Blatant double standard
By Jyoti Punwani, TOI
With Islamic groups "not being ruled out'' as culprits in the Ludhiana bomb blast, and Bangladeshis being interrogated for the Ajmer blast, it is clear that in India's fight against terrorism, one group of terrorists is being completely excluded.
Parliament query shows Work Population Ratio lowest among Muslims
By TCN Staff Reporter
Delhi: Work population ratio, which is an indicator used to analyse the employment situation in the country, continues to remain the...
Clarity needed on resuming India-Pakistan cricket ties
By Veturi Srivatsa,
There has never been or never will be a right time in the foreseeable future for India and Pakistan to play cricket bilaterally. It has always been a political gambit and it is once again, the cacophonic discussions on television channels notwithstanding.
Modi should speak out more on sports in India
By Veturi Srivatsa,
One wonders how Narendra Modi could draw a parallel between India winning a cricket match and the Mars achievement of space scientists when he himself and his alter ego Amit Shah controlled Gujarat cricket till the two shifted to Delhi.
NRI booked for abusing Mangaluru Commissioner over Zakir Naik issue
By TwoCircles.net Staff Reporter,
Mangaluru (Karnataka) : City police have registered an FIR against a Non Resident Indian (NRI) for abusing city commissioner S...
Why appointing more women Qazis is the need of the hour
By Sheikh Khurshid Alam for TwoCircles.net
There is paucity of research on the possibility of the appointment of Muslim women to the office of...
Inculcating morality among Generation Next, Pharos Educational Foundation
A Year-long Series on Education, Sponsored by The Aligarh Forum : - A Mirror on our Efforts, our Successes & our Shortcomings ; Stories...
Violence is not my path: Maudany
By Shameer KS for TwoCircles.net,
Abdul Nasir Maudany is the chief of Kerala-based Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). After spending eight years in prison on charges of being involved in Coimbatore bombing, he was absolved of all charges and released by the courts. Now, once again he is on the verge of arrests for his alleged role in Bangalore bomb blast of 2008. He is accused number 31 in that case and Karnataka police is in Kerala to arrest him. Shameer KS sat down with Maudany to ask him about the case and his thoughts.
There may be bigger design behind attacks on mosques
Another bigger design behind these attacks could be Hindutva fascist organizations trying their hands in terrorism after graduating from Gujarat 2002. --- Editor
By Murali Krishnan, IANS
Security experts believe that there may be a definite pattern behind the string of terror attacks on Islamic places of worship across India.
What seemed to be an isolated case initially has become a source of worry for New Delhi and state authorities as they pore over what is clearly a design in the string of terror strikes on mosques and Sufi shrines.
क्या मृगतृष्णा बन गया है धर्मनिरपेक्ष गठबंधन?
राम पुनियानी
जनता दल यूनाईटेड (जदयू) के राष्ट्रीय अध्यक्ष और बिहार के मुख्यमंत्री नीतीश कुमार ने महागठबंधन तोड़ कर अपने पुराने साथी भाजपा से एक...
Between the mob and the state
By Dr Mohammad Manzoor Alam,
We are passing through a strange moment in our life where we are confronted with the evil described neatly by...
India’s Deficits
By Amit Kapoor,
Over the past few years, we have heard of all sorts of deficits that have been ailing India. The most recent one has been a ‘rain deficit’ with monsoon expected to be less than normal according to the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD). While the lack of rains has generated fear amongst farmers, it has generated broader concerns for the union and state governments in containing inflation, which is expected to rise even further with this latest declaration from the IMD.
Memon’s hanging revives debate about ‘Us vs Them’
While we must not forget all these instances of discrimination, we must also remember that during the same period, it was Hindu activists who...
Political ideology and interpretation of history
By Ram Puniyani,
Our sub-continent, which has a common past, shares its history. There are diverse ways of looking at the same history by groups belonging to different political ideologies.
With the change of government in Delhi, the leading institutions are having a major policy shift – including organisations such as Indian Council of Historical Research, National Council for Education, Research and Training among others – as they have got heads whose qualification is not excellence in their respective disciplines but their proximity to the ideology of the ruling dispensation.
