wideranging talks with Minister of Defense Prince Salman. Antony added the two sides were planning to conduct joint exercises involving Saudi and Indian armed forces, ship visits from both sides and to work closely to combat sea piracy. "There will also be high-level visits from both sides," he added saying that Prince Salman has agreed to visit New Delhi later this year. The Indian defense minister said an agreement on all issues will be "reached during the visit of Prince Salman to India and I am also hopeful that the agreement on defense cooperation will also be signed at that time." He, however, said the specific details of the two agreements would be worked out at diplomatic levels. Spelling out details of his meeting with

Saudi-India defense cooperation

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The Milli Gazette, 1-15 March 2012 11

ANALYSIS
Speaking Out
N I L O FA R S U H R AWA R D Y

Politicians Backward Approach & Muslims

There is no guarantee that electoral rhetoric, especially in Uttar Pradesh, handing out promises to Muslims, will actually be implemented once the ongoing assembly elections are over. This political exercise is equivalent to carrots - assuring reservation for Muslims, better education, employment opportunities and similar moves being almost placed before the Muslims. Once the elections are over, the stick plays a greater role with the same leaders who had earlier promised carrots keeping almost silent on Muslims being arrested or killed in fake encounters. Yes, irrespective of the nature of verbal missiles being exchanged between rival parties, with each blaming the other for being responsible for backwardness of Indian Muslims, there is no denying that very few politicians have actually stood up to question negative and inaccurate charges levied against Muslims. Remember the Batla House encounter. Undeniably, plenty of political noise has been made about it during the present electoral season. But what prevented the same leaders to talk in the same tone and use similar words immediately after the encounter? Among the ones who raised their voice then were Muslim clerics, few community leaders and secular activists. If the politicians making noise now about Muslims having been unfairly targeted in Batla House incident are genuinely concerned about this and other similar cases, why have they kept their lips sealed when these had hit the headlines?

Yes, of late, there certainly has been a slight change in concerned authorities weakness for charging only Muslims whenever a terrorist incident takes place. This is supported by several Sangh Parivar activists and their associates being charged for terrorism which also refutes the earlier stand of Muslims having being held for the same cases. Despite a lot of hype having been raised about several leaders concern for Muslims, it is amazing that not much has been said on their being promptly labelled as terrorists even when there isnt substantial evidence to prove these charges. Of course, some credit should be given to authorities who have played a major role in refuting charges against some Muslims wrongly held as terrorists. Their release does not spell the end of what many may view as a bad dream. Barely any noise has been made about the compensation that should be paid to them on account of being kept behind bars for no fault of theirs. Similarly, nothing has been heard about the treatment that they may have faced while being held as terrorists. Not much noise has been made about action that should be legally taken against those who labelled and arrested innocent Muslims as terrorists. Why? Herein lies the irony of the political drama enacted to woo Muslim votes. They are promised what appears to carry a strong appeal value for most Muslims, carries minimal risk of antagonizing other parties and practically no prospect of being implemented in the near future. Years have passed by, with each electoral season being witness to reservation being promised to Muslims. The political importance of this issue still remains largely confined to electoral rhetoric. Of course, the respected politicians are welcome to make noises about what suits their interests most. This also implies that most have deliberately chosen not to touch on the terrorist-tag easily attached with Indian

Muslims. Regarding this as entirely sensitive issue, they probably have been nagged by the fear of antagonizing extremist elements linked with majority community, who have played their part in blaming Muslims as terrorists. This point may also be viewed as an eye-opener to what has tended to prevent the concerned leaders from living up to the promises they have almost regularly made to Muslims during the electoral season. They dont want to face the risk of losing votes from the majority community. Now, this also points to existence of a major lapse in approach of most politicians while displaying their concern for Indian Muslims. Politically, they appear to be fairly backward in considering measures that can help in the progress of Muslims. To this day, these remain confined primarily to their talking about their commitment to ensuring reservation for Muslims. Isnt it time that respected politicians accepted that this promise isnt likely to spell any gain for Muslims as prospects of it being implemented in the present age remain as blocked as they were earlier. Political backwardness is also reflected in their failure to openly and fearlessly question the labelling of innocent Muslims as terrorists, the fake encounters and also the limited steps taken for compensating the Muslims who have undergone this trauma. Against this backdrop, Indian Muslims must be credited for not having been fooled by politicians empty talk of ensuring progress for them. Had they been trapped by such rhetoric, they may not have carved out their own means of economic progress, primarily through selfemployment. It is time that politicians accepted the hard fact that Muslims backwardness is not as major a problem that they need to combat as is their own politically backward attitude towards displaying their concern for Indian Muslims!

India has a peculiar brand of secularism

MAHTAB ALAM
Mumbai: Mumbai: India has a peculiar kind of secularism, said Dr. Mukul Sinha, while pointing out how many of us suffer from the illusion that India is a secular polity. Dr. Sinha, an eminent activist and lawyer from Ahmedabad, was delivering here the first Advocate Shahid Azmi Memorial Lecture, on 11 February. He said, in recent times, two words have been presented to us by the West -- terrorism and secularism. After the fall of Soviet Union, only forces that need to be contained according to West are Islamic forces. He reminded the audience that even nationally, the birth of secularism was mediated by three competing ideologies. The Nehruvian idea fought with Gandhian and RSS views on secularism. But even within the Congress, there were soft-Hindutva elements that were against strict separation of state and religion. In fact, secularism was slipped into the Constitution only in 1976 during Emergency. Speaking about the role of judiciary, he pointed that the Supreme Court judgments also reflect the ambivalent character of the secular polity in India. The judgments traverse the spectrum of the idea of Indian secularism from Sarva Dharma Sambhav to separation of church and the state. In India, secularism does not mean godlessness, but god everywhere. If the judicial ideas remain confused on the meaning and relevance of secularism in India, how can we expect trial courts to be free of biases, he wondered. There is another myth that secularism protects the minorities. Here, leaving aside the question of economic and social justice, Sinha focused on two basic questions: affording equal protection of law to the minorities and the efficacy of the criminal justice system of delivering justice to the minorities. With a list of major communal riots where Muslims were the victims, Sinha pointed out that such a perception was misplaced. Beginning from 1983 Nellie massacre, 1984 Sikh riots, 1989 Bhagalpur, 1993 Mumbai and Gujarat 2002, it has never happened once that the perpetrators were punished. Ironically, in a few cases such as Bhagalpur riots, the only people punished were Muslims. However, Muslims have kept their enormous faith on the idea of secularism. Earlier, in his introductory remarks, Professor Jairus Banaji of the London School of Oriental and African Studies termed the killing of Advocate Azmi as a political assassination. He claimed that the same people who killed Hemant Karkare were also behind the murder of Azmi. He wondered why in major cases of political assassinations, the forensic evidence has never been preserved by the Indian State because it does not want forensic and legal outcomes. Banaji added that the state apparatus was a seamless web of intrigue and deception. The most staggering fact of Indian democracy is that any crime can be committed with no accountability. The Indian state is enmeshed with the political forces of the right. On the other hand, the extreme right pursues the strategy of tension resembling Italy of the 1970s. The terror networks of the right organized themselves during the NDA regime. Hemant Karkare had started dismantling this network when he was killed. During the investigations of Malegaon blast, Praveen Togadias name had cropped up but it disappeared later without a trace. Prof. Banaji asserted that the crime branch remains the most criminal organization across the country. At the same time, building a resistance cannot be accomplished individually, but in solidarity and collectively. Indian democracy is turning fascist; a fascist society which works from within and is much more insidious than classical fascism. Talking about Shahid Azmi and his work, his brother Arif Azmi narrated how Shahid was fighting 110 POTA-related cases and he had secured 14 acquittals too before he was silenced. He always used to receive calls asking him to refrain from such cases but he never budged. Shahid maintained that if justice had to be delivered, it had to be delivered to all. Recalling his association with Shahid, Maulana Gulzar Azmi, Secretary of the Jamiat Legal Cell in Maharastra, recalled the eventful year of 2006 when young Muslims were being framed in cases of Aurangabad (May), Mumbai (July) and Malegaon (September). MCOCA was being invoked against the accused in most of these cases. Shahid was fighting all these cases simultaneously. When he asked Shahid why he is deeply bothered about such cases from across India?, he replied, I want peace in the country. I was jailed myself and I fear these accused will go to jail and turn from innocent youth to real terrorists. And the peace of India will be disturbed. Shahid felt every such case as his own -- he used to say, they must be undergoing exactly what I went during my imprisonment and afterwards. Advocate Marrukh Aidanwala, a close associate of Shahid, said he used to go to the courts with a mission to fight for justice. We are terribly missing him both on personal and professional levels. She further said, he fought cases of not only Muslims but of all those who are marginalized, downtrodden and oppressed. He was a true Peoples lawyer. In his presidential remarks, Prof. Banaji concluded the discussion by highlighting two major ideas of Sinhas lecture. First, that the idea of secularism in India as balancing between different religions, in effect becomes majoritarian rule. Second, the culture of political impunity where the legal and political system actively ensures that the criminals are not punished. He added that judicial compliance was a cornerstone of fascist politics in Germany for 10 years leading up to Nazi rule. Indian fascism is more dangerous because it is deep-rooted and molecular. The lecture was held in the memory of the young criminal and human rights lawyer, Shahid Azmi who was shot down, allegedly by the nationalist underworld in February 2010. The 32-year-old Shahid, at the time of his murder was fighting many terror-related cases, including of those falsely accused in the Malegaon blasts and Mumbai terror attack, who were later acquitted by various courts.

False flag operation?

An Israeli selfgoal to divide India and Iran?

The first time ever use of limpet mine in India, points to a foreign agency hand in the attack on an Israeli diplomatic vehicle, carrying an Israeli citizen, in the heart of Indian capital, New Delhi. As Indian Express as well as Ronen Bergman in New York Times have mentioned, 5 Iranian nuclear scientist had met their fate in the similar limpet mine car blow-outs, and Iran has accused Israeli agency Mossad for the terrorist attacks on its scientists. Now Israel is blaming Iran for New Delhi terror attack. In fact, the limpet mine has been known to be favourite Mossad instrument of assassination in the Middle East. While as a knee-jerk reaction, Indian Government and Indian media, spearheaded by TIMES NOW and its over- smart anchor Arnab Goswami, has been widely repeating the Israeli charges, India should be very cautious in handing this very delicate situation, as its own interest in dealings with Iran, are at stake and that is the main reason, both US and Israel are pressurizing India - without any regard or reference to an independent India own economic and global interests. A Times of India report, filed by its US correspondent, highlights how Israeli/American Jewish lobby in the US is building up pressure on India to force it to tow their line of antagonistic and warmongering agenda in the neighbourhood of India. India, its political analysts, its media and its people should be fully aware and vigilant about a war in our neighbourhood that my cost us dearly, if things go wrong. It may be a very disastrous and damaging affair. Both the US and Israel are hellbent on abusing Indias friendship and its vast resources, to carry on their own hegemonic agenda around the world, including the Gulf, South East and Far East all in the bogus pretext of their own self-serving security parameters. The canvas of their agenda is very vast and India will have to decide from very beginning, if its baby steps to humour the West and Israel may result it to desperately run a forced marathon to the last mile, that would change India for good. A hundred year struggle to free India from the clutches of foreign colonial powers may end up again in enslaving of a billion Indians.

GHULAM MUHAMMED
ghulammuhammed3@gmail.com

12 The Milli Gazette, 1-15 March 2012

NEWSMAKERS
MEN & WOMEN IN NEWS
The Vice Chancellor of Aligarh Muslim University on 9 February appointed Dr. Arshi Khan, Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science as Director, Centre for Advancement of Muslims of India, in addition to present duties, in place of Dr. Abdul Waheed, for a period of two years, with immediate effect. Film actor SHAH RUKH KHAN (46) has been selected by West Bengals chief minister Mamta Bannerjee to be the Brand Ambassador of West Bengal. Another feather in his cap is that according to the 2012 survey HT-Ma RS Youth he has been voted as the Best Indian Role Model for young people today. The survey was conducted by seeking the views of 7021 youths in the age group of 18-25 years in 15 cities of the country. Maximum number of youths i.e. 15.4% expressed their choice in favour of Shah Rukh, followed by APJ Abdul Kalam (14.8%), Sachin Tendulkar (11.3%), Anna Hazare (9.4%) and Rahul Gandhi (8.0%). Dr. LIAQAT ALI KHAN Rao, Associate Professor of the Department of Geology in AMU has been appointed new Head of this Department by the new V.C. of AMU, Prof. Sibghatullah Farooqi, for a period of three years in place of Dr. Shadab Khurshid whose appointment to this post, according to an order issued by Registrar offices administrative section, has been cancelled with immediate effect. Prof. ABDUL MANNAN has been appointed new Head of the Department of Medicine and Medical Treatment in AMUs Ajmal Khan Tibbia College at Aligarh in place of Prof. Abu Bakar Khan after completion of his term. His appointment is for a period of three years. Maulana SYED AHMAD KHIZR Shah Masoodi has been appointed new Sheikhul Hadees of Darul Uloom (Waqf) on 13 February by this institutions rector Maulana Muhammad Salim Qasmi in place of the previous Sheikhul Hadees, Maulana Khurshid Alam who died about a week ago. Maulana Khizr Masoodi is the son of (late) Maulana Anzar Shah Kashmiri. Dr. ABDUL KHALIQ, chairman of AMUs Sunni Theology Department has been appointed a member of AMU Court in his capacity as the senior-most among departmental heads. His appointment is for three years or till the time he is head of his Department. After reorganisation of Delhi Police Service, TAJ HASAN MUHAMMAD has been appointed Joint Commissioner of Police, Central Range in Delhi. Former President APJ ABDUL KALAM and Lok Ayukt of Karnataka, Justice N. SANTOSH HEDGE have been selected for being honoured with S.R. Jindal Prize in recognition of their outstanding contributions in the field of science and technology and exemplary service in the field of social development respectively. The Prize carries an amount of Rs. one crore and is instituted by Sita Ram Jindal Foundation.

