Archives for 2014

What Gujarat does today: Vibrant Gujarat – No place for Muslims ?

September 19, 2014 by Nasheman

How the enterprising Muslim business community is being systemically shut out of the Vibrant Gujarat. (AP photo)

– by Subhash Gatade

Hotelier Mustafa Patel from Gujarat- owner of Jyoti Hotel – is a very sad these days. His famous hotel– which used to lie on Viramgam highway, merely ninety minute drive from Ahmedabad, is now closed. Anyone who has travelled on that road would vouch about its quality preparations, all the employees who worked with him are in search of another job.

Undoubtedly, for Mr. Mustafa it was a very painful decision to close it, but there was no other option. It is being alleged that he was receiving threats from anti-social elements – many of whom had covert links with the ruling dispensation in the state- and despite court orders police refused to provide him protection. The only option for him was to get ready to face bullets or concede to their demand. He preferred the latter option, perhaps with a view that it will at least help save few innocent’s blood. His petition to the National Commission on Minorities makes it clear how the issue unfolded and how the police reacted to the developments.

Mustafa Patel’s case is not an exception. It includes several others who were similarly forced to go out of business within last one month. It includes Kasim Ahmed (scrap dealer), Ahmed Airf (minerals), Farooq Bhai (power production unit), Yakub Mohammad (mineral production), Saifudin Ali (power production), Ahmed Khoka (power), Shabir Bhai (mineral production), Majid Khan (power) and Harun Abdul Malajher (mines).

Muslim businesses like Jyoti Hotel, even if their name are safely secular, are being driven out of Gujarat. (Photo: Muslim Mirror)

One learns that recently the NCM wrote to the Gujarat government where business people/traders belonging to the minority community are intimidated/coerced to close their business. And the response by the state government was on expected lines. A senior minister in Ms. Anandiben Patel’s cabinet completely refuted the allegations and charged the complainants themselves.

In fact, it is not for the first time that the Commission had received complaints from traders belonging to minority community in Gujarat. Earlier it had received complaints from nine traders of Chota Udepur, Gujarat, wherein the complainants had provided details about the unholy nexus between communal elements at the grass-root level and the administration. A classic case was of Irfan Abdul Ghani who owned and managed luxury transport business in the area. His competitor – who also happened to be a Sarpanch of the village Baroj – Jayanti Rathwa, supposedly engineered a riot in the area to take away his business and was nearly successful. One also witnessed a communal clash in the region after a minor altercation between Adivasis and Muslims, minority industries were attacked in a concerted manner, police went there, FIRs were filed but nobody has been arrested till date.

One can say that any close watcher of the unfolding situation in Gujarat could have had a ‘premonition’ that ‘something of this nature’ would happen when the state government promised to look favourably towards the demands raised by Jain monks regarding Palitana. Palitana, near Bhavnagar, is considered a sacred place by the Jains, witnessed an agitation by them in July. The monks launched a hunger strike – threatening to fast unto death – demanding that non-vegetarian food – in which they include eggs as well – should not be permitted for sale or storage anywhere in Palitana. They also called for a ban on the ritual slaughter of animals and closing of an estimated 260 butchers’ shops.

Commenting on this issue Abdul Hafiz Lakhani reports how “Muslims are not allowed to do meat business and egg business in Palitana about 100 KM. from Bhavnagar” when “western diplomats and investors are making a beeline to seek favours from Gujarat, ”

It is difficult to say what will happen next?

Whether Mustafa Patel would be able to reopen his hotel? Whether the people in power would look into the complaints by traders and would direct police officials to nab the culprits?

It was only last month that Mr. Modi, talked of 10 year moratorium on communal and caste violence in his independence speech from Red Fort. Even if one limits oneself to Gujarat – his home state – one can gather the great hiatus between what he says and what the foot soldiers of the Hindutva brigade are doing on the ground. There are reports that Gujarat has of late witnessed many communal flareups with the change of power at the centre.

Subhash Gatade is the author of Pahad Se Uncha Aadmi (2010), Godse’s Children: Hindutva Terror in India,(2011) and The Saffron Condition: The Politics of Repression and Exclusion in Neoliberal India (2011). He is also the Convener of New Socialist Initiative.

