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

FACTS ABOUT HAJJ SUBSIDY .

Those who are against the Hajj subsidy must know that its not just the Muslim Hajj where Indian government is providing the subsidy.There are other religious events to such subsidies.

Just last month(April 12)the government of Madhya Pradesh has expanded the subsidy scheme to Hindu pilgrims visiting Sita Mata Temple in Sri Lanka and Angkor Wat Temple in Cambodia.
Such Indian Government provisions are already in place for pilgrimages to Kailash Mansarovar in Tibet,Hinlaj Mata Mandir and Nankhana Saheb in Pakistan.

Muslims are also taxpayers in India.Muslims also have the rights to the national resources in the country.So,Muslims are doing nothing wrong by seeking subsidy for the Hajj.Subsidy is an initiative to help fund public welfare work.All religious Muslims sincerely want to perform the Hajj.Muslims are citizens of this secular country.The government should provide subsidy for the Hajj as it is doing to the Hindus and Sikhs.

A section of Muslims are against this Hajj subsidy because they know that the Hajj has to be self funded - not with the help of others. But they should know that subsidy they get for Hajj is not exactly other's money.its from the state.The state has its fund to help its citizens, which includes Muslims.Those Muslims who are against the subsidy should also know that photographing themselves is prohibited in Islam. But they have not refused to be photographed for their passport,ID cards,bank accounts and other purposes"'.

On Hillary Clinton’s Visit to South Asia

We are deeply disappointed with some issues raised by the U S Secretary of State, Ms. Hillary Clinton during her visit to India this week. As a sovereign country India is free to trade with any country on its own choice. We take strong exception to Ms Clinton's attempted intervention on our bi-lateral deal with Iran. We also object to Ms Clinton's interference in the matter of the water of river Teesta, which is an issue between two peaceful co-operative neighbours. We shall appreciate if no third party gets involved into the matter, uninvited.

Apart from it, we would have appreciated if Ms Clinton could make US ally Pakistan act against Hafiz Saeed, the man “wanted” in connection with 26/11 Mumbai blasts. The Americans should know that “colonial era is over” and India is not a banana republic like Pakistan. They must understand that India is not an insignificant state on the threshold of being identified as a “failed state” like Bangladesh where she openly supported former chairman of Grameen Bank and her old friend Mr.Younus.

India is a superpower in the region and a very important country in Asia. It has a distinct foreign policy and will not tolerate any intrusion from anyone including America.

The loot of waqf properties in India

A Karnataka government-appointed committee, which surveyed Waqf board lands in the state recently, has stumbled upon a multi-crore scandal and has submitted a 7,000-page report on the scam to the chief minister D V Sadananda Gowda. It has shocked all as the latest Waqf scam is touted to be larger than the 2G spectrum scam that rocked the country last year. The committee found that major irregularities had taken place between 2001 and 2012 in the transfer of Waqf land to private parties through mutation where an estimated loss to the exchequer was likely to be around Rs 2 lakh crores. Mutation is a legal process through which government land is transferred or sold to individuals, institutions, persons or firms after proper verification of all documents related to the land. It’s clear that the legal process was flagrantly violated in Karnataka while selling or transferring the Waqf lands to private individuals. Of the Waqf board's 33,741 properties spread across a whopping 54,000 acres of registered land, around 27,000 acres have not been used for what they are meant for, and were disposed off illegally.

Understanding Waqf

Under Muslim rule in India the concept of Waqf was more broadly comprehended as aligned with the spirit of charitable contributions approved by the Quran. Waqf implies the endowment of property, moveable or immovable, tangible or intangible to Allah by a Muslim, under the premise that the transfer will benefit the deprived. As a legal transaction, the Waqif (settler) appoints himself or another truthful person as Mutawalli (Manager) in an endowment deed (Waqf-namaah) to oversee the Waqf (charitable trust). As it implies a surrender of properties to Allah, a Waqf deed is unchangeable and everlasting. In harmony with the true spirit of Islam, Indian Muslim rulers bigheartedly dedicated property such as land and its revenue rights to Awqaf (plural of Waqf) created with the aim of maintaining Mosques, Madrasas, Dragahs, Khanqahs, Maqbaras, Ashoorkhanas, Qabristans (graveyards), Takiyas, Idgahs, Imambaras, Anjumans, Tombs, Orphanages (yatimkhanas) etc. Besides the charitable intent that clearly underlined these donations, for instance, land could have been Waqf(ed) for the creation of a graveyard where poor people could bury their dead. These donations to Awqaf were also done with the interest of promoting the tenets of Islam. Under Muslim rule, the presence of Islamic courts overseen by Qazis ensured that the Mutawallis discharged their duties fairly. Their mismanagement of the properties was considered breach of the trust reposed in them for which they were duly punished. Therefore keeping all religious obligations in mind the Central Waqf Council, an Indian statutory body was established in 1964 by the Government of India under Waqf Act, 1954 for the purpose of advising it on matters pertaining to working of the State Waqf Board sand proper administration of the Wakfs in the country.

