Washington, DC: Indian American Muslims protested in Houston city of Texas against the Karnataka High Court’s ban on students wearing hijabs in schools, said in a press communique issued by Alliance to Stop Genocide in India.
More than a hundred people, with the women in the forefront, called on the Karnataka government to immediately stop the discrimination against Muslim girl students who are being forced to remove their hijabs.
The court’s interim order was passed after several colleges in Karnataka state barred Muslim students from entering classrooms while wearing hijab, leading to nationwide protests and international criticism.
Protesters in Houston held placards saying “hijab is our constitutional right,” “stop India’s hijab ban,” “stop Islamophobia in India”, “attack on hijab is a ploy to deny education to Muslim girls,” and “hijab ban in India is apartheid.”
“I am an Indian-American woman living in Houston. I have been watching what’s happening in your state from afar, and I am shocked and disheartened,” said one protester who spoke at the event.
She further said, “I want you to understand that Hijab is one of the most integral parts of my religion, my faith. It is not just a piece of clothing for those of us who choose to wear it, it is our very identity… We wear it just as naturally as a Sikh person wears their pagdi, a Christian wears their holy cross, a married Hindu woman wears her mangalsutra, sindoor or bichhiya. I request you to not politicize it.”
And added, “I urge you to let educational institutes be a center of learning, not a political battleground to divide communities. Please allow my Indian sisters to practice their faith as is allowed to them by the Constitution of India.”
Meanwhile, the Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC) condemns the Karnataka High Court’s disregard for the Indian constitution in its recent order, which punishes Muslim women for wearing the hijab despite the fact that their right to religious expression is codified in Article 25.
IAMC urged the court to lift this discriminatory ban and recognize that it is the right of every Indian to practice their faith without being subjected to harassment, segregation and bigotry.
[dropcap]W[/dropcap]hile the Indian government is making a big show about banning Chinese apps, investors from the communist country are routing their funds into Indian IPOs and companies via neutral countries and Hong Kong. The current ban was mostly on games and beauty filters apps, leaving out business, shopping or payments.
With Chinese investors facing rules restricting their participation in Indian companies, players in India’s flourishing tech scene have turned to Japanese conglomerate Softbank and other Western investors to fill the void.
The value of venture deals in India rose to US$7.9 billion in July, according to data by research firm Preqin. But venture capital (VC) investments from mainland China plunged from US$1.2 billion in 2018 to just US$76 million in the first six months of 2021, data research firm Venture Intelligence found.
India has banned 54 more mobile applications, bringing the total tally of apps banned in the country since June 2020 to 274, according to The Indian Express.
Back in mid-2020, the move made international headlines as Chinese-owned TikTok was among the banned apps. In the meantime, prominent platforms like WeChat, Shein, Weibo, Baidu, PupG Mobile, Alipay and AliExpress have ceased to be officially available in India.
The bans are put upon apps the Indian government believes do not shield user data from the Chinese government appropriately by using Chinese servers, which is illegal under Indian law. The bans have, however, also coincided with Indian-Chinese clashes on the Ladakh/Sikkim-Tibetan border.
While the bans have mostly affected Chinese-owned apps, developers from other countries have also found themselves on the bans list if they are suspected to operate on Chinese servers, for example through Chinese stakeholders. The popular game Garena Free Fire by Singaporean company Sea Ltd. has been banned since Monday because the company is partly owned by Tencent. Sea Ltd. said it had complied with Indian law, according to Reuters.
Games like Free Fire are a very common type of app to be banned in the current Indian crackdown, as an analysis of Google Play Store data by Statista shows. With China being a huge contender in the mobile games market, almost a quarter of banned apps over the last two years have been from that category. This is only beat by 25 percent of banned apps being listed as tools, including browsers, mail programs, personalized interfaces and organizational apps. Like another commonly banned category – social media and dating at 18 percent – many of these apps have the potential to collect a large amount of personal data on their users.
Kolkata: Amidst the restructuring of Trinamool Congress, which some have termed as infighting between the party’s senior leaders and Abhishek Banerjee’s group rumourly backed by political consultancy company I-PAC, Trinamool got something good to cheer about with party winning four municipalities today.
The results also become significant for the ruling party as it has for the first time got control over Siliguri Municipal Corporation (SMC), along with three other civic bodies.
In a clean sweep in all the four municipal corporations— Asansol, Bidhannagar, Chandannagore and Siliguri, TMC won 198 out of 226 wards.
Siliguri which was considered to be a strong citadel of the Left Front was gradually becoming a stronghold of the BJP, but this time in the civic polls sitting BJP MLA Shankar Ghosh who also contested the civic polls lost to the TMC candidate. CPI (M) heavyweight Ashok Bhattacharya also lost to the TMC and out of 47 wards, the ruling party won over 37 wards.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee claimed that more TMC wins, the leaders should become more grounded and work for people.
“It is once again an overwhelming victory of Ma, Mati, Manush. My heartiest congratulations to the people of Asansol, Bidhannagar, Siliguri and Chandanagore for having put their faith and confidence on All India Trinamool Congress candidates in the municipal corporation elections,” said Mamata, who also mentioned that her next aim is industrialization in the state.
