The Controversy surrounding Kamal Hassan’s “Vishwaroopam”….

Kamal Hassan’s recently-released Vishwaroopam has landed in a big controversy in Tamil Nadu and the film has been slapped a two-week ban in his home state Tamil Nadu few days ago. It is alleged that as the subject of the film deals with the world favorite topic these days i.e., “Islamic Terrorism” and that the main villain in the movie is named Omar (many refers it to Taliban’s Mullah Omar), the Muslims have protested against the release of the film in the state. And now, there is a rumour that even Uttar Pradesh is set to ban the movie soon because, the authorities there think that it had the potential to hurt Muslim emotion there.

A handful of men who are driven by their own political interest are appearing before the media apparently as the representatives of the community. What these men are saying about the film before the media are not always enough what Muslim masses think about it. It is of utmost importance that we offer the Muslim viewpoint on the entire subject. Most of the people protesting against the film have not seen the film as it is not released there as yet. But on the basis of whatever little we have read about the film, we are sure that the movie is based on terrorism, and “Al Qaida” does form an integral part of the storyline with ‘Omar” as one of the evil protagonists. Now the issue is: is the name of Omar or the interwoven reference to Al Qaida or the terrorist shown offering namaaz or reading the Quran objectionable? No absolutely not. It is no secret that Al Qaida is an Islam-based organization which has indulged in evil activities, and in that case it should not be bothersome to us at all.

Just like all members of the groups that killed Mahatma Gandhi, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi happened to be Hindus and Sikhs. But we can never say that all Hindus or Sikhs are terrorists. There are noble and evil people existing in all communities. However, in recent times Islamic Terrorism has become the favorite topic with the film-makers globally.

But then there are other angles to the controversy as well which are equally important to be mentioned here. As some say the trouble started brewing earlier when Kamal Hassan’s big gamble to screen the film simultaneously on (Direct to Home) DTH services came to the limelight. Apparently, he struck a deal with several DTH operators which would have made it possible to screen Vishwaroopam on DTH on the same day as its theatrical release. As soon as one leading distributor came to know about Kamal Hassan’s new distribution model, he alerted other theatre owners across Tamil Nadu. Others put in that Kamal Hassan declined the copyrights offer from a famous south Indian satellite channel, thus antagonizing some powerful people in Tamil Nadu. There is a third version too that goes like on December 30 at a function down south Kamal Hassan admired Mr.P.Chidambaram’s efficiency as a politician and said that he was fit to become the prime minister of the country. Although how efficient Mr Chidambaram would be as the PM is a subject for a bigger debate, the fact is the comment by Mr Hassan has certainly not gone down well with some powerful politicians on the other side.



But whatever the reasons be, the community feels in the absence of proper leadership amongst the Muslims, they are made scapegoats in all cases and have turned as the favorite punching bag for the pseudo-nationalists who tend to undermine the glaring fact that no religious community is synonymous with terrorism and so the Muslims must not be seen through the prejudiced spectrum as some filmmakers and others are doing.

There have been incidents where a colonel-ranking Hindu officer was found ganging up with some Hindu religious people in terrorist attacks against Muslim targets by India’s National Investigation Agency. In many attacks those terrorists, who included even one Hindu nun, interestingly posed as Muslims, I wonder, why no filmmaker has shown interest in this subject of Hindu terrorism as yet. Frankly speaking many films have been made on Islamic terrorism and the theme has become hackneyed. On the other hand, Hindu terrorism (http://www.indianexpress.com/news/joining-the-dots/1068448/) is rather new and films based on this theme could be very interesting, I think....

http://www.kashmirmonitor.org/kashmonitor/02062013-ND-controversy-surrounding-%E2%80%9Cvishwaroopam%E2%80%9D%E2%80%A6-41589.aspx

http://www.milligazette.com/news/6300-kamal-hassans-vishwaroopam


Please follow the link to talk show (I attended) on NDTV INDIA's Prime Time of 31/01/2013 on the same issue....

http://www.ndtv.com/video/player/prime-time/video-story/263638?fb_action_ids=553375484682244&fb_action_types=og.recommends&fb_source=timeline_og&action_object_map=%7B%22553375484682244%22%3A345766705537210%7D&action_type_map=%7B%22553375484682244%22%3A%22og.recommends%22%7D&action_ref_map=%5B%5D&code=AQDxUwEAFQMDV2k7rhPw_3gi8L2lsOx1o0kLPXavlwM7tTMML-YPL8u0tPCs0dwegx-B8LIadcVgTFfxEJcTUS3lnKyW4OOazd7U3tIgcG34pAu_-bwQQim3gQ9oASY1D4_GgSxpbMiPrkwDj1w2gtzq7SUEvJGkaS01iLV-ct7ygnQI5e7nMVNNPtknuwSd7uxBzRYPuiqIFtDr55bvcdU8#_=_

Muslim legislator comes under fire for "hate speech"

Aziz Mubaraki, a spokesman of the Tipu Sultan mosque in Kolkata, told Khabar, "Muslim society does not need political leaders like Owaisi. We need leaders who will take the community forward by building good relations with Hindus, Christians and others.

"This man thrives in keeping Muslims backward and in a state of conflict."

http://khabarsouthasia.com/en_GB/articles/apwi/articles/features/2013/01/12/feature-01

FDI in Retail is a much desired decision ....

The headlines these days are filled with the stories of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Retail sector which has become the point of disagreement, and seems to have split the country into two camps. One group is supporting it and the other is opposing and denouncing it. But interestingly, both are offering examples from economic sectors to prove their points in the contention. As everyone else has sided with one group or the other, I too have taken a stand on the issue and have decided to go in its favour.

In India there are two types of protests. One is genuine and inevitable, like the protest against the indifference by the successive federal and state governments in dealing with the Bhopal Gas victims or the kins of victims of Uphaar cinema etc, which by any means are an absolute necessity, as it is a move to awaken the otherwise lethargic administration. The other kind of protests is born out of political interests, mostly to earn brownies against the political opponents. They are not only wrong, but are misleading too.

