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Muslims donate money to bail out 15 Hindu convicts languishing in jail

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indian-jails

Bareilly: “Kindness is a mark of faith, and whoever is not kind has no faith,” said Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). As the controversy rages over “intolerance” in the country, here is a group of Muslim men who have quietly done for 15 Hindu men what even their own kin could not.

 

The Muslim men pooled in money to be able to pay a fine of Rs 50,000 to secure the release of the Hindu prisoners languishing for want of money in the district jail. They had been lodged in jail on charges of petty crime like ticketless travel. Unable to cough up the fine to make reparation for their misdeeds, the men were serving an additional sentence. Once the money was paid, the 15 men walked out free birds.

Outside the jail, the Muslims who paid for their release welcomed them into freedom with a warm embrace. As the 15 men stepped out of jail on Wednesday evening, there were smiles and tears all around.

One of the inmates, Nand Kishore, had served out the period of his sentence for ticketless travel, but was not released as he failed to pay a Rs1,000-fine. But as he left the jail premises and strode towards home, Haji Yasin Qureshi and his friends, all Muslims, hugged him and walked along.

Qureshi shrugged off the effusive gratitude that the men showed him and his friends, and said it is just the Almighty who needs to be thanked. He told the 15 men that they should swear never to repeat their mistakes.

The Muslim men had also made arrangements for Nand Kishore’s travel back to his native village. He was given a small sum as “pocket money” too. His eyes moist, Kishore bid the Muslim youth adieu as jail staffers watched, awe-struck.

Among the others to taste freedom were Ajay Kumar, Kishan Sagar, Pappu and Tilak. All of them were warmly embraced as they emerged from the jail, all deeply moved by the gesture of their benefactors who had come to their aid in a time of crisis.

Qureshi, who led the group that collected funds for the release of the men, said, “When we learnt of their plight from jail authorities, we decided that we should do what we could. We are never guided by the feeling that our efforts should be directed only towards members of our own community. We believe that if we help in releasing a man from captivity, Allah will bless us. Moreover, what better occasion than a time when there is all this talk about who should live in this country and who should leave.”

Haji Mohd Anees, a businessman, who too had contributed to the release of the men, said, “Sahib yeh to hamara watan hai aur Hindu hamare bhai hain. Hum yahin paida huwey hai aur yahin khaak mein milengey” (This is our country, Hindus are our brothers. We were born here, we will be buried here and mix with the soil here.)

BR Maurya, superintendent of the Bareilly district jail, said, “The 15 inmates were charged with petty crimes. Some were arrested on apprehension of breach of peace. They were serving out sentences ranging from 6 months to 10 years. The majority of them had served out the full sentence, but could not pay the fine imposed on them by the court.”

(Agencies)

Only 1 in 4 Indian applicants will make it to Hajj this year

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india-hajj-pilgrims

Mumbai: Only one in four of Indian Muslims desiring to perform Hajj will be travelling to Saudi Arabia this year. The 20% reduction in Hajj quota ordered by the Saudi government is causing a huge backlog of pilgrims who want to perform the “once-in-a-lifetime” ritual.

Muslim leaders have demanded an increase in quota for India as the latest census data shows a rise in Muslim population (172.2 million or 14.23% of India’s population). The Saudi government allows one pilgrim per 1,000 Muslims in a country to go for the Haj.

The Haj Committee of India said around 3.83 lakh people applied for Haj 2015 but only 1.20 lakh pilgrims are travelling through the Haj Committee to Saudi Arabia to perform the rituals in the last week of this month. Around 36,000 are using private tour operators (PTOs) to fly to Saudi Arabia. “Since 2013, the Saudi government has cut 20% quota of pilgrims from every country as the expansion of the holy mosque in Mecca is underway and the administration wants fewer pilgrims there,” said Haj Committee CEO Ataur Rahman.

Muslim leaders want India’s ministry of external affairs to take up the issue with Saudi’s Haj ministry. “Thousands of Indian Muslims who fulfill criteria to go for the Haj are being denied it as the quota has reduced. The external affairs ministry must intervene and communicate this growing concern of Indian Muslims to the Saudi authorities,” said Congress MLA Amin Patel.

“We have told the external affairs ministry to look into the issue for the last few years. Haj is one of the pillars of Islam and performing it is mandatory for Muslims who can afford it. The government should take up the issue with the Saudi authorities and get our quota increased,” former minority department minister and MLA Arif Naseem Khan said.

