Bhopal: The national BJP president Nitin Gadkari has said that the initiative taken in Madhya Pradesh to provide vision and direction to Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) should be emulated by other states.

Mr. Gadkari was addressing a programme organized by Madhya Pradesh Jan Abhiyan Parishad for a direct dialogue with NGOs here today. On this occasion the Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said that a policy on NGOs would be implemented soon in the state.

Mr. Gadkari said that Madhya Pradesh government is pursuing the policy of knitting society and has given a vision and direction to the NGOs. This is a laudable initiative. Other states should follow suit. He said that the Chief Minister Mr. Chouhan and his government are very sensitive and responsive to the people that resulted in excellent performance in development and welfare sectors. The power is being used a medium of socio-economic change here. He said that our country is rich in resources and the need is to ensure their efficient management. He said that technology and finance are prerequisite of development but will power is even more necessary for this. He called for active participation of all sections of society in development process.

He further said that the life is meaningful only when we work for dispelling the darkness in the lives of the poor and the destitute. The voluntary institutions should come forward in service, education, health and other sectors. They should also inculcate good values in people. Science and technology should be made the best use of for development. The 21st century belongs to biotechnology and information technology and efforts should be made to reach their benefit to every village for eradication of poverty and unemployment. If the rural families make the best use of cows and a trees the scenario could be changed for better, he said adding that voluntary institutions should help put to best use the available resources in rural areas.

The Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said that the responsibility of making impact assessment of government schemes is being assigned to Jan Abhiyan Parishad. He said that Madhya Pradesh government is committed to all round development of the state. The Parishad is doing commendation work with the cooperation of NGOs. Successful efforts have been made by it for enrolment of children in schools. The number of out-of-school children was 29 lakh in year 2003-04, which has gone down to merely 43,000 now. Efforts are on to bring it to zero. The Parishad has been able to create a congenial atmosphere for development in villages. Low cost technology is being popularized in rural areas. Nakshatra Vatikas are being developed. Over one crore fifty lakh saplings have been planted to promote greenery. A number of villages have been converted into CFL villages for energy conservation.

The Chief Minister said that government alone cannot bring about desired socio-economic changes. There is need to develop a sense of belonging among people to ensure their active cooperation in development process. Aap Banayen Apana Madhya Pradesh Abhiyan has been launched for this purpose. He said that discrimination against girl child has led to serious consequences and to maintain gender balance and to empower women the state government has implemented a number of schemes like Ladali Lakshami Yojana, Janani Suraksha Yojana, fifty percent reservation to women in PRIs and civic bodies. He also referred to Public Services Delivery Guarantee Act, saying that the system is being made online. Lok Seva Kendras would be set up for its expansion and the NGOS would conduct them. Antyodaya Melas are being organized for the poor.

State BJP president Mr. Prabhat Jha said that social worker play a vital role in social and national development. They also help in delivering services and preserving value systems. He hoped that the workers of Jan Abhiyan Parishad would try their level best to reach the benefits of schemes to the people. Minister for Finance and Vice President of the Parishad Mr. Raghavji proposed a vote of thanks. Vice President Ajay Shankar Mehta gave and account of Parishad’s activities.

[Pervez Bari is a senior Journalist based at Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. He is associated with IndianMuslimObserver.com as Bureau Chief (Madhya Pradesh). He can be contacted at pervezbari@eth.net]

Bhopal: A political hurricane hitting the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, (BJP), in Madhya Pradesh has been averted when a non-bailable warrant, (NBW), issued by the First Class Judicial Magistrate (FCJM) on Thursday (November 17, 2011) against the Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan was stayed by a sessions court.

The NBW which was also issued against the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha BJP’s Mrs. Sushma Swaraj and two others in connection with the dihonouring of the National Tri-colour has been stayed from execution by the Sehore District Additional Sessions Court. However, The Additional Sessions Judge Vijay Malviya stayed the NBWs issued by FCJM Jaffer Iqbal and set December 1 as the next date for hearing after hearing a plea by Defence Counsel BL Jat.

The news of NBW against the state Chief Minister sent jitters down the spine in the Chouhan’s camp with memories of exit of Ms Uma Bharti’s, the former chief minister, in similar circumstances began to haunt them. However, the nightmare was short lived as after few hours the news of NBW having been stayed trickled in and brought back the smile on faces in the Chouhan’s camp and one and all heaved a sigh of relief. The imminent political hurricane following the fallout of the NBW had left them unscathed.