Until the liberalisation of 1991, India had been largely and intentionally isolated from the world markets, to protect its economy and to achieve self reliance. Foreign trade was subject to import tariffs, export taxes and quantitative restrictions, while foreign direct investments (FDI) were restricted by upper–limit equity participations, restrictions on technological move. But in a historic decision on 14 September 2012, Government of India allowed FDI in the country. In aviation up to 49%, in broadcast sector up to 74%, in multi-brand retail up to 51% and in single-brand retail it allowed an FDI up to 100%.

FDI is nothing new to the world nor to India as we had make some major changes in 1991 which has helped our economy grow at steady pace even after the downslide trend on world’s business index. And starting from a reserves of less than $1 billion in 1990, a recent UNCTAD survey projected India as the second most important FDI destination (only next to China) for international corporations during 2010–2012. As per the statistics, the sectors which fascinated higher inflows were services, telecommunication, construction activities and computer software and hardware. Mauritius, Singapore, USA and UK were among the foremost sources of FDI. According to Ernst and Young, foreign direct investment in India in 2010 was $44.8 billion, and in 2011 experienced an increase of 13% to $50.8 billion, and so India has seen an eightfold enhancement in its FDI in March 2012.

FDI threats and real scenario:

The major justification offered by opposing detractors are that the FDI in retail sector shall harmfully impact the small retailers, farmers and consumers, and will give rise to domination by large trans-national retailers, which may negatively affect the pricing and supply of the goods. They also claim that the unorganized retail sector in India is one of the major employment generators, and granting permission to FDI in this sector could mean loss of livelihood for the small traders. The dispute that the introduction of FDI and supermarkets will relocate a large number of small traders is similar to the argument used during the era of industrial licensing, which was meant to protect small-scale industries. But eventually the inefficiencies and quality standards of the protected small-scale companies become evident even to the communist politicians consequently the said licensing was abolished. But then too small-scale industries have not died. As an alternative, they have learnt to co-exist as suppliers to large-scale industries. Apart from it, the small traders in large parts of the country will enjoy built-in safeguard from superstores because the latter can only exist in large cities. On the other hand, the ability of supermarkets to demand pricing and quality standards from manufacturers will benefit even small shops, who can even buy the same quality product from the same manufacturers to sell the same in smaller towns and villages.

It surely can be disputed, that since the reward cited above are due to the scale of operations rather than the input of foreign capital, why should we allow FDI in retail trade then? The case for FDI has more to do with the assurance and eagerness to invest hefty amounts in a short period as well as the proficiency based on knowledge. Even to set up a modest chain of 200 supermarkets in selected towns and cities acrossw India in the next three years, will require an investment of about Rs 2,000 crore (Rs 20 billion), at the rate of Rs 10 crore (Rs 100 million) per supermarket to cover the infrastructure and working resources. Each supermarket may take 2 or 3 years before it becomes fully operational and gainful. There is also a risk that a few of them may even fail. And in that scenario how many local Indian entrepreneurs will be enthusiastic and able to entrust this level of investment and agree to the risks involved therein? That is where the intercontinental know-how and skills that may come with FDI would provide the assurance and capital. Apart from this, by allowing FDI in retail trade, India will become more incorporated with provincial and an international economy in terms of quality standards and consumer prospects. These Supermarkets could supply several consumer goods from India for wider international markets. India undoubtedly has a benefit of being able to produce several categories of consumer goods, viz. fruits and vegetables, beverages, textiles and garments, gems, jewellerys, and leather goods. The advent of FDI in retail sector is bound to pull up the quality standards and cost-competitiveness of Indian producers in all these segments. That will benefit not only the Indian consumers but also open the door for Indian products to enter the wider global market. It is therefore obvious that we should not only permit but support FDI in retail trade.

Job opportunities:

Apart from it the development of organized retail has the probable of generating employment for both the skilled and unskilled people. Furthermore, the government of India can protect the interest of small retailers by restricting FDI to be permitted only for stores having floor size greater than say 2,000 square feet. Moreover, monopolies of large MNC retailers can also be checked by the government by enforcing strict regulations and, whoever needed, through the Competition Commission of India. Like in China, even after many years of emergence of multi-brand retailing and supermarkets, 90% of fresh food and 70% of all food is still controlled by traditional retailers. An impressive growth has been noticed in the retail and wholesale trade there after Chinese government approved 100% FDI in retail sector.

Beneficial to farmers as well:

It can be understood that, with the establishment of multi-brand retail, the essential goods industry like food and packaging industry will also get benefits and improve too. As we are aware India is one of the largest producers of fruits and vegetables; but it has limited integrated cold-chain infrastructure. Non-availability of ample storage facilities is a cause for heavy losses to the farmers, as well in terms of wastage in quality and quantity of fruits and vegetables in particular. With adoption of liberal, there could be a complete revamp of the currently uneven supply chain infrastructure. Extensive backward integration by MNC retailers, coupled with their technical and equipped proficiency, can optimistically remedy such structural drawback. Also, farmers can get benefit with the “farm-to-fork” the chain of food supply, from the farm where it is produced to the consumer ventures with retailers which helps (i) to reduce number of mediators ; (ii) give fair prices to farmers, and (iii) provide steadiness and economies of scale which will benefit, in the ultimate analysis, both the farmers and consumers.

Even the Journal of International Economics, supports the idea of FDI with an analyzed example that about 69 developing countries which welcomed FDI ultimately grew into stronger economies in the past two decades. Their results suggest that FDI is in fact an important vehicle for the transfer of technology, contributing to growth in larger measure than domestic investment. Moreover there is a strong complementary effect between FDI and human capital, that is, the contribution of FDI to economic growth is enhanced by its interaction with the level of human capital in the host country.

Major flaw in the policy who oppose FDI in retain.

We know that India's economy was largely reliant on its large domestic market with external trade accounting for just 20% of the country's GDP. But during the past 15 years, the importance of FDI in the world economy has increased rapidly. The total stock of FDI increased from 8% of world GDP in 1990 to 26% in 2006. Although the bulk of FDI continues to take place between OECD countries, the increase in FDI has been particularly pronounced in developing countries, largely reflecting the integration of large emerging economies, like the Brazil, Russia, and China. Even The share of non-OECD countries in the global stock of inward FDI has risen from 22% in 1990 to 32% in 2005. China by far has remained the most important non-OECD country as a recipient of FDI, accounting for about one-third of FDI in non-OECD countries in 2005.Frankly speaking, since the mid-1990s inward FDI has become the main source of external finance for developing countries and is more than twice as large as official development aid.