Apart from Siliguri, Asansol which is another stronghold of BJP saw TMC winning 91 out of 106 wards. In Bidhannagar, TMC won 39 out of 41 wards while in Chandannagar, TMC got 31 out of 32 wards.
In Asansol, TMC candidate won after a toss
TMC’s Asha Prasad and CPM’s Tanusree Roy both bagged 2358 votes and after a lottery, the TMC candidate was declared victorious.
Though the TMC candidate was officially declared ‘victorious’ the CPM candidate also claimed that she had won and will continue working for the people of Asansol.
According to election commission sources, the history of ‘toss’ was also there before through a 10 paisa coin but now certain changes are made in the toss and the name of two candidates are written on a piece of paper and the presiding officer took out a piece to announce the name of the winner.
In Bidhannagar, two winning candidates and those who are in the race to become the Mayor including Krishna Chakraborty and Sabyasachi Dutta visited Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s house.
Former Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation (BMC) Mayor Krishna Chakraborty claimed that she will do ‘anything’ whatever TMC supremo will instruct her.
اتوار کی شام لتا منگیشکر کی آخری رسومات میں شرکت کے لیے جہاں بالی وڈ کے بہت سے مشاہیر پہنچے وہیں ’بالی وڈ کے بادشاہ‘ کہے جانے والے سپر سٹار شاہ رخ خان بھی موجود تھے۔
ممبئی کے ’شیوا جی پارک‘ میں لتا منگیشکر کے جسد خاکی کو آخری دیدار کے لیے رکھا گیا تھا جہاں شاہ رخ خان اپنی مینیجر کے ساتھ پہنچے اور اپنے انداز میں انھوں نے میت کے ایصال ثواب کے لیے دعا کی۔
ان کی یہ تصویر سوشل میڈیا پر وائرل ہے۔ اس تصویر میں وہ دعا کے لیے ہاتھ اٹھائے جبکہ اُن کی مینیجر پوجا ددلانی ہاتھوں کو عقیدت سے جوڑے نظر آ رہی ہیں۔
دعا کے لیے ہاتھ اٹھا کر انھوں نے ایک بار پھر اپنے مداحوں کا دل جیت لیا۔ گذشتہ روز لتا منگیشکر کے بعد کوئی موضوع اگر انڈین سوشل میڈیا پر زیر بحث تھا تو وہ شاہ رخ خان کی اس موقع پر لی گئی تصویر ہی تھی۔
بہت سے لوگوں نے یہ تصویر شیئر کرتے ہوئے اس کے ساتھ ’مائی انڈیا‘ بھی لکھا جس کے بعد ’مائی انڈیا‘ بھی سرفہرست ٹرینڈز میں سے ایک ہے۔
بہت سے صارفین نے اس تصویر کو انڈیا کی عکاسی کرتی ہوئی ’نمائندہ تصویر‘ قرار دیا ہے جبکہ اس کے ساتھ ایک ویڈیو بھی وائرل ہے جس میں شاہ رخ خان کچھ پڑھ کر لتا کی میت پر پھونکتے ہیں اور ان کی منیجر بھی جھک کر میت سے اظہار عقیدت کرتی ہیں۔
بہت سے لوگوں نے اس تصویر کو پوسٹ کرتے ہوئے لکھا کہ یہ افسردہ ماحول میں لی گئی تصویر ہے لیکن یہ آج کی بہترین تصویر ہے اور ’یہی میرا انڈیا ہے۔‘
انسٹاگرام پر ایک صارف نے لکھا ’ایک ہی دل ہے کتنی بار جیتو گے خان صاحب!‘ جبکہ ایک نے لکھا کہ ’انھوں نے سوشل میڈیا پر کچھ پوسٹ کرنے کے بجائے وہاں جا کر اظہار عقیدت پیش کرنے کا فیصلہ کیا، آخر بلاوجہ تو کنگ نہیں۔‘
بہر حال وہاں پہنچنے والوں میں عامر خان، رنبیر کپور اور ودیا بالن وغیرہ جیسی دیگر بالی وڈ شخصیات بھی تھیں۔ ایک صارف نے لکھا کہ ’شاہ رخ بھائی کے لیے دل میں اور بھی عزت بڑھ گئی ہے۔ واقعی شریف انسان ہیں۔‘
بہر حال اس کہانی میں ایک موڑ اس وقت آیا جب انڈیا کی ریاست ہریانہ میں برسراقتدار بھارتیہ جنتا پارٹی کے آئی ٹی محکمے کے سربراہ ارون یادو نے شاہ رخ خان کا کلپ شیئر کرتے ہوئے سوال کیا کہ ’کیا اس نے تھوکا ہے؟‘
اس ٹویٹ کے جواب میں بے شمار ٹویٹس کیے گئے اور لوگ ارون یادو کے ساتھ ساتھ بی جے پی کے ایسے لوگوں کو نشانہ بنا رہے ہیں جو اُن کے مطابق اس قسم کے متعصبانہ نظریے رکھتے ہیں کہ انھیں دعا کا پھونکنا بھی تھوکنا نظر آتا ہے۔