A winter of discontent and devastation: Kashmiris unprepared for cold days ahead

September 19, 2014 by Nasheman

People wait on the roof of a house as a raft approaches to assist during floods in the outskirts of Srinagar. (Agence France-Presse Photo)

– by Parvati Tampi

Srinagar: Mushtaq Ahmed (see image), a 34-year-old father from Arigatnoo village in the Kashmir Valley’s Kulgam region, points towards a heap of rubble and heaves a deep sigh. Until last month, this was his home.

The deluge that followed the incessant rains in the Valley has washed away everything – homes, crops, fruit trees, schools – leaving a trail of devastation and taking over 200 lives, as per official estimates.

“I have no idea where to start from. All that remains is this rubble and I have no money to rebuild my home”, Mushtaq told IANS.

As winter slowly sets in, people of the Kashmir Valley are an anxious lot.

Relief efforts by government agencies, private and non profit bodies continue; however, given the conditions prevalent, this is proving to be more and more difficult.

Tanveer who is part of the emergency response team at the Srinagar office of ActionAid India, a humanitarian organisation providing relief to the affected people in the Valley, believes that the next couple of weeks will prove crucial for relief efforts as the temperature continues to dip.

“The temperature is already down to 7-8 degrees in the night. What we especially worry about are areas like downtown Srinagar, Mehjoor Nagar, Chatabal and Bemina which have a high population of poorer families, migrant labourers from other states and those working as drivers, shikara operators and the like, dependent on the tourism industry,” Tanveer told IANS.

These are the worst hit communities since they don’t have the capacity to bounce back and have lost their homes (rented or otherwise). For those who don’t have relatives or friends to stay with, there is the option of relief camps which have been set up. But most of them just want to go back to their homes.

During the day time, most go to check the condition of their homes and see whether they can start clearing the debris left by the flooding and resume living there, but are forced to return to a camp at night.

“What we are witnessing is a courageous populace reconciled to the fact that their lives were saved, that they had to move on and set up their homes in the face of a harsh winter which is just round the corner,” Tanveer noted.

In addition to their homes, most of the stocked foodgrain was washed away in the floods. Thus, the emphasis for all relief efforts is on shelter, livelihood rehabilitation and food security, amongst other issues. However, a big problem that relief organisations are facing is getting this relief material to the affected areas. Large quantities of relief material remain at the Delhi and Srinagar airports as transporting the material from Srinagar airport to various locations is proving difficult. Up to 5-7 feet of water is still present in many areas. This is posing a major hurdle to the movement of vehicles.

Winter usually sets in by November. This leaves a little over a month for homes to be restored in the Valley. For aid organisations, the main concern is that relief and rehabilitation work will become even more difficult in the extreme cold conditions that are expected then.

(Parvati Tampi is a freelance journalist. She can be contacted at parvati.tampi@gmail.com)

(IANS)

BJP-Shiv Sena alliance of 25 years on verge of collapse

September 19, 2014 by Nasheman

Mumbai: The 25-year-old alliance between the BJP and the Shiv Sena was on the verge of collapse Friday with both parties adopting a tough stance on the issue of seat-sharing for the Oct 15 state assembly elections, party officials said.

Both the warring partners are holding a series of crucial meetings during the day to take a final call on continuing the alliance.

“It’s on the verge of breaking – Only a formal announcement is awaited,” a senior state Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader, requesting anonymity, told IANS early Friday.

Similarly, a senior Shiv Sena functionary hinted to IANS that the alliance “is over”, but the party has decided to wait for further developments before declaring its stand.

However, a ray of hope emerged Friday morning for the feuding partners with union Minister Nitin Gadkari meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi over the issue.

Gadkari is expected to arrive in Mumbai Friday afternoon with a compromise formula intended to save the alliance.

The crux of the issue is primarily seat-sharing, besides projecting Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray as the next chief ministerial candidate.

The BJP is demanding both parties contest 135 seats each with the remaining 18 in the house of 288 being allotted to other smaller alliance partners.

The Shiv Sena’s latest offer is 119 seats to the BJP, including the share of the other smaller partners, which the BJP rejected outright.

There has also been no commitment from the BJP on who the next chief ministerial candidate will be or from which party.

