Indian Press on Tablighi Acquittal, Ertugrul Ghazi and India-Pakistan War: New Age Islam's Selection, 18 December 2020
By
New Age Islam Edit Desk
18 December
2020
• Justice, Again: Tablighi Acquittal
The Telegraph Editorial
• Imran Khan’s Ertugrul Love Was Going Well. Until A Pakistani Tiktoker
Joined The Party
By Naila Inayat
• Calling Bangladesh!
The Daily Pioneer Editorial
• 49 Years Later, Lessons That Remain To Be Learnt From 1971
India-Pakistan War
The Print Team
• Noor Ahmad: A Real Community Leader
By Hameedah Nayeem
----
Justice, Again: Tablighi Acquittal
The
Telegraph Editorial
18.12.20
Years ago,
India’s premier investigating agency had earned the epithet, ‘caged parrot’,
from the highest court of the land. The Central Bureau of Investigation,
evidently, is not short of company inside this metaphorical enclosure. While
acquitting 36 foreigners who had been accused of flouting Covid-19 protocols
while ‘participating’ in a religious congregation organized by the Tablighi
Jamaat in March, a metropolitan court in Delhi not only criticized the failure
of the prosecution to prove that the accused were present at the said event but
also — in a most damaging observation — acknowledged the possibility of the
police picking up these individuals with the malicious intention of implicating
them under the directions of the Union home ministry.
The strings
that make India’s investigation agencies dance seem to have bobbed up to the
surface, yet again. Incidentally, in August, charges had been dropped against
eight other accused after the court found ‘no prima facie evidence’ against
them either: they are among those who had — courageously — agreed to stand
trial in India after 900 other foreign delegates opted to plead guilty as part
of a plea bargain.
These
acquittals are important because they expose the hollowness of the campaign
that had been directed against the Tablighi Jamaat and, by extension, India’s
Muslims who, the propaganda alleged, were instrumental in the spread of the
contagion in India.
Perhaps the
smear campaign had been necessitated to conceal the bungling of the authorities
in the first place. The assembly had been allowed to take place even though
there was evidence that the pandemic was surging around the world and in India.
Some of the participants hailed from nations with rising Covid burdens but
their screening was lax. The investigators seem to have taken their cue from
their political masters, some of whom played a crucial role in fanning the
communal fire, describing members of the Jamaat as ‘terrorists’ and ‘human
bombs’.
The
consequences were ugly: the disparaging comments worsened the strain on India’s
inclusive social fabric and magnified the sufferings of minorities. It was the
judiciary, once again, that stepped up to contain the poisoning. The Bombay
High Court expressed its displeasure against this selective targeting and asked
for the damage to be repaired. The latest verdict would strengthen the case for
an apology and accountability from the powers that be.
https://www.telegraphindia.com/opinion/justice-again-tablighi-acquittal/cid/1800862
-----
Imran
Khan’s Ertugrul Love Was Going Well. Until A Pakistani Tiktoker Joined The
Party
By
Naila Inayat
17
December, 2020
It seems
like a lifetime when Ertugrul was imposed as a bona fide hero by Prime Minister
Imran Khan on Pakistan. If it was possible, Ertugrul would have been named the
first Pakistani ever. But all the hard work didn’t go to waste after all.
Ertugrul Ghazi, the father of the founder of Ottoman dynasty and the destroyer
of infidels and stuff like that, landed in Pakistan to rule the hearts and
minds of the citizens and even get a gig or two, or not.
When the
statue of Sikh ruler Maharaja Ranjit Singh was being vandalised for the second
time at Lahore Fort, Erutgrul’s statues stood tall in a residential community
in the city. The man arrested for breaking the arm of Ranjit Singh’s statue was
a supporter of hard-line cleric Khadim Hussain Rizvi and was of the view that
Singh’s statue shouldn’t have been built at all because he committed atrocities
against Muslims during his rule. At least Ertugrul’s statue, carrying a sword
and riding a horse, faces no such sudden fury. Not only statues but a Sindhi
inspiration of the Turkish show, Dirilis: Ertugrul, an Ertugrul Ghazi chicken
shop and even Ertugrul Ghazi family restaurant have popped up in Pakistan.