OBITUARIES
Kunwar AKHLAQ MUHAMMAD KHAN Shaharyar, famous poet, author and critic and winner of many prestigious literary awards, including Sahitya Academy and Jnanapeeth Awards, Ghalib Award for Poetry etc. died of lung cancer at Aligarh on 13 February at the age of 76 years. (see below) Maulana SYED WAQAR ALI, a great religious scholar and Sheikhul Hadees at Mazahirul Uloom (Waqf) died in Saharanpur on 11 February after a prolonged illness. He taught in this institution for about 50 years. He was above 80 and is survived by his wife, four sons and four daughters. SHAMIM AHMAD KHAN, sitar maestro and one of the finest exponents of Hindustani instrumental music died of heart attack in a Mumbai hospital on 14 February at the age of 74 years. Born in Baroda in a musical family of Agra Gharana, he had been living in Mumbai for the past about five decades. His father Ustad Rasool Khan wanted to initiate him into vocal music but his love for sitar led him to become a disciple of famous sitar maestro Pundit Ravi Shankar in 1955. Maulana Mufti KHURSHID ALAM, Shaikhul Hadees of Darul Uloom Deoband and a prominent religious scholar died on 7 February after a brief illness at the age of 76 years. After completing his education at Darul Uloom Deoband he served as a teacher in Darul Uloom, Karachi (Pakistan) for about five years and on return to India he joined Darul Uloom and became Shaikhul Hadees. He also served as Mufti-e Azam in Darul Uloom (Waqf). He is survived by his wife, two sons and six daughters. Maulana ABU BAKAR Ghazipuri, senior religious scholar and researcher died of heart attack in Delhi on 8 February in the central office of Jamiatul Ulama-e Hind at the age of 65 years. A resident of Ghazipur (U.P.) he had come to Delhi for some of his personal work. A scholar of Urdu and Arabic, he was a good author also and wrote more than two dozen books on different topics in both languages. In accordance with the wishes of his family his body was sent to Ghazipur for burial. Khwaja ABDUL KHALIQ, noted journalist and a former Director of information and broadcasting ministrys Urdu unit of Press Information Bureau (P.I.B.) died of heart attack in the first week of February at the age of 83 years. He played an important role in starting UNIs Urdu Service. After retirement from government service he took up the editorship of Sadaqat, a weekly published from Kanpur. He was 83 and is survived by his wife, one son and one daughter. Prof. MUGHNI TABUSSAM, prominent poet, scholar, critic and author died in Hyderabad on 15 February after a brief illness. He was a patient of cancer and died of renal failure. He was president of Osmania University Hyderabads Department of Urdu from where he retired in 1991. He also served as an editor of Sub Ras monthly. An author of dozens of books in prose as well as poetry, he was also honoured with many literary awards. He was 82 and is survived by two sons and three daughters. His both wives had died earlier.

SHAHARYAR (1936-2012)
Shaharyar was a thinking Mans Urdu poet, an intellectual and a paragon of sharafat, says KALEEM KAWAJA
Nahin haiy mujh se taalluq koi to aisa kiyon Ke tu ne murh ke faqat ek mujh ko dekha kiyon Main ajnabi to na tha shahar-e-arzoo ke liye Tamaam umar raha phir yahan akaila kiyon Meri in aankhon ko kub roshni se nisbat thi Azal se mere taaqub mein haiy andhera kiyon In talking about the ever-present Muslim-Hindu tension in India he felt that the common Muslims and common Hindus suffer through the same deprivations and injustices. And that between the two there is a bond of commonality that we should emphasize in practice on a daily level in oder to improve our society. He felt that Muslims have an important role in keeping India secular. Shaharyar defined mans majboori (helplessness) as being an inherent part of life; something that started with Adam and Eve and is for eternity. It is for man to use his God-given intellect and abilities to find solutions to dispel majboori. Thus he valued how the Indian and Muslim civilizations were once kings but today the Western civilization has gone far ahead in converting majboori into opportunity, while we are still lamenting our lot. Thus in Shaharyars poetry you rarely find enunciations of majboori. Instead, you find him thinking of how to surmount majboori: Jo Chahti haiy duniya wuh mujh se nahin hoga Samjhauta koi khwab ke budley nahin ho ga Ab raat ki deewaar ko dhaana haiy zaroori Yeh kaam magar mujuh se akailay naheen ho ga Khush fahmi abhi tak thi yehi kaar-e-junoon main Jo main nahin kar paaya kisi se nahin ho ga Indeed Shahryar was a different Urdu poet in the sense that his verse could make an impact on the thinking and educated people of South Asia. Shaharyar often challenged the well educated thinking men from the subcontinent to think and act differently. He exhorted them to not look at poetry and poets as mere entertainment, but look at the poems as inspiration to hear your own inner voice and use all your resources to improve our Southasian society. I remember that in my conversations with him in those days he often asked why educated Southasian Muslims of our generation lack the courage to take bold actions, to bring reforms and change the cycle of dogmatism that still pervades our society. He warned that if our generation is not going to listen to our inner voice, the consequences for our society may be more retrograde: Hur taraf apney ko bikhra paao gay Aainon ko tor ke pachtaao gay Jub badi key phool mahkain gay Nekiyon pur apni tum sharmaao gay Rooh ki deewaar ke girnay ke baad Be badan ho jaao gay, mur jaao gay Shahryar was every inch an intellectual that he was in real life. His style of communication, his attitudes, his very respectful and suave mannerism were so heart warming. It was hard to believe that he was an Urdu teacher from a small town Aligarh. He appeared to be a professor of deep humanities. Indeed in him I found the definition of what I think of true Aligarians - representatives of a sophisticated intellectual centre of Southasian Muslims. Despite living at AMU for his whole life he carefully kept himself out of all the political currents that unfortunately engulf that century-old university. Despite his high stature in the Urdu circles, his prestigious Sahitya Academy Giyan Peeth award and his tremendous success in Bollywood, he never behaved snobbish. At AMU, he was always found mingling with junior teachers and students. In meeting Shaharyar even for a few hours one was struck by his deep-rooted sharafat and his shareef pedigree. Like others, he encountered crises in his life but he always dealt with them witrh his deep-rooted sharafat. On some occasions in mushairas and other gatherings, I witnessed how elegantly and in what a shareef manner he dealt with barbs tossed at him. Shaharyars poems were not driven by or a reaction to any specific events; thus there is an element of timelessness about them that basically deals with our lives, our attempt to deal with uncertainty and majboori. Books of Shahryars Urdu poems have been translated into English, French, German, Russian, and Bangla, Telagu and Hindi. Professor Shahryar retired as chairman of the Urdu department in 1996. Shahryar, the literary intellectual and the deep thinking poet who added so many nuggets to Urdu poetry, will be remembered for a long time and his poems will be read for a long time by thinking people, especially those who are familiar with Urdu and Hindi languages: Pahley kub shaam-o-sahar zikr tha youn duniya ka Chal gaya mujh pe aakhir ko fasoon duniya ka Ibteda jo bhi ho anjaam haiy hur ek ka yeh Zinda rahney ki hawas aur junoon duniya ka Paae junoon pe kaisi uftaad aa paree haiy Agli museebaton se inkaar kur diya Prof. Sharyar born at Aonla in Barieely on 16 June 1936, died on 13 Feb. 2012 and was buried next day at Aligarh. The writer is a community activist based in Washington DC. He can be reached at kaleemkawaja@gmail.com

SHAHARYAR

s I heard of the passing away of Shahryar I tried to scratch my head hard to bring up the old memory files of about twelve to fifteen years ago of my meetings and conversations with him and the pleasant time I spent with him on several occasions over the years. In the year 2000 he sent me his then latest collection of ghazals, Mere Hissay Ki Zameen through one of our common friends who visited him in Aligarh. As I realize that he passed away after long illness, my memories become very poignant and personal, and I feel guilty that I did not spend more time with him in recent years during my visits to India. Unlike many popular Urdu shaairs one finds in mushairas, Shaharyar was very different. He was shy and hated being in the glare of spotlight on the stage in mushairas or to ever seek publicity or to speak about himself or his creations which were many and illustrious. In the cutthroat world of todays mushairas where many a popular shaair presents his ghazals in tarannum or uses other provocative suggestions to attract attention, typically when it was Shaharyars turn to recite his poems, the hall will become quiet. His quiet and dead-pan style of delivery immediately divided the audience into two segments; those who came to listen to poetry and those who came to see a show. It made the second category of people stop their bazaari behaviour and either pay attention or leave. I still remember his comment that he is often appalled when someone says about a certain shaaer: Unhoon ne mushaira loot liya... When I first met him, I had known about his hit lyrics in hit movies like Umrao Jaan and Gaman, which were then the rage in India. I expected him to be a Bollywood showman. What I found was a contrast; a gifted intellectual who treated Urdu poetry as a sophisticated institution that deserved respect and deserved to be admired for its literary richness; not the sensation of bazar. He strongly believed that if we think Urdu poetry is sensuous and emotion-

al, we should flavour it with due respect. In the face of increasing bazaari showmanship that has become a feature of mushairas, he wanted to change mushairas into literary events. He often said that it is for the Urduwalas to respect Urdu shaairee and educate the audience to respect it. In the 1990s when both Shaharyar and Faraz visited North America often for mushairas, one could see that Faraz, another great and literary shaair, was an ebulient showman, whereas Shaharyar was a quiet, retiring professor. This was an essentially different and unique style of Shaharyar that came through not only in mushairas but also in private social gatherings. He seemed to say: If you have interest in Urdu poetry take the time to understand it. And yet he was the writer of immortal mujraghazals from Umrao Jaan: Dil cheez kiya haiy, aap meri jaan leejye / bus ek baar mera kaha maan leejye In the highly competitive world of Urdu mushairas where many a poet resorts to mazloomiat and majboori at the hands of zamaana to become popular, Shahryar refrained from that. His overriding message was that we have to look into the mirror, recognize our faults and contradictory behaviour, and do not blame others for our problems. He abhorred the exploitation of religion to cover up our own lack of effort as the reason for our failures in life.

The Milli Gazette, 1-15 March 2012 13

SPECIAL REPORTS

AMU symposium on Media

Aligarh: The importance of media is continuously being recognized by all sectors of society. In the era of globalization and IT boom, no one can survive without media. It was in this perspective that the hub of the cultural activities in the Aligarh Muslim University, General Education Centre (GEC) took the initiative to hold a discussion on Media and its impact on secularism. The two-day literary festival Clava Fiesta was held by the Literary Club of GEC where on the first day known activist, Uzma Nahid, a senior member of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board, said that some destructive forces are engaged in spreading religious hatred in our society and the media has gigantic responsibility to frustrate these forces. She pointed out that media has entered every walk of life and it can play a positive role in bringing about social reforms and changes. She warned that misuse of media will cause the societys downfall. Nahid said that when media covers Muslim events and issues, negativity is the norm. Therefore it becomes necessary for all of us to put forward the right perspective. On the marriage and the divorce issues, she said that cases of divorce are less in Muslim society compared to other religious groups but media habitually picks on Muslims and this is not a healthy trend. Prof. Humayun Murad pointed out that no country or community can progress without education. Media has the responsibility to safeguard the secular character of the nation and strengthen it. Dr. Obaid Iqbal Asim, Secretary U.P. Rabata Committee, said that Salman Rushdie is a creation of the media whereas more talented writers are there but they fail to get attention. On the second day, editor of The Milli Gazette, Dr Zafarul-Islam Khan pointed out that journalism has become a business and is being run by corporate houses. He said media is no longer a mission, still we have a section in the media which is engaged in bringing out truth and such journalists work on the voice of their inner soul and not for profit. He said that journalists can play a vital role in giving a new direction to media away from the current corporate control. Addressing the students, Dr Khan urged them to enter media and take up the problems of the masses. He lamented that a major reason for our societal problems is that our elite has forsaken the masses today and is busy in its own future and career-building. He said that students can use new technologies to raise problems of the common people and masses. He cited the example of Mahatma Gandhi and said that Mahatma Gandhi had taken up issues related to masses. After leaving his established practice in law, he took up social service along with national service. Dr Khan said that AMU can positively deal with the problems of the community and masses if the people have inclination and determination. He added that in this globalised world, media has become very important. Today only four American media companies monopolise 90 percent of all international media coverage which is selective and serves western interests. He said such a situation in this era of IT and instant news is not good for us. Editor of Hamara Samaj Urdu daily, Khalid Anwar pointed out that media has played a positive role in maintaining and sustaining secularism in our country. He said that if the media was not so effective, communal and destructive forces would have succeeded in tearing apart the secular fabric of the nation. He pointed out that people who disturb peace may be found everywhere but dedicated and secular people have saved this nation from chaos. Elaborating on Urdu journalism, he said that Urdu press has played a very important role during our freedom struggle. He

Lecture on Palestine at Madrasatul Islah

MG Editor, Dr Zafarul-Islam Khan delivered an extension lecture on the past and present history of Palestine at the Madrasatul Islam, Saraimir on 19 February. This annual lecture is organised by the Delhi branch of the Madrasatul Islah old boys association headed by Nazish Islahi.Teachers, students and elite of the adjoining areas attended the lecture. Dr Khan had earlier delivered a similar lecture on 15 February at the Jamia Millias Faculty of Education.
MG/Yusuf

urged the students to put forward their grievances and problems before the nation and world through the media. Presiding over the program, GEC Coordinator, Dr. Shakeel Samdani said that media has overtaken our whole life and it is affecting our society in unprecedented ways. As almost whole media is under the grip of America and other western nations, it carries their culture and life style to other parts of the world. He said that the media in India can play a crucial role in strengthening secularism but due to commercial interests and TRP considerations they deviate from their duty. He said that the Urdu media has played a very positive role during the freedom struggle. Dr. Samdani pointed out that AMU is the living example of secularism. He elaborated on the life and mission of Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, founder of AMU, and said that no student is Hindu or Muslim here; all are Aligarians and the whole world knows them with only that name. He said that the old boys scattered across the whole globe are carrying on the secular traditions of the university. Discussing media, Dr. Samdani further said that the communities which do not control

media remain defensive because all of their time is spent in answering allegations. Dr. Samdani said that usually Muslims are blamed for terrorist acts whereas the fact is that most of such ghastly acts like Samjhauta Express bomb blast were carried out by fascist and communal organizations. Dr Samdani congratulated Dr. Zafarul-Islam Khan for exposing communal forces through The Milli Gazette and urged the student to subscribe to it in large numbers. He said that the services rendered by The Milli Gazette to the nation and community are well-documented and in these days of high publishing cost, it is really surprising that Dr. Khan is continuously publishing it and taking up the concerns of the community and the nation. Dr. Samdani said that Dr. Khan is the symbol of functional journalism. The programme encouraged students to take up social issues and social work. The programme was conducted by Miss Saima and Maryam Shahin with the help of the President of Literary Club Dr. Fatima Shujatullah. (Based on a report from Dr. Shakeel Samdani drshakeelsamdani@gmail.com)

Muslim Bank employee awarded

We will give 9% reservation to Muslims We will cancel Muslim reservation

Muslim reservation is unconstitutional

Objection!