After BJP president Amit Shah gave indications in his public rallies in the state Thursday that the “BJP will form the next government” without mentioning its allies, the party reportedly served a 24-hour ‘ultimatum’, which Shiv Sena dismissed late Thursday night.

The Shiv Sena also resolved after an emergency meeting that any final decision on the issue – to snap ties or to continue the alliance – would be left to Uddhav Thackeray’s discretion.

Both parties were fully prepared to start filing nominations of candidates from Saturday without finalising the contentious issue of seat-sharing between them.

The sharp tussle between the allies has suddenly changed the political scenario with optimism brewing in the ruling Congress-Nationalist Congress Party camps over their prospects in next month’s elections.

As the BJP-Shiv Sena remained at daggers drawn, smaller partners like the Republican Party of India (A) and Swabhimani Sanghatana squirmed with apprehensions over their fate and future if the matter remained unresolved or the alliance collapsed.

The leaders of the smaller partners have been making desperate attempts to persuade both Shiv Sena and the BJP leadership to work out a compromise solution to the crisis.

(IANS)

ISIS releases video of captive British photojournalist

September 19, 2014 by Nasheman

The Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) group released a video Thursday of a British freelance photojournalist, John Cantlie, in which he says he is being held captive.

In the video posted on YouTube, Cantlie, wearing an orange jumpsuit, speaks to the camera in the style of a news report and promises to reveal in a series of programs the “truth” about the jihadist group that has seized parts of Iraq and Syria.

There was no immediate threat to his life apparent in the video.

Cantlie, who had contributed to British newspapers including The Sunday Times and Sunday Telegraph, as well as to Agence France-Presse, said he was captured after travelling to Syria in November 2012.

He had previously been detained along with a Dutch photographer by extremists in Syria in July 2012 but was reportedly released after nine days.

It was not clear when the video was shot, but in it Cantlie referred to recent events including ISIS taking control of large parts of Iraq in June.

Speaking in English with Arabic subtitles, Cantlie says in the 3:21-minute video — titled “Lend Me Your Ears” — that he plans to reveal “the truth behind the systems and motivation of the Islamic State”.

(AFP)

Scarless procedure combines regenerative powers of ACell, PRP

September 18, 2014 by Nasheman

From L-R: Dr. Dinesh G Gowda, Dr. Prafulla, and Ms. Bani Anand of Hairline International Hair & Skin Clinics.

Bangalore: Hairline International, the city’s reputed hair and skin clinic and research centre, has now brought a first of its kind hair tranplant procedure to India called the ‘Scarless Hair Transplant with ACell Matrix’.

Launching this at a press conference here today, Ms. Bani Anand, Founder & Managing Director, Hairline International Hair & Skin Clinic said, “at Hairline we always strive hard for patient complaince in all our procesudres. The introduction of scarless hair transplant is another step towrads that. Scarless hair transplant is truly a breakthrough as far as hair transplant procedures are concerned. We realize that many of our patients hesitate to go in for a hair transplant because of potential scarring. With the scarless procedure, we will be able to address those concerns.”

Demonstrating a scarless hair transplant procedure through presentations, videos and dummy heads, Dr. Dinesh G Gowda, dermatosurgeon at Hairline International explained, “as against conventional hair transplant methodologies like strip harvesting which leave a liner scar on the back of the head or follicular transplant where small round punches leave marks on the scalp, scarless hair transplant, as the name suggests leaves little or no scar during the transplant.”

“At Hairline, we perform the scarless hair transplant with a combination of ACell Matrix and PRP. This helps in reducing scars to a significant extent. It stimulates growth of inactive hair that is hidden in the sclap and promotes the growth of the new follicles. This in turn increases the density of hair per sq cm. The greatest benefit is that the process is patient-friendly with no or limited side effetcs,” apprised Dr. Gowda.

The scarless hair transplant option is available for patients at all six Hairline centres in Bangalore and will be performed by able dermatosurgeons on board wiyth Hairline.

Speaking at the conference, Dr. Prafulla, dermatologist at Hairline said that cosmetic procedures like hair transplant have gained popularity in the last 2 to 3 years.