صحافی ابھینو پانڈے لکھتے ہیں کہ دعا کی پھونک میں نفرت کا تھوک تلاش کرنے والے لوگوں کی آنکھ میں ایک خاص قسم کی رتوندھی ہے۔ نہ جانے کہاں سے آتے ہیں!‘
ممبئی کانگریس کے صدر چرن سنگھ سپرا نے شاہ رخ خان کی وہ تصویر پوسٹ کرتے ہوئے لکھا: ’سیکولرزم کی بہترین مثال۔ فرقہ پرست بھکت کیوں پریشان ہیں۔ شاہ رخ خان، یہ انڈیا کا تصور ہے۔‘
صحافی شروتی سونل نے لکھا: ’یہ کس قدر حیرت انگیز ہے کہ شاہ رخ کا اپنا وجود اور اس کا ایک چھوٹا سا (معنی خیز) کام بھی اس ملک میں نہ جانے کتنے متعصب ذہنوں کو ہلا کر رکھ دیتا ہے۔‘
صحافی ہیمانشی نے لکھا کہ ’شاہ رخ خان جیسا کوئی نہیں اور کوئی ہو گا بھی نہیں۔ آپ کی نفرتیں ہمیں ان سے مزید محبت اور ان کا احترام کرواتی ہیں۔ آپ کو شرم آنی چاہیے۔‘
بہت سے لوگوں نے شاہ رخ خان کی فلم ’مائی نیم از خان‘ کا ایک کلپ بھی شیئر کیا ہے جس میں وہ اپنے بچے کو دعا پڑھ کر پھونک رہے ہیں اور پوچھا کہ ’کیا شاہ رخ اپنے بچے پر بھی تھوک رہے ہیں۔‘
بہت سے لوگوں نے لکھا ہے کہ اگر آپ محبت نہیں کر سکتے تو برائے مہربانی نفرت نہ اگلیں۔
اداکارہ سوارا بھاسکر نے لکھا: ’ہر روز یہ نفرتی چنٹو، اپنی نفرت کو جہالت میں چھپا کر اپنی تنگدلی کا ثبوت دیتے ہیں۔ شاہ رخ خان تو پھر بھی دعا پھونک رہے ہیں لیکن ان نفرت پرست لوگوں کی ذہنیت اس ملک سے باہر تھوکے جانے کے ہی لائق ہے۔‘
لتا منگیشکر نے شاہ رخ خان کی کئی فلموں میں آواز دی ہے۔ ان میں ’دل والے دلہنیا لے جائيں گے‘، ’دل تو پاگل ہے‘ اور ’دل سے‘ شامل ہیں۔ تبھی کئی صارفین یہ کہتے پائے گئے کہ لتا اور شاہ رخ کا تعلق دل کا ہے۔
لتا منگیشکر نے ایک بار شاہ رخ کی اداکاری کی تعریف کرتے ہوئے کہا تھا کہ ’شاہ رخ مختلف انداز کے کردار کے لیے اداکاری کر سکتے ہیں۔ فلم ڈر اور بازی گر میں وہ ولن ہیں تو دل والے دلہنیا لے جائیں گے میں انھوں نے رومانوی ہیرو کے کردار کی از سر نو تعریف کی ہے۔
’ایک اداکار کے طور پر میں رشی کپور کو پسند کرتی ہوں۔ وہ ہمیشہ شاندار رہے ہیں، ایک اچھے ڈانسر اور خوبصورت بھی۔ میں نے عامر خان کی فلم تارے زمین پر دیکھی۔ وہ ایک اچھے ہدایتکار اور بہت اچھے اداکار ہیں۔ میں انھیں اپنے دوست کی طرح سمجھتی ہوں۔‘
Author Anees Salim writes with assured fluency and considerable imagination. It’s like listening to Indian classical music when you read his work. He is a writer’s writer, and writers adore his novels. His new book, ‘The Odd Book of Baby Names,’ is equally incisive and beautiful as his previous work. It has a great language style, a compelling tragedy, and clear storytelling. The Odd Book of Baby Names has a historical background and is narrated by multiple voices. It is also about our relationship to the wider universe of English literature.
He writes in the book. “As a thin ribbon of smoke rose from the edge, something stirred in me, and I slapped the book against the railing until small specks of fire fell to the floor and died down. It was not just a book of baby names. It was an unusual memoir; my father was leaving behind, memories condensed into names; memories of many kisses, lovemaking, panting and feeling spent.
Salim’s latest novel, set in the mid-1960s in an unnamed location with enough hints to suggest it is Hyderabad and its last king that is being fictionalised, effectively captures the decaying world of a ruler and his kingdom, the hold he once had over his people and courtiers but also touches on the decay of the physical body and mind. The lives of the eight offspring unfold as the King lies dying throughout the days, each demonstrating how little he meant to them yet casting a tremendous shadow over them by his absence.