Therefore it is advisable to analyse the advantages and disadvantages of the planned policy of allowing FDI in retail trade. One key point is that we must differentiate between the benefit of consumers, who comprise India’s population of nearly 120 crores, from the interests of small traders or retailers, who may number over one million. It is obvious that the welfare of the consumers should be on priority over those of the retailers. FDI in retail and the development of larger stores and supermarkets have many advantages from the point of view of the consumers. FDI will provide right of entry to larger financial resources for investment in the retail sector and that can lead to several of the other advantages that follow; The larger supermarkets, which tend to become regional and national chains, can bargain prices more insistently with manufacturers of consumer goods and is expected to pass on the advantage to customers; They can lay down better quality standards and guarantee that manufacturers adhere to them. Many consumer goods manufacturers will find that supermarkets account for a growing share of their sales and will be afraid of losing this important and reliable customer to competition. The fact that a well-known chain of supermarkets sources from a manufacturer becomes a stamp of quality. With the availability of finance, the supermarkets can invest in much better infrastructure facilities like parking lots, coffee shops, ATM machines, etc. All this will make shopping a pleasant experience. The supermarkets offer a wide range of products and services, so the consumer can enjoy single-point shopping. And optimistically speaking with this kind of liberalization in retail, who knows some day an Indian group with strong local brand quality and international network like the Reliance or Tata can collaborate with international supermarket chains and may set up supermarket chains all across the globe!


When Rajiv Gandhi introduced computers in India and Atal Bihari Vajpayee planned the golden quadruple highways in the country, the Communists and also some other groups resisted the projects. Even when Indira Gandhi announced the plan to set up underground railway service in Kolkata, the communists went berserk. But now we all know how all these projects benefited us. Now the communists, BJP and many others are resisting the FDI in retail in India. Let the government ignore the protests and push ahead with the plan on the FDI. I am sure after sometime most in India will say that FDI in retail has benefited the country, and those who are resisting the foreign investment today will fall on line soon.

ETHNIC CLEANSING OF ROHINGYAS IS GOING ON IN MYANMAR...

The world remains silent!
Sectarian violence is nothing new in Rakhine, the northern province of Burma (Myanmar) where minority Muslim Rohingyas have been attacked by Buddhists for quite some time. It is alleged that this time it all started after some Muslim miscreants robbed, raped and murdered an ethnic Rakhine Buddhist woman on 28th May this year. And honestly speaking, the verification of the incident- whether the Buddhist woman had been attacked by Muslims was not required at all because the persecution of the stateless Rohingyas had started long before this May incident. The Muslims make up nearly five percent of Myanmar's more than 53 million populations. And the largest group of Myanmar’s Muslims is the ethnic-Bengali minority, generally known as the Rohingyas, who mainly live in the western state of Arakan or Rakhine.

Elsewhere rape or murder is an ordinary crime. There are laws to deal with a rapist or murderer. I am sure in Myanmar there must be instances of a Buddhist committing such crime against a Buddhist. Usually none bothers to find out what religion the rapist belongs to. It’s illogical that you will target the entire Muslim community just because the rapist was Muslim. It’s clear that they used the rape as an excuse to step up the attack on the Muslim Rohingyas who have been attacked for some years.

When Arab traders reached the region in the 8th century, ancient local Hindu Chandras and their kings embraced Islam. The entire Muslim population in Arakan was known as one community. Later Pathans, Mughals and even migrants from present Bangladesh added to the Muslim stock which was known as Rohingya. In 1795 in Arakan Scottish doctor and author Francis Buchanon met local people who introduced themselves as “Rooingyas”- he wrote in his book. Rohingya history dates back to centuries in Myanmar. Even after Burma became independent in 1949, Rohingyas were identified as one of Burma’s ethnic groups. But Rohingyas were denied their citizenship rights since an amendment to the country’s citizenship laws in 1982 and now are treated as illegal immigrants in Myanmar. The Myanmar’s government and the Buddhists even do not want to identify the Muslim community as ‘Rohingya’ today- they call them immigrant “Bengalees” now.

Rohingya Muslims’ political assertion in 1945
In 1945 the only Muslim political party the “Burma Muslims Congress” (BMC) was founded somewhat at the same time when the Anti Fascist People’s Freedom party (AFPFP) of General Aung San came into existence. And on December 25, 1945 U Razzak was elected the president of BMC, who made alliance with AFPFL for which he was duly rewarded with the ministerial berth of Education and Planning in Bogoke’s (General Aung San) Government. His stand of united Burmese (Burma) nation sacrificing the long-term interest of guarantee for the rights of Minority Burma Muslim satisfied not only the Burmese Buddhist leaders of the AFPFL, but strangely also the then British Government. But soon after his assassination, U Raschid and more prominently U Khin Maung Lat, followed the same primary policy of sacrificing the Rights and Interests of the Burma Muslim Community for ‘the country and their party’. No wonder most of the Burma Muslims later declined to consider or identify these ‘self interested’ experienced politicians as their true representatives or saviors’. Prime Minister U Nu, just a few months after the independence of Burma, demanded the Burma Muslim Congress to resign its membership from AFPFL. But by then the newly-formed Burmese Muslim League requested a special government department for Muslim dealings to resolve their own prospect, the same as for other minorities, who had Ministries in Yangon and governments in their states. But instead of any concrete decision the then Prime Minister, U Nu removed the Burma Muslim Congress from AFPFL on September 30, 1956 and ordered the BMC to be dissolve, and on the other hand decreed Buddhism as the state religion of Burma against the will of the ethnic minorities and various religious organizations including Burma Muslims thus sowing the seed of splitting up and clash of culture.

General Ne Win became the head of the state, his government refused to recognise the Rohingya as one of the ethnic groups of the country. In 1974 the constitution of the junta-led government approved a new list in which 135 ethnic groups were recognised as original inhabitants of the country, and the Rohingya did not find a place in there. Finally, when the 1982 Citizenship Law was passed in Burma, the Rohingyas effectively turned illegal foreigners in Burma.
Rohingyas are not allowed to travel without certified authorization, are barred from owning land and it’s compulsory to sign an assurance to have not more than two children! They need permission even to get married. Rohingyas lead a shackled life in Myanmar.