No objection!

Ahmad Shaikh of Punes Muslim Bank receiving Inamdar Samajik Kartigyata Award 2011

14 The Milli Gazette, 1-15 March 2012

COMMUNITY NEWS
Urdu 2nd language in West Bengal
Kolkata: The West Bengal government on 3 February accorded the second official language status to Urdu, in areas where over 10 per cent of population speaks the language. The state government approved a proposal for the use of Urdu in government offices and educational institutions in these areas. With this decision the state will set up Urdu-medium primary schools in the selected areas and also introduce Urdu sections in secondary schools and colleges. Replies to official letters in Urdu will be in the same language. Urdu can be used in all official documents. Officials with expertise in the language will be appointed in the blocks and municipalities where the decision will be implemented. Second-language status for Urdu was part of Mamata Banerjees manifesto for the Lok Sabha and Assembly polls. Areas covered under this decision are Calcutta Municipal Corporation and the municipalities in Islampur in North Dinajpur, Garulia, Kamarhati, Bhatpara and Titagarh in North 24-Parganas and Chapdani, Bansberia, Rishra and Bhadreshwar in Hooghly. Two blocks in North Dinajpur, Goalpokhor I and II, have also been selected. After a Cabinet meeting, States Commerce and Industries Minister Partha Chatterjee said this was for the first time in the state that Urdu language had been given official recognition as the second language. States Municipal Affairs Minister Fihad Hakim said the Cabinet decision fulfilled a longstanding demand by the Urdu-speaking people in the state. According to the 2001 Census, more than 10 per cent of the population in these areas speaks Urdu. During todays cabinet meeting, the chief minister added the areas under the Asansol Municipal Corporation and the municipalities of Bally (Howrah), Kulti and Jamuria (in Burdwan) to the list, Partha Chatterjee said. More areas will be added to the list after the 2012 Census report is released. There are many borderline areas in the 2001 Census. In those places, the Urdu-speaking population must have exceeded 10 per cent in the past decade. Such areas will be gradually included, said S. Nurul Haq, the minority affairs secretary. (theindianawaaz. com) Student representatives in AMU court Aligarh February 24: Eight student representatives from various faculties were declared elected as members to the Aligarh Muslim University Court, the supreme governing body of the University. Dr. Afifullah Khan, Chief Election Officer announced the results late night on 23 February. The following student representatives were elected as members of the University Court Mr. Ashique Rashul (Arts), Mr. Arshad Ali (Agricultural Sciences/Theology), Hamza Raza Khan (Commerce), Shujaatullah (Law), Ahmad Nabeel Khan (Management Studies and Research), Ausaf Ahmad (Science), Furquan Osama (Medicine) and Mohd. Irfan Ahmad (Unani Medicine). President, Vice President, Secretary and one nominee of the Executive Committee of the AMU Students Union are ex-officio members of the University Court. Mohsinul Mulk remembered Aligarh: The Mohsinul Mulk Hall of the Aligarh Muslim University on February 20 organized a seminar on the life and contribution of Syed Ali Mehdi Mohsinul Mulk. The seminar was presided over by Padmshri Prof. Syed Zillur Rahman. Noted political scientist, Prof. Shan Mohammad, former Director of Sir Syed Academy delivered the keynote address. Prof. Asghar Abbas, former Chairman, Department of Urdu, Prof. Ariful Islam of the Department of Statistics, Dr. Rahat Abrar, PRO, and Dr. Shariq Aqeel, Chief Medical Officer of the University Health Service also addressed the function. Saffronisation of history in Karnataka Students of Class V and VIII in Karnataka will now learn a distorted version of history and geography believed to have been written by people influenced by the Hindutva school of thought. In the draft text of the social studies countries like Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Burma, Pakistan and some portion of Tibet are shown as part of India. The Arabian Sea has been named as Sindhu Sagar and the Indian Ocean as Hindu Sagar and Bay of Bengal as Ganga Sagar. In its map Aryans are the original inhabitant of India and the map has been marked mainly with the Hindu temples and their cultural centres along with their holy rivers. The textbook has been written in such a way that it resembles RSS literature. The book is mainly anti Muslim and anti Dalits and is seen as an attempt to distort the original version with the purpose of Brahamanisation of textbooks As per the contents of the textbook Hinduism, Jainism, and Buddhism are not religions but dharmas while the term religion is restricted only to Christians and Islam. Ministers statement on abandoned mosque angers Muslims Jaipur: Muslim leaders in Rajasthan have expressed their anger over Rajasthan Minority Minister of State for Minorities Affairs Amin Khans statement that Masjid cannot be considered to be masjid if namaz was not held in it. Muslim leaders present during the divisional level official meeting about minority affairs and Waqf properties in Ajmer recently protested against his words on the abandoned mosque by saying that such remarks are against the very tenets of Islam. Maulana Hafizur Rahman Rizvi, Imam of Jama masjid Bhilwara who was present in the meeting eloquently said that mosque once built will always remain a mosque irre-

Seminar on Muslim-Christian understanding

New Delhi: A seminar on finding ways to bring about and promote peace and understanding between Muslims and Christians, sponsored by Inter-Faith Coalition for Peace was held in India Islamic Cultural Centre on 11 February. Similar meetings and conferences on almost the same topic were also held at different places on different dates in Delhi and some speakers also were the same with the addition of some new ones. In the seminar at IICC on 11 February, Islamic scholar Maulana Wahiduddin Khan said that a true follower of Islam cannot be a problem for anyone because Islam does not allow its followers to bear ill will and promote hatred against anyone irrespective of the religion or community he belongs to. Speaking about Islams ideology about war in detail he said that all wars during the period of the Prophet of Islam (pbuh) were defensive. He said that Islam and peace are closely connected to each other. He said that no individual person or group can start a war without the state or countrys help or encouragement. He said that whatever is happening in the Islamic world has nothing to do with Islam because the Prophet of Islam (pbuh) always preached love and peace. The biggest example of this preaching of peace is that the non-believers of Makka meted out untold miseries and afflictions to him because of which he alongwith his followers was compelled to migrate to Madina but after some years when he came back, after the conquest of Makka he not only forgave all of them but also asked his followers not to take any action or revenge against the defeated spective of namaz being held or not. Amin had to leave the meeting following strong protest and utter chaos. Salim Engineer of Jamat-e-Islami Hind has said that it is unfair on the part of minority minister to make such statement which is un-Islamic. Of late, Amin Khan has tried to clarify his stand by saying that his intention was not wrong because the statement was made to emphasise on the need to take care of abandoned mosque where namaz can be held regularly. Scholarships to SCs/STs/OBCs, minorities to be doubled New Delhi: Delhi state cabinet in a meeting chaired by chief minister Shiela Dikshit decided to double the amount of scholarships given to students of 11th and 12th classes belonging to scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, other backward classes and minorities, mainly Muslims so that students belonging to poor people of these communities could be benefited in the true sense. In addition, the cabinet also decided to increase the monthly pensions being given to widows and senior citizens in these categories. For the marriage of daughters of widows also the cabinet has decided to increase the financial assistance to them. Yet another important decision taken by the cabinet is that non-judicial stamp papers valued at Rs. 500 or less will be brought in the form of estamp. All these decisions will be enforced after issuance of the notification. At present students belonging to these categories and studying in 11th and 12th classes, who had secured 55 to 60 percent marks in 10th class are getting an annual scholarship of Rs. 1620. Now these students who had secured 55 to 70 percent marks in 10th and studying in 11th and 12th class will be getting an annual scholarship of Rs. 3000. Similarly students of 11th and 12th classes who had secured 60 percent marks in 10th class are currently being paid a scholarship of Rs. 2040 per annum but now students of the same class who had secured 70 percent marks in 10th will be getting Rs. 4500 per annum. With such an increase in scholarships about 70,000 students will benefit. For this purpose the state governments will issue Rs. 25 crores every year to meet the increased amount of scholarships. As regards pensions to widows (and also senior citizens), their monthly amounts have been increased from Rs. 1000 to 1500. For marriage of daughters of widows the states financial assistance has been increased from Rs. 25,000 to Rs. 30,000. Al Hira Library in Gujarat Jail Saharanpur: Mufti Asrar, after being subjected to a rigorous jail life for ten years was released from Gujarat Jail towards the end of January 2012 and met his teacher, Shaikhul Hadees Maulana Muhammad Yunus at Madrasa Mazahirul Uloom, Saharanpur. When the students of this madrasa came to know about his arrival, all of them gathered outside Darul Ifta to receive him. A resident of Alipura village, he had gone to his native place after being released. He told the students of the madrasa that while in Jail, he and his colleagues had set up a library there and named it Al Hira Library in which there are about 250 books for prisoners to read. Without talking about his arrest and other relevant topics he simply said that whatever God willed had happened. Waqf Boards land lease to land mafia cancelled Ambala: Haryana Waqf Boards Administrative Officer Imteyaz Khizr said here on 4 February that the lease of a plot of 4762 sq. yards in Karnals Chaand Sarai leased to some people has been cancelled and all illegal occupants have been served notices to vacate it. The administrative officer said in reply to a question that this whole land covers an area of 21 bighas which has now come within the populated area and it is illegally occupied by 17 Muslim and non-Muslim occupants. A piece of this land was also allotted to one Sunil Kumar and some others on lease for agricultural purposes but instead of cultivation he started the plotting of this land in violation of the purpose for which it was leased to him by the Waqf Board. Hence this lease has been cancelled and now the Makkans. He said that possibilities of promoting peace and understanding between Christians and Muslims through talks and discussions are bright and called upon Muslims to preach only Islams fundamental principles and messages to others with a spirit of peace and goodwill. Dr. Zafar Mahmood, chairman of Zakat Foundation of India while speaking on this occasion said that at present some sections of Christians in North America are unhappy and fed up with Muslims and this trend is prevalent in other parts of the world also which needs to be removed and misunderstandings cleared. He said that common Muslims want to live in peace but they dont get an opportunity to go ahead and move forward. A famous American scholar Dr. Leo while admitting that after Al Qaedas attack on World Trade Centre hatred against Muslims spread in American and other western countries said that followers of the Catholic Church are making all out efforts to bridge the gulf between the followers of Islam and Christians. He said that conditions prevailing now demand that followers of both religions should promote mutual relationship and contacts so that the existing atmosphere of mistrust and violence could be brought to an end. He said that some Christian organisations and groups promote extremism. He said that when the American President Bush had attacked Iraq, Pope John Paul II had strongly condemned it because that was an illegal act on the part of America. (NA Ansari) land belongs to the Waqf Board and will be used for milli purposes and welfare. In reply to yet another question Imteyaz Khizr (Admn. Officer) said that in the same area a piece of land measuring about seven bighas has been allotted for graveyard purpose. Its Khasra No. is 11489. Waqf Board has erected a boundary wall around this graveyard land and built an iron gate, all at a cost of Rs. 2 lakh. He further said that this decision has been taken on the recommendations of a committee set up by Haryana Boards Administrator Naseem Ahmad. He further said that in response to a request by Naeem Quraishi, president of Karnals Muslim community the Waqf Board had allotted 800 sq. yards of land for building a school and madrasa. He clarified that Waqf Boards lands are not sold or purchased but these can be given on lease. State governments silence on Kashmir Madrasa Board Jammu: Kashmirs Gharib Nawaz Foundation and other religious organisations have expressed their regret and disappointment over the absence of any kind of reaction on the part of the State government about the creation of Kashmir Madrasa Board. State President of the Foundation, Reyaz Aatash and members of other organisations have made it clear that if the government does not take any action on their demand for setting up a Kashmir Madrasa Board, they will be compelled to take to the streets and start antigovernment movement. Reyaz Aatash said that even now we appeal to the government to break its silence and act on the creation of this Madrasa Board which is a sensitive matter, at a very early date. Vice President of the Foundation and State President of MSO of India, Maulana Basharat Qadiri said that we are getting support for the creation of Kashmir Madrasa Board from all parties and organisations and hence the government must take immediate action on setting up this Board. It is interesting to note that whereas in Kashmir people are so keen about the establishment of State Madrasa Board, in other parts of India particularly in Delhi there is no unanimity over this among ulama, Muslim intellectuals and milli organisations. Wheras many important religious personalities and intellectuals are in support of the creation of Madrasa Board and are urging the state government to take immediate steps for setting up a Madrasa Board, many other important leaders are opposed to the creation of Madrasa Board. Among the people in the first category i.e. those who want this Board to be set up are India International Awakening Centres Chief Maulana Majaz Moongeri, National Minorities Commission, Delhi State Minorities Commission, Congress Partys minority cell etc. whereas among those who are opposed to the creation of Madrasa Board are Maulana Wali Rahmani, Muhammad Adeeb, M.P. and many others like Darul Uloom, Deoband. Hence in the absence of unanimity, Delhis chief minister said that if Muslims do not want, Madrasa Board will not be created in Delhi. HC asks govt to make rules for illegal religious structures The Delhi High Court has asked the Delhi government to make rules to deal with illegal construction and encroachment of religious structures. For that matter, the court has given two months time to the government to frame guidelines that can help to curb illegal religious structures on public land. In due process, the government is also required to inform on the measures it has proposed to the Religious Committee to decide on the applications moved by the civic agencies or private parties. The government shall file an affidavit placing on record the guidelines formulated for the Religious Committee. In case, the guidelines are not formulated till date, necessary steps shall be taken by the government to formulate the same within a period of two months under intimation to the Religious Committee for perusal. said Justice Hima Kohli. The statement shall also indicate the number of meetings held by the Religious Committee in the last one year and the relevant dates and also the number of decisions taken on the references received by it, said the court.