Earlier in the day a local court of Judicial Magistrate First Class in Nasrullahganj, a small town and a Nagar Panchayat in Sehore district, directed issuance of non-bailable warrants against the Opposition Leader in the Lok Sabha Mrs. Sushma Swaraj, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and two others in connection with insulting the National Flag. While hearing a complaint — filed by local resident Dwarka Jat on May 6, 2010 — Judicial Magistrate Jaffer Iqbal’s Court directed registering of case against the two BJP leaders, besides the then collector Sandip Yadav and district BJP president Raghunath Bhati under the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971 and directed them to appear before the court.

The complaint stated that Chouhan organised a felicitation programme for Mrs. Swaraj at Nasrullahganj on March 31, 2010. During the programme, a rally was taken out wherein a girl — dressed as Bharat Mata — was allegedly bearing a Tricolour upside down. Jat said he went to Nasrullahganj Police Station to have a First Information Report registration but police refused to do so, he moved the court.

Meanwhile, in the state capital Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) President Kantilal Bhuria and MPCC Media Department Chairman Manak Agarwal have demanded that the two BJP leaders should resign. Mrs. Swaraj and Chouhan should tender resignation following the footsteps of former chief minister Uma Bharti — who resigned after a non-bailable warrant was issued against her by a court in Karnataka, they said.

It may be recalled that in the November-December 2003 Assembly polls, Ms Uma Bharti led the BJP to a three fourths majority in Madhya Pradesh. However, she had to resign from the post of Chief Minister in August 2004, when an arrest warrant was issued against her regarding the 1994 Hubli riot case. She remained Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh from December 8, 2003 to August 22, 2004 She was succeeded by Babulal Gaur.

Meanwhile, as the state BJP President, Shivraj Singh Chouhan was chosen to become the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh on November 30, 2005. He replaced Babulal Gaur as the chief minister. He contested a bye-election from Budhni assembly constituency the following year, winning his old seat by a margin of over 36,000 votes. In 2008, Shivraj Singh Chouhan retained the Budhni seat by over 41,000 votes, and with it, led the BJP to a second consecutive victory in the state. On December 12, 2008, he was sworn in for his second term.

Chouhan served as General Secretary of the BJP and State President, Madhya Pradesh BJP. He joined the RSS in 1972. He has been a five-time Member of Parliament, representing Vidisha in the Lok Sabha since 1991. At present, he represents Budhni, a tehsil place in Sehore District of Madhya Pradesh in the state assembly.

[Pervez Bari is a senior Journalist based at Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. He is associated with IndianMuslimObserver.com as Bureau Chief (Madhya Pradesh). He can be contacted at pervezbari@eth.net]

New Delhi: Condemning the communal bias of the police and administration reflected in recent violence of Forbesganj, Moradabad, Gopalgardh and Rudrapur, All India Democratic Women Association (AIDWA) has demanded legislation on Communal Violence. AIDWA here on Wednesday (November 16, 2011) at Constitution Club organised a convention against communal conflict, which was attended by hundreds of activists and family members of victims of recent communal violence.

Brinda Karat, a Communist Party of India (Marxist) MP and Patron of AIDWA, while addressing the convention said, “this convention is to express our solidarity with the victims of violence ruling parties and demand justice for them”. Karat alleged, while the state governments are not doing sufficient to curb these violence and bring the criminals to justice, central government is equally responsible for these situations. In a reference to Gujarat, she said “Modi is using the government to fulfil the fascist agenda.” She further alleged that, Modi is creating an atmosphere of terror and fear to stop people to come out and speak truth. “The killing of Nadeem Sayed, a witness of Gujarat genocide case, must be seen as criminal attempt to silent the truth,” she added. She also demanded that the witness protection bill should be passed immediately.

Earlier, AIDWA felicitated Shweta Bhatt, wife Gujarat IPS officer Sanjeev Bhatt for her courageous stand against the Government of Gujarat and its Chief Minister. Extending her solidarity and assuring Bhatts’ support to wipe out communalism, Shweta Bhatt said, “It is high time to get united and fight against the menace of communal violence”. Mrs. Bhatt said, “Her family will continue to fight till end. And I am proud my husband”. She also thanked people their support especially when Sanjeev was in jail.

AIDWA, in its resolution passed at the end of the convention said, “This AIDWA Convention against communal conflict expresses deep concern about the number of incidents in several States where citizens of India belonging to the minority Muslim community have been targets of violence, primarily by forces of the State.”

The convention also condemned the refusal of the state governments involved to take strong action against the officers responsible and demanded exemplary punishment against the police officials responsible and full compensation to the victims.