The
ambassador of a fraud
Engin Altan
aka Ertugrul’s host in Lahore was a blingy TikToker and a local businessman.
Mian Kashif Zameer himself is no less than a star, only if Neftlix discovers
his talent of making friends in higher places and walking around with four
kilograms of gold jewellery and keeping a lion as a pet. He could even get his
own version of Keeping Up With the Kardashians.
Zameer
roped in Altan as a global brand ambassador for his Chaudhry Group of
Companies, signing a million-dollar deal. The chief minister of Punjab, Usman
Buzdar, facilitated the Turkish actor with a House Shield and a rifle. Altan
even expressed desire to work in a Pakistani film or drama. Everything was
looking up, it seemed as if PM Imran Khan had delivered on his promise of
people coming from abroad to find jobs in Naya Pakistan. But then there was a
twist in the kahaani.
The
gold-laden TikToker turned out to be a wanted felon with as many as eight cases
of fraud, robbery, betrayal of trust and car theft against him in Lahore, Toba
Tek Singh and Sialkot. On Wednesday, police arrested Zameer in Lahore for
threatening a local TV journalist for reporting on his criminal record. This is
the Pakistani brand Ertugrul is an ambassador of.
Not only
that, news reports suggested that Zameer only paid half of the promised $1
million to his ambassador. But Zameer, in an earlier statement, had said that
haters are hating on him because he was the first one to bring Ertugrul to
Pakistan and 50 per cent payment was part of the contract. Jealousy was the
reason, according to him. However, no official statement has come from the
Turkish actor so far.
You can
profit only so much
All good
things come to an end, but with such horror? That 4 kg gold is said to be only
gold plated, the cars he uses aren’t his, the house he lives in isn’t owned by
him. Was his clout of famous and powerful people real? And the pet lion, was it
even asli? Zameer is Pakistan’s Bunty and Babli combined. As they say, Ertugrul
ko chuna lag gaya. Wonder what the real Ertugrul with his Dirilis Axe would
have done? Small mercies this Ertugrul isn’t the real one.
The trend
of profiting from Ertugrul actors has continued throughout the year. The lead
actress of the show, Esra Bilgic, also known as Halima baji (Halima Sultan) is
now the face of a leading Pakistani clothes line, a mobile phone company, a
telecommunication company and even a housing society. The same Halima baji
whose posts on Instagram weren’t considered “decent enough”. But Ertugrul
wasn’t lucky enough to even get a corner plot in Naya Pakistan — so much for
the man who is a national hero.
In the
past, Pakistani actors have spoken up against the government ignoring the
talent at home while celebrating foreign content. In one scathing comment,
actor Yasir Hussain had mentioned that local talent is “ghar ki murgi” and even
garbage from abroad is considered profitable. Even in the times of coronavirus,
when the industry has faced economic challenges, the government support has
been missing while the focus remains on promoting Turkish dramas one after the
other — that too, at a great diplomatic risk of irking the kingdom of Saudi
Arabia by popularising Ertugrul.
https://theprint.in/opinion/letter-from-pakistan/imran-khans-ertugrul-love-was-going-well-until-a-pakistani-tiktoker-joined-the-party/568674/
-----
Calling
Bangladesh!