Simon Commission’s recommendation of 1919
The Simon Commission (appointed according to the Law of the Government of India in 1919, The Montague-Chelmsford Law) conducted an inquiry on the effects of Diarchy System of ruling Burma, and recommended that special places be assigned to the Muslims in Burma’s Legislative Council. The Commission further recommended that full rights of nationality should be assured to all minorities Muslims, Christians and Hindus: the right of free worship, the right to follow their own ethnicity and the right to own property and to receive a share of the public revenues for the maintenance of their own educational and charitable institutions. It recommended Home Rule or independent government separate from India or the status of a detach territory. But the British Government did not accept any of the recommendations except for the separation part, at the round table committee on India which was duly held in London in 1930. Thus the flawed policies of the British government and the cruel Burma’s Buddhist majority started unleashing terror on Muslim minority and the oldest documented riot to be recorded was in 1919 followed by riots of 1921, 1930, 1938 then in their post Independence era in 1964, 1981, 1997, 2001 and now again in 2012.

Recent persecution of Rohingyas
Persecution of the Rohingyas in Myanmar has reached terrible level in recent weeks. Since June 10, a state of Emergency has been enforced across Rakhine; Myanmar’s President Thein Sein has instigated martial law, giving the military administrative control of the region. Now the security forces have ganged up with the Rakhine Buddhists in attack against the Rohingyas. International media or other independent observers are not allowed in the areas where Rohingyas are holed up. Some hundreds of Rohingyas have been killed and thousands of Rohingya houses and businesses have been looted or set on fire in the past two months. Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and other rights groups have accused the government forces for taking partisan role and supporting the Rakhine gangs. Scores of mosques have been vandalised. The ethnic cleansing of the Rohingyas is going on Myanmar and the government of Myanmar is the key sponsor of the anti-Rohingya pogrom.

Rakhine shops have stopped selling rice and other provisions to Rohingyas. Troops are openly asking Rohingyas to leave the country or starve to death. Most Rohingyas are not being allowed to run their businesses, do farming or other income-generating work.

Some Rohingyas have attempted to flee to Bangladesh by taking along the women and children. But Bangladesh has not opened the door for them this time. More than 900,000 Rohingyas are lying trapped in their villages in Myanmar. They have no place to escape and they are dying miserable deaths.

The Rohingya has been described as “among the world’s least wanted” and “one of the world’s most persecuted minorities”. Evidence has been gathered suggesting that the Burmese regime has marked certain ethnic minorities such as the Karen for extermination or 'Burmanisation'. The inhuman tyrannical government, which operates unrelenting internal security machinery, generally infiltrates or monitors the meetings and activities of virtually all organizations, including religious organizations. Religious freedom for all Muslims and Christians is reduced. It’s just three months since pro-democracy activist Daw Aung San Suu belatedly received the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize, but her silence and blind eye towards the atrocities of Rohingya Muslims has made the world wonder if her selection for the “esteemed honor” was proper.

The silence of world community
Even an appeal for an international assistance from several Rohingya organisations around the world have fallen on deaf ears and have received little attention from the international community since it has been more subtle and indirect than the mass killings in places like Rwanda or is less interesting then the so called terrorist hubs in Afghanistan or Iraq. The West has literally turned a blind eye to the plight of the Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar in an attempt to maintain its economic interests in the Burma’s lucrative market. To them the violent targeting of Burmese minorities arrived at a time when the US and Britain have called off their pro-democracy campaign against the country’s junta. Regrettably the West’s silence over the bloody crackdown on Rohingya Muslims comes at a time when Western companies have jumped into Myanmar in an attempt to counterbalance the near-exclusive Chinese control over the Myanmar market. Even the silence of the United States is not unwarranted as it has deeper financial reasons. President Barak Obama has recently lifted the ban on American investment in the country and Britain has opened a trade office in Rangoon on July 11.

While it seems Myanmar has become a destination for capital investment now, as the United States, the European Union and Canada have accepted the government’s narrative of democratic transition and have largely lifted the economic sanctions enforced since mid eighties. The United State seems to have overlooked what the Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said on her visit to Myanmar late last year when she welcomed Myanmar’s first steps toward democratization, but had set down conditions for strengthening bilateral ties, that included an end to ethnic violence!

Since for the international media most parts of Arakan are still a no-go zone, specific details of killing and torture of Rohingyas are not reaching the mainstream media. Some Rohingya refugee groups from different countries, using special sources are regularly collecting news from villages which are being targeted by the Rakhines and the security forces and circulating them among refugee community and others spread across other countries.

Here is the copy of a mind-boggling report I happened to get in the first week of this month through a Human Rights Activist in the UK:

Date: 06/08/2012
Latest Situation of Rohingya People:
Four villages were burnt down and 25 Rohingyas, including children, were killed in Kyauktaw Township yesterday (05/08/2012) afternoon.
As the villages were attacked by the Rakhine Buddhists, the security forces kept a watch from distance. Details of the carnage:

Sl No

Village name

Burned houses

Dead bodies

Dead body details

01

Apauk or Aafauk

80

05

1. Fadan, son of Nazam, 30 years
2. Ms.Noorjanatson, of shwe Hla, 12 years
3. Abdusuwan, son of Abdul Khalid, 25 years
4. Ko Shwe Mi, son of Enam, 35 years
5. Halayar, son of BodawYar, 18 years
6. Nine other persons appear to have survived injuries.

02

Pyapauk or Foekafara

80



Some surely died, but no information available.

03

Gufhitaung

150

2

A mosque was burned down, two fishermen were killed by Maung sein win and his group, who is originally from Sittwe and living in Kyauktaw now, a Mosque scholar (Imam) was stabbed by spears and sustained heavy injuries in chest and head

04

Shwe Hlaing @ Milimafara

99

16

7 people injured.

05

Nedan



02

While Two brothers were returning from farmwork, a Rakhine mob attacked them. Body of the elder brother Iliyas, 42, was found. Body of the younger brother is missing.

06

Thee-de

Info not available



The whole village was burnt. Some surely died, but no information available.



