Happy Independence Day

As we are in Pursuit of celebrating 64 years of Independence from British Empire, a thorough introspection is required to see whether we should really celebrate it!!!

Today when you go to elite or a middle man they will talk about India's progress in various sectors and the emergence of India as a powerful nation who can compete with any other nation in the world in fields of Space Research, missile technology, softwares, skilled manpower, medical services,media, telecom, Engeering solutions,and so forth so on...the list is endless...

But go to the poor or common man and there Reality Bites!!! When we have progressed so much in these sectors then why the poor and common man are still suffering..the answer lies within the corrupt system of our beloved country...

Mahatama Gandhi once said that "I would go to the length of giving the whole congress a decent burial, rather than put up with the corruption that is rampant."

This outburst of Mahatma Gandhi was against rampant corruption in Congress ministries formed under 1935 Act in six states in the year 1937. His Followers and so called nationalists ignored his concern over corruption in post-Independence India, when they came to power. Over Sixty years of democratic rule has made the common man so immune to corruption that they have learnt how to live with the system even though the cancerous growth of this malady may finally kill it.

The history of corruption in post-Independence India starts with the Jeep scandal in 1948, when a transaction concerning purchase of jeeps for the army needed for Kashmir operation was entered into by V.K.Krishna Menon, the then High Commissioner for India in London with a foreign firm without observing normal procedure. But like always he has been given a clean chit and has been inducted into the Nehru cabinet as minister without portfolio.

In 1950, A.D.Gorwala, an eminent civil servant was asked by Government of India to recommend improvements in the system of governance. In his report submitted in 1951 he made two observations: “One, quite a few of Nehru's ministers were corrupt and this was common knowledge. Two, even a highly responsible civil servant in an official report as early as 1951 maintained that the Government went out of its way to shield its ministers” (Report on Public Administration, Planning Commission, Government of India 1951)

Other Well Known corruption cases which surfaced post indepence are Mudgal case (1951), Mundra deals (1957-58), Malaviya-Sirajuddin scandal (1963), and Pratap Singh Kairon case (1963),Fairfax, HBJ Pipeline,HDW Submarine deal,Bofors,Rs.2500 crore -Airbus A-320 deal with France involving kickback (1990), Harshad Mehta security scam (1992), Gold Star Steel and Alloys controversy (1992), JMM bribery case, Hawala scam of Rs. 65 crore,Urea scam (1996),.....list is really long and recently Commonwealth Games corruption case is making continous headlines........But the biggest question is that what our Government is doing to check such cases...the answer is pathethic " Nothing", apart from sacking few scape goats, the big fishes always gets a blessing hand on their head and they walk away scott free....Leaders like Laloo Prasad Yadav, Jayalalitha, George Fernandes, Bangaru Lakshman, Sukhram, Sharad Pawar, Suresh Kalmadi, Mayawati, Late Narsimha Rao, D Raja, George Fernandes...they all have been involved into corruption cases but they are still enjoying their lives despite of eating billions or trillions of Tax payers money ..and the most important thing is that these leaders represents almost all the main national parties.

The on going war cry against corruption, which is nothing but a mad fight to replace one corrupt system by another is not going to transform the beleaguered nation to a sustainable social order.

Criminalisation of politics is another facet of corruption. N.N.Vohra, Union Home Secretary in his report (1995) on this issue observed:- “A network of mafias is virtually running a parallel Government pushing the state apparatus into irrelevance. Quoting some ‘DIB’ sources, he added, “….there has been a rapid spread and growth of criminal gangs, armed senas, drug mafias, smuggling gangs and economic lobbies in the country, which have over the years developed an intensive network of contacts with bureaucrats, government functionaries at local level, politicians, media persons and strategically located individuals in non-state sector. Some of these syndicates have also international linkages including the foreign agencies.”

Corruption is just one of the many Evils which a common man is facing today, corruption has lead to bribery and the biggest of all is the beaurecracy itself, though it has been considered as a bane throughout the world but still it is being practised so religiously in our country that a common man gets entangled into the web of it and the only way to come out of it is to resort to bribery and became a member of the corrup system.

Another evil which emerged since independence was communalism as so many people lost their lives to this demon. Communal riots spread due to many factors ranging from political interests, economic factors, Hindutva & Radical Islamic Groups...etc..