Is that a metaphor for how folks slog through decisions made by today’s leadership with little concern for how they affect the common man and woman? That is for the author’s benefit. This novel is about so much more than fandom.
The Odd Book of Baby Names is the story of a dying patriarch and his eight children, who think of their father in different ways, some with spite, some with love, some with admiration, and some quite indifferently. The book begins at Cotah Mahal, where the obese and always inebriated Moazzam, his other legitimate son, is having a bath, serenaded by hundreds of sparrows. A sudden shriek sees him exiting the tub and running down the palace corridors, “wearing only the armour of lather and a few accidental prettifications by way of rose petals.” The news of their father’s death, fake though it turns out to be, brings Moazzam and Azam, who dislike each other, to his chamber. We also learn that Azam is rather obsessed with this book of baby names. The many emotions are treated so precisely in this book that you will be submerged.
Can life be like a jigsaw puzzle, pieces waiting to be conjoined? Like a game of hide-and-seek?
Like playing statues?
Can memories have colour?
Can the sins of the father survive his descendants?
In a family – is it a family if they don’t know it? – that does not rely on the weakness of memory, runs a strange register of names. The odd book of baby names has been custom-made on palace stationery for the patriarch, an eccentric king, one of the last kings of India, who dutifully records in it the names of his offspring. As he bitterly draws his final breaths, eight of his one hundred rumoured children trace the savage lies of their father and reckon with the burdens of their lineage.
This novel, The Odd Book of Baby Names, gives a touch of whimsy to a multi-perspective narrative that manages to be sad, humorous, wise, playful and most importantly, highly engaging. The story revolves around a dying patriarch and his offspring, who remember him with various degrees of love, resentment, apathy and hatred. Within this book is another small book in which the king has written down the names of his countless children. Only two of them are legitimate, the others being born out of wedlock. Anees Salim, a gifted writer, has attained a pinnacle with this magnificent work of sentimentalism.
Layered with multiple perspectives and cadences, each tale is recounted in sharp, tantalising vignettes. This is a rich tapestry of narratives and a kaleidoscopic journey into the dysfunctional heart of the Indian family. Written with the lightness of comedy and the seriousness of tragedy, the playfulness of an inventive riddle and the intellectual heft of a philosophical undertaking, The Odd Book of Baby Names is Salim’s most ambitious novel yet.
This book is undoubtedly about loss; the loss of power, hope, love, memories and most importantly, the loss of connecting. Though all of the characters in this novel are siblings, they take various courses, live different lives, many of them remain unknown to each other, and each is doomed to carry a sense of emptiness till the end. Their common ancestor is a sensation of bereavement. Nothing extraordinary happens, but all the small incidents that a common man experiences are there in the book in vivid colour. For those who enjoy mature, serious literature, Salim has written yet another great book.
“I lost many patients, babies and mothers due to Covid, mentally, emotionally and physically the pandemic took a toll on me. I was overworked due to a shortage of doctors and had not slept for days in a row”, says doctor Anmol Dewan. I had to stay away from my family for almost 10 months, she added. The pandemic has impacted the lives of innumerable people and families across the world. Lockdown has increased mental health issues. The concept of mental health existed even before the pandemic but has gained prominence due to the pandemic and accentuated cases of depression, anxiety and even suicides. “Balancing work and personal life became an issue for me and my mental health got impacted to a great extent”, says Ekhanee Boruah who is an Editor.
“Mental health concerns grew dramatically as the Pandemic started to feel permanent. Working women, from the age of 23 – to their 40s reached out for psychological and emotional support. Young professionals who were beginning their work journey felt stuck in anxious thought patterns and grappling with the virtual experience of settling into a new work environment, as they’d never physically met their leaders or peers, neither could they visit their offices & doing a new job online brought with it challenges which seemed confusing and difficult to manage. Female students who had recently moved to other countries for their higher education or a new job reached out as they wanted a therapist with a similar cultural and ethnic background. Being away from home and moving into a new country brings a series of challenging experiences like dealing with homesickness, a culture – shock, changes in the environment & climate and the persistent pressure & expectation to do their best at the job/University as there is a huge financial investment which adds to the acute stress amongst others. Dealing with the fear of Covid, experiencing grief and managing fatigue, the past two years were a real crisis for the mental health of individuals across all ages, genders and backgrounds. I worked with young people, men and women and older adults who deal with a range of emotional and psychological challenges such as Anxiety, Clinical Depression, Mood Disorders, and Trauma amongst others,” says Nishi Joshi, who is a Registered Psychotherapist (RDMP-UK), Founder & Creative Director of The Safe Sanctuary.
The Covid-19 virus harmed many lives and women were impacted in several aspects. With the onset of the lockdown, the entire humanity was restricted inside their four walls. In terms of work, work from home started and working women shared several responsibilities. Balancing family life with work-life was not an easy task considering the majority of the women had to take care of their kids’ online classes, manage their work from home and most importantly doing household chores. While one cannot deny the support of men in doing household chores, the majority of the women had to manage all the tasks on their own without any help.