According to our source from the ground, Abdusuwan s/o Abdul Khalid, 25 years from Apauk village, was inhumanly tortured while going to another village. His dead body was left on the road in front of the villages.

Date: 06/08/2012
Latest Situation of Rohingya People:

Sealed Mosques and arrested Imams

Just received a phone call from Maungdaw and got some news from the caller that the Nasaka( Myanmar border security force) yesterday raided Mosques in the following villages and took away 16 Imams and sealed the Mosques. The mosques are:
1. Kunnapara Jame-Mosque, Alethengyaw,
2. Chandapara Jame-Mosque, do
3. Donkhali Jame-Mosque, do
4. Lumbaguna Jame-Mosque do
5. Sambanna Jame-Mosque do
6. Godusara Jame-Mosque do
7. Alipara Jame- Mosque , Maungdaw
8. Khairipara Jame-Mosque, Maungdaw
9. Maung Ni para Jame-Mosque, Maungdaw

Their family members and other villagers are now very anxious about the safety of the Imams. Many Rohingyas have been arrested by the security forces and their relatives know nothing of their whereabouts.
The Nasaka men are daily asking the Rohingyas to leave Arakan. “We want this land of Arakan, we do not want you,” the men are saying. “Nobody will come to help you. Leave Myanmar as soon as possible, if you want to stay alive.”

Sadly, the mainstream media is not using such info to expose the atrocity being perpetrated by the Rakhine Buddhists and Myanmese security forces in Arakan. It’s clear that the number of Rohingyas killed in the past two months would run into several hundreds. Yet the government says the death toll is not more than 80.

The Pro military Burmese media has even declared the Rohingyas as terrorists and traitors. Since mid-June, it has tactfully used its border security forces to burn Rohingya houses, kill Rohingya men, women and even children. And recently, President Thein Sein suggested that Myanmar could end the crisis by expelling all of its Rohingyas or by having the United Nations resettle them. Interestingly, many pro-democracy activists are supporting Then Sein on the Rohingya issue. It’s clear that the ethnic cleansing of the Rohingyas is sponsored by the state. Yet the international community is mum. It is disappointing that even the Dalai Lama, who is very vocal about the Chinese aggressions into Tibet and Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi have not spoken out against the persecution of the Rohingyas in Myanmar. We understand that Ms. Suu Kyi, is not as influential as the powerful military officers. Yet, if Suu Kyi raised the issue in support of the Rohingyas, international community could have picked up the issue quickly and could pressure Myanmar to stop persecution of the Muslim community.

Despite all government-sponsored excesses being committed in Myanmar, the world seems to be more interested in cultivating ties with Myanmar, with an eye on the country’s natural resources and its geopolitical importance. None is asking the question whether Myanmar is really moving towards democracy when it’s killing thousands of its genuine citizens and seeking to drive away tens of thousands of others from the country.

http://twocircles.net/2012aug16/rohingyas_living_shackled_life_myanmar.html

Counting others sins shall not make Doctors saint either....

The leaders of Indian Medical Association [IMA] have attacked Bollywood star Aamir Khan for highlighting the evils in Indian medical system as host in popular TV show Satyamev Jayate. IMA has even threatened to go to court against Mr. Khan .This threat by the doctors has been reported in the media widely. But it is also a fact that this brazen attack against Aamir Khan by some of the devious members of the Indian medical community has been denounced by many ordinary citizens and even some doctors in the country.

The IMA functions under Medical Council of India (MCI) which is a statutory body with the responsibility of establishing and maintaining high standards of medical education and recognition of medical qualifications in India. It registers doctors for practice in India, in order to protect and promote the health and safety of the public by ensuring proper standards in the practice of medicine.

IMA has been caught on “unethical” practice by none other than the MCI in the recent past. The MCI called Indian Medical Association's endorsement of some food products unethical and banned the endorsements. The council asked IMA- an organization of 2 lakh medical doctors as members through more than 1,700 local branches spread all over the country and headquartered in New Delhi to refrain from such endorsements in future. The issue was the IMA’s Rs 2.25-crore contract with PepsiCo to allow Tropicana fruit juice and Quaker oats to use the IMA logo on their packs for three years, ending 2011. The endorsement controversy been raging for two years after Dr K V Babu, an IMA central committee member complained to the MCI on June 6, 2008, that the endorsement violated medical ethics. After protracted proceedings, the National Human Rights Commission served a notice on the association on June 30, 2010. After some confusion on its own powers over IMA, the MCI on August 18, 2010 declared that IMA indeed came under its jurisdiction and served a show-cause notice to the association ''for endorsing food products without valid justification and for a fee” and termed it as an act of violation of the provisions of the Indian Medical Council (Professional Conduct, Etiquette and Ethics) Regulations, 2002.

Interestingly, in its reply to the MCI, the IMA argued that it had not endorsed the products, but only entered into a MoU with PepsiCo for a 'nutritional awareness programme.' However, the endorsement made the IMA the first professional body of doctors in the world to endorse a food product. Because of this endorsement PepsiCo's Tropicana fruit juice and Quaker oats use the logo of IMA on their packs. But then these were not the only products being endorsed and recommended for consumption by the IMA. IMA has endorsement contracts with other health and hygiene products as well that including Dettol, Lizol (sanitizer), Aqua-guard (water purifier), Pampers (napkins) and Odomos (mosquito repellent).But The MCI had cautioned the IMA and affiliated associations to avoid endorsing food and hygiene products of private companies, since it was a breach of the Indian Medical Council (Professional Conduct, Etiquette and Ethics) Regulation, 2002 provisions which clearly says “Endorsements are against the code of ethics prescribed by MCI and doctors and/or their organizations aren't allowed to promote their products”.

But then that’s not all, the Code of Ethics Regulations, 2002 (AMENDED UPTO DECEMBER 2010) (Published in Part III, Section 4 of the Gazette of India, dated 6th April,2002) of MEDICAL COUNCIL OF INDIA has clearly mentioned other do’s and don’ts for the doctors like:

1. CODE OF MEDICAL ETHICS:
1.1.2 The prime object of the medical profession is to render service to humanity; reward or financial gain is a subordinate consideration. Who- so-ever chooses his profession, assumes the obligation to conduct himself in accordance with its ideals. A physician should be an upright man, instructed in the art of healings. He shall keep himself pure in character and be diligent in caring for the sick; he should be modest, sober, patient, prompt in discharging his duty without anxiety; conducting himself with propriety in his profession and in all the actions of his life.