The Milli Gazette, 1-15 March 2012 15

COMMUNITY NEWS
Honest M.C.D. engineer attacked
New Delhi: An MCD executive engineer Ansar Alam was brutally attacked by some unidentified persons near Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium / Rajghat on 8 February evening. A resident of Jamia Nagar Okhlas Abul Fazal Enclave he is reputed to be an honest engineer and working for preventing illegal construction on government lands in different areas. After the attack he was got admitted to Sanjeevani Hospital, a Darya Ganj Hospitals I.C.U. with 25 stitches on his head and various parts of the body and fracture in his leg. This appears to be a warning signal to others like him by the land mafia who are engaged in illegal constructions and encroachments. Alam said that he was attacked when many people were there but no one came to his help. He was hit on his head from behind with a cricket bat and iron rods. Since it was night (about 7.15 p.m.) and was attacked from behind, he could not properly see them but according to him they were four or five. After the attack he phoned his colleagues about the incident and himself took an auto and reached Sanjeevani Hospital. Next day about a hundred engineers went on a protest strike, demanding the arrest of their colleagues attackers and police protection to them when deployed on sealing and demolition and other risky jobs. When no action was taken on their demand and the police was unable to arrest any of the attackers many more engineers joined the protest and went on an indefinite strike till their demands were met. It is reported that by Friday 10 February more than 300 engineers had joined and continued their strike at Municipal Commissioners office. They alleged that the police are not showing any interest in arresting the culprits because they are hand-in-glove with the land and building mafia at whose behest Alam was attacked. This was however denied by Additional D.C.P. (Central) Aslam Khan who said that the police are definitely probing the case by questioning the staff. Members of Anna Hazare Team Prashant Bhushan and Manisha Sisodia visited Alam in Darya Ganj Hospital on the third day of the attack. Prashant Bhushan remarked that if an officer holding the post of executive engineer travels in a bus, it shows how honest he is. The attack highlights the strong-arm tactics employed by the building mafia. The attack also shows that the entire system is steeped in corruption and we need to stem the rot, he said Additional Commissioner (Engineering) Manish Gupta said that it has been decided, in view of the police not showing any interest in investigating the case, that the Crime Branch should, instead, probe the case. Sources said that Municipal Commissioner K.S. Mehra would write a letter to Delhi Police Commissioner asking him to hand over the case to the Crime Branch. Meanwhile, since the Sanjeevani Hospital of Darya Ganj is not well-equipped and Alams condition showed no improvement, he was got admitted to Apollo Hospital by engineers association on 10th February where his condition is reported to be improving. After the attack on Alam, engineers association has strengthened its demand for providing police security to them when drafted for such jobs. The association has also demanded that all medical expenses of Alam should be picked up by the MCD. They also demanded that though there are about 300 engineers in the MCD, there still is a great shortage of engineers and hence their strength should be increased further. They are on strike and inspite of requests from higher authorities they have refused to call off the strike unless their demands are met and justice is done to Alam. On February 13 Manish Gupta, Additional Commissioner (Engg.) announced that all demands of engineers association have been accepted. The Association also announced that the strike is being called off from Monday 13 February. A representative of Apollo Hospital said that the condition of Ansar Alam is fast improving and he is expected to be discharged from the hospital in a weeks time. Ban on SIMI extended further, surreptitiously New Delhi: The Central government, after the recommendation of cabinet committee on internal security has quietly extended the ban on Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) for a further period of two years. A notification to this effect was issued by the Union home ministry but not publicised through the media. The ban was first imposed on SIMI by the NDA government in 2001 for indulging in terrorist and subversive activities in the country.

Mid-night knock in Batla House

New Delhi: It was around one oclock late midnight of 15 February (early morning on Thursday, 16 February) that some persons in plain clothes knocked at a house in Batla House locality. When the inmates of the house, a bit frightened, opened the door, these people (only two of whom were in police uniform) asked the family members to accompany them to their office for questioning. They neither revealed their identity nor the purpose for which they wanted to take the inmates of the house to their office, but seeing two men in police uniform the inmates understood every thing. As the men in plain clothes tried to forcibly put them in a police vehicle, fearing that they would be framed wrongly in some criminal or terrorism case, they raised an alarm and began shouting. Many people from neighbouring houses hearing the commotion came out and finding that they were forcibly being put into a police vehicle, some one rang up the area SHO and prevented the team from taking the residents away. It is alleged that the police team fired in the air also to control the situation. The residents also lodged a complaint against the plain clothes policemen at Jamia Nagar Police Station. Subsequently it came to be known that they belonged to Delhi Police (South Delhi)s Bangladesh Cell and had come to pick up Bangladeshis, but they were (a total of seven or eight persons including two women) Indian nationals from West Bengal and Bihar. The policemen had created such a mess and people were so agitated that the higher Delhi police authorities having come to know about this incident suspended about eight policemen on the same day (16 February), including one lady police of this team pending enquiry into the whole affair. People also questioned the way the police was investigating, saying that they should have done so in the day time or at least they should have informed the local police station before raiding the house at midnight. Though there have been many cases of police raids, either by local (Jamia Nagar) police or Special Cell in Jamia Nagar / Okhla after Batla House encounter more than three years ago, the raid on 16 February probably proved to be the last straw because there was a great wave of anger among the people against the police. On hearing the shouts of the arrested persons and commotion about 200 persons from the locality assembled at the place and surrounded the kidnapper police team. Meanwhile, Jamia Nagar SHO Satbir Singh Dagar whose police station was informed earlier about the raid by the Bangladesh cell, reached there with a big police force and tried to control the situation but seeing the large crowd and fearing that the raiding police team may be harmed, had resorted to two rounds of firing in the air to scare the crowd. However, with the help of local M.L.A., councillors and SHOs police force the raiding team was saved and allowed to leave after the so-called locally in Old Jerusalem as Al-Takiyah al-Hindiyah, besides the visits of Ali Brothers and other Indian leaders to Palestine, burial of Maulana Muhmmmad Ali Jauhar in the Aqsa precincts and Mahatma Gandhis clear stand on Palestine. Dr Khan criticized the present Indian political decision to develop close and strategic relations with an illegal country established by occupation, usurpation and which promotes oppression, racism and injustice to a whole nation (Palestinians). This relationship is bound to hurt the long-term and gainful friendly relationship with the Arab countries in the Middle East and North Africa. Dr Khan expressed his fear that the Indian government is inadvertently helping Israel in occupation, oppression and racist policies which go against the basics of Indian foreign policy. He further said that the present foreign relations strategists and policy-makers seem to have completely abandoned the ideologies of Mahatama Gandhi who believed that Palestine is as much of the Palestinians as France was of the French and Britain of the British. Dr Khan said that the Oslo Accords of 1992 between the Palestinians and the Israelis were used to normalize relations between India and Israel but these accords did not change the nature of relations between these two adversaries, therefore, the Indian government should also reconsider its stand towards Israel. Dr Khan said that the right wing ideologues seem to have increased their influence on Indian foreign policy. He further expressed fear that corrupt politicians and bureaucrats have exercised undue influence upon the policy makers to take advantage of the booming arms trade in which huge kickbacks are paid to Indians and one such deal is being probed by the Union defence ministry and the Israeli Military industriy has been blacklisted. As very little is published or discussed in Indian media about Indo-Israel relations, Indian people usually get to know little about these deals and engagements though some reports keep appearing in Israeli press. Dr Khan expressed his surprise as to why the relations are being improved only by importing more and more Israeli arms and defense supplies and services, and that too under an adverse balance of payments (which is heavily in favor of Israel). Dr. Khan warned the policy-makers to remain alert about the Zionist designs and clandestine operations that the Israeli regime indulges in internationally and in this connection he referred to the recent arrest and deportation of an Israeli couple at Kochi in Kerala. (Nadim Ahmad ) Bangladeshis were rescued from its clutches. Only two or three days earlier also another raiding team which had come to Batla House in a taxi from U.P. had caught hold of two young car mechanics and was taking them away. Local people who had seen the two mechanics being taken away chased and overtook the U.P. police team and rescued the two boys. Some people, while accusing the police said that when they are asked by their political bosses to show results, they come to Jamia Nagar to arrest innocent persons to prove their efficiency. Jamia Teachers Solidarity Association (JTSA) which has been campaigning against police excesses ever since the Batla House encounter, staged a protest demonstration outside Delhi Police Headquarters against the latest police raid. Its president, Ms. Manisha Sethi in a statement said that Jamia Nagar has been turned into a hunting ground. In the Wednesday raid, police took away people even after they had produced their voter I.D. cards. Whether it is auto theft or illegal migrants; police turns to Jamia Nagar and their frequent raids have created an environment of fear among the residents. In view of the latest highhandedness of the police on 16 February, local people and Muslim organisations, residents welfare associations etc. took the matter very seriously and decided that rather than living in an atmosphere of fear, terror and suspicion, they should themselves fight against this menace. Muslim organisaitons and groups like Jamate Islami, All India Muslim Majlis-e Mushawrat, Institute of Objective Studies, Association for the Protection of Civil Rights (APCR) etc held meetings at different places to consider how to tackle this problem. In a meeting organised by Jamat-e Islami in cooperation with organisations working for human rights at Shahin Bagh, chairman of Delhi State Minorities Commission Safdar Husain Khan and noted lawyer who has been fighting for human rights N.D. Pancholi were also invited.They gave sincere advice on how to tackle the problem of police highhandedness. Pancholi, while strongly criticising Delhi Polices communal and poisonous mentality, did not spare Human Rights Commission also, accusing it of changing its style of working. He advised that a list of lawyers fighting for human rights particularly of Muslims should be prepared and their help sought. It is reported that chairman of Delhi State Minorities Commission Safdar Husain Khan and local M.P. Sandeep Dikshit alongwith local leaders met Delhis Police Commissioner B.K. Gupta separately and brought the latest case of police highhandedness to his notice. He told them that action to suspend them has already been taken and also assured them that in future such incidents will not be allowed to happen without informing the local police. (NA Ansari) Arab Spring is still in the process

Strong strategic Indo-Israel relation bad for India New Delhi: Editor of The Milli Gazette, Dr Zafarul-Islam Khan delivered a lecture on 11 February 2011 at the conference hall of the Jamaat-e Islami Hind headquarters on the Indo-Israel relations. He dwelt upon the age-old close historical Indo-Palestine relations and friendship which goes back to pre-Independence days. In this regard, he mentioned the Indian Hospice known

New Delhi: Ambassador Karamatullah K Ghori delivered a lecture here on the ongoing Arab Spring at the central office of All India Muslim Majlis-e Mushawrat on 11 Feb 2012. Mr Ghori is a former Pakistani diplomat who served as ambassador in various countries and is presently settled in Canada. He is now a regular columnist of international journals including MG. His published works include collections of poetry and novels. President of AIMMM, Dr. Zafrul Islam Khan, welcomed him and introduced the guest to the august gathering consisting of AIMMM members and local intelligentsia. Mr Ghori shared his opinion on various international issues related to the Muslim world, particularly the Arab Spring. He said that the present upheaval is actually a struggle for freedom by the masses because whole of Arab World had been in the clutches of dictators of various hues for long. He added that the present political change in some countries will take time before it settles down to normal condition and democracy is established. As of now, Tunisia seems to be the only country where a little bit of success has been achieved in this regard. He said that a democratic system thrives on established independent institutions rather than on individuals which helps create dictatorial systems. Mr Ghori said that in whole of the Arab world, individuals are glorified, and we do not see established institutions coming into picture very soon. Till then, we can only wait and watch. He elaborately discussed the present situations of the Middle East politics and threw light on the situation in Libya, Turkey, Iran, Egypt. He expressed his hope for Pakistan to come out of its present political chaos. The audience included Syed Shahabuddin, former president AIMMM, Nusrat Ali, general secretary of Jamaate Islami Hind, Muhammad Jaafar, vice president of JIH and Mohammad Ahmad, national secretary of JIH for political affairs. A number of journalists also attended the lecture. (Nadim Ahmad )

16 The Milli Gazette, 1-15 March 2012

INTERNATIONAL

Israel, Iran, true lies and conspiracies

SHOBHAN SAXENA
n Oliver Stones JFK, Kevin Costner, playing an attorney who wants to dig out the truth behind President Kennedys assassination, meets X, a former CIA operative, to know who really pulled the trigger on JFK. X chuckles and says, The real question isnt Why? The how is just scenery for the suckers, it keeps people guessing like a parlour game, but it prevents them from asking the most important question - Who benefited? Who has the power to cover it up? If we leave news to screaming TV anchors, our understanding of the world would be so skewed that we will not be able to tell truth from fiction. In the cacophony after the bomb attack on an Israeli embassy car in Delhi, a TV reporter interviewed the Israeli ambassador. She didnt bother to throw any hard questions at him, just asking stock questions and giving him full opportunity to make allegations against Iran. Even obvious questions like why the Palestinians are not a suspect in this case or the alleged role of Mossad in the murder of four Iranian nuclear scientists in recent months or Israels history of killing its political opponents in other countries were not asked. The West, led by the US, has been trying for years to damage Indias ties with Iran, our second biggest supplier of oil. Is it a coincidence that this attack happend just about when Iran agreed to take payment in Rupees for the oil its selling to India? The Rupee payment agreement signalled the total failure of western countries to stop India from doing business with Iran. So, if Delhi terror incident leads to a friction in Delhi-Tehran ties, who benefits? The whole incident has to be seen in this perspective. This simple question - Who benefited from this attack - hasnt been asked. The only country that benefits from this attack is Israel. I am not suggesting that Israelis themselves bombed their car because there is no evidence to suggest so (just like there is no evidence to prove that Iranians were behind this attack), but there is enough evidence to hint that Israel has been itching to attack Iran and now it will milk the Delhi incident to the full to put pressure on India to cut off its ties with Iran. For years, Israel has been trying to prove that Iran is a state that supports terrorism and that it is pursuing a nuclear-weapons programme with the aim of attacking the Jewish state. The truth, as exposed by some of the top print journalists, is exactly the opposite. In a recent article in the New York Times, Will Israel Attack Iran, Ronen Bergman, a well-connected political analyst with the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth, says: After speaking to many senior Israeli leaders and chiefs of the military and the intelligence, I have come to believe that Israel will indeed strike Iran in 2012. In the same article, Bergman corroborates previous articles in the Israeli press reporting that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Ehud Barak have been pressing for the countrys security cabinet to authorise an attack on Israel. Is it any wonder that within hours of the Delhi incident, Netanyahu claimed that Iran was behind the attack. And what