Brinkmanship over ‘Bharat Mata ki Jay’
By Masood Peshimam for TwoCircles.net,
A new dimension is added to the controversial suspension of AIMIM legislator Waris Pathan’s over refusing to say Bharat Mata...
Growing Intolerance in a Tolerant Society
Ram Puniyani
Towards the end of 2015 many a writers and accomplished eminent citizens returned their national honors; protesting against the growing atmosphere of...
Faux journalism and democracy
By Pramod Kumar for TwoCircles.net
The media is indeed the Fourth Pillar of democracy and is, therefore, by implication and extension, as relevant as the...
Draconian laws, delete them
By Dr. Mookhi Amir Ali
Dr. Binayak Sen will now be out on bail but not without celebrating the second anniversary of his needless detention. He was detained under Chhattisgarh Special Public Security Act and the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act. Under these laws a person can be detained for flimsy reasons with no provision of bail. This is not the only law in our book which can be used by the government to harass a citizen who is inconvenient to them.
Let’s not just hang, but lynch Md Afzal
By NM Sampathkumar Iyangar
According to a respected magazine, 75 per cent of the people of India (definition of India, not clarified!) want Mohammed Afzal hanged without delay. "I really wish LK Advani becomes India's next prime minister; he is the only one who can take a decision and hang me. At least, my pain and daily suffering would ease then!" said easily the most prized VIP 'culprit' of India recently.
Maulvi Mumtaz Ali- A Nineteenth century advocate of women’s rights
By Asghar Ali Engineer,
It is generally thought that movement for women’s rights began with western educated people and in 19th century. But very few people know about Maulavi Mumtaz Ali Khan, a traditional ‘alim, product of Darul ‘Uloom Deoband who was very enthusiastic supporters of gender equality. There are two things to be noted here: one, he was a traditional ‘alim and was not under the influence of western thought and two, he was advocating gender equality purely on the basis of Islamic traditional sources i.e. Qur’an and hadith.
Can US motivate Modi government to restore equitable polity in India?
By Kaleem Kawaja,
...
Literary Tweets? Anecdotes as micro-biographies
By Vikas Datta,
The pre-occupations of modern life - both personal and professional - and technological advancements have various effects, mainly positive but some not...
Is the IAS fortress showing cracks?
By Maxwell Pereira, IANS,
Is the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) feeling the heat? Has the decision of Adapa Karthik - this year's civil services exam topper for appointment to the IAS - to continue serving in the IPS shaken the citadel of power?
Jaipur blasts: a blessed occasion for B.J.P.
By Dr. Mustafa Kamal Sherwani
The investigation into the Jaipur blasts is now almost complete. The pattern of the bombings was identical with those of earlier similar occurrences, and it has further been confirmed by the statement of the so-called owner of the cycle shop from which the persons, speaking with Bengali accent, had purchased seven cycles used in the terror strike.
India will overcome coronavirus, will it overcome the communal virus?
It needs to be said that Indian Muslims do not need to prove their loyalty to India. Despite the humiliations, vilification and hate campaigns,...
Deendar Anjuman: Damned by the Muslim community, haunted by the security agencies
By Mohd. Ismail Khan, TwoCircles.net
Will the war in Gaza compensate Israel for Lebanon?
MOSCOW. (RIA Novosti political commentator Maria Appakova) - "In many respects, the war in Gaza has compensated for the shortcomings of the Second Lebanon War. This time around, the decision to launch the offensive was calculated and reasoned, and the army has shown impressive capabilities." This quotation from the Israeli Haaretz daily describes the prevailing attitude in Israel.
Shahzad’s arrest and Goebbels’ lies
By Jamia Teachers’ Solidarity Association,
Goebbels, the Nazi propagandist, believed that a lie repeated several times over would soon acquire the legitimacy of truth. The Delhi Police has surpassed Goebbels’ strategy. By deluging the press and the public with one lie after another, it hopes that the truth will never be extricated.
Who killed Inspector Sharma?
Syed Ross Masood – Pursuit of excellence in higher education
By Naved Masood for TwoCircles.net,
काश! इन्हें भी समाज के मुख्यधारा में शामिल एक सामान्य इंसान माना जाता…
फ़हमिना हुसैन, TwoCircles.net
दोपहर के सन्नाटे में तेज़ तालियों और गाने की आवाज़ ने आती हुई नींद को झकझोर दिया. पूछने पर पता लगा कि...