(Agencies)

Kerala-based Muslim outfit launches campaign against IS, Al-Qaeda

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Kerala campaign against IS Al-Qaeda

Thiruvananthapuram: A Kerala-based Muslim outfit has launched an intensive campaign to wean away its youth from the influence of terror groups like Islamic State and Al Qaeda.

The campaign assumes significance in the wake of deportation of two Kerala youths by UAE for allegedly supporting IS ideology in the social media, after which state police had initiated a probe.

Kerala Nadvathul Muhjahideen, a progressive movement in the community, has embarked on an ambitious anti-terror and communal drive through meetings and awareness programmes.

“Our campaign is against the fundamental, communal and terror ideologies spreading among youths,” KDM Youth wing State President Abdul Majeed Swalahi said.

“We are getting good response for the campaign which began seven months ago,” he said.

Swalahi said pamphlets containing messages to counter the hate mongering of outfits like IS are also being used during the campaign.

He said the terrorist groups whether it be IS, al Qaeda or Boko Haram were using the name of Prophet Muhammed and distorting the glorified history of Islam.

“The focus of the campaign is based on the humanism in the teachings of Prophet Muhammed”, he added.

Majeed said youths were unknowingly falling prey to various propaganda of these terror outfits and ‘some of them get into trouble by reacting in the social media’.

Hence ‘we are creating an awareness among youths how vigilant they should be while sharing messages in the social media, especially in Facebook’, he said.

Swalahi alleged that both majority and minority fundamentalist groups were trying to indulge in communal polarisation through the social media.

(Agencies)

Muslim population growth slows in India, still faster than others

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New Delhi: India’s Muslim population is growing slower than it had in the previous decades, and its growth rate has slowed more sharply than that of the Hindu population, the census on religious groups released by the Central government has revealed. However, the Muslim share in India’s population has grown faster than that of other religions between 2001 and 2011.

The decadal Muslim rate of growth is the lowest it has ever been in India’s history, as it is for all religions.

The Muslim population still grows at a faster rate than the Hindu population, but the gap between the two growth rates is narrowing fast.

India in numbers

India now has 966.3 million Hindus, who make up 79.8 per cent of its population, and 172.2 million Muslims, who make up 14.23 per cent. Among the other minorities, Christians make up 2.3 per cent of the population and Sikhs 2.16 per cent.

The Registrar-General and Census Commissioner released the data on Population by Religious Communities of Census 2011 on Tuesday evening.

The distribution of data is of the total population by six major religious communities — Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Sikh, Buddhist and Jain — besides “Other religions and persuasions” and “Religion not stated”.

The data are released by sex and residence up to the levels of sub-districts and towns.

As has been the case since Independence, the rate of increase of the Muslim population is higher than that of the Hindu population as a result of higher Muslim fertility, higher child mortality among Hindus and a greater life expectancy among Muslims, demographers say. However, Muslim fertility rates in India are falling faster than among Hindus, Pew Research’s Future of World Religions report showed recently, and the Muslim community is expected to reach replacement levels of fertility by 2050.

Muslim sex ratio improves further

The data on Population by Religious Communities of Census 2011 show that between 2001 and 2011, Hindu population grew by 16.76 per cent, while that of Muslims by 24.6 per cent. The population of both communities grew faster during the previous decade, at 19.92 per cent and 29.52 per cent, respectively. As a long-term trend, say demographers, the communities’ growth rates are converging.

“This is completely along expected lines, and has been an ongoing process,” P. Arokiasamy, demographer and Professor at the International Institute of Population Sciences, Mumbai, told The Hindu. “With rising education and changing family expectations, declining fertility is an expected demographic phenomenon. It begins among better educated groups with better access to health care — as in India’s southern States — and then other groups catch up and converge,” Dr. Arokiasamy explained. In Kerala, for instance, the Muslim fertility rate (while higher than among the Hindus) is extremely low, especially compared with all communities in the northern States, he said.

The numbers show that the sex ratio among Muslims, already better than among Hindus, has further improved.