Attack Iran!

evidence did Netanyahu give? Nothing. (Nor did his ambassador in Delhi come up with anything; he just kept telling the TV reporter that We dont talk about security issues, and she kept nodding her head and saying, yes). The Israelis have been lying about Iran so much and so loudly that it has begun to almost sound like truth. The Israeli President [Peres] warns us that Iran is on the cusp of producing a nuclear weapon Yet we reporters do not mention that Shimon Peres, as Israeli Prime Minister, said exactly the same thing in 1996 And we do not recall that the current Israeli PM, Benjamin Netanyahu, said in 1992 that Iran would have a nuclear bomb by 1999, veteran journalist Robert Fisk wrote in the Independent of London, putting the whole thing in perspective. The fact is that its Mossad which has been killing people in cold blood in other countries. In an article, again in New York Times of January 11, Scott Shane wrote that experts believe that the magnet bomb attack which killed Iranian nuclear scientist Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan in the heart of Tehran in January was carried out mainly by Israel. Roshan was at least the fifth Iranian scientist with nuclear connections to be killed since 2007. All killed in similar magnetic bomb attacks, like the one in Delhi. The Americans not only denied their involvement in the Iranian scientists murder but also condemned the attack. But the Israeli reaction to the attack left little doubt about who placed the magnetic bomb on Roshans car. The Israeli military spokesman, Brig Gen Yoav Mordechai, writing on Facebook about the attack, said, I dont know who took revenge on the Iranian scientist, but I am definitely not shedding a tear. This was reported by the Israeli news media. According to Scott Shane of NYT, Israel has used assassination as a tool of statecraft since its creation in 1948killing dozens of Palestinian and other militants and a small number of foreign scientists, military officials or people accused of being Holocaust collaborators. And according to Julian Borger of the Guardian, Israel certainly has a track record of assassinations, from the Palestinian perpetrators of the Munich Olympic attack of 1972, to the killing of senior Hamas official Mahmoud alMabhouh in a Dubai hotel room in early 2010. This week, Le Figaro reported that Mossad had been recruiting Iranian dissidents in the Kurdish region of neighbouring Iraq, to conduct operations in Iran. In an excellent piece of reporting, Borger exposed the Israeli hand behind these murders in Iran. If you look at the choice of target it really could only be Israel, Robert Baer, a former CIA agent in the Middle East, currently working on a book on assassination called The Perfect Kill, told Borger. If it was an internal group, like the MKO (Mujahedin-e-Khalq Org) it would be security official or policeman If you look at the motivation, it must be Israel. And the motivation, of course, is to stop Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. This brazen behaviour despite the fact that till today no one - not even the International Atomic Energy Agency - has given an iota of evidence so far that suggests that Iran is building nuclear weapons. Even todays [15 February] development of Iran inserting first domestically produced, 20-percent enriched nuclear fuel into a research reactor, doesnt mean that Iran is in the process of making the bomb. The western governments and Israeli intelligence keep feeding the story to the media that Tehran is about to explode a bomb. Every small development in Iran becomes a big media event in the West. We got to be careful here. Its amazing how easily we have forgotten that the US and UK invaded Iraq and destroyed that country by fabricating a total lie that Saddam Hussein had nuclear weapons. Till this day, they havent found any trace of enriched uranium in Iraq.

And now, Israel is repeating the same allegations against Iran. Last November, Israel claimed yet again that Iran was close to testing the bomb, prompting the leading US arms control expert, Jeffrey Lewis, of the Monterey Institute of International Studies, to ask Just what technical or political fact has brought the deadline to the crossroads? The real story is actually unravelling in Israel. The Israeli leaders, who are living in the past, dont know how to deal with the changing reality of their region. The Arab dictators with whom Israel had cosy ties are gone. Two rival Palestinian organizations Fatah and Hamas have joined hands. And most importantly, millions of Israelis have been rallying against their government and asking for better living conditions. Amid Arab Spring last September, hundreds of thousands of Israelis took to the streets in Israels biggest ever demonstration to demand social justice, a lower cost of living and a clear government response to the concerns of an increasingly squeezed middle class. We are the new Israelis, student leader Itzik Shmuli told a rally. And the new Israelis want only one simple thing: to live with dignity in this country. But the old, orthodox Israelis, represented by the likes of Netanyahu and Barak dont know how to respond to this challenge. So they are offering them a war they dont want. For this, they need a target. And the target in this case is Iran. And the Orthodox Jewish extremists are doing their bit to scuttle a genuine peoples movement in Israel. After the recent massive rallies across the country, Jewish ultra-Orthodox extremists tried to exclude women from public life. In a shameful incident, a sevenyear-old girl was spat on and abused by radicals who claimed she was immodestly dressed; Signs had also been erected calling on men and women to use separate pavements. The conservatives have turned Israel into an anachronism. Maybe Netanyahu and his chums should listen to Ruth Dayan, the widow of Moshe Dayan, a national hero and one of the founding fathers of Israel. In an interview to Newsweek magazine recently, Ruth said, Zionist dream has run its course. On Netanyahus policy on Palestine, she said, I reject Netanyahus policy; it is a recipe for disaster. He is unwilling to address the issue. Its a bunker mentality... In the words of Ruth Dayan, who played as much role in building Israel as her husband, Israel today is not a dream, it is a country in a lot of trouble The truth of Israel, an un-declared nuclear power, is that its ruled by a troubled government which is completely out of touch with reality. And it wants to create trouble in other countries. http://blogs.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/MainStreet/entry/israel-iran-true-lies-and-conspiracies

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Tehran: Iran plans to display its new achievements in space fields by sending heavier homemade satellites to higher altitudes by the next few years. There would be a new round of space progression in Iran by 2013. Iran plans to send Tolou (Rise) and Fajr (Dawn) satellites into orbit and improve satellite carriers by efforts made by experts in this regard. Iran would be able to put satellites into orbit of up to 36000 km.The Iranian students news agency quoted a spatial expert Rezaei as saying that Safir B1 two-phased satellite carrier is capable of launching satellites weighing more than 60 kg to 350-450 km of the oval orbits and has made a huge progress comparing to Safir A1. He added Safire B1's engine, fuel, guide and control system differ from its previous version. Rezaei noted Navid (Promise) satellite was launched by Safire B1 and was placed in the exact position in its orbit, as stressing the locally-made satellite carrier Simorgh would be built soon. The spatial expert added Simorgh two-phased satellite carrier which is capable of carrying satellites with 100 kg to 50 km orbit, possesses 4 engines and final tests are implemented on it. Rezaei stressed Tolou satellite built by Iran's electronic industry affiliated with defense ministry would be launched by Simorgh satellite carrier built by air and space industry of defense ministry. He added Iran's next locally-made satellite would be Fajr satellite which is to be sent into space in the near future.

Iran to Send heavier satellites into higher altitude

MG/Yusf

The Milli Gazette, 1-15 March 2012 17

INTERNATIONAL

False Flag? Israel Blames Iran for bombings

TONY CARTALUCCI

No deaths, just long sought after provocations; a geopolitical gambit executed with the proficiency of Mossad.

buildings. The letter was circulated by the head of security for Israels Consul General for the Mid-Atlantic States, ABC News said. -Soft Target Threat Gets Communitys Attention, The Jewish Week, February 7, 2012

Quite clearly, there is a premeditated it would be far more preferable if the United States could cite an Iranian provo- conspiracy working ceaselessly to procation as justification for the airstrikes voke Iran into a war it neither wants nor before launching them. Clearly, the more will benefit from in any conceivable way, outrageous, the more deadly, and the more unprovoked the Iranian action, the better off the United States would be. Of course, it would be very difficult for the United States to goad Iran into such a provocation without the rest of the world recognizing this game, which would then undermine it. (One method that would have some possibility of success would be to ratchet up covert regime change efforts in the hope that Tehran would retaliate overtly, or even semi-overtIranian scientist murdered by US-Israel ly, which could then be portrayed as an unprovoked act of Iranian and upon failing to provoke Iran, provocations will be manufactured in their stead, aggression.) -US foreign policy makers in the as seen in the recently botched plot to Fortune 500 funded Brookings assassinate a Saudi ambassador on US Institutions 2009 Which Path to Persia? soil, later revealed to be a US sting operation involving DEA agents and a duped, report, pages 84-85.. U. S. officials said they have seen no entrapped patsy. Now Israel is blaming two attacks on intelligence to indicate that Iran is actively plotting attacks on U. S. soil. But Director their own embassies, one in New Delhi, of National Intelligence James R. Clapper India and another failed attack in Tbilisi, Jr. said the thwarted plot shows that Georgia, squarely on Iran. There were only minor injuries reportsome Iranian officials - probably including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei - have ed in the New Delhi attack which was carchanged their calculus and are now more ried out in a similar manner to those tarwilling to conduct an attack in the United geting Iranian scientists in Iran - attacks States in response to real or perceived U. now admittedly the work of Israeli Mossad agents and US-funded, armed, trained, S. actions that threaten the regime. The warning about Irans more and harbored Mujahedeen e-Khalq aggressive stance was included in written (MEK) terrorists. Iran clearly has nothing to gain by testimony that Clapper submitted to Congress on Tuesday as part of the intel- bombing Israeli targets abroad, especially ligence communitys annual assessment in nations like India where such an act of the nations most serious security would not only give the West the provocation it is on record trying to goad out of threats. - Iran, perceiving threat from West, Tehran for years, but also one that would willing to attack on U. S. soil, U. S. intelli- unsettle relations with India which would gence report finds, Washington Post, directly effect the conflict in Afghanistan festering on Irans eastern border. January 31, 2012 Conversely, a non-lethal attack on .We predict that the threat on our sites around the world will increase on Israeli targets gives the Wall Streetboth our guarded sites and soft sites, London-Tel Aviv corporate-financier elite read the memo, with soft sites interpreted the exact provocation they have been to mean potential targets such as syna- fishing for on record since at least 2009. Reuters reports, a bomb wrecked a gogues and other Jewish community

car carrying the wife of the Israeli Defence attache as she was going to pick up her children from school. All the emotional plot points exist to manipulate public opinion against Iran, and behind a Western attack that has so far been perpetually stalled by a world increasingly irate over the Wests global warmongering. The degree to which this likely stunt will be successful in serving as a pretext for war (or at least further escalation) for an axis that has been waging a campaign of terror against Iran for years remains to be seen. This Wall StreetLondon-Tel Aviv axis has openly admitted they seek to provoke war with an unwilling adversary, and all three are experts at manufacturing provocations for otherwise unjustifiable acts of aggression. Iran is an aggressive though not reckless nation - so says the US policy think-tank Brookings Institution in their own Which Path to Persia? report. Iran does not lack an accurate understanding of global public opinion, evident in their English news service, PressTV. Should Iran choose to finally strike out against the West for their blatant and consistent acts of war, they would most likely do so with global public opinion in mind likely excluding the possibility of targeting a mother on her way to pick up her children from school. As in any crime, big or small, the first and most pressing question to answer is, cui bono or, to whose benefit? An axis of Western powers desperately seeking a pretext for a war theyve tried to start for years? Or a nation desperately trying to avoid war, weathering constant and overt acts of aggression directed at their economy, infrastructure, civilians, military leaders, and politicians, only to end up bombing an Israeli mother on her way to pick up her children from school? With this in mind, and with Iran squarely denying any responsibility for the attacks, the burden of proof lies entirely on Israel. (The Intel Hub) Tony Cartalucci is an independent journalist and frequent Intel Hub contributor. He writes on his own blog, the Land Destroyer.

Palestinian Child Deaths Delight Israelis

Cairo: The tragic death of at least eight Palestinian children and their teacher was met by hateful comments on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's official Faecook page that expressed "relief" that "only Palestinians" were killed in the school bus crash near Al-Quds (Occupied East Jerusalem). "Death to Arabs, why do we help them?" comment was posted on the Facebook pages of Netanyahu, Wallah and the Israel Police, Haaretz reported on Friday, February 17. Other comments expressed satisfaction that "only Palestinians" were the victims. At least eight Palestinian children and a teacher were killed Thursday, February 16, when an articulated lorry skidded on a wet road in the West Bank and collided with a school bus. "There are between eight and 10 Palestinian children dead ... and more than 30 injured," Israeli police spokeswoman Luba Samri told Agence France Presse (AFP) on Friday. Medical officials at the main hospital in the West Bank city of Ramallah said a teacher was among the dead, and that many of the children were "of kindergarten age" -- between four and six years old. While more than 40 injured people were fighting for their lives, Netanyahu's facebook page was filled by posts including sighs of relief that 'only Palestinians' were killed. Other comments included "Can we send another truck?" and "I'd send a double-trailer to wipe out all those shits" after the bus overturned when it crashed into a truck. Though Netanyahu expressed sorrow over the accident in official comments, his aides did not remove the racist comments from his Facebook page or denounce them. "Relax, it's Palestinian children," someone wrote on Wallah's Facebook page. Others wrote "Great! Fewer terrorists" and "May there Similar comments were posted on the police's Facebook page, including "When they grew up they'd be terrorists .... God nipped them in the bud." Netanyahu's aides declined to comment. Wallah site editor Gadi Lahav said "we monitor the page every few minutes and delete unworthy comments like these." Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas declared three days of national mourning and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sent condolences and an offer of help. "Flags will fly at half-mast at all institutions," Abbas said in a televised announcement. (onislam.net)

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18 The Milli Gazette, 1-15 March 2012