Bhopal: The Social Justice Conference to be organized by the Popular Front of India at Ramlila Maidan, New Delhi on November 26th and 27th is enjoying overwhelming support by different sections of the society. The publicity campaign of the conference has reached the nook and corner of the country. The message of Social Justice is reaching to the most interior parts of the nation and the masses are made aware about the importance of Social Justice.

According to a Press release issued by Anis Ahmed, Media In-Charge Social Justice Conference, thousands of people gathered in public meetings conducted in many cities across the country. Similarly, seminars and symposiums on the theme “Build the nation on Justice” were organized in metro and major cities. To spread the message at more granular level meetings and corner meets were conducted at district and taluk level. The rallies and programmes attracted huge public participation even in place where Popular Front has lesser presence. Publicity over social networking sites and video sharing networks is being widely viewed and well received.

The release stated that as the conference day is nearing an extensive publicity campaign is specially designed for the national capital. The publicity campaign will include conference theme related posters, handbills, folders, audio -video CD’s and booklets. Conference campaign teams will be conducting public programmes in different localities of Delhi. Corner meetings and mobile video shows will be held beginning from 15th of November.

Another motivating factor is the support and cooperation the PFI received from social activists, organizations, intellectuals, media, police and administration. Train ticket booking for the conference has also begun in various states. Special buses are being booked from areas surrounding Delhi. The overwhelming support of the masses received makes PFI confident that the public participation for the Social Justice Conference will surely exceed all expectations, the release added.

[Pervez Bari is a senior Journalist based at Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. He is associated with IndianMuslimObserver.com as Bureau Chief (Madhya Pradesh). He can be contacted at pervezbari@eth.net]

Bhopal: A sum of Rs. 535 crore for development works in eight Maoist violence-affected backward districts of Madhya Pradesh has been sanctioned by the Central Government.

These funds have been sanctioned for the construction of 1665 kilometer long 458 roads. Besides, consensus has been reached over connecting villages with 800 to 999 population in Madhya Pradesh with rural roads.

It may be mentioned that Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mr. Shivraj Singh Chouhan has been persistently demanding for connecting villages less than 1000 population with rural roads. So far, all the villages having 1000 population have been connected with roads in the state.

Chief Minister Mr. Shivraj Singh Chouhan met Union Minister for Rural Development Mr. Jairam Ramesh I New Delhi on Wednesday and expressed gratitude towards him for the sanction.

Mr. Chouhan urged Mr. Ramesh that Singrauli district should also be included with these eight AIP districts since it was earlier a part of Sidhi district. He demanded Rs. 80 crore for the construction of 252 kilometer long 51 roads in Singrauli district.

Chief Minister Mr. Chouhan urged Mr. Ramesh that like previous years, funds should be sanctioned to construct one lakh houses under Indira Awas Yojna this year also. Due to error in the figures of Census 2001, less number of houses were being allotted to Madhya Pradesh under Indira Awas Yojna. Mr. Ramesh reportedly apprised Mr. Chouhan that construction of toilets has also been included in the scheme being implemented under employment guarantee scheme.

Describing talks with Mr. Jairam Ramesh as very positive, Mr. Chouhan described him as a minister who takes prompt decisions. He also invited Mr. Ramesh to visit Madhya Pradesh which was accepted by him and he expressed his willingness to visit Madhya Pradesh.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Mr. Chouhan has urged the Centre to release delayed funds to the tune of Rs. 1668.59 cr. under various central schemes. He met the Union Finance Minister Mr. Pranab Mukherjee in New Delhi and sought cooperation.

The Chief Minister reminded Mr. Mukherjee that Central Govt. had assured Rs. 1400 cr. as a special package under SDRF/MDRF as a relief to overcome the loss of crops due to unprecedented frost early this year. Apart from this, a sum of Rs. 174 crore under UIDSSMT, Rs. 9.83 crore under IHSDP and Rs. 84.76 cr under JNNURM also need to be released at the earliest, he added. He urged the Finance Minister to intervene in this regard.

Mr. Chouhan said that people are not getting optimum benefits of natural resources like coal and minerals. He reiterated the state's commitment to protecting forest cover by taking all possible measures.

Referring to poor condition of national highways passing through the state, Shri Chouhan said that slow decision making process at the level of Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has hindered the implementation of projects. He requested immediate release of Rs. 150 cr so that national highways could be repaired.

Mr. Mukherjee reportedly assured Mr. Chouhan that appropriate steps will be taken to include frost in natural calamity category. Regarding coal blocks, he said that process of giving environmental clearances will be speeded up.

Meanwhile Chief Minister Mr. Chouhan also met Union Minister for Environment and Forests Ms Jayanti Natarajan in New Delhi and urged her for early allotment of coal blocks for various energy projects by maintaining a balance between development and environment. Ms Natarajan reportedly assured Mr. Chouhan that decision will be taken soon on all the pending projects of Madhya Pradesh.