Editors get schooled by Hamid Ansari on media ethics
By TCN News
New Delhi: The Vice President of India M. Hamid Ansari today took the class of editors in his inaugulral address at the...
Charminar, once an icon of Hyderabadi pride, now a combat ground of religious dominance
By Mohd. Ismail Khan, TwoCircles.net,
कलीम आजिज़ – एक गुमनाम शायर का फ़साना
By सिद्धान्त मोहन, TwoCircles.net,
कलीम आजिज़, यानी वह शख्स जो मीर की रवायत को अब तक बनाए रखे हुए था, हमें और उर्दू शायरी छोड़ चले गए. यह छोड़कर जाना सिर्फ़ एक सुखनवर के गुज़र जाने का होता तो कोई बात भी थी, लेकिन यह जाना पूरी उर्दू शायरी और उससे कमोबेश हर हाल में प्रभावित रहने वाली हिन्दी कविता के एक बड़े अध्याय का जाना था.
आपातकाल के वक्त इंदिरा गांधी के लिए कलीम साहब ने कहा था –
Role of Vajpayee – civilised mukhauta of uncivil Sangh – in Babri Masjid demolition
By Dr Mohammad Manzoor Alam,
Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, the civilised mukhauta (mask) of the uncivil Sangh, has always had his way of hunting with the hound and running with the hare. He has, in the words of the late Kamlapati Tripathy, perfected the art of speaking with a forked tongue.
The Sangh has consistently used him to project a softer face while engaging in violent, hate-driven politics. That is the reason the Sangh’s former high-faulting jargon maker Govindacharya described him as the mukhauta of the Sangh.
Shame, shame: a travesty of justice
By Teesta Setalvad
(This is the article that appeared in Malayalam weekly Mathrubhumi that lead to Chief Justice remark on February 19th, 2008 against Teesta Setalvad.)
Cooperation is the key to success: Bihar Anjuman’s founder Shakeel Ahmad
Bihar Anjuman is the TwoCircles.net Organization of the Year 2010
By Mohammed Mudassir Alam,
Punjab’s religious clash has political overtones
Chandigarh, May 16 (IANS) The religious clash between followers of Dera Sacha Sauda, a heretical sect and Sikhs in Punjab is not a matter of religion alone but has political overtones to it.
As dozens were left injured and public property damaged, especially in Bathinda town, in mindless violence Monday and Tuesday by Dera followers and reactions by the dominant Sikh community in Punjab, the political battle lines have been clearly drawn over the issue.
The Congress, which lost the recent assembly election to the ruling Shiromani Akali Dal, openly came out in support of the Dera.
The real battle for the idea of India
What's India’s ruling Congress party up to now?
By Aijaz Zaka Syed
Violence against women and religion
By Asghar Ali Engineer,
Religion is believed to be divine. It is divine in more than one sense. Firstly it is divine in the sense that its teachings are motivated by purest of intentions; secondly it is divine as its teachings are transcendent as religion exhort us to transcend what is to, what it should be in society as well as in our personal conduct. But soon after birth of religion it gets mixed up with customs and traditions already existing in society on one hand, and, on the other, powerful interests, often very negation of its teachings, begin to control it.
Next Pravasi Bharatiya Divas will be a much improved one
By Kul Bhushan, IANS
Most NRIs attending the annual Pravasi Bharatiya Divas conference in New Delhi have some grouse or the other. In the next event from Jan 7-9, 2008, some major changes should be visible.
79% Women’s report harassment and abuse, trend more prevalent in Northern India, reveals a...
By Raqib Hameed Naik, TwoCircles.net
New Delhi: A recent research by UK-based advocacy group ActionAid has once again highlighted the grim situation of women's...
The unapologetic Indian Muslim
By Sabiha Farhat
These are tough times for Muslims in India. But now that I look back and shed my ‘liberal’ prejudices – Muslims were...
Curious case of a “secular Muslim”
By Abul Kalam Azad
Secularism is a cruel joke in this country: both the opponents and (a section of) the proponents of this glaringly basic...
Waseem Siddique: A software developer with a passion for social work
By A Mirsab, TwoCircles.net,
Aurangabad: During the day, for five days a week, the life of Waseem Siddique, 28, a young software developer from...