Major Communal riots which took place post Independence are Kota ( 1953,1956), Jabalpur ( 1961), Rourkela, Calcutta, Jamshedpur (1964),Hatia,ranchi( 1967),Karimganj, Assam ( 1968), Ahmadabad ( 1969), Bhiwandi, Jalgaon, Mahad, Maharashtra( 1970), Nonari & Sajni, UP ( 1972), Varanasi ( 1977), Sambhal & Aligarh, Up & Hyderabad, AP ( 1978), Jamshedpur, Bihar ( 1979), Moradabad ( 1980), Biharsharif ( 1981), Meerut ( 1982), Baroda ( 1982),Hazaribagh, Malegaon & Hyderabad ( 1983), Bhiwandi ( 1984), Delhi (1984),Ahmedabad ( 1985,86),Meerut( 1987), Indore ( 1989),Kota ( 1989), Bhadrak, Orrissa ( 1989), Gujrat ( 1990,1991, More than 1400 Communal incidents happened during this period in Gujrat alone), Jaipur, Jodhpur, Lucknow, Kanpur, Agra, Delhi, Hailakandi in Assam, beawar in Maharashtra ( 1990), Bhagalpur ( 1990), Patna, Indore, Hyderabad,Karnataka ( 1990), Benares ( 1991), Sitamarhi, Surat, Mumbai (1992), Bhopal ( 1992), Madras ( 1995), Gujrat ( 2002),Solapur (2002), Malegaon (2005,2009).....list seems to be endless....

Is this we wanted out of our Independence??????????

Between 1995 and 2005 over 150,000 farmer suicides were reported in India and the number grows at a disturbing rate of 10,000 per year ( BBC 2008).....Desperate indebtness was found to be the prime reason behind most of the suicides, deeper analysis though revealed that indebtness was merely a symptom. The suicides were a manifestation of growing distress in Indian Agriculture. Stagnant Technology, rising input prices, weakning support systems and declining profitability have all made cultivation a highly risky and un-remunerative enterprise, threatning the lively hood of farmers,particularly the small and marginal ones. Green revolution in India only benefitted the rich peasants whereas the poor farmers suffered all the times...

Is this we wanted to happen In Independent India...

These are just few factors which are frustating a common man...!!!

This is certainly not a dream seen by our selfless freedom fighters and this is not what they wanted to give a common Indian....

I Hope and Pray that some sense will prevail and we will curb all these evils with the course of time!!!

Happy Independence Day to ALL!!!

Steps to make AMU the number 1 University in India

Recently AMU has been ranked among the top 10 Universities in India.

To rank within the first top ten is itself a big achievement, now since we have reached here so the next step is to eye the top spot...first of all let’s look into the ingredients require to make our great institution, the number one in India...

• Providing Students and Teachers, the cutting edge technology in various fields by sending them to globally well equipped institutions and calling in more competent visiting faculties.


• Building a world class laboratory with advanced equipments to attract more research opportunities.


• Conducting a performance appraisal of all the teachers, professors and lecturers as per international standards and arrange the trainings for those who requires it.


• International teaching & communication skills should be implemented to gain the competitive edge.


• Students should be encouraged to participate in more research works & innovative ideas should be welcomed and provided enough material to execute.


• Creating a sense of security and belonging among the students and teachers alike so that they can associate themselves with the institution more strongly.


• Building a Central placement Unit to attract big companies for campus placement.


• Ensuring that all the residence halls are having all the basic amenities required, providing a quality living for the students moreover equip each hall with its own reading room big enough to accommodate at least 200 students at a time, common rooms & playing area should be well maintained.


• Check the advances of Student, teacher & non teaching staff mafia, who create all the disturbances and tarnish the image of this great institution for their own selfish motives.


• Provide teachers and students with changing trends of education and incorporating the new and advance teaching trends at all levels.


• Maintaining a quality Career guidance cell, to prepare students of final years for their professional career.


• All the alumni associations across the globe should come forward towards the development of the institution by taking one major task at a time and completing it, I am sure that if all the associations gather under one umbrella and do a job at a time, then we can do methodical and systematic service to our Alma matter, which will certainly benefit AMU in long run.


• Constructive criticism should be encouraged rather than personal criticism.


• All the factions & groups working for the institution should not point finger on the working of other group rather it should appreciate such step and contribute in it too.

These are few points which can give a much needed push towards number one Position, I am sure there are many other points which can be discussed and implemented.