Mr. Chouhan drew the attention of Ms Natarajan towards the fact that coal blocks have been identified in Mandla in Chhindwara district, Mahan, Ageliya and Ageliya North in Singrauli district and Semariya and Pipariya in Umaria district. But all the energy projects' work is getting late since clearance has not been given so far by the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests. Power plants have been completed at Mahan, Ameliya and Morga (one), but generation of power cannot be increased since coal is not being made available to these plants.

Mr. Chouhan urged Ms Natarajan to make available Rs. 1130 crore funds of CAMPA. A sum of only Rs. 104 crore has been provided to the state during the last two years. The State Government has sent for sanction various projects worth Rs. 519 crore under CAMPA. Funds for this should be sanctioned soon.

Mr. Chouhan also drew the attention of Ms Natarajan towards re-settlement of 735 villages from Project Tiger areas and demanded Rs. 3300 crore for the same. From the point of view of forest reserves, 117 of these villages are highly sensitive. The State Government has made a provision of Rs. 208 in the current fiscal. But re-settlement of these villages is getting late since funds for this purpose have not been received from the Union Government.

Mr. Chouhan made an appeal not to ban tourism in national sanctuaries and Tiger Reserve forests and continue it. On one hand local people's economic development is ensured due to tourism activities in wildlife sanctuaries wildlife also remains safe on the other, he further clarified. Due to tourist activities and patrolling by government staff, wildlife in sanctuaries are not disturbed. The Union Government should plead in the public interest litigation pending in court that tourism in wildlife sanctuaries should not be banned.

Meanwhile, during the meeting with Chief Minister Mr. Chouhan, Ms Natarajan praised an advertisement of Madhya Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation being shown on TV. She also lauded the theme of the advertisement.

[Pervez Bari is a senior Journalist based at Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. He is associated with IndianMuslimObserver.com as Bureau Chief (Madhya Pradesh). He can be contacted at pervezbari@eth.net]

Mumbai: Seven Indian Muslim men were released on bail on Wednesday, five years after they were arrested in connection with a deadly bomb attack that was later blamed on Hindu extremists.

The group were accused of being members of a banned Islamist militant group, the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI), which was initially said to be behind the attack in the former mill town of Malegaon in western India.

Four bombs went off on September 8, 2006, outside a mosque in the town, some 175 miles (280 kilometres) northeast of Mumbai, as thousands of Muslims gathered for Friday prayers.

Thirty-one people died and more than 300 were injured.

Police said at the time that the bombings -- which came just seven weeks after a series of train blasts in Mumbai killed nearly 190 people and injured over 800 more -- were designed to create "communal tension".

But federal investigators who reviewed the initial local police investigation said earlier this month that they would not oppose the men's bail and concluded there was no direct evidence against them.

Instead, they said Hindu radicals were the likely culprits.

The men were greeted by crowds of cheering supporters waving flags and shouting freedom slogans at Mumbai's high-security Arthur Road jail, where they were being held on remand.

Human Rights Watch said in February this year that the Indian authorities rounded up scores of Muslim men after a wave of bomb blasts in 2008 and in many cases subjected them to torture and ill-treatment.

It also called for a "thorough and impartial" investigation into the arrest and alleged torture in custody of those arrested for the 2006 Malegaon blasts.

The global rights monitor's South Asia director Meenakshi Ganguly on Wednesday welcomed the men's release and told AFP: "There should be lessons learned and compensation given."

Two other men arrested in connection with the blasts remain in custody as they are also suspects in the 2006 Mumbai train attacks case.

Bhopal: Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mr. Shivraj Singh Chouhan has instructed to make preparations for Alami Tableeghi Ijtema to be held at Bhopal from December 10 to 12. He instructed the concerning departments and agencies to complete all the preparations before December 10. He was reviewing preparations at a meeting of Ijtema Committee at Mantralaya (state Secretariat) on Tuesday.

Chief Minister Mr. Chouhan said that Alami Tableeghi Ijtema is the pride of Bhopal. There should be no lack of arrangement for this great spiritual congregation. He instructed Public Health Engineering and Public Works departments, Bhopal Municipal Corporation, police, Electricity Board and Health Department to undertake large-scale arrangements to facilitate Jama'ats’ stay during the congregation.

Mr. Chouhan also instructed to ensure uninterrupted power supply during the Ijtema and maintain a special vigil in areas around Ijtema venue.

The Ijtema Committee members informed that Ijtema is being successfully and peacefully organised every year with the cooperation of the State Government and local administration. Devotees and Jama'ats coming from outside the state have also praised the arrangements.