Courtesy: Indian Express
Impact on low-income household women
A new study ‘Impacts of Covid-19 on women in low-income households in India’, which focuses on women and prioritises recovery efforts to support them, was conducted by Dalberg, a social impact advisory group. The study was concluded with support from Ford Foundation, Rohini Nilekani Philanthropies, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
The research, conducted through telephonic surveys from October 20 to November 14, 2020, encapsulates their experience living through the world’s longest lockdown from March 24 to May 31, 2020, and the following months from June through October 2020.
The respondents were selected from 10 states — Bihar, Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal, representing 63 percent of the population in low-income households across India.
Among the key findings of the study was that women made up just 24 percent of earners before the pandemic but represent 43 percent of those yet to recover their work. Authors of the report said they estimated that nearly 8.7 million (87 lakh) women working before the pandemic remained out of the workforce as of October 2020. During the lockdown, they found that on average, women had lost two-thirds of their meagre incomes.
According to Amit Monga who is a clinical Hypnotherapist based in Delhi, “Cases of migraine amongst women had increased tremendously as the pandemic had a severe toll on women as compared to men. This can be attributed to the increase in the level of responsibilities which added to their level of anxiety.”
“The pandemic has brought a lot of additional pressure on women. Be it a homemaker or a professional, the responsibilities to take care of household chores, office work, raising kids without any social event or escape has resulted in emotional instability for women. As couples are forced to stick along due to lockdown, those who don’t get along had to go through domestic abuse and violence at home resulting in cases of depression, insomnia, substance abuse and suicide,” says Dr Ankita Priyadarshini, Psychiatrist.
Courtesy: India Today
One major section of our society that has been left out and neglected in the pandemic, consists of the women living in brothels. Sex workers have mostly been neglected by mainstream society resulting in huge mental health issues and identity crisis.
Amidst such times, Kat-Katha, a Delhi-based NGO, has been relentlessly helping the Didis of GB Road by providing ration, food items and getting them vaccinated.
Kat-Katha works to provide alternative livelihood choices to the sex workers on GB Road and a conducive growth environment for their kids. They aim to convert GB Road from a road of sex workers and slaves to ‘Pyaar Ka Mohalla‘ (A Street of Love). It provides a chance for these women to come out of their regular life of misery and oppression.
“Actually, as per my experience, this place has so much sadness, which means even if you just spend time here, the sadness starts to live inside you. In such a case, it impacts your mental health and taking care of the same is not something that everyone knows -— especially our didis who have no access to doctors or other therapies. In such cases, a support group, a trusted group can become one’s therapist and that is what we offer,” says Gitanjali Babbar, Founder of Kat-Katha.
During the pandemic, Kat-Katha organised vaccination drives for the didi’s and kids of Gb road and provided them counselling sessions.
Increase in domestic violence
The National Commission for Women (NCW) registered an increase of 94 percent in complaint cases where women were assaulted in their homes during the lockdown. Domestic violence cases were also not reported as some sections of the women did not have the facility to file a report.
According to a study by the University of California Davis, domestic violence against women has increased significantly. Researchers attribute this to increased social isolation creating more stress which can result in violent reactions. Social isolation has also caused circumstances where victims and aggressors cannot separate, and there are fewer options for women to escape their conditions.
Courtesy: Indian Express
Post-pandemic transitions
The pandemic has impacted the lives of innumerable people and families across the world. Lockdown has increased mental health issues. The concept of mental health existed even before the pandemic but has gained prominence due to the pandemic and accentuated cases of depression, anxiety and even suicides.
Gender diversity should be kept in mind post-pandemic. In terms of providing support, mentoring, counselling and sponsorship, women can be provided support. As many women lost their husbands due to Covid-19, support and job opportunities can be provided to such women. “The pandemic has brought about a definite change in my work pattern- from ‘all-day’ office, it has become work from home and then hybrid. I have learned to cultivate a healthy lifestyle for my mental well-being,” says Anita Joseph, Dubai based journalist.
Girl child education also needs to be reinforced as drop-outs increased due to the online mode of education and it harmed girls. Ten million girls in India could drop out of secondary school due to the Covid-19 pandemic, according to a Right to Education Forum policy brief. With 1.6 million girls aged 11 to 14 years currently out of school, the pandemic could disproportionately impact girls further by putting them at risk of early marriage, early pregnancy, poverty, trafficking and violence. In such circumstances, it is crucial to take immediate intervention for girls’ education.
Kolkata: The city, witnessed on Friday, what it is known as—standing for each other or more precisely raising a concerted voice against the hijab ban in Karnataka.
Hundreds of hijabi and non-hijabi women were seen holding candles and the tri colour assembled near the Statesman House. The huge turnout comprising Muslim and women of other faith had gathered to register their protest against the incidents that took place in Karnataka, where girls wearing hijab are not being allowed to attend classes.
It includes, doctors, teachers, students, homemakers, activists, mothers with kids who all participated in the two-hour-long protest at central Kolkata.
