By Kashif-ul-Huda, TwoCircles.net
“I belong to two circles of equal size, but which are not concentric. One is India, and the other is the Muslim world. …We as Indian Muslims came in both circles. We belong to these two circles, each of more than 300 millions, and we can leave neither.”
An Indian Muslim at least once in his or her life time is asked this dreaded question- are you an Indian first or a Muslim first? Worst still is when some of us actually proceed to answer this question. I looked back in history and found the line quoted above. This line is by freedom fighter Maulana Muhammad Ali Jauhar who had answered this question for us about a hundred years ago.
This quote has been a guiding principle of TwoCircles.net since it started in 2006. In last eight years we have worked to bring reports from different parts of India making Indian Muslim voices heard in this global platform of internet, we have gone deep and wide in different corners of India to challenge the stereotypes about Muslims, we were not satisfied with just reporting but led campaigns on numerous occasions in attempts to make a difference in people’s lives.
TCN has reached a significant juncture in its existence of almost eight years and it seeks to blossom further with your help. TCN’s mission has never been profit. We have operated on shoestring budgets to bring you stories of Muslim lives that no one else was willing to.
Over the course of our operation, we have come to the realization that understanding Indian realities in holistic fashion calls for solidarity between communities. To understand the marginalization of Indian Muslims it is important to understand the marginalization of other communities as well. To begin to think beyond the two circles and to eventually become a mainstream news of the marginalized. This is not to say that there will be less coverage of Indian Muslim issues rather there will be increased coverage of other marginalized sections of our population such as women, Dalits, and tribals. To be successful in this venture, we need your solidarity and support now more than ever.
We seek your support to become a sustained donor for TCN. You can choose to donate a certain amount monthly – $20, $50, $100 or whatever amount you see fit. This will help us bank on reliable and sustained support and will also be convenient for you!
You can donate online here: http://twocircles.net/donate.html.
TwoCircles is a registered non-profit organization in the state of Massachusetts, USA. We have applied for 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status. Usually this tax-exempt status is given retroactive from the date of the application. In that case your donations would become tax deductible.
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Also, an opportunity to meet TwoCircles.net team in Delhi on March 23rd at TCN Open House. More details at our Facebook event page.