The
Daily Pioneer Editorial
18 December
202
The
reopening of the Haldibari-Chilahati rail link is aimed at reducing the
diplomatic distance between Delhi and Dhaka
Given the
heaving presence of China in the region and its debt-trapping ways with our
neighbours, it is important for India to strengthen bilateral relations and
invest in mutually beneficial infrastructure than depend on a historicity of
ties. While the Narendra Modi Government has been aggressively pursuing the
“look East” policy, it has been aiming to make Bangladesh the arrowhead of its
diplomacy. This has become all the more important considering that the Sheikh
Hasina Government has been equally keen on Chinese investment and developing a
transactional relationship with our eastern neighbour and counter-weighing that
edge in its relationship with India. So New Delhi has been making efforts to
further enhance transport and connectivity between India and Bangladesh and has
revived the 55-year-old Haldibari-Chilahati rail link. The neighbours had
earlier decided to resurrect the six pre-1965 rail links between the sides
which the war had cut off. The other links that are set to be revived between
West Bengal with Bangladesh are Petrapole (India)-Benapole (Bangladesh), Gede
(India)-Darshana (Bangladesh), Singhabad (India)-Rohanpur (Bangladesh) and
Radhikapur (India)-Birol (Bangladesh). Diplomatically, this eases the trade
corridor with Bangladesh, boosting bilateral trade in the region. Strategically
and politically, it eases India’s mainland connectivity to the Northeastern
States, particularly Assam. The new rail link between Akhaura (Bangladesh) and
Agartala, which is being funded by India, is likely to be operational by 2021
end. Both are the fastest growing economies in South Asia, and Bangladesh is
expected to graduate from the LDC status to a developing country by 2024. The
GDP per capita is also projected to rise there. The more India strides ahead in
connectivity, the more it can keep Bangladesh as a buffer against China.
Why do we
need Dhaka even more now? On the face of it, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh
Hasina assured India of respecting the organic nature of historic ties and
soothed anxieties over the National Register of Citizens (NRC) exercise in
Assam. But by foregrounding economic cooperation — one that spans connectivity,
investment, power and infrastructure projects in her home country — she has
also redefined the rules of bilateral engagement. The new reality has put us in
a competitive slot vis-à-vis China, which has become one of the top trading
partners of Bangladesh over the past couple of years. And in a multilateral
world, where each nation is negotiating deals most beneficial to it and will
not just pay obeisance to history, we can no longer afford to touch a raw
nerve. There is a need to further woo Bangladesh, considering its deep discomfort
over repeated statements from our Ministers on infiltration, minorities and the
NRC. Particularly the idea that all “infiltrators” were “Bangladeshis”,
repeatedly uttered in political speeches, has not gone down well among the
people there. While many understand the difference between the political
necessity of posturing and the diplomatic value, the overtly aggressive
Hindutva messaging hasn’t quite sat easy with Bangladesh. So it is incumbent
upon India to make Dhaka feel wanted at this juncture. Besides, Bangladesh is a
key pillar in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s neighbourhood diplomacy, what with
it being a littoral nation and crucial to our role in the Indian Ocean. China
has been quick to tap into the acute shortage of power in Bangladesh and has
already taken up two mega power projects, hoping to enhance its presence in the
energy market there. And while India is also a player in the power sector, it
is difficult for Bangladesh to overlook China given its energy demands. For its
part, India is working on joint projects on ports and roadways. If the Modi
Government wants to make a success of its ‘Act East’ policy, we must invest
meaningfully in our neighbouring nation.
https://www.dailypioneer.com/2020/columnists/calling-bangladesh-.html
------
49 Years
Later, Lessons That Remain To Be Learnt From 1971 India-Pakistan War
The
Print Team
17
December, 2020
New Delhi:
On 16 December 1971, India won a decisive victory over Pakistan after a 13-day
war that led to the creation of Bangladesh. While it was a short and decisive
war, 4,000 soldiers were killed and more than 8,000 were injured.
On the
war’s 49th anniversary, ThePrint’s editor-in-chief Shekhar Gupta unpacks the
volatile decade of 1960s which preceded the war, in episode 641 of ‘Cut The
Clutter’.
The 1971
war settled the problems for the people of East Pakistan, but did not solve
India’s problem with Pakistan or Kashmir; in fact, it made the blood feud more
intense, said Gupta.
“This gives
us the lesson that wars rarely solve the central problem, even if they are
decisive,” he added.