INTERNATIONAL

US is Testing Pakistani Nerves in Balochistan

KARAMATULLAH K. GHORI
The US policy in relation to Pakistan-from the moment Pakistan succumbed to Washingtons blatant arm twisting under its erstwhile cavalier military dictator, General Pervez Musharraf, on the heels of George W. Bushs so-called war against terror-has been one of keeping its front-line ally under relentless pressure. Raising the bar for Pakistan to prove its fidelity and allegiance to Washingtons incessant war-mongering has gone on for more than a decade, with Pakistan reacting to crude pressuring with varying moods and responses. The graph of Pakistani reaction to Washingtons brinkmanship remained fairly constant under Musharraf. Pakistan played a loyal second-fiddle to the US strategy in Afghanistan because Musharraf owed his base of power in Pakistan entirely because of Washingtons patronage. He buckled when Washington gazed hard at him and implemented his mentors diktat without so much as a squeak of demur or protest. However, the Americans have found it a rather difficult and hard going, vis--vis Pakistan, since Musharrafs eclipse from power and the coming into its elements of the current democratic dispensation that claims to speak on behalf of the people that elected it. But while Pakistani politicians and selfproclaimed peoples representatives may just be pretending that they have the backbone to stand up to an imperialist power with farreaching designs on the region in which Pakistan is placed, its a combination of peoples anger and Pakistan armys growing frustration with Washingtons irascible aggrandizement that seems to have visibly soured the Pakistani mood against the Americans and their unabashed big-brotherly shenanigans. It goes without saying that the mood of the Pakistani people has been one of consistent opposition to their governments involvement on the side of a rapacious imperialist power waging war against a poor neighbour of Pakistan. Survey-after-survey of public opinion in Pakistan, conducted by both Pakistani and overseas pollsters, has found the Pakistani people firmly arrayed against Pakistans participation in the war against Afghanistan as an American stooge. To the people of Pakistan its Americas war that Pakistan has been fighting and, in the process, paying with the blood of its soldiers and the lives of its civilians to satisfy Americas lust for lording over as many countries of the world as possible. They have facts and figures, compiled by independent sources, to buttress their opposition to the US war: at least 3500 Pakistani soldiers, including officers, have been killed in fighting Washingtons war of revenge against the Afghans, not to mention 45,000 Pakistani civilians killed in acts of terrorism and retaliation triggered by Pakistans involvement in the US war. At the same time its the Pakistan army that also seems to have lost its patience with constant American needling of it and relentless demand for it to do more to pull Washingtons chestnut out of the Afghan fire. The Pakistan armys patience with Washington snapped, in particular, last year, in 2011, when a series of jolts in US-Pakistan relations apparently rocked the boat to its bottom. The murder of Osama bin Laden in May 2011in the garrison town of Abbottabad; before that the daylight murder, in cold blood, of two Pakistani youths at the hands of a CIAhired mercenary enraged the people of Pakistan and forced Pakistans beleaguered generals to heed the anger of the people in like manner. The proverbial last straw that broke the back of the Pakistani military brass, vis--vis a provocative Washington, was the early-dawn raid by US aircraft against a Pakistani check-

The Balochistan province of Pakistan has long been restive and in ferment. In terms of population, Balochistan is smallest of Pakistans four provinces. However, it is rich in mineral resources-such as gas, gold, copper, coal and others-coveted not only in Pakistan but by others too, especially countries like US with ambitious plans of expansionism and designs to exploit such resources for the benefit of, not the people of Balochistan or Pakistan but their own.
post in North Waziristan, last November 26, that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers and invited a huge uproar from the people. The Pakistani leadership and the countrys military brass concluded that they could no longer disregard the peoples rage and had to calibrate their response to the outrage to reflect the popular sentiment. Pakistans retaliation wasnt only swift but fully in accord with the popular sentiment. The axe fell on the facility of Pakistans territory used to supply vital logistics to US and NATO troops in Afghanistan. Pakistans decision to suspend that facility was a heavy blow to the western war-mongers waging war against the Afghans. Pakistans response virtually strangled the jugular of the western forces keeping the Afghans in their thrall. That sensitive supply line hasnt been restored by Pakistan, to date. In the wake of Pakistani freeze on NATO and US supplies, Washington has been posturing for being contrite and insisted that it wants to put relations with Islamabad on an even keel of respect for Pakistani dignity and sensitivities. However, some of its actions are still-wittingly or un-wittingly-calibrated to further provoke the people of Pakistan and raise the ire of its government. The latest salvo of Pakistan-bashing and grating on the national sensibilities of its people has come from a Republican Congressman from California, Dana Rohrabacher. Rohrabacher, a Zionist to boot, has the reputation of being a curmudgeon and a gadfly. He has also been desperately trying to build up a reputation of sorts of being a Pakistan-basher ready to spring into action against Americas front-rank ally in the war against terror at any given opportunity. For instance, on the heels of Osama bin Ladens demise in Abbottabad last May, Rohrabacher had tabled a resolution demanding that all US civilian and military assistance to Pakistan be capped for good for its crime of sheltering OBL. He didnt make much headway in that pursuit. However, in his latest crusade against Pakistan, Rohrabacher has introduced a draft resolution, co-sponsored by two other likeminded and maverick Republican Congressmen-Louie Gohmert (Texas) and Steve King (Iowa)-and saying that the Balochi nation of Pakistan has a historic right to selfdetermination. The Balochistan province of Pakistan has long been restive and in ferment. In terms of population, Balochistan is smallest of Pakistans four provinces. However, it is rich in mineral resources-such as gas, gold, copper, coal and others-coveted not only in Pakistan but by others too, especially countries like US with ambitious plans of expansionism and designs to exploit such resources for the benefit of, not the people of Balochistan or Pakistan but their own. The Pakistani people have long suspected US of entertaining ulterior motives in regard to Balochistan, largely because of its strategic location right next door to Iran. Congressman Rohrabachers draft resolution speaks volumes of such hostile and not-so-covert designs as it mentions not only the Balochis of Pakistan but also Balochis living in Iran and Afghanistan. Why should a segment of American lawmakers suddenly feel a pang of concern and empathy for the rights of the Balochi people is not at all surprising to those who have been keeping a watch on US mounting problems in Afghanistan and its ongoing sabre-rattling against Iran. The US policy on Afghanistan and the Obama administrations much-touted strategy of stick-and-carrot in relation to the Taliban has long been caught in a rut. Obama and his whiz-kids just dont know how to get out of Afghanistan with a veil of honour on their face. By the same token, Obama in this election year seems to have no clearly thought plan on how to contain the Zionists of US and Israelspearheaded by a rapacious war-monger like Benjamin Netanyahu-and thwart their intoxicating urge to unleash terror against Iran for its alleged nuclear ambitions. So if they cant get on top of the situation in Afghanistan and vis--vis Iran they wouldnt mind unleashing haywire brain waves like self-determination and independence for the oppressed Balochis just for the vicarious pleasure of creating anxiety among the Pakistanis, the Iranians and the Afghans? ly of justice of the Vandals-by Washington and its supine western allies in Europe. Even Afghanistans Hamid Karzai is feeling the heat of the latest US ploy to talk directly with the Taliban, in Qatar, over his head and virtually behind his back. The Afghan leader is being insensitively kept out of the loop on Washingtons parleys with the Taliban despite his decade-old allegiance and loyalty to all of American shenanigans and subterfuge vis-vis his people and country. Its understandable that Pakistan should be terribly upset and outraged at the mischief of US lawmakers and the deafening silence of the Obama administration beyond a pro forma clarification that the Congressional move doesnt reflect its own policy. PM Gilani has denounced the move in strongest possible terms and vehemently insisted that Pakistan wouldnt allow anyone to take liberties with its sovereignty. Pakistanis are well aware that the stage is being set and pawns are being sought on the regional chess-board to do Americas dirty game against Iran, in particular, while the super power is also breathing down the necks of Afghanistan and Pakistan, simultaneously. The Islamabad Summit put a sharp focus on this critical development. Whats especially galling to Pakistan is that US is still dangling sticks and carrots before its eyes. US drones provocatively unleashed yet another round of terror from the air against targets in Pakistan on the very same day the Pakistanis were playing host to their Iranian and Afghan guests. And yet Washington is needling Pakistan to lend it basing privileges in Balochistan so that US may use Pakistans territory to mount its likely aggression against Iran. And what could only be attributed to unabashed rubbing of salt into Pakistans wounds, Washington is still tendering unsolicited advice to a gas-and-power staved Pakistan to not buy these vital inputs for it moribund industries from Iran. The IranPakistan gas pipeline project that Pakistan insists will go through no matter how hard Washington may try to block It, is coming into Americas hair-trigger to the utmost consternation of the Pakistanis. So thats the latest episode in Pakistans ongoing battle of nerves, vis--vis its principal ally. The two seem to have their horns locked and testing each other like jaded poker players to see which of the two blinks first. The Pakistani leadership, otherwise not known for showing much grit or determination in most other case in the past, finds itself in an unenviable situation of confronting the very same power that has been known to underwrite its longevity in power. The civilian leadership has the untenable task of living up to the expectations of an enraged populace that feels its dignity and honour is at stake because of Washingtons blatant disregard of Pakistans sovereignty and territorial integrity. Obama may not realise that his chess-board gambit has put his Pakistani allies on the horns of a dilemma.

ranted that a lone-wolf draft resolution, claiming support of a handful of Congressmen, doesnt reflect or represent the policy of Obama or his administration; such zany resolutions make their appearance in Congress by the dozen every day and hardly anybody in the outside world takes any notice of them. The Obama spokesmen have already conveyed the distancing of the administration from the Rohrabacher madness. However, its the timing of this resolution which is of the essence in this case. The maverick and headlines-seeking sensations-mongering Rohrabacher tabled his draft resolution on precisely the day-February 17-when the Presidents of Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan were meeting in Islamabad in a trilateral summit dedicated ostensibly to exchange views on Afghanistan. But the three had much more on their plates than the future of Afghanistan alone; they were there to seek common ground among themselves on how to deal with Washingtons ambitions and future blue-prints for the region and formulate, as far as possible, a joint strategy or game plan to tackle the challenges being mounted with increasing assertiveness and arrogance against their interests. US relations with Pakistan at this critical juncture are at their nadir despite public protestations to the contrary from both Islamabad and Washington. Iran is being squeezed, a la Iraq before George W. Bushs brutal invasion of 2003, in a variety of ways-some smacking unabashed-

Iran Unveils Several Military, Technological Achievements

Tehran: Iran on Monday unveiled 21 new homemade achievements and projects in defensive and technological fields. The projects were unveiled on the occasion of the Ten-Day Dawn, celebrating the victor of the Islamic Revolution back in 1979. Speaking to reporters on Monday, Iran's Defense Minister Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi said that nine production lines have been inaugurated, which include those for advanced laser-guided systems of a cannon type, guiding systems of an anti-armor missile, a warning apparatus of a laser defense system meant to protect sensitive and important areas in the country, three advanced radars and a powerful microwave lamp. He added that eight other products including thermal cameras, laser systems, airdefense, and electronic communications for submarines were delivered to Iran's Armed Forces. Vahidi also noted that four research projects in the field of electronic warfare have been completed, which will enter the phase of industrial production in the near future. The minister reiterated that the achievements would considerably increase Iran's defense powers. Iran has also taken wide strides in designing and manufacturing different types of light, semi-heavy and heavy weapons, military tools and equipment. Tehran launched an arms development program during the 1980-88 Iraqi imposed war on Iran to compensate for a US weapons embargo. Since 1992, Iran has produced its own tanks, armored personnel carriers, missiles and fighter planes. Yet, Iranian officials have always stressed that the country's military and arms programs serve defensive purposes and should not be perceived as a threat to any other country.

The Milli Gazette, 1-15 March 2012 19

BOOKS

A candid book on 9-11

Book: 9/11 the pretext Author: N M Hussain Publisher: Other Books, Calicut, Kerala Year: 2011 Price: Rs 375 Pages: 347 ISBN: 978-93-80081-07-6

MUSHTAQ UL HAQ AHMAD SIKANDER

More than a decade has passed since the gory, inhuman and terrorist attacks of 9/11 which killed thousands of innocent civilians, but the controversy surrounding these attacks still rages. The official U.S government version is that terrorists belonging to Al Qaeda executed these attacks by hijacking planes and using them as missiles to attack various economic and military establishments of U.S. It was for these reasons that Uncle Sam attacked Afghanistan and Iraq in the aftermath of 9/11 to annihilate the Al Qaeda and its support base. The alternative version is that U.S used the 9/11 attacks as an excuse to attack other sovereign nations for strategic, economic and hegemonic aims. The alternative ideologues of this version also state that US security agencies beforehand knew about the coming attacks but they kept mum. Some further claim that the government of George W Bush guided these attacks in order to gain sympathy and cash on hate and fear of the masses in order to remain in power and legitimize attacks on other countries. The present book by N M Hussain is a beginners alternative version about 9/11. The author is an investigative journalist, hence this book is a piece of creative investigation which raises many brutally honest facts about the loopholes and shortcomings of the official version about 9/11. Hussain very aptly writes about the dilemma and difficulty of investigating such a difficult topic: 9/11 requires overcoming the complex surveillance net woven by the FBI, CIA, NSA and other armed to teeth intelligence networks (p. 18). Hussain is aghast at the apathy of media which is supposed to be the fourth pillar of democracy. He lambasts journalists who blindly accepted the official version as gospel truth instead of questioning it rigorously: it should be noted in passing that the media that have all but become a propaganda tool of the imperialists have been in a fix. First, they circulated the story that the investigative agencies had been in the dark about the intelligence warnings about the terror attacks for months after September 11. But the story changed drastically after that. Then the media started to print stories on intelligence warnings on the 9/11 attack. There have been revelations by the FBI-CIA circle that the investigative wings had smelt of an impending attack and gave the US administration warnings on it. But the US administration failed to act on the tips. Many Americans were aware that the government was trying to hide something from them. This awareness has also changed the attitude of the government supporters as well. However, mainstream media left no stones unturned to keep the official opinion intact in the public (pp. 21-22). He further states that, The White House message was clear: No one should ask such questions or engage in any kind of free enquiries. The U.S President George Bush would ask the questions that he thinks appropriate and in appropriate time! (p. 33). Hussain in a serious Sherlock Homles kind of investigation describes with irrevocable and unequivocal proofs and facts how U.S Security agencies beforehand knew about the attack. He critically questions how despite spending millions on intelligence gathering, these agencies failed to predict the most gruesome terrorist attack of 9/11? He depicts that it was previously known through mock drills how planes can be used as missiles. Thus he factually lays threadbare how US intelligence had prior information of hijacking and attacks. Then he painstakingly brings to fore the serious flaws in 9/11 official Commission report, and how US administration tried to sabotage the 9/11 investigations: The concerned US authorities deliberately and extensively tried to hide everything related with the attacks which reinforces the conclusion that the entire official version is a farce. 9/11 Commission led by Thomas Kean is nothing but a political whitewash group (p. 100). He describes the 9/11 Commission report as The 567-page long report by the 9/11 Commission is virtually a compilation of mainstream pulp newspaper stories appeared since Sept. 11 attacks. The specific treatment of the Sept. 11 incidents had been short-circuited into mere 46 pages. Even this part lacks vigorous analysis and flawless deduction. The remaining portion can be rightly called a mere superficial account of the pre-September 11 events and has nothing to do with verified facts or investigation in pursuit of truth (p. 101). Operation Northwoods, which forms an essential portion of the book, depicts, delves, deliberates, debates and discusses various previous conspiracies and self-imposed attacks by US in order to fulfill its hegemonic hunger for global conquests by self-inflicting wounds which provide justification for attacks. Operation Northwoods was one such operation which failed but 9/11 was successful to achieve its objectives. Hussain as a serious academic must have burnt much midnight oil to painstakingly dig out the material and assemble it in coherence of which the book is a living testimony. He writes, An ostensible reason for the attack had to be devised. General Lyman