Loot of waqfs

The scam involving the Waqf properties that has surfaced in Karnataka is not an isolated case. Loot of the waqf estates has been going on all across the country. The mismanagement of the properties in India reflects the Muslim community’s failure to build a clean and organized establishment that could look after the vast estate efficiently. Most Muslims in India live in phenomenally bad socioeconomic condition. Poverty, lack of education and unemployment are rampant in the community. If the Waqf properties were managed or utilized the way they are supposed to be, many of the community’s perennial problems could have been resolved without any help from outside. Sadly, those, who wield power and have been installed as leaders in the community, have turned corrupt. Most of them sitting on top of the existing institutions that control the waqf estates have been found selling away the properties piece by piece, for personal gain. It frustrates us as we find that more than 70% of India’s Waqf estates have already been sold away in the past decades by our unscrupulous Muslim leaders.

There is a complex set of reasons for this state of affairs in institutions that claim to work for the benefit of the country’s largest minority and the world’s second-largest Muslim population. Even in the case of Waqf, political hangers-on and operators from the minority community are sent off to man the boards. The policies of successive governments have created a class of “Sarkari Musalmans” adept at capturing institutions and bagging positions through which they can patronize others down the pecking order.

Even common Muslims just see the Waqf placard and believe the land belongs to them. They are encouraged to believe there is some higher religious purpose to Waqf, little knowing the fact that it has become a synonym for daylight robbery. The greatest hypocrisy perhaps is that the men who violate the spirit of charity behind the concept of Waqf then pretend to be committed and dutiful believers. This resource has been mortgaged, sold and encroached upon with the connivance of the very institutions and individuals responsible for safeguarding it, turning it all into a systemic rot. The Waqf boards in most states of India are repositories of corruption, in league with local land sharks and builders. They continue to get away with the daylight robbery of their own community because, whenever there is any demand for scrutiny, they mischievously take cover behind the “Islam in danger” sentiment.

Some glaring examples of suspected land deals from across the land:

Chennai: In 1997, the Tamil Nadu Waqf Board took the decision to outright sell 1,710 square feet of land in the commercialized Triplicane High street in Madras for a paltry Rs 3 lakh. A sale like this would have required the sanction of at least two-thirds of the board members.

Mumbai: The Maharashtra Waqf Board got a measly Rs 16 lakh for 4,532square metres in the upscale Altamount Road on which none other than Mukesh Ambani has built his plush 27-storey home.

Bangalore: Developed on about five acres of land, the Windsor Manor hotel here was till recently giving the board a rent of Rs 12,000 a month for a property worth not less than Rs 500 crore.

Faridabad: The Waqf board has been leasing out about five acres of land on 11-month leases for several years at a ridiculously low rent between Rs 500 and Rs 1,500 per month. A factory was built at the place and land use altered.

Kolkata: Shaw Wallace was giving a miniscule amount as rent for the palatial building at the BBD Bag business district in Kolkata until the new Mutawalli of the Prince Ghulam Mohammed Waqf Estate dragged the corporate house to the court.

Encroachment of waqf properties in West Bengal

So across the country, there are examples of the huge Waqf mess. West Bengal which has highest numbers of Waqf properties in the country is no indifferent and has higher record of property encroachment as well i.e., like 4,000 illegal occupants are in possession of a property in Calcutta known as the Mysore Family Fateha Fund Waqf Estate. There are over few hundred mosques in Calcutta and other adjoining districts where Waqf lands have been encroached upon unlawfully. Sixty-four other mosques in the state have been illegally occupied by outsiders. West Bengal which has approximately 184,000 Waqf properties, accounting for 31% of such properties in the country has suffered the most at the hands of corrupt Mutawallis or managers of Waqf properties with the help of officials belonging to the Ministry of Land and Land Reforms (during the left regime) have got many of them sold. The CPI (M) built party offices on several such wakf plots. The Left Front government also transformed a 50,000 sq m property in Tufanganj, Cooch Behar worth Rs 20 crores into a state bus depot and warehouse. In Midnapore (Kharagpur) a big departmental store and other commercial complex have come up on a land which was a Muslim Burial Ground (Kabrastan) not very long ago. Similarly hundreds of Bighas of Waqf land were acquired and transferred to private coal mining company in Burdwan districts for a mere pittance through some shoddy deals. So many prime Waqf plots and properties have changed character because of legal loopholes, thereby denying Muslims a religious endowment under Islamic law, where the income was meant for sole use in charitable purposes.