Young go Bald:

Citing a research conducted by Hairline’s Research centre, Dr. Prafulla said, “early age baldness seems to be afflicting young men and women these days. The research conducted by Hairline revealed that rapid hair loss now begins as early as 16 years of age in males and females. The reasons are a combination of genetic and lifestyle patterns.”

With hair loss being a common affliction, there is naturally a demand for hair transplant since it provides assured results with 958% succes rate. The past 2 years alone has seen a 40% growth in hair transplant procedures at Hairline.

“Hairline International has carried out over 2000 hair transplant procedures over the past 2-3 years. Out of these, 50% of patients are in the 21 to 30 year age group,” added Dr. Prafulla.

The combined power of ACell and PRP:

The combination of ACell and PRP is the key differentiating factor between scarless hair transplant and conventional hair transplant. The mix helps in stimulation of hidden follicles and promotes growth of new follicles.

ACell is ECM (Extra Cellular Matrix) which is a thin layer that surrounds all the cells in our organs and tissues. The basic functions of ACell are to provide:

Structural support as provided by collagen and elastin to the skin
Initiate communication, which is done through special protiens and harmones.

ACell is a regenerative medicine that is approved by the USFDA – the highest authoriyty internationally. It helps in wound healing and in the regrowth of damaged tissue during the process of follicular hair transplant.

IF ACell encounters a damaged part of the scalp, its acts as emergency medical team and immediately starts to clean and heal the area. It initiaties a converstaion with other cells in the body which it will organize together to help with the healing. ACell then works on creating new blood vessels and facilitaing the work of other cells in the healing process.

With ACell at the scene of damage, the focus shifts from the formation of scars to actually remodelling the tissue and regenerating it, bringinhg it back to its original form. This is done by triggering the adult stem cells that are present in the tissue.

PRP is Platelet Rich Plasma. In this procedure, a patient’s own blood is drawn and the platelets in it separated. PRP procedure has been internationally used for hair growth and cell generation.

Syria: 36 children die after receiving 'UN-sponsored contaminated Measles vaccine'

September 18, 2014 by Nasheman

A widespread vaccination programme is taking place in Syrian refugee camps(Reuters)

– by Ludovica Iaccino, International Business Times

At least 36 children have died after they received UN-sponsored tainted measles vaccines, according to reports.

Doctors of the clinics in rebel-held towns Jirjanaz and Maaret al-Nouman, in the north-western province of Idlib, said the children started feeling ill shortly after they received the vaccinations.

Parents accused the Syrian opposition – which controls Idlib – of negligence when storing thevaccines and of supplying out-of-date medications.

The Syrian opposition, however, denied the allegations and said the vaccines came from the UN and the World Health Organization (WHO), and could have been contaminated by people close to Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad.

“Primary investigations point to a limited security breach by vandals likely connected to the regime, which has been attempting to target the medical sector in Free Syria in order to spread chaos,” the opposition health ministry said in a statement.

Bashar Kayal, a health official, told Radio Hawa Smart, “The symptoms don’t just indicate spoiledvaccines – it suggests they’ve been contaminated.”

The vaccination programme was stopped immediately after the incident and blood samples have been sent to Turkey for further examinations.

Health minister Adnan Hazouri vowed to resign if an investigation on the children’s deaths upheld allegations of negligence.

Monther Khalil, head of the medical department in Idib, reassured the parents of children who have already been injected that they are out of danger.

“The vaccine is completely fine and there is no risk to children who have already been injected.

“We have already vaccinated 60,000 children against measles and there has been no previous problem. The same crews also previously carried out a polio campaign, where they vaccinated 252,000 children across seven rounds, and there were no abnormal complications.”

Idlib is held by moderate rebels opposed to Assad and to terror group Islamic State – formerly known as Isis.

The province was subjected to a fierce military campaign in 2014, after which rebels re-gained control of the area.

Last October, the UN announced that “millions of Syrian children” were to be vaccinated against measles, polio, mumps and rubella.

Due to the civil war, at least 200,000 children have not received vaccinations in Syria where, prior to the conflict, the rate of vaccination was of 95%.

Syria’s civil war, erupted in 2011, has caused more than 190,000 deaths and 6.5 million displaced people, many of whom are in need of urgent medical care.