The sex ratio among Muslims now stands at 951 females for every 1,000 males, substantially better than 936 in 2001, while among Hindus, it is 939 females for every 1,000 males, a slight improvement over the 2001 value of 931. Assam remains the State with the largest Muslim population as a proportion (34.22 per cent) and saw the largest increase in the Muslim proportion between 2001 and 2011, followed by Uttarakhand and Kerala.

Growth rate

The growth rate of population in the decade 2001-2011 was 17.7%. The growth rate of population of the different religious communities in the same period was:

The Census data on religion comes after a significant delay; the 2001 Census data on religion was released in 2004 and the 2011 round results were expected in 2014. However, the numbers remained unreleased, even as a draft of the key data was selectively leaked earlier. The data comes in the backdrop of much fear-mongering over Muslims and their population, and RSS thinkers were quick to term the new data as proof of the end of Hindus, even while the numbers belie their claim.

(Agencies)

Muslim students forced to drink ‘Nilavembu’ during Ramadan in Trichy school

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Nilavembu

Chennai: A communal tension prevailed at Holy Redeemer Higher Secondary School in Trichy in Tamil Nadu on Tuesday after the teachers forced the Muslim students observing the Ramadan fast to drink nilavembu extract.

Nilavembu extract is provided to school children in Trichy as it will improve their immunity and protect them from diseases like dengue. It is an initiative of the Trichy City Corporation.

On Tuesday the management and teachers of Holy Redeemer reportedly asked the Muslim students to break their fast and consume Nilavembu in the school. When the Muslim students refused to drink, the teachers allegedly warned them and forced to drink the extract.

Following the incident, around 100 Muslim families assembled on the school campus and raised slogans at the management. The school is situated on the premises of a church and run by a Christian organization.

Soon some members of the Christian community reached the spot and shouted slogans against Muslims. As tension prevailed, police personnel were deployed in the area.

The issue was solved at a peace meeting attended by deputy commissioner of police Saroj Kumar Thakur, district Jamaat Organisation secretary Mohammed Sharif and school correspondent Fr Amalraj S, among others.

“We have given them assurance that the extract would not be administered to Muslim children during the fast period,” Fr Amalraj said.

FIR against Sadhvi Deva Thakur for sterilisation remarks

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Sadhvi Deva Thakur

Srinagar: An FIR has been registered against a Hindu Mahasabha leader for her controversial remarks that Muslims and Christians must undergo sterilisation to restrict their growing population.

The FIR was lodged against vice president of All India Hindu Mahasabha Sadhvi Deva Thakur at Sadder police station yesterday on the directions of Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) Srinagar V S Bhau.

The CJM had directed Station House Officer of the police station to register a case against the accused under relevant provisions on an application by former Secretary of Jamiat-e- Ahlihadeeth A R Bhat, seeking action against the Hindu leader.

An FIR has been lodged against Sadhvi for “promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony”, a police official said. He said she has been booked under section 153-A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, language) and 295-A (outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs) of the RPC.

Sadhvi had on April 12 said “the population of Muslims and Christians is growing day by day. To rein in this, the Centre will have to impose emergency, and Muslims and Christians will have to be forced to undergo sterilisation so that they can’t increase their numbers.”

She had also exhorted Hindus to have more children and increase their population so as to have an effect on the world. In another controversial remark, she had said idols of Hindu gods and goddesses should be placed in mosques and churches, while coming out strongly in support of installing a statue of “patriot” Nathuram Godse, the assassin of Mahatma Gandhi, in Haryana.

(PTI)

Woman denied home for being a Muslim

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Misbah Quadri

Mumbai: A 25-year-old woman professional was allegedly refused a flat by a builder as she belongs to the minority community, days after an MBA graduate was denied job by a diamond export firm on similar ground here.

An activist has taken up the matter with the National Commission for Minorities seeking a probe into the builder’s “discriminatory policy.”

Misbah Quadri, who works with a Public Relations agency, had been living in an apartment at Kandivali in the western suburbs of Mumbai since the time she shifted to the city from Gujarat a year back.

Recently, she tried to move to a flat in Wadala area but met with the shocking response from the builder of the apartment.

“After a lot of searching, I finally found a house at Wadala and paid a deposit of Rs 24,000 through a broker. A night before I was to move in, I got a call from the broker, warning me not to shift there as it is the builder’s policy to not have Muslim tenants. I tried to reason with him but he did not oblige,” Quadri told PTI.