An Islamic madrasa that teaches Sanskrit and Hindu Scriptures
By Mumtaz Alam Falahi, TwoCircles.net
Situation of Dalits in Gujarat is very depressing: Valjibhai Patel
Valjibhai Patel, Director of the Ahmedabad-based Council for Social Justice, is a noted lawyer and Dalit activist. In this interview with Yoginder Sikand he talks about his work and the Dalit movement in Gujarat
YS: As one of the pioneers of the Dalit movement in Gujarat and one of the few surviving leaders of the Gujarat Dalit Panthers, how do you account for the relative weakness of the movement in the state today?
Ask what you can do for your community
By M. Zajam, TwoCircles.net,
Many times we have heard JFK's famous quote “ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country”. We Indian tend to believe only in “what country can do for us”. When it comes to second part we fail miserably. Right from paying taxes to littering on the road, we simply become ignorant when it comes to play our part.
A critical exposition of popular Jihad
By Maulvi Chiragh Ali
India’s Home Minister Mr. P. Chidambaram recently blamed Jihad for creating terrorism. This is not the first time that ignorance and prejudice prevailed over scholarship and policy when dealing with Islam or Muslims. In 1885, Chiragh Ali wrote a book A Critical Exposition of Popular Jihad to remove misunderstandings about Jihad. This book will also be instructive to those Muslims who try to masquerade their violence as jihad. This is the complete text of chapter 12 of the book. --- Editor
Ram Sethu issue unlikely to boost BJP prospects
By Amulya Ganguli, IANS
The Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) hopes of using the Ram Sethu issue for electoral gains are unlikely to be fulfilled. Like the temple, which is no longer of any electoral value for the BJP, the sethu (bridge) doesn't seem to have been of much use in mobilising voters for the party.
Poll-humbled Congress, resurgent regional parties could help BJP in RS
By Nirendra Dev,
New Delhi: As the poll verdict from four states saw the Congress decimated in two states and regional parties reasserting themselves in...
The girl behind ‘Who is Kalam’?
By Preetha Nair
New Delhi: The book title "Who is Kalam?" may be intriguing but has a heart-warming story behind it -- of a teenaged...
Killing with medicines
By Jaspal Singh,
mareez-e-ishq par rehmat Khuda ki,
marz barhta gaya joon joon dawa ki --- Meer
Almost forty years ago I visited an old Baba in Arizona.He hailed from the Doaba in Punjab and had come to the US in the twenties of the last century.When I met him he was in his eighties.He had married a Mexican woman and had several children and grand children.Those days because of the racist immigration laws men from India could not marry white American women and they were not allowed to bring their families,meaning wife and children to the US.So many Punjabis married Mexican women.
The Muslim Ulema and status of women
By Asghar Ali Engineer
The other day I read a news item in the Urdu daily from Mumbai Inquilab about the coming session of Muslim Personal Law Board. I was utterly shocked to read that Personal Law Board is worried that the Government of India has passed a law against domestic violence whereas our ‘Ulema and fuqaha’ (jurists) have always permitted beating of women. According to the law against domestic violence Muslim men have lost right to beat their wives.
TCN Interview: Maulana Arshad Madni
By Murtaza Shibli for TwoCircles.net,
Maulana Arshad Madni is the President of one faction of Jamiatul-Ulama-e-Hind. He teaches Hadith at the famous Muslim seminary Deoband and operates several educational and charitable Muslim organisations in India. This interview was conducted at the central office of the Jamiatul Ulama-e-Hind office, New Delhi.
How do you see the ‘Aman ki Asha’, the peace initiative that was started by the Times of India and daily Jang, the two leading media houses of India and Pakistan?
Who shall lead the opposition front at the hustings?
By S.M. Anwar Hussain
There is an undercurrent realisation among the non NDA party workers and common masses, that the big promises made by BJP have...
Should caste matter?
By Nikhat Fatima, TwoCircles.net
Caste system in India, according to a large number of historians and intellectuals began with the advent of the Aryans and...
Afghanistan sees first democratic transition amidst ‘sigh of relief,’ hope from the new government,...