In Feb 1996, irregularities were first detected at a Waqf property on Collin Street, Kolkata, which involved the prime accused Mr. Hamidul Huda and his family. And with so many unanswered questions and mounting pressure the then chief minister of Bengal Late Com. Jyoti Basu appointed a one-man judicial commission headed by Justice Gitesh Ranjan Bhattacharya in March 1997. Testimonies from the representatives of several Muslim organizations and Imams were recorded. And after almost 5 years of investigation, the inquiry report was submitted on 31 Dec 2001 to the West Bengal government. And on the basis of the report, Mr. Hamidul Huda, a CPI-M leader and former member of the Waqf Board was arrested. But many still feel that prime accused Mr. Hamidul Huda was just being made a scapegoat to shield some CPI-M bigwigs. Many even feel that if the Left Front government desired to clear its name it should have taken upon itself very seriously and must have followed the recommendations made by Justice GR Bhattacharya Commission report.

Recommendations of Justice GR Bhattacharya Commission

-- Decentralize Waqf properties management and form district Waqf boards in view of the mess over listed and unlisted properties throughout the state.

-- Prevent concentration of power and plug the routes to escape responsibilities by the Waqf Board members and Waqf Commissioner.

-- Fix collective and individual responsibility and bar anybody from holding office for more than one term. A member or his close relatives should not be involved in transfer and transaction of Waqf property.

-- Laws and rules regarding lease and tenancy should be changed.

-- Complete survey and enrollment of Waqf properties in the quickest possible time.

-- Empower trustees of Waqf properties to move court against unauthorized sale.

-- No sale of Waqf properties to be registered without the board’s permission

Modus operandi of the scamsters

Outright sale

Builder or businessman identifies a Waqf property.
They approach members of the board.
The land is sold for a pittance.
Board members get their cuts.

Discounted rent

It happens in states where outright sale is not encouraged.
Builder/ businessman approach board members.
The land is given on a ridiculously low lease.
Land use is changed to facilitate commercial exploitation.
Members pocket their cuts.

Although Waqf is a national reserve for use in building institutions and earn income for Muslims, it is so awfully managed that it is the only system where practically no accountability is demanded. Cases of unashamed corruption flourish. Land is sold off to make way for private buildings, hotels, malls or factories for a trifle or given out for shockingly low rents to commercial interests. The boards have become an avenue for political patronage. Muslims who cannot be accommodated in ministries are sent off here. They mostly never do anything to help the community. In most cases, they are hand-in-glove with the land mafia and encroachers. The mess in the boards also reflects the apathy of state governments. Many have not constituted boards; none have carried out a survey of Waqf properties as required by the 1995 Act.

But in West Bengal at least the newly elected government has learnt from the Left’s mistakes and the incumbent Chief Minister Ms. Mamata Banerjee has taken a significant initiative towards sorting out the legal problems surrounding Waqf properties in the state so that their revenue can be distributed for the socio-economic benefit of the Muslim community. She has announced a CBI probe into the dealings of the previous Waqf board, and has launched many pro-minorities proposals which include a scheme of monthly honorarium for the Imams, which is duly linked with the funds at the State Waqf Board. In addition to all above she has sought data on the matter, as Waqf properties are worth more than Rs 70,000 crores in West Bengal, the highest anywhere in India. She is surely aware that Muslims will not need any government help if Waqf revenues are used fairly for their benefit, something which the Left Front ignored. The WB government has already taken action to avoid further dilemmas in managing the Waqf estates in the state. Measures are being planned to prevent recurrence of irregularities and lapses that happened in the past. Elections were held to the Waqf Board. Survey of Waqf property is being undertaken. Tribunal has been set up and more will be constituted if the situation demands. Responsibilities for Board members are now being fixed. Hence to add transparency to the working of the Waqf, “Tenure Restricting Bill” should also be considered.

As matter of fact WAQF is one of those areas in which accountability has not been demanded by anyone. The community itself has not demanded accountability, possibly because Muslims are ignorant about these issues. However, things tend to change once awareness builds up as it’s happening in Kerala, where Muslims are literate and demand accountability. The Waqf board is manned by professionals and headed by two advocates, not by racketeers. Even the Bureaucrats in the ministry of minority affairs in New Delhi cite the work done by Kerala Waqf board as example of good work and ask other states to emulate it.

There is no doubt that widespread misappropriation of the Waqf properties is taking place across India. Safeguarding the estates was the duty of the successive federal and state governments. But none performed their duty. The community itself is also responsible for the build-up of this Waqf mess. Muslims must understand that Waqf is a national resource that should have been tapped for use in the welfare of the “Muslim Community”.

http://twocircles.net/2012apr26/loot_waqf_properties_india.html

http://kashmirmonitor.org/05082012-ND-the-loot-of-waqf-properties-in-india-25992.aspx

http://theeasternpost.org/more_cover.php?id=132