BJP distances itself from 'love jihad' after bypoll setback

September 17, 2014 by Nasheman

New Delhi (IANS): Following electoral reverses in Uttar Pradesh, where it lost eight of 11 seats in the assembly bypolls, the Bharatiya Janata party Wednesday distanced itself from the “love jihad” campaign.

“As far as ‘love jihad’ is concerned, it may have been raised by a few local leaders but the BJP as a party has never endorsed it,” said BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra when IANS asked him whether the bypolls result indicated that people were disillusioned at the party deviating from its development plank for a campaign led by its MP Yogi Adityanath.

He said that “love jihad” was not a part of the Uttar Pradesh BJP’s resolution adopted in Vrindavan last month.

“The accusation by our opponents that we try to polarise votes as an election strategy was laid to rest in the Lok Sabha elections, when people emphatically rejected the claim that BJP is not a secular party and hence should not be voted to power,” Patra added.

The Congress, however, said the results indicated a “dramatic reversal” of people’s view on the BJP’s Hindutva ideology.

“It is a defeat of Yogi Adityanath’s brand of communal politics. ‘Love jihad’ is an insidious, orchestrated strategy to divide communities with the backing of the RSS. But the defeat of eight sitting BJP MLAs in Uttar Pradesh signals a dramatic reversal of people’s view on the Hindutva agenda persued by it,” Congress spokesperson Sanjay Jha told IANS.

In Uttar Pradesh, the BJP lost eight of the 11 seats which it had won with its ally Apna Dal in the 2012 assembly polls. Tuesday’s result was in stark contrast to the BJP’s victory in 71 of the 80 Lok Sabha constituencies in the general elections in May.

The Congress said the BJP’s repeated defeats in bypolls was a clear indication that “Modi wave” is over in only 100 days of the party’s government.

“It marks the end of the manufactured Modi wave. The susceptible downslide of the BJP is evident not just in yesterday’s (Sep 16) results but from the earlier results in Uttarakhand, Karnataka, Bihar, and Madhya Pradesh,” Jha asserted.

This is the third time the BJP has suffered reverses in bypolls since Narendra Modi came to power riding on the back of a massive mandate in the April-May Lok Sabha polls.

In the first round of the bypolls held in Uttarakhand after the general elections, the Congress had won all the three assembly seats, while in the second round of bypolls, the BJP had lost six of the 10 assembly seats in Bihar.

Gujarat, where Modi was the chief minister for about 13 years, too offered a jolt for the saffron party Tuesday, with Congress wresting three seats from the BJP.

Congress leader from the state Shaktisinh Gohil attributed it to Modi’s neglect of the farmers under a facade of “vibrant” Gujarat.

“Farmers are a neglected community in Gujarat. Their issues have always been neglected under a facade of vibrant Gujarat,” Gohil told IANS, adding that Modi’s 100 days in government showed he was not able to realise the dreams he sold to people.

Patra refuted the claim.

“Bypolls are fought on local issues and may not be seen as people’s reflection on the national discourse in politics,” he contended.

Xi Jinping arrives in Ahmedabad, begins 3-day India visit

September 17, 2014 by Nasheman

Ahmedabad (IANS): Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived here on a three-day visit to India during which trade and investment are likely to top the agenda of talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Xi, who flew down from Colombo, became the first world leader to begin an India visit from Gujarat.

A guard of honour was presented to Xi on the tarmac of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport of Ahmedabad by the women contingent of Gujarat Police.

A warm and traditional welcome was accorded to Xi who was accompanied by his wife Peng Liyuan and a high-level delegation.

Traditional “chaniya choli” wearing Gujarati women put a kesar-kumkum tilak and offered rice and flowers to Xi.

Airport sources told IANS that Xi flew into Ahmedabad in a Boeing 747 aircraft of Air China.

Governor O.P. Kohli and Chief Minister Anandiben Patel as well as senior officials from the central and state governments were present.

Due to the warm and sunny weather, attractive and decorated umbrellas were held over the first couple of China.

A troupe from the tribal belt of Gujarat presented a folk dance with traditional costumes and a Scottish Pipe Band from Shree Swaminarayan Gadi Sansthan, Maninagar, Ahmedabad also performed.

The president’s flight was delayed by 30 minutes, sources added.