By M Reyaz, TwoCircles.net,
Afghanistan is all gear up for the first peaceful transition in over four decades – and in fact first democratic transition in its history - with a “sigh of relief” after months of impasse due to electoral related fraud allegations, and optimism for future amidst mixed reactions for the democratic strides in last 13 years.
On Good Friday, Christians in Trinidad and Tobago share Church with Hindu brethren
By TCN Staff Reporter
Trinidad: Good Friday can be described as slightly different in Trinidad and Tobago, compared to the rest of the world.
On Good...
A case for marriage registration
By Abdul Hafiz Gandhi
Religion has come to be used for pursuing personal agenda. This is not a new phenomenon. In the past also many divisive forces have used religion for their ulterior motives. The irony of the matter is that those who claim to be torch-bearer of faith are misusing it for monetary gains.
BJP and Gujarati Muslims
mere tokenism or Muslims inclined towards it now?
By Mohd. Ismail Khan, TwoCircles.net
Chennai residents suffer drinking water shortage
Chennai : An intermittent light drizzle since the morning on Saturday has added to the worries of Chennai residents who are battling the worst...
Let us preserve a white Christmas for future generations
By Rev. Babu Joseph, IANS,
World leaders have just returned to their respective countries after hard bargaining at Copenhagen to arrive at a consensus on reducing carbon emissions.
Nitish’s another turnaround story: But will it ensure victory?
By Soroor Ahmed, TwoCircles.net,
The fresh political realignment in Bihar is actually the byproduct of a bitter lesson learnt by the former Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar in the recent Lok Sabha election. He has come to realize that development works do not get translated into votes. This is the line adopted by his former bête noire Lalu Prasad. It is this belated realization that had forced him into the lap of the Rashtriya Janata Dal chief, with whom he broke away exactly two decades back.
“भारत माता के कॉन्सेप्ट में मेरा कोई विश्वास नहीं है” – उमर ख़ालिद से...
सिद्धांत मोहन, TwoCircles.net
नई दिल्ली- इसके पहले आप अनिर्बन भट्टाचार्य से हमारी बातचीत पढ़ चुके हैं. उसी कड़ी में आज हम आपको उमर ख़ालिद का...
Data-crunched, digital-driven: A watershed election in more ways than one
By Saroj Mohanty,
People in India and many around the globe would be waiting with bated breath for the actual results of the 2014 general...
Worshiping Cow: Killing Humanity
Ram Puniyani,
Just over a decade ago (2002) in Dulina village of Jhajjar in Haryana a...
Will pollsters get it right this time in Kashmir?
By Sheikh Qayoom
Jammu/Srinagar: As Jammu and Kashmir's regional National Conference (NC) and the Congress gear up to fight their arch rivals, the Peoples...
The United States and Syria should talk
By Theodore H. Kattouf, CGNews,
The recent compromise on power sharing in Lebanon spares the country further bloodshed, and allows its people to return to a modicum of normalcy. However, the underlying causes of the conflict remain, and Lebanon continues to be an arena where external powers play out their rivalries. Unless and until Syria and the United States reach a grand bargain, the Lebanese will continue to pay the price.
Muslim women of Malabar
By Kashif-ul-Huda, TwoCircles.net
TCN Malabar series: Part 8
In various towns of Malabar, it is not uncommon to see Muslim women on the streets, bazaars, and schools. They can be easily identified with their traditional mode of clothing. Young girls wear long colorful skirts, long sleeved blouses and heads covered in dupatta or a hijab. Older girls, it seems, prefer shalwar qameez. Married women wear saris or abayas.
Rice seeks Arab advice on Iran
By Maria Appakova,
MOSCOW : A number of meetings on the Greater Middle East took place in the UN headquarters in New York this week. One of them was of particular interest.
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice initiated a meeting between the Security Council members and Germany on the one hand, and Arab countries on the other, to discuss Iran.
It was the first time that the West had invited regional states to discuss Iran on such an official level. On the Arab side, the meeting was attended by Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia.
A Love Story of Chand Mohmmad and Fiza
By Syed Ali Mujtaba,
The story of Chand Mohmmad and Fiza that had hit the headlines recently undoubtedly has lent a romantic color to the otherwise dull Indian political scene. This however has also opened up a debate on complex human relationship that transcends into the domain of conversion and polygamy.