Sir Syed Ahmed Khan: A Great Muslim Reformer

October 17th reminds us of a great Muslim reformer, educationist and a legendary figure, Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, who was born on this date in 1817 in Delhi.

Aligarh Muslim University which became a symbol of Muslim quest towards modern education was the brain-child of this great personality.

Born in a noble family of Mughal empire, Sir Syed was more in influence of her mother than his father. His mother Aziz un Nisa took great interest in the education and upbringing of Sir Syed and her rigid discipline and supervision guided him in his character formation.

The death of his father in 1838 left the family in difficulties. Thus young Syed Ahmad was compelled at the early age of 21 to look for a career. He entered the service of the East India Company. He started his career as Sarishtedar in a court of law. He became Naib Munshi in 1839 and Munshi in 1841. In 1858 he was promoted and appointed as Sadar-us-Sadur at Muradabad.

While working as a Jurist he developed an interest toward writing and he published a series of treatises in Urdu on religious subjects in 1842. Though it was his book Athar Assanadid (Great Monuments) which won him a national fame and he was being considered as a cultural scholar. His other Literary works include Jila-ul-qulub bi -Zikr-il Mahbub, Tuhfa-i-Hasan,Tahsil-fi-jar-e-Saqil, Namiqa dar bayan masala tasawwur-i-Shaikh, Silsilat ul-Mulk, Asbab-e-Bhaghawath-e-Hind (The Causes of the Indian Mutiny), Loyal Muhammadans of India, Tabyin-ul-Kalam, A Series of Essays on the Life of Muhammad and Subjects Subsidiary Therein. Apart from that he also wrote a commentary on Bible and Quran.

There were many inspirations which were the binding force behind his many literary works, like the commentary on Bible was written by him suggesting that Christianity is the closest religion to Islam in terms of culture and traditions, also Asbab-i-Bhagawat-i-Hind was inspired by the unethical expansion of British colonial rule and the massacre of Indian mass in the aftermath of 1857 mutiny by the Britishers.

During 1850’s Sir Syed Ahmad Khan began developing a strong passion for education. He thrived hard to inject the western style of education among the Indian masses and worked throughout his life to achieve this goal, he was against the traditional dogma and religious orthodoxy which were the influential themes among the Muslims at that time. He was criticized by many religious zealots at that time and even been termed as kafir for his efforts.

Committed to working for the upliftment of Muslims, Sir Syed founded a modern madrassa in Moradabad in 1859; this was one of the first religious schools to impart scientific education. He established another modern school in Ghazipur in 1863. Upon his transfer to Aligarh in 1864, he founded the Scientific Society of Aligarh which were on the lines of Royal society and Royal Asiatic society. He enrolled many renowned personalities across India in this society and held annual meetings of the same which in turn decide about the allocation of fund for educational causes across India. He published two journals also, Aligarh Institute Gazzette and Tehzeeb-ul Ikhlaq. Tehzeeb-ul-Ikhlaq succeeded in infusing a desire among Muslims towards acquiring modern Education and it also gave Muslims a new social and political thought.

Sir Syed Ahmad Khan also advocated Muslims against joining the political parties without getting the parity in Education with the Hindus.

On May 24th 1875 Sir Syed Ahmad Khan laid the foundation of Muhammadan Anglo Oriental college in Aligarh with an aim of having a Muslim Cambridge University. MAO attracted a large student body, mainly drawn from the Muslim gentry and middle classes. The curriculum at the college involved scientific and Western subjects, as well as Oriental subjects and religious education. The first Chancellor of the college was Sultan Jahan Begum, a prominent Muslim noblewoman, and Sir Syed invited an Englishman, Theodore Beck, to serve as the first college principal. The college was originally affiliated with Calcutta University but was transferred to the Allahabad University in 1885. Near the turn of the 20th century, it began publishing its own magazine and established a law school. In 1920, the college was transformed into Aligarh Muslim University, after 22 years of Sir Syed’s death.

Tilll his death on 27th March 1898, Sir Syed strive towards the upliftment of Modern education among the Indian masses and his efforts have successfully broken the shackles of religious orthodoxy and traditional dogma of Indian Muslims and encouraged them to attain a more successful and respected life style by adopting the modern and scientific education.

He was buried besides Sir Syed Masjid inside the campus of the Aligarh Muslim University.