1.3 Maintenance of medical records:
1.3.1 Every physician shall maintain the medical records pertaining to his / her indoor patients for a period of 3 years from the date of commencement of the treatment in a standard proforma laid down by the Medical Council of India.

1.3.2. If any request is made for medical records either by the patients / authorized attendant or legal authorities involved, the same may be duly acknowledged and documents shall be issued within the period of 72 hours.

1.4 Display of registration numbers:
1.4.1 Every physician shall display the registration number accorded to him by the State Medical Council / Medical Council of India in his clinic and in all his prescriptions, certificates, money receipts given to his patients.

1.5 Use of Generic names of drugs:
Every physician should, as far as possible, prescribe drugs with generic names and he / she shall ensure that there is a rational prescription and use of drugs.

1.8 Payment of Professional Services:
The physician, engaged in the practice of medicine shall give priority to the interests of patients. The personal financial interests of a physician should not conflict with the medical interests of patients. A physician should announce his fees before rendering service and not after the operation or treatment is under way. Remuneration received for such services should be in the form and amount specifically announced to the patient at the time the service is rendered. It is unethical to enter into a contract of "no cure no payment". Physician rendering service on behalf of the state shall refrain from anticipating or accepting any consideration.

3.7 Fees and other charges:
3.7.1 A physician shall clearly display his fees and other charges on the board of his chamber and/or the hospitals he is visiting. Prescription should also make clear if the Physician himself dispensed any medicine.

6.4 Rebates and Commission:
6.4.1 A physician shall not give, solicit, or receive nor shall he offer to give solicit or receive, any gift, gratuity, commission or bonus in consideration of or return for the referring, recommending or procuring of any patient for medical, surgical or other treatment. A physician shall not directly or indirectly, participate in or be a party to act of division, transference, assignment, subordination, rebating, splitting or refunding of any fee for medical, surgical or other treatment.

From my personal experiences I can proclaim that many well-earning and ‘so-called’ reputed doctors do not follow the rules or ethics as advised by the MCI. I had lost my 58-year-old father in a case and I believe it was a case of negligence by a renowned doctor. I fought a long legal battle to prove that the doctor was negligent; I know very well that many of the doctors these days hardly bother to follow the MCI guidelines on practice. There are hundreds and thousands of complaints pending against doctors, be it with the Indian Medical Associations (IMA), respective State Medical Councils (MC), consumer courts and equivalent forums. And most of the cases go the doctors’ ways as it’s always a near-impossible task to gather documentary proof against a medical professional. As the doctors are highly educated closely knitted community, it’s impossible to get evidences and testimonies by a doctor against their fellow colleagues despite their “off the record admission” of wrongful treatment or negligence. Therefore corruptions in medical councils, “cut system” in drugs and diagnostics, overpricing of medical services, growing incidents of medical negligence, sex selection services for profits, surgical procedures are a harsh reality one has to live up with to undergo a medical treatment.

In the present scenario the rampant corruption and greed for fast bucks have replaced the sacred vows the doctor’s pledge for, while choosing the medical profession. The recovery of Rs 2 crore from (then) MCI Chairman Ketan Desai as bribe for granting recognition to Gian Sagar Medical College in Patiala for admission of students for 2010-2011 for different courses for which the college did not have the required facilities is evident enough to prove the deep rooted corruption in the system. In another case the CBI has begin investigating former President of Dental Council of India Dr.Anil Kohli for allegedly amassing assets disproportionate to his known sources of income during the period April 1, 2005 to March 31, 2009. It is alleged that the then DCI President received favors from many dental colleges for verification and cancellation of certain institutes. Ultimately he had to resign from the DCI in 2010. It’s evident enough to prove that there is widespread disparity in the health system which is fast decaying in our country.

There is another related case which needs to be mentioned here. When Mr Dinesh Trivedi was the minister of state for health and K Sujatha Rao was the health secretary, the minister openly criticized the secretary and ministry babus for indulging in “red-tapism” and “corrupt culture” Mr.Trivedi’s charge against Rao was that she had created hurdles on way to set up a dedicated portal on health, that was supposed to carry information about top hospitals, doctors and other health-related matter for common people and others.

After taking charge of West Bengal as its chief minister, Ms.Mamata Banerjee made regular surprise visits to hospitals. Although in minuscule level, some positive changes have been noticed in these hospitals. However a recent RTI has revealed that only 9 per cent of the doctors accused of “medical negligence” and “ethical violation” in the state over the last 10 years have been “dismissed” from their services or warned. The rest 91 per cent of the complaints either met dead end or the doctors concerned were let off without even being issued a show-cause letter. A total of 515 cases were filed against doctors in West Bengal [as most of the complaints are declined by the MCI ] in the last 10 years and only 15 doctors have been removed from the council’s list of registered practitioners and another 30 had been let off after ‘warnings’.


As there was none to care about the dilapidated health services in the left regime, West Bengal has seen several exemplary cases of medical negligence and apathy from doctors in both government-run and private institutions which were duly offered cover-ups by the previous Left government. It will take some time for enthusiastic Mamata to put things in order in the government as well as private hospitals.

The gravity of decaying health services can be verified from a reply to the RTI, the West Bengal Medical Council [WBMC] registrar D K Ghosh has furnished that has offered complete details between 2001 and 2010. It says, 171 charges against the doctors or hospitals have been tabbed with ‘not to proceed any further’. 104 cases have been kept pending as ‘cases under consideration’. 61 cases has been ‘closed or dropped’ and for another 25 cases, ‘charges could not be substantiated’. Charge-sheets have been issued in 53 cases but hearing is still awaited. Seven cases are in court and are pending judgment. 27 cases are pending as the accused doctors are registered with other state medical councils.