Hussain lifts the veil over the politics of oil and capturing the essential energy reserves as the main feature and reason for Uncle Sams global wars. He quotes from a source, That is why America did not drop a single bomb in Saudi Arabia where most of the September 11 hijackers came from as per the official version and barbarically destroyed Afghanistan and Iraq where not a single hijacker originated, thus implicating their policy on terrorism as a foolish one by their own declared standards (p. 246). The 9/11 attacks were essential for the US because, People in Europe and US needed someone they could hate -- this would strengthen their identification with their own society (p. 252).

book is a testimony to the same, but the appendices which contain a summary and review of scores of books on alternative version of 9/11 as well as numerous resourceful websites dealing with 9/11, add to the academic quality of the book. The author as well as its publishers deserve our appreciation for bringing out such a hard hitting and brutal work, full of facts and truths. Mushtaq Ul Haq Ahmad Sikander is based in Srinagar, Kashmir and can be reached at sikandarmushtaq@gmail.com

Capsule course for the soul

Book: Sirf Paanch Minute Ka Madarsa (Urdu) Author: Ahem Charitable Trust team Publisher: Ahem Charitable Trust, Mumbai - 11 Year: 2010 Pages: 820 Price: Rs. 160

AG KHAN
Here is a capsule course for the soul to provide cure on every single day of the year. It is a compilation through which the reader gets a daily dose of learning. Divided into all the days of the Islamic calendar it caters, day and date wise, ten units of Deeniyat (theology) that cover: Islamic history, Allahs Grandeur, a Farz (obligation), a Sunnat, a virtuous act, a sin, worldly affairs, Hereafter, medical cure through Quran / Ahadith, a sermon from the Quran. As the title suggests it is meant as a short discourse, everyday, after a prayer to be delivered in a gathering. One can do the same kind of preaching among ones family members by summoning them each day after a prayer. Basically meant as an easy short discourse for schools and colleges it is an invaluable compendium of religious preachings not only palatable but also quick in cure. A sample page shows the strategy followed in educating children all days of the year. In addition to the text, a topicwise, monthwise Index makes it easy for anyone to locate a particular kind of information. The book deserves praise and must be translated in as many languages as possible. A book of 820 pages at a throw-away price of Rs. 160 is a good buy for every one Something one can gift to ones darling son, daughter or wife.

Lemnitzer, the then Joint Chief-of-Staff, was entrusted with fabricating a justification for the assault. He came up with an astute strategy named Operation Northwoods. It involved wrecking of an American ship in Guantanamo Bay and launching of a campaign of terror in some of the American cities like Miami, Florida and Washington. The wiliest of the wiles is that having done all these by the US Secret agencies, Cuba was to be made to bear the responsibility. This, they thought, could serve as a pretext for the invasion of Cuba. The specifications and intricacies of execution also find place in the conspiracy with intriguing details. Lemnitzer insists on using a US passenger aircraft for the task. He proposes to make a false passengers list too! (p. 160). Hussain lifts the veil over the politics of oil and capturing the essential energy reserves as the main feature and reason for Uncle Sams global wars. He quotes from a source, That is why America did not drop a single bomb in Saudi Arabia where most of the September 11 hijackers came from as per the official version and barbarically destroyed Afghanistan and Iraq where not a single hijacker originated, thus implicating their policy on terrorism as a foolish one by their own declared standards (p. 246). The 9/11 attacks were essential for the US because, People in Europe and US needed someone they could hate -- this would strengthen their identification with their own society (p. 252). Overall the book is a must read for anyone who wants to know the real facts behind the 9/11 attacks and their aftermath. The

Sitaaron se Aagey
By Naseema Hurzuk
The incredible story of Naseema who, at age 16, became wheelchair-bound and spent days crying and thinking of suicide, but Alhamdulillah, today she runs one of the countrys largest organisations for the physically challenged and has helped thousands of handicapped stand on their feet.
Pages: 272 / Price: Rs 150 Language: Urdu Binding: PB ISBN: 817221054X Publishers: Pharos Media & Publishing Pvt Ltd Ordering details on page 20

20 The Milli Gazette, 1-15 March 2012

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The Milli Gazette, 1-15 March 2012 21

ISLAMIC PERSPECTIVE

Ijtihad deserves new consideration

We need to energize the process if we are to find solutions to contemporary problems says SAMAR FATANY
Addressing the 36th annual meeting of the Islamic Development Bank recently, Minister of Finance Ibrahim Al -Assaf urged Muslim countries to adapt to the changing global environment in order to confront the challenges facing the Muslim world today. Meanwhile, many Muslim scholars, Arab and non-Arab, have stressed the need to revive the process of ijtihad, or the interpretation of Islamic law and recognize it as an Islamic science to enable Muslims of the 21st century to preserve their faith and apply the true tenets of Islam to their present-day needs. However, to confront the new challenges and energize the process of ijtihad, Muslim countries need to conduct Shariah studies, encourage moderate and competent scholars, reform the educational system and upgrade academic Muslim councils. Only then can a more educated interpretation be adopted to effectively serve the needs of the contemporary Muslim society. It is unfortunate that religious scholars terminated the practice of ijtihad 500 years ago and adopted a more conservative and negative stance toward innovation and adaptation. When the door of ijtihad was closed, a consensus was established that there would be no more independent reasoning in religious law and that all Muslims should follow the interpretation of the doctrine by the scholars of that era once and for all. We live in a very different world today, and Muslims need to find solutions to contemporary problems that did not exist in the past. Moderate religious scholars today assert that ijtihad should remain an essential part of the Muslim tradition even if others disagree. The rigid interpretations of Islamic law by hardliners no longer provide suitable solutions to the challenges facing the Muslim world today. Conservative Muslims insist on keeping the doors closed to ijtihad. They argue that most Muslims today do not have the training in legal sources to conduct ijtihad. The moderates, however, assert that any competent scholar can perform ijtihad given that Islam has no generally accepted clerical hierarchy. Conservative scholars need to be reminded that Shariah law is based on two basic principles, mainly that what is basically beneficial is permitted and what is basically harmful is prohibited. Shariah law is based on the principle that always adopts the easier alternative after comparing a few of the available relevant cases. Therefore, the general rule for interpretation includes the removal of the rigid or the doubtful and applying a balance between the two. It is time to eliminate the weak Hadith and derive rulings only from the authentic ones. We cannot continue to allow only one legal authority on the interpretation of Shariah laws or recognize only one absolute judgment on judicial issues. Moderate scholars maintain that there could be more than one answer resulting from ijtihad on a particular issue - each ruling depending on the circumstances surrounding the situation. During the 8th and 9th centuries, the science of ijtihad was developed by progressive religious scholars who were keen to understand and apply Islamic rulings to changing realities. Unfortunately, after that there were not many capable scholars who were willing to address old laws that do not apply to new social, economic and scientific developments. However, today we

Conservative Muslims insist on keeping the doors closed to ijtihad. They argue that most Muslims today do not have the training in legal sources to conduct ijtihad. The moderates, however, assert that any competent scholar can perform ijtihad given that Islam has no generally accepted clerical hierarchy.
are finally witnessing concerted efforts to revive ijtihad and address some of the challenges of the 21st century. For example, the economic and social realities of contemporary life have created many complicated problems for Muslims, especially those living as minorities. They face financial and social difficulties and need direction from a Muslim religious authority. The Councils of Muslim Scholars in Europe and the United States decreed that it was permissible for Muslims residing in the West to buy houses with mortgages and to pay interest on these loans. Although this was contrary to Shariah law that forbids charging and paying interest, the Muslim scholars gave their consent declaring that it was a necessary rule for Muslims to meet their financial and social needs in the West. Meanwhile, Muslim countries are working hard to train more Shariah experts who are needed to define Shariah-compliant rules and support Islamic finance. Other modern problems that needed attention include test-tube babies, organ donations, cloning and other current issues in science that require an Islamic ruling. It goes without saying that we need pious scholars with a wide scope of knowledge who are experts in Arabic linguistics, social and political sciences, economics, international and Shariah laws to be delegated to exercise ijtihad. Muslims should be wary of people with limited education who have reopened the doors to ijtihad and have taken a more rigid direction. There is a need for more trained scholars in methods of deduction so as to draw more accurate and logical conclusions. We also need to establish a stricter code to identify or accept a Hadith as authentic. It is crucial for Muslims today to encourage Islamic researchers who can conduct studies on the aims and purposes of the Shariah law. No one should be allowed to give a ruling without an understanding of the events surrounding a Quranic revelation or derive laws in matters with no explicit judgment in the texts, or matters which cannot be defined or explained. Reforming the Muslim educational system is also important. Students should be exposed to the four schools of thought. Muslim scholars in the past used to say, This is my opinion, and I could be wrong. And this is someone elses opinion, and he could be right. Fundamentalists must understand that no one has absolute authority on the truth. Another need of the hour is empowering academic Muslim councils and upgrading the qualifications of their members. There are currently several national and international councils of jurisprudence and interpretations of Shariah. However, they must work together collaboratively in order to be more effective. They should include both men and women who are professionals from various fields of life. Such councils should rise to the expectations of Muslims and make judgments and formulate legislation on issues related to the status of women, Muslim lifestyles, Islamic

economies, the situation of Muslims in non-Muslim societies, the relation between Muslims and the West and so on. The principles of Islam have been hijacked by fundamentalists who have confused and misguided many innocent believers. Moderates today reject past controversial conditions that were dictated by earlier scholars and continue to be a source of public disagreement. Muslim countries need to support a global consensus to restore the science of ijtihad among Islamic sciences and eliminate extremist practices not relevant to modern times. They must exert greater efforts to adapt to the changing global economic, social and scientific environment.

What causes removal of Blessings

Punishment of sins includes that they cause blessings to be removed and calamity and hardship to descend. Blessings are taken from the servant because of his sins. Allah the Most High has said, And whatever misfortunes befall you it is because of what you have earned with your hands. (Quran, 42:30) And that is because Allah will never change a grace which He has bestowed upon a people until they change what is in their own selves (Quran, 8:53). Allah has informed us that He will not deprive the sons of Adam the good things He has granted them unless they alter that which is within them. That is to say, a person changes obedience to Allah to disobedience and gratitude to ingratitude. He turns from the causes of Allahs pleasure to the causes of Allah wrath. Thus, when the servant transforms, a befitting compensation is prepared to suit his condition. And, your Lord is not a wrongdoer to His servants. In the same manner, if the human being changes disobedience to obedience, Allah replaces Punishment with Pardon. Verily! Allah will not change the good condition of a people as long as they do not change their state of goodness themselves. But when Allah wills a peoples punishment, there can be no turning back of it and they will find besides Him no protector. (Quran, 13:11) It was beautifully said: If you are in a (pasture) of a good grace, then graze therein. For indeed sins are diminished by obedience to Allah. And your Lord is swift in retribution. Beware of oppression to the best of your ability. Oppression reaps evil consequences and travel within your heart amongst mankind that it may see the remnants of those who were ill-treated. There was nothing more destructive to people than tyranny and it is that which shatters lives: Do you know what that smell is? That is the stench of those who gossip and backbite the believers (Ahmad, Al-Adab al Mufrad). IBN AL-QAYYIM AL-JAWZIYAH (691-751 AH) (from his book Sins and their Punishment )