Religion: A Path to Unity or Division

In my recent Visit to India I happened to meet some of my old friends & we had a very lengthy discussion on Religion,there were Muslims,Christians & Hindus among us ,in the end we derived a common phenomenon that every religion leads to One & only one God & there is no difference as far as divine faith is concerned, the only difference we have among us is of ideologies and our way of beliefs. All religions regardless of any following accepts that we are descendants of Adam & Eve, every Religion says that there is one supreme power who has no shape, voice or presence in mortal format and HE is omnipresent i.e GOD.We all believe that God has sent messengers in this world from time to time to guide his creatures , we call them as Prophets( Muslims & Christians) & Hindus called them as Devtas.We all have created the homes of God to worship HIM, be it Temple, Mosque, Church or Gurudwara, but all these homes are infact directing us towards one GOD, although here there is a slight difference, when a Muslim go to a mosque he prays to Allah and ask for his forgiveness and ask for favors by giving the wasila of Prophets & infallible, when a Christian goes to a church he does the same in the name of Jesus and Hindu does the same in the name of Ram or Krishna.
Everyone has got a medium to reach to one Supreme God .
Its not a fault of a person to born in a Hindu or a Christian Family because its God’s will that a person is born under some religious umbrella , then why we are bifurcating him in the name of religion, who are we to give him a religious identity, why dont we just consider him a normal human being like us.
Today if a Hindu help us in some way or other then we start praising him and when some other Hindu do something wrong we immediately start cursing his religion rather than saying bad to him. why such a discrimination & this holds good for all the religions.
There are many terrorists activities happening across the globe where members of one community are killing the members of same community, like in India you may find the frequent attacks by Ranbir sena and Marxists against each other in Bihar, Naxalites in Andhra, parts of UP , Ulfa in Assam……… and many more, also you may find Terrorist organizations like Al Qaeda , Sipah Sahaba,Tehreeke Jaafariya,Sadr Militia and all they all are killing Muslims while being Muslims themselves, here in these cases we divide ourselves on sectarian lines rather than religious lines, so you can make out that this division is not only between Hindus and Muslims it is even between among different sects of Hindus and different sects of Muslims. Witness yourselves that how much we are divided.
Its hard to find a Hindu in India who doesn't have at least one Muslim friend and a Muslim who doesn't have one Hindu friend , but when it comes down to support we always support on religious lines rather than supporting right and criticizing the wrong, here I am talking about a general mood which is prevalent in our society, also we even go deep by supporting on regional grounds as well.
Here at least on this blog I have noticed one thing that almost every member comes out openly against wrong and if one support the wrong then upon giving logics he start reasoning, so I can at least say that all is not lost yet and we are moving in right direction.
I wish and hope that we will grow more mature with time and follow only one religion and that is the religion of Humanity which is the first basis of every religion.
It easily reflects that God never wanted any discrimination among his followers, its we those who have created differences on religious lines.
I personally belief that every human being born on this earth has got an intelligentsia quotient, to derive what is wrong and what is right & everyone has got a right to follow what he is following , we should not hate or love a person because of his religious background, rather we should love a person because of he being one among us, a creation of GOD.

Upbringing of Children in Today's competitive World!!!

Today’s world is a world of competition and there is cut throat competition in every sphere of life. The theory of “SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST” applies to each and every walk of the society. A question that arises in our mind is how to bring up our children in order to face competitive world and emerge successful. Let us first analyze the mindset of parents. Normally parents start educating their children by the age of two or three, as it is a common thinking that by this age only a child is going to be in a position of understanding the things. But here lies the problem because we are underestimating the capabilities and skills of a child. There are certain skills which start developing in a child right from his birth but since those skills are not properly nourished, they start decaying and by the time a child attains the age of two, those skills are already on the verge of being vanished.
There are many skills which are very important to be taken care of right from the beginning. Let us discuss a few of them here:

• Listening and concentration skills.
• Manipulative skills.
• Skills of color, texture & time
• Social skills