There are many such similar cases that reflect the plight of those who suffered because of ‘medical negligence’ and are awaiting justice. The Medical Council clearly lost transparency and credibility in their activities. Many families who have lost their dear ones due in such cases of negligence have long been fighting lone battles. But then unless the whole council is redone and the function of the members investigated, speedier justice for the poor victims is highly unlikely. Many prominent government doctors and [members of the WBMC] have resigned from government service after the exit of the Left Front government, citing ‘personal reasons’. But the cases of negligence against all doctors in the past few years must be probed by the new government. At least some cases will certainly be found in which the doctors will be found guilty. Possibly, some high-profile council members will also be caught for having shielded several accused doctors on numerous occasions. We all know that the WBMC failed to cancel the medical registration of the doctors found guilty by Supreme Court in the famous Anuradha Saha death case of 1998.

It is undoubtedly true that the courts and Consumer Forums are not experts in medical science, and must not substitute their own views over that of specialists. But we cannot appoint a murderer to investigate or do justice to a case of murder. We cannot appoint a thief for the same purpose while investigating a theft. The same way we cannot possibly get justice in such cases of medical negligence with the help of medical councils where the executives are medical professionals.

It is also undeniable that the medical profession to a good extent has become commercialized and there are many doctors who depart from their Hippocratic Oath for their selfish ends of making money. It’s true that the entire medical fraternity cannot be blamed for the fault of some doctors. It is also a fact that sometimes despite their best efforts the treatment by the doctor fails- sometimes despite the best effort by a surgeon, the patient dies. But it is also a fact there are some doctors who are earning bad name for the respected profession. The time has come to amend the law and make it more real, satisfactory and unprejudiced as it is against other professionals who work for selfish gains.

Amir Khan is indeed trying to do a good service to the society by pointing out the holes in it. Instead of attacking Mr Khan, Indian medical fraternity should go into retrospection keeping it in mind that counting others’ sins shall not make one a saint and help weed out the fraudulent doctors like ex-Medical Council of India (MCI) head, Dr. Ketan Desai or Dr.Kohli, Ex-Dental Council India (DCI) head, their associates and others, if they desire to re-establish the public faith in their healers….

As the process of modernization continues, more non-Muslim pupils are expected to seek admission to Bengal's madrasahs in the future.

Mr Aziz Mubarki, National secretary of South Asia Ulema Council in Kolkata, which represents Islamic scholars, argued that the government should not replace the traditional curriculum of Madrasahs.
Although Muslim in general are not against this modernization, Mubarki thinks modern education should not have come at the cost of the traditional religious curriculum. "For all students religious education is as important as is the modern scientific education," Mubarki said.
"Both educations are necessary for the better grooming of a human being," he told DW.
Aside from striking the religious curriculum, Mubarki also thinks that teaching mixed genders together at a Madrasah is not appropriate. Nor does the modernization serve Muslim interests, Mubarki said.

Such education opens opportunities for poorer children, especially girls
"A madrasah should have a mosque on its campus," Mubarki said. "Islamic religious education has been diluted simply to accommodate the non-Muslim students," he said - which hasn't helped underprivileged Muslims, he added.

Honorarium to Imam: Why pseudo-nationalists opposing it?

The West Bengal government’s decision to offer honorarium to Imam has kicked up a political storm, which probably is set to spill over to the rest of the country, turning it into a big political debate. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has filed a writ petition in the Calcutta High Court challenging the move by terming it as an unconstitutional and politically motivated decision. There is nothing wrong in initiating a healthy debate over the issue of the honorarium as it helps keep a tab on the functions of the government. But this time a genuine initiative by the government is denounced as an act of “minority appeasement” by the so called “Pseudo-Nationalists”.

In our country 7,000 crore rupees are spent on some river cleaning projects. Even technical and financial assistance is sought from World Bank and other global agencies for the completion of such projects. According to the government, the assistance for “National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA)” is in the form of a loan of US $ 801 million from the IBRD (World Bank) and a credit of US$ 199 million from the IDA. The government is keen to save a river because Ganga is India's holiest river and it is worshipped by the majority Community. No Indian protested against this huge expenditure to cleanse a river. It’s appalling that the government’s move to offer a token wage to the Imams is being resisted by the BJP.

Even a tiger saving project receives more funds than the government allots for development of minority affairs. The media, the film fraternity, the sports stars and the big corporate houses- all came forward to show their support and ask others to support the cause- ‘SAVE OUR TIGERS.’ NDTV, WWF, Sanctuary Asia and Aircel came together supporting the tiger project.This campaign was carried out to raise awareness against the sharp decline in number of tigers in India. It was termed as a very human approach by all who were able to understand the importance of this cause. In this campaign 10, 07,958 persons have come together to join the roar till now. It is said that this campaign helped the voice of people reach the government. In response, the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh called for an emergency meeting and Rs 600 crore were sanctioned for tiger conservation in the next five years. Apart from it another Rs 50 crore were allotted which will be spent specifically on projects related to tiger conservation.

But there are too many hue and cries if any minority development programs are announced by the government. They say it’s a ‘Muslim appeasement’ policy. Should this tiger project also be termed as “tiger appeasement” programme? You are helping the tigers because they are in miserable condition. Muslims live in miseries- even top BJP leaders agree to this fact. Then why will you call the decision to offer honorarium to Imams a ‘Muslim appeasement’ action?

Muslims’ backwardness officially documented and admitted
There are numerous reports and recommendations to prove the dilapidated status of Muslims in India. They include the submission and observation of a report in 2008 by the National Commission of Minorities [NCM]. In its report the NCM mapped the economic well-being of the Dalit sections of the two communities (Muslims & Christians) after thoroughly analyzing data provided by the National Sample Survey Organization.

The report concludes, among other things, that there can be no doubt whatsoever that Dalit Muslim Section (DMS) and Dalit Christians (DC) are invariably regarded as socially inferior by their co-religionists. In intra-community comparisons Dalit Muslim Sections are only slightly worse off than non-Dalit Muslims, and that is because the Muslim community as a whole tends to be very badly off compared to other communities. Muslims are part of the sections of society which has developed disabilities by prolonged social discrimination and are entitled to affirmative action to compensate for these disabilities and inability, to empower them to compete and achieve inclusive development!