Whereas Muslim clerics have called the idea of converting to Islam to get married second time, "a deplorable act" the Hindutva brigade is maintaining a stoke silence in this case.
Manmohan Singh: short-term politician with a long-term vision
By Mayank Chhaya, IANS,
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has emerged triumphant from the firestorm of nuclear politics and in the process discovered a true politician in himself. Let no one any longer dismiss Singh as a brilliant but staid policy wonk/ bureaucrat who was pushed into India's highest and most politicized office by a quirk of fate.
Book Review: A Guide to Uplift Minorities
By Mahtab Alam,
Name of the book: A Guide to Uplift Minorities
Compiled by: Abdur Rasheed Agwan and Edited by M. Gauhar Iqbal
Published by: Social Service Wing, Jamaat-e Islami, Hind
D-317, Dawat Nagar, Abul Fazl Enc, Jamia Nagar, New
Delhi-25
Pages: 319, revised edition- June 2010
Price: 150/- rupees
Memorandum against Uniform Civil Code signed by one crore handed over to President
By TCN News,
New Delhi: A delegation of Indian Union Muslim League led by its National President and Member of Parliament E. Ahamed handed over...
Role of Shariah scholars and Equity market
By Islami Tijara,
This is second part of the 4 part series on the idea of Equity Market being best investment options for Muslims
Kashmir at cross roads: What’s in store for Kashmiris if BJP is part of...
By Ram Puniyani,
The recent (December 2014) verdict of Kashmir elections has been fractured, so to say. While the PDP has emerged as the single largest party, the BJP is a close second with substantial percentage of votes. Interestingly, the BJP has secured most seats and major vote share from the Hindu majority Jammu region of Kashmir. Now the dilemma for the other parties, National Conference, Congress is in which direction to go as far as the government formation is concerned.
Master, Queen and Slave
By Mubasshir Mushtaq,
Is the Congress only party which works on the basis of master-servant relationship? Sonia Maino Gandhi has challenged that assumption by breaking the sound of silence. All these years, her long and stoic silence was being considered as a sign of acquiescence. Sonia has proved that she is indeed the daughter-in-law of Indira Gandhi, who dealt her opponents with an iron fist.
High prices possible cause of BJP bypoll defeats
By Biswajit Choudhury,
New Delhi:With explanations like the missing Modi factor or local conditions unable to fully explain BJP's by-election losses in light of its...
Is Dubai’s retail glory fading?
By Rajendra K. Aneja, IANS,
Shopping is the soul of Dubai, a place whose very name can be pronounced "Do-Buy"! Retail is a key driver of Dubai's economy. It is the major tourist attraction. Dubai lures visitors from Asia, Africa, Europe and the Middle East since it offers very enticing shopping experiences. The city offers scintillating malls, almost every brand in the world, shopping bargains, huge discounts.
Sowing the seed for holistic farming
By M. Rajaque Rahman,
The diktat to make it mandatory for domestic fertiliser producers to 'neem-coat' at least 75 percent of their urea production would...
Indian Muslims – Moderation and extremism
By Asghar Ali Engineer,
As long as my memory goes I remember Muslims in general and Indian Muslims in particular, have been criticized for being extremists in religious matters and though, the criticism went, there are a few moderate Muslims, they do not take any stand or refuse to stand up and be counted and always, extremists carry the day. This has been an unending criticism of Muslims.
Interview: Malayalam daily Madhyamam’s Editor on Anna’s movement
By Najiya O., TwoCircles.net,
Of the freedom to revel and to abstain
By Shobha Shukla, CNS,
The Supreme Court of India has ordered a closure of all slaughter houses and eateries serving non vegetarian food for nine days, starting 15th August, all over the country. This has been done in deference to the wishes of the Jain community during the holy period of their Paryushan Parva.
Healing Separation
By Lila Sophia Tresemer
In October 2006, a group of women from the Holy Land gathered in Colorado to co-create a Middle Eastern village experience—living, eating, and learning together. The women came from a wide variety of backgrounds: Jewish (several were religious, others secular and some pagan), Arab (Druze, Muslim, Christian and pagan), as well as women from the US with a range of cultural identities.