Now, these skills play a very crucial role in a development of a child. Like most of you must have noticed that a child start operating a TV from a remote control without getting any guidance from any member of the family. This is an example of concentration skill because a child is very imitative by nature and he use to imitate almost each and every action of his closed ones, so just by watching others he also learns how to operate a TV through a remote control. Likewise you must have noticed that children who are brought up in an environment where luxuries of life are available right from the beginning, they use to adopt the environment and start behaving in that manner only, these are only few examples to put, but there are many. Now if in a home an educational environment persists then the child tend to have a positive attitude for education right from the beginning, because first two years of child are very important, the skills which you can develop in a child by that age are going to be his asset for his lifetime. It is very important to provide the essential educational materials to the kids in that age. Few educational programs are being developed by various companies to meet those requirement of early education of children. Strong foundation is very essential for anything to face all the obstacles, likewise early education is a strong foundation for a child to face all the hardships in life and prepare him to face this competitive world. Like we need food in order to be healthy and maintain our energy levels, likewise the food to the brain of a child in his early years, are books, which works as a proper nourishment to the brain.
Another problem which many parents face is the problem of answering each and every question of children, by nature children are very curious and they use to ask lots of questions in a day, sometimes parents use to answer them accurately, sometime they just pass on the information whatever they have without checking the accuracy and sometimes they totally ignore these questions. Now the end loser in all these circumstances is only the child because if he is not getting proper answer to his questions, his curiosity start decreasing and that leads to the total alienation of child towards studies. The best time to answer the questions asked by children is when they ask them and most important is to answer them accurately. If we will provide them the wrong information it will ruin their prospects of getting the best education. Now we are not super human beings that we know all the answers to the question put by the children so we have to have the books which contains all the information about everything like encyclopedias or other books which contains the questions which a child normally asks and their answers.
These are few steps if we take then believe me we will be able to lay a strong foundation for the best education for our children and it will help them in overcoming each and every problem in their life. These steps will build up their confidence and develop a feeling of staying ahead in each and every sphere of life.

Divisions and Differences

Yeh Firqon me bata Chaand,
Yeh tera Chaand, Yeh Mera Chaand.
Friends,
As Eid is approaching which is indeed a great festival for all of us to celebrate. A festival which symbolizes the feeling of Brotherhood and togetherness. But I am in a dilemma whether there is going to One EID this time or again we will be having two or three EIDS.
Unfortunately, today we are so divided that we have totally forgotten the real essence of Islam which preaches Brotherhood and Unity at all levels.
If we go by the times of our Prophet and His companions we witness that although there were difference in opinions among them on various issues but they were not divided on religious lines. Having “differences in opinion” is one thing and “division” is another thing. Unfortunately we distinguish ourselves into various sects and divided us by following different companions of Prophets who were undivided throughout their lives. If we can’t call it as an irony then what is it?
Going through the examples set aside by the Prophet himself and his companions we see that there was a bond between them which was so strong that they were one under one unified banner of Islam without any prejudice and malice towards each other, but their so called followers, hurled abuses and bad words to each other on the virtue of being right .
Today our all energies are involved in proving ourselves right and others wrong which is a misfortune for the whole Ummah of Prophet Mohammad (SWAS).
For me today one Shahadah, La Ilaha Ill AlLah , Muhammad ur Rasool Allah, is more strong than the division based on our own thoughts.
Let us pledge on the auspicious occasion of Eid that we will denounce such forces with strong hand who are trying hard to create a rift between us and give them a befitting reply by recognizing ourselves as “Muslims” rather than Shias, Sunnis, Ismailis, Wahhabis, Deobandis, Zaidis, Barelvis and others.
Let Allah Guide us to the right path and give us enough strength to fight the fitna which has divided us over the Years (Ameen)
Some thoughts Crossed my mind regarding the Moon sighting and I have penned down few couplets which purely reflects my thinking.
I am not a Shayar so this poetry of mine would not be technically correct but it is only a reflection of my thoughts.
Yeh Firqon me bata Chaand,
Yeh tera Chaand, Yeh Mera Chaand.
Kitne Hain aapas ke Ikhtelaaf,
Ek hone per bhi hain Bahatar Chaand.
Hain sab kehne ko Musalmaan,
Phir Kyon hai yeh Shia Chaand,Yeh Sunni Chaand.
Ahmed Mursal ko na tha Yaqeen,
Phir yoon batega tukroon me Chaand.
Kyon Bikhar gaye hum is Chaand ki Khatir,
Allah ka tha tou bas Ek hi Chaand.
Asli Eid hogi us Din Kamyaab,
Jab hoga sabka Ek hi Chaand.
Eid Mubarak to all of you!!!!