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REJOINDERS/OPINION/LETTERS
You are doing great to highlight Indian Muslim cause. Keep up the good work Latheef Farouk, Colombo sanagency@yahoo.com II Indian Muslims leading English fortnightly in service of the community - in many ways a mouthpiece of Muslims of India, has little words for itself today to raise its own economic condition, and difficulties it is facing due to lack of funds, to meet day-to-day expenses of printing and distribution Adil Mohd. http://www.adilmohdblog.com/my-reflection-on-milli-gazette-to-areport-in-indian-express-and-ways-tostrengthen-mg/ III May Allah make us more sincere in our sympathy towards Milli Gazette which has been compelled to decrease its number of pages [January 16-31, 2012]! S. Akhtar Khanpur Deh - 3921150 Rushdie Will Rushdie himself not kill a scorpion which goes on stinging him without any provocation?! Had he looked at the workd Rushd in verse 256 of Chapter Baqarah, Verse 146 of Chapter Aaraaf and Verse 2 of Chapter Jinn in the Holy Quran, he would not have been misguided by the Big Satan and his Zionist gurus!!! Sultan A. Patel Khanpur Deh - 392150 Hijab I am very much impressed by the article of Wajiha Mehdi.As a student of law,my perception regarding hijaab and its consequences are supposed to be a bit different. I wear scarf wherever I go not because of any compulsion but I think hijab is my identity and I am not going to loose it at any cost. My hijab is a challenge to neo-colonialism and cultural imperialism of west. West has a psycho fear that if we muslims once turned to our glorious past that it may pose a threat to western civilisation. In short, hijab is not only our religiously sanctioned dress but also an integral part of our culture so we cant stop wearing it though society may be brand as an orthodox. Zahra Saman, Aligarh,UP letschat.frnds@gmail.com Tamil Muslims have no castes Tamil-speaking Muslims Have No Idea of Their Original Hindu Castes What Shahid Siddiqui has written about castes among Indian Muslims, (MG, Feb 16-29) does not, I strongly feel apply to South India or at least Tamil Nadu where my family has been living as Muslims at least for the past 600 years. Many academic researchers have done profound research on this aspect in Tamil Nadu and failed to find castes among Tamil-speaking Muslims in Tamil Nadu. Walk into a few Muslim colleges in Chennai city, say New College (boys only), SIET College (girls only), Crescent Engineering College etc, where there are about 5000 Muslim students and ask them to indicate their original Hindu caste on a plain piece of paper without indicating their names. I believe people will come up with zero information. This is the revolution that Islam has brought about in Tamil Nadu. Anyone looking at the skin colour and physical features of Tamil-speaking Muslims know that over centuries, tremendous inter-caste marriages among the converts have resulted in total assimilation. Tamil Muslims had converted from all castes right across the board but research shows that their original Hindu castes totally disappeared after conversion. This has been one of the biggest achievements of Islam in Tamil Nadu. It is true that Tamil Christians loyally, faithfully, and proudly stick to their caste names such as Mudaliar, Nadar, Pillai, Devar, Maravar, Vanniar, Naidu, Vellalar, Kallar, etc. They add their caste names after their Christian names. So we have names like Margaret Mudaliar, Jacob Pillai, Xavier Jaganath and so on. In many village churches, even today, Dalit Christians are segregated. They occupy separate benches and they have separate graveyards. Anyone who does sincere research on the teachings of Periyar and Dr. BR Ambedkar knows that for the simple reason that only Islam is capable of rooting out caste differences, they advised particularly Adi-Dravidas and Shudras to get converted to Islam in order to raise their social status. For political and economic reasons, some Muslims in North India continue to use the diluted and imaginary caste system to gain reservations and employment. P. A. Mohamed Ameen, Chennai (via email) Media Syed Sultan Mohiuddin of Kadapa (A.P.) has opined in MG 1-15 Feb. 2012 that The Hindu daily slips into the hand of communal forces. Earlier, The Pioneer was staunch fighter of communal forces and now has become blind supporter of BJP / RSS. The Pioneer editor Chandan Mitra in Rajya Sabha is dominated by a saffron brain and due to Muslims illiteracy, media finds free ground to attack Islam and tarnish Muslim image without any befitting replies. S. Haque, Patna II This is really shocking that the media and a number of columnist are full of praise for Salman Rushdie who in his book Satanic Verses has abused the holy Prophet of Islam, his wives and the holy book Quran in filthiest language which has deeply hurt the religious feelings and sentiments of Muslims. There is nothing the absolute freedom of expression. No country can tolerate disrespect to its national symbols. In our own country despite national ethos embedded in her national culture no citizen can abuse the national flag, national anthem and the Father of the Nation. Media has conveniently forgotten that even fundamental rights including the freedom of expression conferred on Indian Citizens are not absolute but subject to reasonable restrictions. It is a pity that media has little or no regard for the sentiments of Muslims. Dr. M. Hashim Kidwai Delhi - 110091 III No wonder if our national press did not publish Dr. Zafarul-Islam Khans letter regarding the army chiefs age. The devils grip on narrow-minded mediamen is global. Could they at all highlight the remote-controlled downing of the Big Satans spying drone by Iranian scientists?! Did they not hear the Iranian Navy chiefs words comparing the Stait of Hormuz with a glass of water, with full faith in

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the Might of ONLY ONE ALLAH? They are cunning ostriches indeed! Sultan A.U. Patel Khanpur Deh - 392150 Vote bank politics Kudos to Dar-ul-uloom Vice chancellor Mufti Abul Qasim Nomani for refusing to play the shepherd to the Muslim community or a teller of Muslim vote bank. The Congress leaders Digvijay Singh and Rashid Masoods visit to the VC to placate him to issue an appeal to the Muslim community to vote for Congress was true to form. However the response of the head of the Muslim seminary is path breaking. He preferred that the religious voice is kept away from influencing what should be a purely secular decision. He, rightly, refused to influence the Muslim vote. An appeal from a religious institution or religious personality closes the mind of the community to a plethora of issues which a voter should consider in deciding his vote. From his side Mufti Abul Qasim Nomani has set the Muslim vote free. Other Muslim religious leaders and clerics should follow suit. Dr Mookhi Amir Ali, Mumbai 400054 drmookhi@hotmail.com Spoiling for violence On February, 13th an Israeli embassy car was blown off by a bomb planted underneath. Investigations are still on. Within minutes of the incident the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared that the blast is the sponsored act of terrorism by the Iranian regime. In the early morning of the 1st of January 2012 a Pakistani flag was seen fluttering atop a building in Sindagi in Bijapur district in the state of Karnataka. With great promptitude the ever vigilant Ram Sene came down on the streets blaming Muslims for this unpatriotic move. The usual damage to the public and private property, scattering burning tyres on the roads and closing of the shutters ensued. The local Tehsildars office was surrounded and demands were made to arrest the culprits. The Minority community spent harrowing time. The credit is due to the police of this BJP rules state who prevented the dangerous turn of events by arresting the culprits who were the very people who flew the flag and blamed Muslims. On 27th February 1933, in Germany the parliament building in Berlin was set ablaze. Hitler took it as a God sent opportunity to blame the communist party of Germany. Hitler manipulated the event to decimate the rival party as the first step towards his nefarious plans. The blaze itself is still unsolved! [Incidentally, the man tried, convicted and hanged for the crime was posthumously exonerated.] On another 27th of another February of the year 2002 another fire engulfed a coach of Sabarmati Express at Godhra in Gujarat. Within hours the chief minister of the state called it the work of Muslims in conspiracy with the ISI of Pakistan, while as late as on 29th March 2002 IGP [Railways] PP Agia said this: The case is still being investigated and if there was some deep conspiracy, [then] we are yet to find it. Dr Mookhi Amir Ali, Mumbai 400054 drmookhi@hotmail.com II The Delhi blast has occured in a time when US - Iran tensions are in the peak. Also in the time when the Indo - Iran relations are growing stronger despite US discomfort. These bomb blasts have happened in 3 countries, meaning no choto moto groups are involved. That too, in Delhi, it is only 500 meters near PMs residence. Interestingly in Bangkok, an Iran identity card was found with the alleged attacker, which remember us the stereo type of Identity cards and SIM cards found in various bomb blasts in India. In many of the bomb blasts in India, only innocent Muslim youth were caught and these identity cards were used as evidence against them. What for worldy reasons, when someone plans a hi-fi attack, he should carry proper identity cards with him, God only knows. And jumping into conclusion stereo types too follow. The US, UK and of course Israel found it is sponsored by Iran only. It is unfortunate that they were unable to identify the attackers before the bomb blasts. Why would Iran risk its relations with India, when there is a severe crisis against it? Eventhough US pulled out of Iran, its troops are stationed in the nearby persian gulf countries only. Those troops were never been home until now. This makes us only guess that these bomb blasts are only to mount pressure over Iran or probably wage war over Iran. And the inability to stop bomb blasts despite several incidents in the capital city shows that there are black moles in the security agencies. A review with reform of our security agencies is the need of the hour. Regards N.Mohamed nmohamed@gmail.com NCTC and HM PC If the recently notified National Counter Terrorism Centre [NCTC] is the pet project of the Home Minister P. Chidambaram and a part of his unfinished agenda and if it is deriving power from the draconian Unlawful Activities Prevention Act [UAPA], it needs to be looked at with some trepidation. Our Home minister is not known to be a great champion of human rights. He has threatened human rights activists like Mahasweta Devi, Arundhati Roy and others with ten years imprisonment under sedition laws. One of his few achievements is the draconian amendments to the already draconian UAPA, which, in the words of Soli Sorabjee, is constitutionally vulnerable and inconsistent with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights [ICCPR]. Now this newly set up NCTC which will be acting under the clandestine Intelligence Bureau [IB] is given the powers to arrest, search, and seizure under the law which is highly vulnerable to misuse. When the laws like POTA, AFPSA and NSA are so flagrantly misused by people who are actually answerable to media, civil society and public at large, we can imagine the misuse under an agency which works clandestinely and is outside the purview of even the Right to Information act. A person arrested by this agency may not be heard of for a long time. It is not for nothing that the NCTC is being compared to the much dreaded KGB set up by Lenin and Stalin. Dr Mookhi Amir Ali, Mumbai 400054 drmookhi@hotmail.com II NIA caught Kamal Chouhan from Indore on 12th February for his involvement in Samjhauta train blast. This news appeared in a Hindi daily (13February 2012) in 4x10 cm column on page 15 but the same Hindi daily printed the arrest news of two Muslim youths for Mumbai serial blast on page 1 in 13x23 c.m. column and the remaining in page 19 (10x13c.m.) With some hathkadi photo with colour block of paid news about praising ATS of Maharashtra on 24 January. And the media didnt aired the news about the clean chit given to Nadeem Siddiqui Md. Adil, Abdur Rahman, Md. Irshad, Ghaur Ahmad Jamali, and Farrukh arrested in November and

December last year by Delhi police for different bomb blasts. Police claimed that they are IM and SIMI members responsible for Delhi H.C. blast but NIA gave them clean chit (Agency/11 February 2012). This is the reason media wants unbridled freedom of speech. Press Council of India must frame some rule against such freedom of speech. S. Haque, Patna III Federal structure & tackling terrorism It refers to opposition by some state-governments towards formation of a National Counterterrorism Centre by the Union government, seen by these states as some interference in rights of states. Terrorism is a global problem and needs to be tackled effectively nationally. State-governments should think in a right perspective, and rather join hands with Union government rather than resisting as some hindrance in their rights available to them under federal structure of the country. Madhu Agrawal, Delhi 110006 subhashmadhu@sify.com Muslims must introspect Muslim have themselves invented showing respect and love towards Islam and our Prophet by band baja, camel horse, dances, flag carrying and procession of men and women whole night during Muharram, Eid-Milad-Un-Nabi etc. Ummah spend crores and crore in these new invention of Islam no body opposes such useless rituals. On 5th February when Muslims were engaged in such created rituals a new came that a woman Anwari Begum was selling her 2year-old son at Kishan Ganj railway junction due to poverty and starvation for Rs 70,000. Kishan Ganj is Muslim dominated area. Are we ready to introspect within ourselves? S. Haque, Patna Porn Stars Porn stars are not adult stars. Adults are mature people and they do not strip in front of others. Adults can control their sexual desires. Porn stars have no moral values. Why do we call them stars? They behave like animals of gutters ! nazsita@yahoo.co.in Iran Has Weapons of Mass Destruction Hence WAR? Washington and NATO politicians are keen on promoting a war against Iran. Whether Iran is a threat to world peace or not is immaterial What is however material is that Iran is having ( not having ) the same sort of Weapons of Mass Destruction that saddam Hussein had (never had) which made President Bush to decide to attack Iraq, devastate, rupture and reduce the nation to stone age. Is it not unintelligently pathetic to pick the same excuse as the West picked in the case of Iraq in its plan to attack and destroy Iran a fast developing Muslim nation? What is pathetically wrong with the Western leaders, that they cant come up with new stories to justify a military attack? Are they going to recycle the same cock and bull story as they did in the case of Iraq.? The International Atomic Energy Agency has concluded: There is certainly no indication that Iran has nuclear weapons capacity or could have it soon. One trick they use is to insist that, even if Iran isnt building nuclear weapons, its a threat anyway because it aspires to have them. Why not give another unconvincing reason such as saying that Iran is moving towards a military dictatorship. Wait a minute that would mean that the Washington should be ready to dismantle all the military dictatorships and monarchies ( of USs closest allies) in the Middle East before accusing Iran of following that wrong path. PA.Mohamedameen (via email) Islam and female circumcision I beg to draw your kind attention to the article on Islam and female circumcision by Dr. Asghar Ali Engineer and by Dr. Sumit S Paul Poona vide M G dated 16 -29 February 2012 . When there is no provision in the Holy Quran and Hadith ,and if any sect or community follows it ,one can say that it is unislamic . Syedna Saheb ,religious head of Dawoodi Bohra community should correct his mistake and issue instructions as per the Sunnah of Prophet Ibrahim and Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H). All India Muslim Personal law Board should pressurize upon Syedna saheb to discontinue such unislamic customs. Farooq Abdul Faffar Bawani, Rajkot Gujarat mohammed.galeriya@yahoo.co.in Italian terrorism in our backwaters Burning the headlines in Kerala in the week past is the incidence of the two Malayali fishermen killed by the Italian naval officers. Italy defends the culprits saying that the incident took place in international and as such India has no jurisdiction over it. If India has no jurisdiction over it then who has especially when two of its citizens were killed. Osama Bin Laden was tracked down in Afghanistan and killed in Pakistan by the US for plotting to kill US citizens. If US has jurisdiction over Afghanistan and Pakistani soil when it comes to the murder of US citizens, does not India have the right to catch offenders from international sea-lanes? Or is there one law for the Western powers and their stooges like Israel and another for the third world countries? Xavier William varekatx@gmail.com Crime and law in Mumbai Culprit, murderer Sachin Vaze the former Police officer is seeking discharge from the court for the murder of innocent engineer Khaja Yunus. Vaze has filed a discharge application in the Sewri Sessions Court. Reference to the news article published in The Asian Age on 6 February. Engineer Khwaja Yunus was murdered in the year 2002 by the culprit Vaze and his team on the false charges of bomb blast being carried out by Yunus in the BEST bus at Ghatkopar on 2nd December 2002. One of the another culprit cop Arun Borude who was also involved in the murder of Engineer Khwaja Yunus, whose name was repealed by Home Minister of Maharashtra Mr. R.R. Patil without doing thorough inquiry from the lists of criminals who were involved in the Murder of engineer Khwaja Yunus, committed suicide somewhere in the year 2010. Discharge application of culprit Sachin Vaze be set aside rather a case of 302 be registered against Sachin Vaze. It is prayed: (a) Set aside discharge application of Sachin Vaze which will come for the argument on 27th Feb. 2012. (b) Scrutinize the mind and act of the person before recruiting in the Judicial, administrative and army services. Zuber Ahmed Khan, Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra Contact.z@rediffmail.com

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