They were echoing in one voice unanimously that they have the spirit of Muskan Khan, who stands tall against saffron-clad boys’ to remove her hijab at her college in Karnataka
One of the hijab-clad speakers, Zainab asked the participants, “Do you wear hijab by choice or being forced for it?” A unanimous voice answered, “By choice.” She further said, “Hijab issue which has been raised, to amend the constitution.”
Friday night candle light protest in Kolkata
Another speaker who was wearing hijab, Noor Mehvish said, “Banning hijab is the hate project, and this hate project had started in India since Gujarat riots 2002.”
She also reminded of the Sulli and Bulli Deals, through which prominent female Muslim voices were auctioned online. She stressed upon how the Muslim identity of women was being targeted each and every time.
“We want education, and we will get it if we have to fight for it. The fight will be a constitutional one,” pointed out Nousheen Baba Khan, a social activist.
“You fear when somebody questions you, and if women question, you fear more,” she added.
Tuhina Ghosh Sengupta, who also led the protest, spoke and claimed, “We may be divided by religion, but we all are women and we are women power. What can today’s woman not do? They fly aeroplanes too.” Lastly she warned, “We want to tell everyone, do not try to dictate us. It will not be good for you.”
There were other non-Muslim participants too like Ramanpreet Sodhi and Meghamala Mukherjee who not only participated, held placards but also wore the hijab in solidarity with their hijabi friends.
A participant holding high the placard during the protest
“Seeing the crowd, I was in tearing eyes, as there was a large number of female faces who were hitting the street, for the first time, they were not even come out to protest during CAA-NRC,” Wali Rahmani, a youth leader present during the meet, told eNewsroom.
“They are here today because now they feel the decision will hit the education of girls, and they are worried about their future,” he added.
Significantly, the protest was scheduled to march from The Statesman House to Gandhi Statue (Mayo Road), but it was not allowed to turn into a rally citing Covid-19 restrictions.
We had written to the Kolkata police for permission, but they had not replied. Now they have stopped us from conducting the protest march and have asked to conclude the event at the origin site only,” another organiser Rafay Siddiqui told eNewsroom.
In last few days, students of Jadavpur and Aliah University had also hold protests against hijab ban. However, Friday’s candle light protest was bigger in participation.
Wali, who was also among the organisers, claimed that soon a bigger protest would be organised in the city on anti-hijab row.
Washington, DC: – The treatment of Indian Muslims during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s rule was “lethal,” “horrific,” and a threat to democratic values, globally renowned intellectuals and activists said at a Congressional Briefing on February 9.
“[Islamophobia is] taking its most lethal form in India, where the Modi government is systematically dismantling Indian secular democracy and turning the country into a Hindu ethnocracy, with almost 250 million Muslims becoming a persecuted minority,” said Prof. Noam Chomsky, one of the world’s leading public intellectuals and Professor Emeritus at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
“The assault is taking other forms as well, including a general attack on independent thought and the educational system primarily directed against Muslim victims, but by now expanding beyond. That’s apart from India’s terrible crimes in Kashmir, those crimes have a long history. They’ve been sharply escalated by Modi’s rightwing Hindu nationalist regime.”
Harsh Mander, a prominent Indian activist now based in Berlin, Germany, and nominated last week for the Nobel Peace Prize, said India’s “immense tragedy” was that people “steeped deeply in the Hindu supremacist ideology that spurred Gandhi’s killing are in fact ruling India today. India’s leaders are more determined than ever to push the country down this horrific path of hate, fear and blood.”
Mander, who was nominated for the Nobel Prize for his work on the Karwan-E-Mohabbat program that helps provide support to the families of mob lynching victims, said India was witnessing early signs of an impending genocide.
“It is tempting for supporters of the ruling establishment to dismiss claims of possible genocide as alarmist… and ‘foreign’ interference, and not efforts ‘to alert the national conscience,’” Mander said. “But the Holocaust Memorial Museum Report warns of the dangers of such denial. ‘We know from the Holocaust what can happen when early warning signs go unheeded.’”
Mander also pointed out the vast number of ways India’s general public had become desensitized to Hindu supremacist ideals.
“Online and in public gatherings, a range of other extreme right-wing supporters… are even more candid in spouting their hate, openly calling for boycotts and expulsions, mass killing, genocide and mass rape. Sometimes for the record, a thin official line is drawn, claiming official distance from these ‘fringe’ elements. But this claim wears thin because hatemongers are rarely punished, get bail quickly if, at all they are arrested, many are instead inducted into party positions.”
Also speaking at the Congressional Briefing, which was organized by a coalition of 17 civil liberties and human rights organizations, John Sifton, Washington, D.C.-based Asia Advocacy Director of Human Rights Watch, said the “greatest threat” to India’s Constitution today was the Modi government’s “promotion of India’s majority religion, Hinduism, at the expense of the country’s secular foundation and its religious minorities. Worse still, there are growing concerns over the independence of Indian institutions. The Election Commission, the judiciary, and the National Human Rights Commission are all facing increasing scrutiny under implications of bias.”
