PDCS writes: I must admit that it was gratifying to read Star of Mysore reports on a brain storming session by Muslim leaders, bureaucrats and intellectuals this weekend in Mysore. The list of participants is also impressive: Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Rehman Khan, former Union Minister C.K. Jaffer Shariff, Labour Minister Iqbal Ansari, former Ministers Qamarul Islam, B.B. Hindasgeri, Sageer Ahmed, B.M. Moinuddin, former CFTRI Director Dr. H.A.B. Parpia, KSRP DIG U. Nissar Ahmed, IAS Officers Zameer Pasha and Mohd. Sananullah, KAS officers Mohd. Ali Khan and S.N.H. Rizwi, former Vice-Chancellor Dr. B. Sheikh Ali, MP Iqbal Ahmed, Congress MLC Saleem Ahmed and the list goes on.
The objective of the brainstroming session was to address the suspcion with which the community is viewed in light of terrorism and bring Muslims to national mainstream. One can not overemphasize both the urgency and necessity of this task. Terror and the threat of random violence have to be addressed not just by the state. Civil society has an equally significant role to play. We tend to be skeptical of religious or caste meetings, perhaps rightly so. But to address the threat of terror, we have to explore all avenues and all paths.
Let us hope that the Muslim elite will pursue its objectives sincerely and diligently.
churumuri 
Ummm…when did the Ministers, MP’s, MLA’s and MLC’a become the “elite” ?
Now, be it a muslim or a Hindu politician, for most part “they” are the problem. Don’t get me wrong, I do applaud the fact that all the muslim “elite” did come togetehr fpor a brainstorming session. But, I have my own doubts on any positive outcome from such meetings. Really, is it going to make any difference at all ? People like you and I read such articles and I bet people like us would never ever generalize and look at all muslims with contempt. So….
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Right December Stud. For the most part, citizens dont consider politicians (Hindu or Muslim) to be a part of the civil society.
But, the politicians do wield a lot of control over the “mobs” they “engineer” to run, or at least “trigger” most of these communal situations. If they could stop doing that, rest would be easy.
Also, Indian Muslim Community is accepting this tag of “suspicious” community by doing these “muslim” only meetings. I firmly beleive that strong and *visible* condemnation of these acts will be enough. After all, it is a case of 2% of guys earning a bad name for rest 98%. If 20% of Indians indeed had anti-India feelings as a few folks want us to think, our country would have imploded by now.
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Okay, let us face the stark facts. Politicians in India today are terrorists of a different kind!! Be it elite or not, they are terrorists who fleece money from the public in the guise of service.
Okay, coming to the fact that there were some prominent muslims gathering together for ‘Chintan Baitak’ (I am not sure if they would like this phrase) – gives me an impression that they are trying to preach non-violence to terrorists. This is again a joke.
For all this, the politician people who attended do not have a following from the general public. See Jaffer Sharief – he made his buck from being driver / snooper with Devraj Urs and has built an Engineering college apart from owning vast tracts of farm land on the outskirts of Bangalore district. Rehaman Kan – another sychopant who owes his seat as a Deputy Chairman – Rajyasabha because of his links with 10, Janapath. I am not sure if he has contested any election let alone a win. See what he has – 2 DPS schools in Bangalore earning lots of money and again vast tracts of land! I have no idea about other politicians – but this gives me a fair idea as to what they would have preached the good ones like Zameer Pasha (who has infact a good name). I have my own doubts.
My only request to the good and the clean ones who attended this seminar (obviously people other than politicians) – Please do not care a damn about these terrorists! They are absolutely dangerous!!!
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During the best part of their Political careers people like Late Mr. Aziz sait or Mr. Jaffer Shareif never sported their trademark beards. In those days, even the Ramzan Dinners were un-heard. People who went to Haj went on their own and proudly added the suffix Hajee and they were far and few in between.
It is their own overt and jealous attitude & misusing the political platform for the furtherance of Religion and becoming tools of their jihadees maulvi’s, which has caused this situation. Recollect how late Mr. sait, made the Government of the day celebrate Tipu’s centenary both according to Hijri and Gregorian calendar with himself as the chairman.
First they have to assimilate with the society as one among them and should be ready to abandon shariat law and pave the way for uniform civil code. It is a slow process, but then there is panacea to partition story if you they do not help themselves. You cannot always blame the strident Hindu’s and ask for secularism, which you are not ready to practice.
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Its all rubbish, by all Politicians
Look at, wht bloddy Karunanidhi doing, 6 Cases were dropeed against the terroists involved in various cases including bombing in coimbatore, just for that they r Muslims!
http://indianexpress.com/story/10098.html
What is the Central Govt doing, knowing all these!? Hig time our politicians cultivating Terrorism! Nam deshdalli helovru kelovru yaaru illa, so anubavisona bidi sir!
:-(
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I taught Aziz Sait’s son in the engineering college. I met Mr Sait a few times as he wanted to ask me about his son’s progress. Though conscious of the fact that he was a muslim, he did not parade it. His son was a normal lad, polite and I did not know who he was untoil some told me.
Shariat / muslim personal law should not work and the secular nature of the country and society should be upheld.
There have been three Muslim preisdents and Muslims are well represented in
all bodies. cannot be better.
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Guru Sir,
I know Junior Sait was a well mannerred boy and i think he was in the 1973 batch at NIE. Unfortunate he died very young. But those days Late Aziz Sait was yet to become a minsiter and was not bearded yet ! He became a minister in Mr. Urs’s cabinet for the first time. India that is bharat has changed a lot from those days ! But it must be said that Mr. Tanveer is a progressive Muslim unlike his father and most Muslims of today and a fluent speaker of kannada – again unlike his father.
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Hi jeevarathna,
‘Guru’ is my ‘nom de plume’. Sorry to hear the death of Junior Aziz Sait. I left India in 1973 and do not come often. He was a nice lad and would ask me questions for clarifications after the class. Aziz Sait senior was also a polite person, to me at least.
It is encouraging there are young and progressive muslims who speak Kannada.
My only problem is, when the chips are down they hide behind the religion.
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It is said that when someone keeps heaping praises on you after some time you start believing it. Its the same with our politicians who are held on a pedastal by their sychophantic followers.
Take Sageer Ahmed for instance, outside his residence is a 30 foot cut out of himself. If he wants to identify with the common man shouldnt he be taking that gotesque cut-out down?
Politics today is not about doing good, its about keeping your seat and your vote banks intact even if it means you keep them ignorant.
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Its unlikely that intellectuals will cut any ice with the “harder” lot in the community..for whom religion comes before everything else -reason and region included.
This exercise is well intended but will be utterly non productive exercise.
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