Let us take charge of our Ummah
Dr Syed Zafar Mahmood,
Duly supported with authentic data, the Justice Rajindar Sachar Committee gauged in 2006 the Muslim deficit in India vis-a-vis any other community or social group. This Committee and the Justice Ranganath Mishra Commission (2008) recommended a series of affirmative actions to be taken by the Government in order to restore justice to Muslims and ameliorate their plight to the level of national averages. However, very little, say less than ten percent, of follow up action has been taken so far that includes amending the Waqf law, instituting the national minorities scholarship schemes and establishing the national commission for minority educational institutions. A host of major recommendations whose implementation would make the real difference still remain confined to the portals of these two landmark reports of recent Indian history. Though the 2014 parliamentary election manifestos of the Congress Party and Aam Aadmi Party did belatedly take note of some of these many remaining recommended steps.
Azerbaijan: A protagonist of global Islamic solidarity
By Dr. Syed Zafar Mahmood for TwoCircles.net
The title of an international conference organized in Azerbaijan’s capital Baku on December 21, 2017 was “2017: Year...
Young Varun Gandhi may be fighting a losing battle
By Amulya Ganguli, IANS,
The conflicting positions of the progenies of one of India's most famous political families have added a touch of melodrama to the current election scene.
In a script befitting a prime time soap opera, the earlier splintering of the celebrated household has now produced a descendent in Varun Gandhi who has as much potential of becoming the enfant terrible of Indian politics as his controversial father, Sanjay Gandhi, did during the Emergency of 1975-77.
Terror in the name of God
By Yoginder Sikand for TwoCircles.net
"Never forget that the life of this world is only a game and a passing delight, a show ….the life of this world is nothing but means of deception:. (The Quran, Al-Hadid: 20)
"There is no Hindu, there is no Muslim" (Baba Guru Nanak Sahib)
As population rises, UP’s healthcare system collapses
By Sushree Panigrahi and Jeet Singh
In Uttar Pradesh, the number of public health centres (PHCs), the frontline of the government's healthcare system, decreased 8...
मुक्तिबोध : कहने दो उन्हें जो यह कहते हैं – सफल जीवन बिताने में...
नासिरुद्दीन
जब हम कश्मकश में होते हैं और सवालों के मुकाबले जवाब बहुत कम होते हैं तो साहित्य बड़ा सहारा बनते हैं. खासतौर पर...
Of Bengali society and absence of political representation
By Biswajit Choudhury,
The absence of representation in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's cabinet for West Bengal, where the BJP won two seats, was depressing enough to provoke op-eds on the Bengali character.
Remembering the Nellie Massacre of 18 February 1983
By Nilim Dutta,
Even after three decades of the Nellie Massacre, Muslims in Assam continue to face violence and displacement. Muslim villagers in the Amguri Relief Camp in Chirang District of Assam in September 2012.
If government’s attack on NDTV was ‘fascism’, what explains the ban on Kashmir Reader?
By Raqib Hameed Naik, TwoCircles.net
Srinagar: A newsroom can often be the most nerve-racking, jarring, or the most fun-filled place for a professional...
Promise of an Optimal Future for Women and Girls
By Shobha Shukla, CNS
In 1910, a meeting of 35 women in Copenhagen started a worldwide movement demanding universal voting rights for women. That was a turning point in the centuries-old struggle of women to participate in society on an equal footing with men. Now, 100 years later, over 3000 delegates (40% of who were men) from 146 countries, gathered together in Washington DC to press for universal access to maternal and child health. 2010 is as transforming a mile stone as 1910 was, in the journey of achieving basic human and health care rights for all women and children.
APCR building national network of legal activists for Muslim community
By Mumtaz Alam Falahi, TwoCircles.net,
With rise in terror attacks in India in the last couple of years for which Muslims were blamed – in a few cases maybe rightly but generally without going into probe and proof – the already backward and deprived community have faced a new serious problem: picking of their youths from here and there, gross violation of their civil and human rights and boycott of lawyers to take up cases of terror suspects.
So why’s this Modi worried in Bihar?
By Imran Khan
Patna: BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi - better known these days as SuMo to rhyme with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's NaMo -...
Constitution should be amended for reservation in higher judiciary: Madras High Court Judge
By TwoCircles.net Staff Reporter,
Chennai: Raising the pitch for reservation to backward classes in the higher judiciary, the Madras High Court sitting judge D....