According
to Gupta, the 1960s was a decade of wars in India that one should look back at,
to understand present circumstances.
Goa
annexation, war with China and Pakistan
Soon after
the Goa operation (annexation of Goa from the Portuguese) in 1961, the Chinese
attacked India in 1962. Then, in April 1965, Pakistanis came knocking at
India’s door in Kutch, Gujarat, said Gupta.
Pakistan
brought their brigade of troops and tanks, but India tactically did not deploy
heavy forces in that area, which led Pakistan to believe that India was
incapable of fighting a war and thus launched a full-fledged operation to take
Kashmir back from India.
However,
Pakistan realised soon enough that they had miscalculated the calibre of the Indian
Armed Forces. Pakistanis, then, had a big technological advantage, but they
were not able to use it, noted Gupta.
On the
ground, he added, the war was a stalemate. But in principle, even though India
did not win, Pakistan lost because their only objective of taking away Kashmir
was not fulfilled.
War With
China, Again
In 1967
came the big skirmish with the Chinese in the Nathu La pass in East Sikkim,
which lasted a few days but was much more intense. The casualties on both sides
were quite high.
But this
taught India that they could withstand the Chinese and Chinese also learned
that Indian Armed Forces were no longer a pushover.
During that
decade, Naga insurgency was also at its peak.
In January
1966, Mizo insurgency also started and for the first time the government used
the Indian Air Force against its own people.
Other
separatist movements were also going on at the same time — Punjab and Haryana
had separated in 1966 and the Dravidian movement in South India was also
underway.
Lessons
from 1960s
A lot of
what is happening today has been determined by what happened during the 1960s,
said Gupta.
India is
currently going through its most insecure phase in history externally and
internally.
“But to
understand the crisis, we have to remember how we survived during the 60s. The
second thing to remember is that even though a war is decisive, both the sides
lose something, and war is a ‘messy business’,” Gupta added.
War also
gives us an insight into the history, culture and ideologies of a nations, he
noted
Ahmadiyyas
in Pakistan are a minority and are not allowed to call themselves Muslims. And
two war heroes from Pakistan were not celebrated as much just because they
belonged to this community.
Gupta noted
the Pakistan Army had occupied Chamb sector of Kashmir in both the wars.
In 1965,
the commander was Major General Akhtar Hussain Malik who was an Ahmadiyya. But
at that time when Pakistan had an advantage over India, President Ayub Khan
decided to change the division commander and replaced Malik with Yahya Khan,
who led the Pakistani army to surrender in 1971.
In 1971,
Pakistan decided to attack Chamb again and the mission was brilliantly
conducted. It ultimately broke Indian defences and Pakistanis captured Chamb
again.
The
operation was led by Major General Iftikhar Khan Janjua, who had also given
India a “bloody nose” during the operation in Kutch, said Gupta.
However, he
was an Ahmadiyya, too, and died in a helicopter crash during that war.
After the
1971 war, the Ahmadiyyas were victimised even more and then Prime Minister
Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto decided to take Pakistan towards more Islamisation.
While the
creation of Bangladesh was a big success, after 1971, the re-Islamisation of
Pakistan was a setback for the subcontinent, concluded Gupta.
https://theprint.in/opinion/49-years-later-lessons-that-remain-to-be-learnt-from-1971-india-pakistan-war/568503/
-------
Noor
Ahmad: A Real Community Leader
By
Hameedah Nayeem
December
18, 2020
Even though
we have been incessantly in mourning for
a long time yet some moments of loss intensify it to new levels. The passing away of Noor Ahmad at this juncture in time is such
a moment that left the entire Tral division orphaned and dwarfed, and its
ripples have been felt far and wide. I
am extremely grieved by his last
journey as I understand beyond personal
grief, his communitarian significance and how almost impossible it is to fill
the void left by his passing away. I have
known him from my teens and have been deeply impacted by his speeches.