Emphasizing the need for global outcry in order for the Indian government to take heed, Sifton added, “These deterioration’s are threatening India’s underlying identity—the very idea of India as a diverse, pluralistic nation-state—and they harm India’s global standing as a functioning, rights-respecting democracy. In every opportunity that presents itself, US officials, citizens, members of Congress, should forcefully communicate concerns about these deterioration’s to the Indian government.”
Speaking on the increased mobilization of Hindu supremacists as upcoming state elections in India draw nearer, Angana Chatterji, who is a scholar at the University of California at Berkeley and a co-founder of the International People’s Tribunal on Human Rights and Justice in Kashmir said: “At the onset of critical state-level elections in India, Hindu nationalist leaders are energizing their constituents with calls for massified violence against Muslims and promises to deliver on hate. Minority communities and allies are urgently concerned that, should a BJP victory fail to materialize in state elections, aggravated antipathy to Muslims will inspire Hindu nationalists to take up arms.”
Even as hate speech increases, press freedoms and the right to freedom of expression among human rights defenders have been repressed by the Modi regime, she added.
“Journalists have been exposed to all kinds of dangers – police violence, reprisals instigated by local officials/ministers, illegal detentions, slapping them with sedition and so on,” said Annapurna Menon, a doctoral researcher and visiting lecturer at the University of Westminster. “[Because] India’s ranking has slipped to 142 on the [the World Press Freedom] Index, the situation on the ground is extremely alarming.”
The briefing was co-hosted by 17 organizations, including Amnesty International USA, Genocide Watch, 21Wilberforce, Hindus for Human Rights, Indian American Muslim Council, International Christian Concern, Jubilee Campaign, Dalit Solidarity Forum, New York State Council of Churches, Federation of Indian American Christian Organizations of North America, India Civil Watch International, Students Against Hindutva Ideology, Center for Pluralism, American Muslim Institution, International Society for Peace and Justice, Association of Indian Muslims of America, and the Humanism Project (Australia).
Srinagar: The political parties including Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), National Conference (NC) and many others have strongly opposed the redrawing and renaming of assembly seats in Jammu and Kashmir.
The Delimitation Commission in its interim report changed the complexion of most of the 90 assembly seats in the UT, renaming 28 new constituencies and deleting 19 segments.
The commission has suggested six additional seats in Jammu and one in Kashmir. In the Jammu division, Kathua, Samba, Udhampur, Rajouri, Doda and Kishtwar districts will get one each and in the Kashmir division, Kupwara district will get one.
Seventeen constituencies have been redrawn in the Jammu province while 11 have been reconfigured in the Kashmir division. Similarly, nine names of assembly constituencies in the Jammu division have vanished due to the reconfiguration and 10 names disappear from the Kashmir division.
The Commission has advocated a Lok Sabha seat in south Kashmir with the merger of three districts (Kulgam, Anantnag, Shopian) in the Kashmir division and two districts of Rajouri and Poonch in the Pir Panjal valley in the Jammu province.
The south Kashmir seat will be named Anantnag-Rajouri seat, which will comprise a significant population of non-Kashmiri speaking, Schedule Tribe Assembly segments. The newly carved Lok Sabha seat will have six of the nine Assembly segments reserved for the STs.
Similarly, the Srinagar Lok Sabha seat will now comprise Assembly segments spread over five districts of Srinagar, Budgam, Pulwama, Ganderbal and Shopian against the earlier three.
North Kashmir’s Baramulla Lok Sabha seat will be spread over four districts, which include parts of Budgam, Baramulla, Kupwara and Bandipora.
The Jammu Lok Sabha seat will now comprise districts of Jammu, Samba and Reasi. The Udhampur Lok Sabha constituency is spread over five districts against six in the past.
Former chief minister and PDP President Mehbooba Mufti slammed the Delimitation Commission over its proposal to redraw the constituencies in the Union Territory (UT).
“The draft is a reflection of the BJP furthering its divisive agenda, separating Hindus and Muslims. They want to make a Godse’s India,” media quoted Mufti as saying. “It is unacceptable. A sheer dictatorship is prevailing in the country,” she alleged.
The former chief minister further alleged that the BJP is trying to “Strengthen its constituencies and attempting to make voters irrelevant”.
Mufti mentioned that the issue of the Delimitation Commission’s draft will be discussed in the People’s Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD0) on February 23, media reports said.
“The Delimitation Commission’s proposal has not come as a surprise. It is another onslaught of democracy in Jammu and Kashmir,” PDP chief claimed.
Both NC and BJP members have already submitted their responses on the first draft proposal to the Commission. It remains to be seen if the Commission will incorporate suggestions in the draft proposal likely to be made public.
The Commission came into being by virtue of an Act of the Parliament, under the provisions of Part V of the J&K Reorganization Act, 2019. It is redrawing boundaries of seven additional seats for the 83-member Assembly.
Similarly, the UT’s oldest political party National Conference (NC) rejected the draft proposal of the Delimitation Commission, which has suggested the creation of new constituencies and redrawing of others in Jammu and Kashmir.
