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Showing posts from August, 2017

Politicized history books promote communal strife, religious antagonisms

By Moin Qazi* The most effective way to destroy people is to deny and obliterate their own understanding of their history.” – George Orwell Too much of the thinking about Muslim rulers is now being shaped along predictable, clichéd lines. This is true of all shades of opinion, perception and scholarship. There is evidence from a number of established scholarly discourses that the public perception about Muslim rulers is being increasingly manipulated to fit into a profile built by right wing historians. The negative images of Islam stem partly from a lack of understanding of Islam among non-Muslims and partly from the failure of Muslims to explain themselves. The results are predictable: hatred feeds on hatred. Ignorance of Islam exists among both Muslims and non-Muslims. Non-Muslims, ignorant and misunderstanding Islam, fear it. They believe it threatens their most basic values. Similarly, Muslims have their own misconceptions. They, reacting to the hate and fear of non-Muslims, creat

Home Ministry refuses to disclose procedure on using human shields

By Venkatesh Nayak* The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has rejected my information request for details of the Standard Operating Procedure (SOPs) intended for use, by security forces, in areas where militant groups are active and use civilians as ‘human shields’. While the Central Public Information Officer (CPIO) did not bother to send any reply, the First Appellate Authority (FAA) of the MHA has rejected my first appeal invoking security and strategic interests of the State as grounds for refusing disclosure. Background Readers may remember the video of a youth tied to a pilot vehicle being driven around by security forces engaged in counter-insurgency operations in Budgam, Jammu and Kashmir (J&K). This incident occurred in the poll-bound Lok Sabha constituency of Srinagar. This video went viral in April, 2017 and soon after the Indian Army reportedly ordered a Court of Inquiry into the incident. The findings of the Court of Inquiry are yet to be made public. A few weeks

Hindu law overhaul began in 1950s, but Muslim personal law is in clerics’ domain

By Moin Qazi* “Of all the lawful acts the most detestable to God is divorce”. –Prophet Muhammad (This an authentic saying recorded by Abdullah ibn Umar, a highly respected companion of the prophet in an authoritative treatise “Divorce (Kitab Al-Talaq)” of Sunan Abu-Dawud (Ref. 63-2173) The Supreme Court on Tuesday struck down the practice of instant triple talaq, calling it unconstitutional and in violation of Article 14 of the Indian Constitution, which provides for equality before the law. The five-member bench was divided 3-2 on the matter, with the majority verdict striking the practice down. However, the expectations that a Supreme Court verdict will clear the clouds surrounding the whole issue have largely been belied. Apart from a fractured verdict the judgment shows the conflict in the judicial mind. In fact in his dissenting judgment CJI Khehar said that talaq-e-biddat or instant divorce is an integral part of the Sunni community and has been practiced for a 1000 years. The

How reluctant Gujarat govt allowed Dalit rally with India’s largest national flag

The rally reaches Gandhinagar By Rajiv Shah  In an unusual move, the Gujarat government on August 11 agreed for a rally — albeit “silent” — starting at Dalit Shakti Kendra (DSK) in Nani Devti village, not very far from the upcoming industrial hub of Sanand in Ahmedabad district, to about 50 km away, Gandhinagar, the state capital. The decision for allowing the rally was especially surprising, because the state government, of late, has been found to be averse to giving permission for rallies and meetings which may embarrass the powers that be. Martin Macwan talking with Dalit rights activists The order allowing the rally said that there shouldn’t be slogan shouting of “provocative” nature, nor should there should be any slogans which harm the “reputation” of the authorities. Worse, the order not only did not allow the use of loud speaker, it stated that even songs shouldn’t be sung. The official permission for the rally came on August 10 evening, just about 16 hours before the rally was

Financial literacy? 76% adults do not understand basic concepts

By Moin Qazi* Finance is the glue that holds all pieces of our life together. Ideal financial societies are those which provide safe and convenient ways of managing these simple monetary affairs. This philosophy is known as financial inclusion. It is providing financial tools to people —tools that people can afford, that are safe and properly regulated, that people can access conveniently from institutions that treat them with respect. These tools enable them to save and to responsibly borrow—allowing them to build their assets and improve their livelihoods. The term most buzzed in this respect is “the unbanked”—usually defined as people who don’t have a traditional savings account. These are the people who have to be brought into the orbit of formal finance. Financial services are like clean water and electricity .But opening a account does not ensure the account is used. Today, digital technology and mobile phones offer unprecedented opportunity to connect poor people to services

Partial state withdrawal from markets led to deprivation of Guwahati street vendors

Vendors fighting for vending space in Beltola market By Aseem Mishra, Darshini Mahadevia, Yogi Joseph, Arup Das* The informal sector forms a pivotal part of the Indian economy. More than 90 per cent of workforce and about 50 per cent of the national product are accounted for by the informal economy. High levels of growth of the Indian economy during the past two decades has not changed this situation. Contrary to the earlier understanding that the informal sector would get formalised with economic growth or both sectors would operate in parallel, the new understanding is that there are strong interlinkages between the two. Most workers in the informal sector are deprived of secure work, workers’ benefits, social protection and representation. The National Policy on Urban Street Vendors, 2009 (see box 1) has estimated that street vendors constitute 2 per cent of the population in various cities. Though street vending plays a vital role in providing livelihood to a large underprivileged

Vadodara lacks professionals, facilities to run town planning department

By Rohit Prajapati* A city or an urban area is a dynamic entity comprising of many systems working together. All progressive cities across the world, who boasts of high quality of life for its citizens, have effective planning or other similar departments comprising of a team of diverse, multidisciplinary qualified experts from the field built environments who help shape and translate the city’s visions into successful implementable projects. In Vadodara, while there are many officials who talk about visions and lofty goals for the city to compete with other world class cities, the city lacks both, necessary facilities for effectively running a good planning department as well as qualified professionals to take these visions to fruition. Various government authorities are undertaking many initiatives, like the so-called Smart City Project , Vishwamitri Riverfront Development Project, Mission Million Trees, beautification of urban water bodies (lakes), City Square, Ring Roads, Slum Reha

Banaskantha floods: Caste distinctions, prejudices have failed to wash away

By Martin Macwan* As I was driving down the road from village Baspa (about 15 km from Sami) to Radhanpur, my mind traced the memories of 2001 earthquake of Gujarat. I could see that once again the human disaster was greater than the natural, in the wake of floods. Banas waters had washed away one side of the national highway, but at a distance, one could see the minor Narmada linked canals, washed away like paper trash. Was it the poor construction or the speed at which they were constructed to hit the time target, was a question no one seemed to ask at this point when the chief minister himself is focusing on distributing relief that is limited to food packets, clothing and cash doles of Rs 65 and 45 for an adult and a minor, respectively, covering a period of ten days. The Maldharis had taken over one side of the road with their buffaloes as self-possessed shelter. The relief truck before me was flinging bundles of used clothes at the local people that eagerly waited for such relief