He was the first person for me who added intellectual dimension to Islamic
teachings when I was at an impressionable age; a time when their was no
internet and no YouTube lectures of
scholars to listen to diverse brilliant voices on the exegesis of Islam and the
‘ constructed theology’. Over the years he had outgrown the earlier stages of
Tableeg and expanded his scope of
intervention in the society.
Out of four
sons his father’s mantle fell on him and he proved himself more than worthy of
it. His father was given the charge of Talimul Islam Tral when it was
established by some prominent community
members when; my father was a child and Noor Sb offered to work on two rupees
salary whereas he was getting fifteen rupees in Srinagar Islamia School at the
time. He developed the school literally brick by brick and gradually developed
it into the best school in the area. Noor Ahmad took the school to new heights
by upgrading the school to higher
classes and dividing it into three full fledged branches namely
Boys school, Al Banaat and Darul Aloom at three
separate locations. Darul Aloom is situated near Panzinag in our
vicinity and a grand mosque, the only one of its kind, has been constructed in
its compound of eight kanals of land in
the recent years where he would lead prayer and deliver Khutba on every Friday as thousands of people
from all directions would throng the mosque to listen to him.
What set
Noor Ahmad arguably apart from all the current Ulema in Kashmir are his all
encompassing teachings on almost all aspects of life that are classified as: 1) Imaniyat and
Tasdeeqaat 2) Aamaal and Ibadaat 3)
Adaab and Muashirat 4) Mamlaat and Siyasiyaat and 5) Salooq and Maqamaat according to
Islamic teachings.
This
particular feature greatly impressed the younger generation and intelligentsia
who are baffled by several contemporary issues and are in search
of answers to many questions that modern life throws up. In the light of
Islam. This also took him away from criticizing one sect or the other, which he
used to do sometimes in the past, and concentrate on the core Islamic thought
and philosophy of action. The result was, he was able to unify all sects under
the broader contours of Islam transcending
hegemonic sectarian politics and competitive discourses that has done a
lot of disservice to the unity and monolithic grand narrative of Islam and Muslims. This was testified by the sea of people who came weeping for his
Namazi Janazah, and to have the last
glimpse of their revered and beloved Imam. On every Friday he would choose a particular
theme confronting society besides other things and explain that in the
light of Islamic ethos.
He had a
sterling character, led a simple life, was taciturn by nature and constantly
cultivated his spirit by zikrullah. He was devoted to his wife and the couple had a deep bond of love, fidelity and commitment
to each other, and never allowed her to do tough domestic chores. He had so
much love for her that when she was ailing and was to be taken to hospital for
medical consultation, he put the shoes on her feet himself and did not let his
daughters to do so (as told to me by his elder daughter). She further said that
he never reprimanded his children but would point to their mistakes indirectly
in a friendly manner.
In the
earlier stages of his life he was not averse to Peer Muridi – what is called tariqa. and may have even criticized it but his
evolution was apparent in seeking spiritual guidance first from Masihulah Khan and after his passing away from Hazrat Shah
Abrarul Haq Hardoi from UP. Both these personalities were khalifas of Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanvi.
My regret
has been that I did not get a chance to get education in MTI under his guidance as girls were not allowed those days, and I
carry this sense of bereavement/ loss even
today. I always yearn to go back
in years to my childhood through the operation of some magic wand and join the
school to learn everything afresh particularly languages – Arabic, Persian,
Urdu and English, and Islamyaat from him. My siblings, two sisters and two
brothers, were fortunate to be his students in the school. Though my father got
the best teachers from this school to teach me at home yet I couldn’t get over
this sense of loss of not having learnt
from him.
All those
people who have done well in education in Tral have got their mental
nourishment from this school. His father’s contribution to religious education
is invaluable but Noor Ahmad stole a leaf over him by contributing to the
holistic education as he was well versed in both. In a nutshell, he was a Mard
E Momuin, who had achieved Tazkiyai Nafas, a genuine traditional
scholar, a Qazi, an administrator, a Waiz, and a social leader. Tral, and its
adjacent areas have lost an all protecting shield, a real community leader who
played multiple roles and whose place none could replace at present. May God
grant him the highest station in Jannah and strength to us to tread on the path
he painstakingly showed during his mature life time.