She claimed that the broker asked her to sign a “no-objection certificate” declaring that if she faced any harassment from her neighbours because of her religion, the builder, the owner and the broker “would not be legally responsible.”

“I had to move into the flat though I did not agree with the terms because the notice period with my previous flat had expired and there was nowhere I could go. After a week, the broker called me again and asked me to leave. I had no option then but to leave the flat. Presently I am staying at a paying guest accommodation in Bandra,” she said.

Quadri claimed that when she approached the representative of the builder who has an office in the same building, she was told that it was a policy of theirs to not give homes on rent to Muslims.

“He also said that maybe 5-6 years down the line they may start renting flats to Muslims,” she said.

Meanwhile, activist Shehzad Poonawala, in a petition filed before the National Minorities Commission, has prayed that an inquiry be conducted into the allegation to ascertain whether the builder has a discriminatory policy against a religious community, which involves violation of the constitutional provisions.

He also sought legal action against the builder and the broker and urged the Commission to direct the Central government to call for a meeting of all stake-holders including real estate brokers, developers, state governments, activists, Home Ministry, Social Justice Ministry, Urban Housing Ministry and so on and issue strict legislative and statutory guidelines against discrimination of minorities.

Poonawala also suggested promulgation of a “Fair Housing Law” or guidelines on illegal discrimination against any community in matters concerning housing.

(PTI)

Agra Muslims who were lured to convert to Hinduism, revert to Islam

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Conversion_Agra

Meerut: A group of Muslims in Agra, who converted to Hinduism on Christmas last year became Muslim again on Friday.

About 17 members of ‘Nat’ community, an extremely backward community in Mahuar Lathiya village in Achnera block, who became Muslim, alleged that a Hindutva group leader had pressured them to become Hindu and had promised them a piece of land.

All those who reconverted belong to the same family and used to live in a settlement of fellow ‘Nat’ community on a public land.

Fifty-year-old Rahmat, the eldest of the group, told the media that Ali Mohammad had pressured the rest of the family members after the Hindutva leader had allegedly promised them a piece of land. After they had become Hindu last year, they faced boycott by their fellow community members.

They didn’t get invitation for marriages and other community functions of the closely knit Nat community in the village.

(Agencies)

No voting right if people do not go for family planning: Sakshi Maharaj

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Sakshi Maharaj

Unnao: Known for making controversial statements, BJP MP Sakshi Maharaj has demanded that a strict law for family planning be brought in for all to check population growth and those who do not follow it should be stripped of their voting right.

“When Hindus go for sterilisation, Muslims should also opt for it. There should be one law for everyone. There will be no appeasement of any section in our regime,” he said on the sidelines of a function here.

“I don’t say Muslims and Christians should be sterilised. But there should be family planning and a uniform law for all. When we talk of four-child issue, there is a lot of hue and cry, and when they have 40 children from four wives no one says anything,” the saffron-robed MP said last evening.

Stressing that population growth was a major challenge before the country, he said the issue has to be addressed through family planning.

“There should be family planning. When the country gained independence, the population was only 30 crore. Today it is 130 crore. Who is responsible for it?…There should be one law for everyone be it Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs or Christians.

“Whether for one, two, three or four kids… unless we have a common law for everyone, the country will not benefit…So both the government and the opposition should come together to bring a strict law and those who do not follow it should be stripped of their voting right,” the 59-year-old MP from Unnao said.

“You cannot discriminate between women of different communities,” he said.

His remarks come after Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut in an editorial demanded scrapping of voting rights of Muslims, saying they are used as vote bank.

“Balasaheb had once said withdraw Muslims voting rights. Owaisi brothers are doing politics of Muslim votes. They are threat to the nation,” wrote Raut in the party mouthpiece ‘Saamana’.

Asked about Raut’s statement, Sakshi Maharaj said he had not gone through his statement.

Sakshi was earlier at the centre of a controversy when he asked Hindu women to have at least four children, sparking condemnation from the opposition which alleged that the ruling party was trying to polarise the atmosphere.

BJP on its part had distanced itself from the remarks of Maharaj, who was also served a show cause notice, and urged its workers and public representatives to refrain from making such comments.

Sakshi had also drawn flak for describing Mahatma Gandhi’s assassin Nathuram Godse as a “patriot” and was forced to apologise in Parliament.

(PTI)

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