Ground slipping from under Lalu’s feet?
By Imran Khan
Patna: RJD chief Lalu Prasad, one of the main players in Bihar's murky politics for over two decades, is facing desertion...
Muslim women in the slums: poorest of the poor
A study of the maternity care and births in Mumbai slums
By Kashif-ul-Huda, TwoCircles.net,
A large number of Muslims of India live in poverty and they are the majority of the poorest of the poor living in slums. This is according to a study conducted in 2006 in Mumbai. The details of the study were published earlier this month.
Women’s Reservation Bill: Attempt to stifle the voice of Muslims
By Navaid Hamid for TwoCircles.net
Every new day has its own significance and if one goes into the history of human evolution, one finds that a good number of dates have left a mark on the history of civilisations. Some dates have dramatically changed the course of history while others have shamed humanity.
The Mahatma’s murder: Battle lines drawn between Rahul, RSS
By Amulya Ganguli
A Belgian admirer of India's saffron brotherhood, Koenraad Elst, said in his book, "Mahatma Gandhi and His Assassin", that the...
बिजनौर मामले में हिंदूवादी संगठनों के साथ ‘दैनिक जागरण’ भड़का रहा है आग
MediaVigil.com
पत्रकारिता के बुनियादी प्रशिक्षण में जब ख़बर लिखना सिखाया जाता है तो किसी घटना के संदर्भ में धार्मिक समुदायों का नाम लेने को मना...
Polygamy and the Qur’an
By Asghar Ali Engineer,
In our attempt to codify Islamic law in India which is today quite loosely applied causing lot of problems to Muslim women, we interviewed number of prominent ‘ulama. One of our questions was should polygamy be regulated? With few exceptions most of them said ‘no’. Polygamy is needed and some even said it is exclusive preserve of man and he can take second wife even without any reason or permission of first wife.
विदेशियों के लिए सरोगेसी पर पाबंदी, भारतीयों को भी अब एक ही बार मिलेगी...
By फ़हमिना हुसैन, TwoCircles.net
नई दिल्ली: दिल्ली के एक अस्तपताल में एक मासूम अपनी मां के लिए तरस रहा है. क्योंकि सरोगेसी के ज़रिए इस...
भागलपुर दंगे से संबंधित 11 तथ्य, जिसे आपको ज़रूर जानना चाहिए…
By TwoCircles.net Staff Reporter,
1. सरकारी आंकड़ों के हिसाब से भागलपुर दंगों में मृतकों की संख्या लगभग एक हजार दर्शायी गयी है, जबकि नागरिक अधिकार...
शिक्षा अधिकार क़ानून के 7 साल बाद — प्राथमिक विफलता ?
जावेद अनीस, TwoCircles.net के लिए
भारत के दोनों सदनों द्वारा पारित ऐसा क़ानून जो देश के 6 से 14 के सभी बच्चों को...
Stars, stripes and the crescent: the foundations
By Anis Hoda
Stars, stripes and the crescent: a series on American Muslims.
Bengal polls a tale of development vs graft
By Anurag Dey & Sirshendu Panth
Kolkata : The two-month-long bitter, no-holds-barred campaign for the West Bengal assembly elections turned into a slugfest between development...
एक रोज़ में कर्नाटक में शांति की अपील करने वाले मोदी कश्मीर पर कब...
प्रियदर्शन सिंह
आज कर्नाटक अशांत है. कावेरी नदी के पानी को लेकर सोमवार को आए सुप्रीम कोर्ट के फैसले के बाद से कर्नाटक में बंदी...
We don’t need al-Qaeda
By Dr Mohammad Manzoor Alam,
Of late we have been reading reports in a section of the press about al-Qaeda’s plans to enter countries of...
Phenomenon of Shah Faesal: Some lessons
By Balraj Puri,
Shah Faesal is a phenomenon which is unparalleled in recent years in Kashmir. His performance has been hailed from the Governor and the Chief Minister to a layman in Kupwara. Columns after columns have been written on him. His fame has crossed the lofty Pir Panchal. The spontaneous welcome he received at the airport and unending crowd that continued to greet him at his residence for many days without any organisational support would be envy of any popular leader. It has demonstrated the potential of Kashmir youth if given an opportunity.