****
Since I
have gone down the memory lane I feel an irresistible urge to give more details
related to Noor Sahab, and women’s education.
When Noor
Sahab had come back from Deoband after completing his formal education there,
he started preaching Tawheed and systematic Islamic thought and Ibadaat. He was
persecuted by his brethren who mistakenly thought that he was attacking their
beliefs, an attempt was made on his life and he leapt from the window to escape
the bid on his life, and never returned to that home. He preached that the
Prophet is the messenger of God and not a partner unto Him, nor has any saint
any divine power. It is wrong to ask them for help. He bore all those torments
and disgraces gracefully, but stuck to his beliefs. That time there were a
handful of people who followed him. For the rest he was an untouchable. As
education spread, the entire area came under the influence of his teachings and
when he died on 23rd Jan 1993 swarms of people, in lakhs, came from all regions to mourn his
death, and his opponents paid glowing tributes to his service to Islam and
people of the area.
Noor Ahmad
didn’t have to go through all those trials and tribulations. He had a vast
youth following when his father passed away.
I clearly
remember Noor Sb’s evolution about women’s modern education. When I and my
sister were sent to Govt school, Noor Sb had objected to my father for sending
us to govt school, because sometimes he led prayers and people will object to
his Imamat for sending his daughters to govt school, and that girls are at the
risk of losing their values. My father had a great passion to educate his
daughters and craved for some magical short cut to take us to higher classes.
That is why I was directly put in the 2nd primary class at the insistence of my
father and the school administration added four more years to my actual age for
jumping up the ladder. My father disagreed with Noor Sb arguing that if he ever
felt that his girls were going astray, he would call them back. My father
thought Matric was the ultimate degree for girls at that time and wanted us to
reach there faster. He promised to Noor Sb that he would let his daughters to
have that degree if they stick to the right path. He told him that he was not
committing any blasphemy that people could object to his imamat by trying to
educate his daughters even in a govt school and quoted: Talabul Ilmu
Bisceen; Talabul Ilmu Farizatan Alla Kuli Muslimin Wa Muslimah. In this
hadith it was not said which kind of exclusive education one should get. In the
lighter vein he told him that China would not have been suggested as a favorite spot for acquiring
religious education by the Prophet.
When I was
appointed in the university and visited Noor Sb to give him the news, he asked
me for his share in my salary in a humourous
tone. I reminded him again light heartedly of the general fallacy in the then
Muslim society that women’s earnings are haram for men and how could he take my
earnings. He debunked this fallacy very forcefully. Incidentally by this time
all his progeny – his sons, granddaughters and grandsons were getting modem
education so much so that his
granddaughters went to medical college and the university and became teachers,
doctors etc.
The real
liberator for me, however, from the dead weight of customs and conventional
absurdities, and the slavery of the literal sense was Mohammad Akbar Ganaei
Sahab who taught in the Islamia School and who tutored me at home. He was a
mystic by nature and took me to the heart of Quran and Hadith beyond words and
beyond literality of legal discourse in Islam. I could never repay him for
opening up vistas of my mind and imagination and opening up the reality of
things. My mental growth started with him and came to another level at the
university where I was introduced to western philosophies. I had by this time
the confidence of rejecting many philosophical ideas which were shorn from
godhead. Otherwise I could easily have
been alienated from God. Ganai Sb would often say that Noor Sb is a modern day Qutub. Bottom of
Form Ganai Sb himself was no less than a Qutub.
More on
that some other time as I owe it to him to tell his story even though this
realization dawned on me belatedly .
https://www.greaterkashmir.com/news/opinion/noor-ahmad-a-real-community-leader/
-----
URL: https://newageislam.com/indian-press/indian-press-tablighi-acquittal,-ertugrul/d/123797
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