“NC summarily rejects draft working paper made available by Delimitation Commission to associate members on 4th February 2022,” NC spokesperson Imran Nabi Dar was quoted by media as saying.
Dar said that a detailed response will be made public after the discussion on the implications of what has been proposed in the report by the Commission.
Pertinently the J&K Delimitation Commission was constituted on March 6, 2020, after the abrogation of Article 370 that gives special status to Jammu and Kashmir. The commission is likely to get a second extension of its term this month. This may further delay any announcement of Assembly elections in the Union Territory.
Media has quoted sources as saying that the three-member Commission headed by a retired judge, Ranjana Prakash Desai is planning to make its draft proposal public this month for feedback from the political parties, civil society groups and common citizens of J&K.
With its second tenure nearing an end in the next 34 days, the J&K Delimitation Commission’s members are likely to hold a meeting in New Delhi in the coming days to take a final call on the extension and its period.
Six students in Hijab were banned from entering their classroom in a college in the Udupi district of Karnataka. They met the principal who expressed his helplessness in the matter. The students sat on dharna alleging that it was interference in their religious rights and asserting their right to dress. The video had gone viral on social media and debate started. In many groups, it led to provocative discussion. The issue spilled over to other colleges in Karnataka. The issue which could have been taken up locally or by the state education department has become a national one.
In the meanwhile invoking Section 133 (2) of the Karnataka Education Act, 1983, an order by Padmini SN of the education department (pre-university) has been issued stating that students will have to wear the dress chosen by the college development committee or the appellate committee of the administrative board of pre-university colleges which come under the pre-university education department. Section 133 (2) of the Karnataka Education Act-1983 says a uniform style of clothes has to be worn compulsorily. The private school administration can choose a uniform of their choice. It also says that in the event of the administrative committee not selecting a uniform, clothes that disturb equality, integrity and public law and order should not be worn.
Section 133 (2) of the Karnataka Education Act, 1983 gives the state the power to “give such directions to the officers or authorities under its control as in its opinion are necessary or expedient for carrying out the purposes of this Act, and it shall be the duty of such officer or authority to comply with such directions”.
Under Article 25 of the Constitution, (1) all persons are entitled to freedom of conscience and the right freely to profess, practice and propagate religion. However, it is subject to public order, morality and health. (2) Nothing in this article shall affect the operation of any existing law or prevent the State from making any law. It has been explained that the wearing and carrying of Kirpans shall be deemed to be included in the profession of the Sikh religion. In “N Adithayan v. Travancore Devaswan Board” (AIR 2002 SC. 3538) it was said, “Religious freedom is subject to public order, health, morality and other provisions of Part 3 of Constitution of India including article 17. Part III deals with the Fundamental Rights and Article 17 is about Abolition of Untouchability.
In a similar case, the father of two girls aged 8 and 12 had approached Kerala High Court complaining that his daughters were not being allowed by the school to wear a headscarf and full-sleeved shirts. The single bench headed by Justice Muhamed Mushtaq in the case (Fathima Tasneem v. State of Kerala of 2018) had held that collective rights of an institution would be given priority over the individual rights of the petitioner. It had said, “The petitioner cannot seek the imposition of their right as against the larger right of the institution.” The appeal was also rejected by the Division Bench.
In most of the groups, I am witnessing an emotional outburst on the issue of the hijab controversy in Karnataka. Posts with the judgment of Kerala High Court of 2016, without mentioning the further judgment of 2018, videos narrating half-truths are in circulation. The general narrative is that India has become a fascist state and the case of Karnataka is akin to what Nazis did with Jews. They ignore the basic between what the Nazis did and what is happening in India. In this charged atmosphere it is difficult to talk rationally. All these zealots do not realise that the issue of hijab cuts both ways.
Assembly elections in Karnataka are due to be held during May-July. Polarization will help Sanghis. It may also help BJP in the present UP elections. There are Muslim groups also ready to contest and want to attract Muslim votes. They do not hesitate to blow up the issue and provide fuel to Sanghis. A trap was laid in which some innocent girls stepped unknowingly. They were not capable of making it an all-India issue. Now both Sanghis and their counterparts among Muslims are ready to reap the harvest. If Sanghis are in large numbers, Muslim leaders are also in sizable numbers to provide fuel to Sanghis. They did not allow the issue to be resolved amicably at the local level or take it up with the education department within the framework of the existing law because many of them are themselves guilty of denying access to education, for many decades, to those girls who decline to wear hijab. Many of those who have been denied entry into their institutions without hijab are beneficiaries of government help in the form of land leases or certain grants. These people will never allow the matter to be resolved through court either. They know that it will not favour them as, unlike the Kirpan of Sikhs which has been given relaxation in the Explanation of Article 25, hijab is not considered an integral part of Islam.
Therefore, the emotional outburst and inflammatory videos from both sides are likely to go on to polarize. It suits both. Elections will be over but the scar will be there and students will remain polarized for a longer period.