On the road from the airport to the hotel in Vastrapur area, welcome hoardings in Mandarin, English and Gujarati were placed.

In a first, Modi will receive the Chinese president at a hotel here after which the two sides are to ink several agreements related to the region.

For the second leg of his India sojourn, Xi flies to New Delhi late Wednesday evening.

On Thursday, Modi and Xi would hold talks at Hyderabad House which would be followed by the signing of several agreements, including on infrastructure and railways, between the two sides.

Alan Henning: Al-Qaeda appealed to Isis to release British aid worker following kidnap

September 17, 2014 by Nasheman

Representatives of rival groups held summit in Syrian town to decide fate of captive Briton

– by Tom Harper, The Independent

Al-Qaeda appealed to Isis to release the British hostage Alan Henning because it believed he was an innocent aid worker who was genuinely trying to help suffering Muslims, it can be revealed.

In evidence that the depravity exhibited by Isis is now repelling Muslims of all views and backgrounds, even the terrorist group behind the 11 September attacks on the US in 2001 decided that kidnapping the aid-convoy volunteer was a step too far.

Mr Henning, a taxi driver from Eccles, Salford, was so moved by the plight of Muslims in Syria that he decided to miss last Christmas with his wife and two children and travel 4,000 miles to deliver medical equipment to refugees holed up in the town of Al-Dana. A local commander – or emir – of Jabhat al-Nusra, the al-Qaeda affiliate in Syria, visited his then-allies in Isis four days after Mr Henning, 47, was captured. The emir confronted the kidnappers, arguing that their actions were “wrong under Islamic law” and “counter-productive”, according to a journalist who interviewed the man immediately after the encounter.

The world has looked on in disbelief in recent weeks as fighters from Isis, also known as Islamic State, have beheaded three Western journalists and aid workers, including a Briton, David Haines. In a video posted online on Saturday night, Isis warned that Mr Henning would be next.

Today, the Foreign Secretary, Philip Hammond, admitted that special forces were struggling to mount a rescue mission because intelligence chiefs did not know exactly where Mr Henning was being held.

Bilal Abdul Kareem, a US film-maker who has reported extensively from Syria, told The Independent that “anybody of any influence” – including al-Qaeda – had appealed to the Sunni militant group when it seized Mr Henning in December, warning that such a move would backfire. He said: “Four days after he was captured, the emir went to Al-Dana and said: ‘Look, what you are doing is wrong. You have no business what you are doing. You have no right to abduct him. You have no reason to detain him just because he is not Muslim’.”

Alan Henning at a refugee camp on the Syrian-Turkish border

Mr Henning was the only non-Muslim in a group of volunteers from a UK-based Islamic charity, which organised a convoy of old ambulances to transport medical supplies to Al-Dana, a few miles from the Turkish border. He was abducted on Boxing Day last year.

Mr Kareem said: “I spoke to the emir from Jabhat al-Nusra after he came back. Initially, he was confident that Henning would be released because that is what Isis was saying. But then Henning was removed from his prison in Al-Dana and never heard of again.”

News of Al-Qaeda’s attempt to save Mr Henning echoes reports that the terror group once led by Osama bin Laden passionately disagrees with the direction taken by Isis, which has quickly taken control of an area the size of Great Britain inside Syria and Iraq.

Professor Peter Neumann, the director of the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation, based at King’s College London, said: “Al-Qaeda has been critical of Isis in recent months. It understands how its behaviour will be perceived by the Western public. Although the two groups’ underlying ideology is still very similar, Al-Qaeda is much more strategic. For example, it is not opposed to beheadings but realises it makes no sense to carry them out in the way that Isis does because this tactic will lose them a lot of friends.”

Dr Afzal Ashraf, a consultant at the Royal United Services Institute, who holds a doctorate in terrorist ideology, said: “The murders of these innocent Western hostages, and the latest threats made against Alan Henning, just go to show how completely incomprehensible Isis’s strategy is. It is absurd and Al-Qaeda realises such behaviour will turn potential recruits away.”