The high percentage of Muslim presence in jails is also an indicator of their being victims of discrimination and suspicion, particularly as there prevails a tendency in India to blame largely Muslim groups for most criminal activities taking place here. But it’s a fact that poverty and lack of education among Muslims are also responsible for turning them towards crime. Poverty and prejudices entertained against them have further contributed to their presence in jails. Against the backdrop of dismal facts having surfaced regarding social, economic and educational status of Indian Muslims, the Sachar panel has also made some recommendations in their favor too. The Sachar panel recommends establishment of more English and Urdu medium government schools in Muslim-dominated areas. The panel also recommends allocation of 15% of all government funds to Muslims under all central schemes. It favors greater representation for Muslims in sectors such as health and teaching and also sensitization of government employments towards Muslims? The Sachar panel further made a strong argument for almost entire Muslims population in India, except a nonexistent handful creamy layer. With the Sacchar report having already served as an eye-opener to the harsh reality about the status of Muslims in Indian society, the question was whether in fact it will propel the government to take some constructive steps towards improving their conditions or would its relevance be confined to noise made in media circles and a little bit of political rhetoric.

However, after the government received the Justice Rajindar Sachar report and related recommendations, a dedicated ministry for “Minority Affairs” was developed in the union cabinet to look into the social, educational and economic progress of all minorities in India. But the minority affairs ministry programmes which were designed mostly for the socio-economic development of Muslims didn’t reach them. It might have also been the case that they were purposely left out of the gracious ambit. The grants like the Central Government’s allocated fund of Rs 16,000 crores for bank loans to minorities failed to reach Muslims as it was primarily distributed among the Sikh and Jain communities. The Minority Affairs Ministry was pulled up by a Parliamentary Standing Committee for returning unutilized funds, worth over Rs 587 crore, to the Centre in 2010-11.The Standing Committee on Social Justice and Empowerment in its twentieth report on the Minority Affairs Ministry also noted that the quantum of surrendered funds was much lesser in previous years. The Ministry had earlier returned much lesser unutilized funds to the Centre- Rs 33.63 crore and Rs 31.50 crore in 2008-09 and 2009-10, respectively. The government increased the budget for Ministry of Minority affairs from Rs. 1,740 crore to Rs. 2,600 crore. Yet, Muslims were not benefited. But there are many states that, despite having sizeable Muslims populations, have overlooked the needs of the disadvantaged minority communities. In the Rs 78,686 crore budget in Bihar in 2012-2013, Rs 28,000 crore was allocated for welfare-related projects. But for minority welfare the share was merely Rs 125 crore.

In Karnataka the minority department was given only Rs. 261 crore. The picture is no different in Tamil Nadu either. Almost the entire Muslim population came forward to elect Jayalalitha to power. But for them she allotted only Rs 57 crore in the year 2012-13 whereas the Scheduled Castes bagged a sub-plan of Rs 6108 Cr and tribal communities got a sub-plan of Rs 349 Cr. In states like Maharashtra and Gujarat the condition is even more worrying as not a single rupee has been allocated for minority welfare in both the states for 2012-13. In fact Gujarat doesn’t even subscribe to the idea of having a separate department for minority development!

The picture in Bengal is also grimmer. Many called the Left parties “messiahs of the minorities”. During the left regime every year more than Rs 450 Crores of minority funds was returned to the centre, unutilized. Muslims got angry with the Communists because of the neglect they faced for many years. En masse they voted against the Communists in last year’s West Bengal elections and the party tasted defeat after ruling the state for three and a half decades.

According to 2001 census, there were 2 crore 31 lakh Muslims residing in West Bengal. By now the population must have gone up. According to many rational estimates Muslims constitute one-third of the state’s population. Almost 96% of the total minority population in the state is Muslim. In 12 districts of West Bengal Muslims constitute more than 25% of the total population. And a large section of the Muslim minorities (like anywhere else in the country) in West Bengal have remained socially, economically and educationally backward. To eradicate the backwardness of this section several steps are urgently necessary. Otherwise there will be no change in situation. The three decades of the Left Front rule in West Bengal has witnessed no government policies offering concrete economic assistance to the poor and needy. The CPI-M-led government only bothered to care for its own cadres.

Mamata’s initiatives for Muslims’ welfare
Mamata Banerjee’s government has come as a breath of fresh air in this wilderness, as she has taken some progressive initiatives to keep the development of Muslims on track at par with the development of other communities in West Bengal. She increased the annual budget allocation for minority developments to Rs.570 crore, up from Rs 330 crores last year. She has allocated Rs 90 crore from the budget of the minority affairs and madarasah education department to pay the honorarium to West Bengal’s imams, who were in pathetic condition and in dire need of financial assistance. She has promised a bigger Hajj House, has given a good shape to Aliah University and is in the process to set up a separate “Madarasah Aliah”. She has also announced to launch a CBI enquiry into Bengal’s sensational Waqf scam , which is estimated to be worth not less than Rs 70,000 crore.

And with the 15-point Programme for Minorities programme approved by Indian government a Multi-Sectoral Developmental Programmes (MSDP) has been launched on the basis of recommendations from the Sacchar Committee. It seems the federal government is eager to see the largest minority taking part in country’s progress and so it has released funds for the development of the Muslim society. But the lethargic state governments and a bureaucracy- that seems biased against Muslims at every level, have come as stumbling blocks between the federal government and Muslims. The states and their bureaucrats are not utilizing the funds for development work among minorities. As a result of this large chunk of the minority development funds are lying unused in the state’s coffers or being returned to the centre.

To curb a situation like above, the federal Minority Affairs Ministry has circulated a draft bill to constitute an Equal Opportunity Commission. If passed, the commission will be empowered to impose Rs 5 lakh fine and a three-year jail term on anyone who discriminates against minorities in education, employment and housing. The Commission will also be empowered to slap a fine of Rs 1 lakh per day if the accused does not comply with its rulings. The proposed law will cover all the minorities in the country and has a provision to bring in other social groups within its ambit through gazette notifications. The commission has been inspired by the Sacchar Committee, which in details narrated different sorts discrimination minority community members-, especially Muslims, face in jobs, education and housing. Only time will reveal if it is a sincere attempt to improve the lots of a backward community or nothing but another political gimmick like that announcement of 17% reservation for the community during recent state elections in Uttar Pradesh.

http://twocircles.net/2012jun04/honorarium_imam_why_pseudonationalists_opposing_it.html

http://kashmirmonitor.org/06182012-ND-honorarium-to-imam-28495.aspx