Philip Hammond, the Foreign Secretary, admitted that special forces were struggling to mount a rescue mission because intelligence chiefs did not know exactly where Mr Henning was being held (AFP)

On his internet blog, Mr Kareem provided more details of the discord among Islamist extremists over the abduction of Mr Henning. “Isis said that he was suspected to be a spy,” he wrote. “The Muslims on the convoy asked for proof as they regarded this as a totally ridiculous claim. Isis cited that they could not believe that a white Christian would want to come to Syria at this time, except that he was a spy.

“The Isis commander then showed them Henning’s passport and said that this was the proof, [saying]: ‘There is a secret chip inside. This is so that the intelligence service can continue tracking him.’ One of the other Muslims from the convoy said: ‘All of the passports from the UK are like that!’, showing him his UK passport.

“The other Muslims on the convoy told them that this man had given up Christmas with his family to come to help save the people that Isis said it was trying to save.”

Later, Mr Kareem claimed that Isis was confronted by rival groups, which implored it to release Mr Henning. “Isis said that he was to remain their prisoner and they would ransom him for something. ‘Why?’ they were asked. They said: ‘We will trade him for someone in the UK prison system.’ The other Muslims told him this was not Islamically correct and they had no charge against him.

“One of the aid workers told them that the people rely on these convoys and actions like these would create problems for their efforts in helping the Syrian people. The Isis commander replied: ‘We don’t need convoys – we have Allah’.”

Meanwhile, Mr Haines’s teenage daughter, Bethany, posted a message on Facebook, saying she had been “touched” by the support she had received from the public following his murder.

Bypoll results a shock: Shiv Sena

September 17, 2014 by Nasheman

Mumbai (IANS): The Shiv Sena Wednesday described the Sep 13 bypoll results as an “unexpected shock and surprise” and said there are lessons to be learnt from it for the forthcoming Maharashtra assembly elections.

“Don’t take the voters for granted… They are very intelligent. Keep your feet on the ground and don’t indulge in sword-fights from the air… Otherwise, the people will skin you,” the party said in an oblique reference to ally Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in an edit in the party organ ‘Saamana’.

The edit came a day after the BJP suffered a setback in Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan bypolls.

“This was entirely unexpected, a shock and a surprise for all,” said the editorial.

The Sena said that for the second time in two months, first in Bihar and now in Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and Rajasthan, the BJP has suffered shocking reverses, and the surprise beneficiaries have been the Congress and the Samajwadi Party.

“It is a mystery – the voters’ mind,” the edit admitted.

In the Lok Sabha polls last May, the BJP secured 71 seats in Uttar Pradesh for which credit went to Amit Shah, who later took over as the party president. But the results of the recent bypolls tell a different story.

Even in Rajasthan, where the Congress was completely buried, it is now sprouting as it managed to grab three assembly seats “in Modi’s Gujarat, which was entirely unexpected”, the editorial said.

In fact, in Uttar Pradesh, the much-discussed issue of ‘love-jihad’ raked up by Yogi Adityanath had no impact and instead offered an opportunity to the SP to revive itself after the Lok Sabha debacle.

Nevertheless, ‘Saamana’ said the defeat in the bypolls cannot be attributed to a decline in the “Modi wave” just as nobody is crediting Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi or Rahul Gandhi for the victory the Congress notched.

“Usually, after every election, the winds change… Lok Sabha results cannot influence assembly outcome or the assembly results have no bearing on municipal polls outcome as the issues differ each time,” it said.

It lauded Modi for doing a great job on the national and international levels and working to enhance national security and improving the country’s image globally.

“He went to Japan, Bhutan, Nepal… played drums and flute with Japanese children, signed agreements for a bullet trains and development of his constituency Varanasi, and is now preparing to meet US President B. Obama,” the edit said.

What Gujarat does today: Vibrant Gujarat – No place for Muslims ?

A winter of discontent and devastation: Kashmiris unprepared for cold days ahead

BJP-Shiv Sena alliance of 25 years on verge of collapse

ISIS releases video of captive British photojournalist

Scarless procedure combines regenerative powers of ACell, PRP

Syria: 36 children die after receiving 'UN-sponsored contaminated Measles vaccine'

BJP distances itself from 'love jihad' after bypoll setback

Xi Jinping arrives in Ahmedabad, begins 3-day India visit

Alan Henning: Al-Qaeda appealed to Isis to release British aid worker following kidnap

Bypoll results a shock: Shiv Sena

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