The meeting was informed that more than ten lakh devotees are likely to attend the Ijtema this year. Approach roads to Ijtema venue have been laid. Arrangement of about 200 buses will be made in view of large number of devotees expected to attend the congregation. Temporary pathology lab, ambulance facility and services of doctors will remain available at the venue. Large number of police personnel will be available for traffic and parking arrangements. A ticket booking counter is also being set up at the Ijtema venue with the cooperation of the Railway administration.

Those present at the meeting included Bhopal Mayor Mrs. Krishna Gaur, Ijtema Committee president Iqbal Hafeez, members Mohammad Hafeez Khan, Agha Abdul Qayyum, Bhopal Divisional Commissioner Manoj Shrivastava, Bhopal IG Vijay Yadav, Bhopal Collector Nikunj Shrivastava, Bhopal Municipal Corporation Commissioner Mansih Singh and senior officers of concerning departments.

[Pervez Bari is a Journalist based at Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. He is associated with IndianMuslimObserver.com as Bureau Chief (Madhya Pradesh). He can be contacted at pervezbari@eth.net]

Bhopal: The 102nd five-day Orientation Course in Records Management for Departmental Record Officers (DROs) was inaugurated here at the Regional Office of the National Archives of India (NAI) on Monday (November 14, 2011).

Senior journalist Syed Pervez Bari, who was the chief guest at the inaugural function, presented a paper on Record Management and discussed at length the importance of records, their preservation, documentation and various techniques of preservation.

Orientation Course Coordinator & Assistant Director Mrs. P. Sinha from the NAI Headquarters in New Delhi, Assistant Director Syed Fareed Ahmad also from the NAI Headquarters, Office in-charge of the Regional Office of NAI at Bhopal Archivist V. K. Juneja and Archivist Mr. Muzaffar-e-Islam were present at the inaugural function amongst others.

More than one-and-a-half dozen delegates from the Central Government departments and Public Sector Undertakings from all over India are attending the Orientation course. This Orientation Course is organized every year by the National Archives of India, New Delhi at Delhi Office and its other Regional Centres for DROs of different Ministries / Departments. Senior faculties from NAI, New Delhi, which included Syed Fareed Ahmad, Mrs. P. Sinha, Microphotograph expert A. K. Jain and Assistant Director Ram Swaroop, arrived in Bhopal to deliver lectures on different aspects of Record Management.

Presenting paper on Record Management Pervez Bari said that National Archives of India is playing a major and vital role in preserving the records created over centuries, decades and years gone by for posterity. It helps the new upcoming generation to sift through the archival records of the gone by eras to learn and be cautious of the pitfalls encountered by their forefathers, he added.

Pervez Bari

Mr. Bari emphasised that the creation of correct statistics, information, documentation and their proper maintenance all go a long way on formulation of good policies and planning. The implementation of these policies then in turn becomes torch-bearer of good governance. He said incorrect and inaccurate records and information have led to policy failures and heavy financial losses to the government’s exchequer.

He said records are government’s memory and their proper management is documentary heritage to increase their longevity for posterity. He said records are integral part of any organization. They are the wheels of administration and proper records management ensures an efficient administration. Records management establishes standards of good management in respect of creation, control, preservation and disposition of records, he added.

Like human memory records are the memory of governments without which no administration can be run and as such it is but natural that the DROs should understand the importance of their record holdings, which can help resolve many issues pending settlement or likely to arise in future, he opined.

He lamented that the state governments’ departments lack seriousness in maintaining records systematically. On the contrary the Central Government’s Departments seriously maintain records systematically.

Mr. Bari advised the officials of various departments attending the orientation course to bring in writing any verbal orders of their superiors so that posterity may not be devoid of it. He moaned that in the present mobile phone age many orders and instructions are passed on phones by officers to their subordinates which if not recorded then much harm would be caused to the future generations as they would not know how to go about in some particular situations. If past records are available then it would guide them accordingly.

Speaking on the occasion, Fareed Ahmad said the fundamental purpose of imparting this training in Orientation Course in Record Management for the DROs is basically to highlight not only its importance and utility but also to illustrate and imbibe this spirit of a true archivist or DRO through a series of lectures on various aspects of the Record Management by the learned speakers and faculty members who are well versed in this field in order to clarify its intricacies.

He said Records Management is often seen as an unnecessary or low priority administrative task that can be performed at the lowest levels within an organization. Publicised events have demonstrated that records management is in fact the responsibility of all individuals within an organization and the corporate entity.

Fareed Ahmad

Mr. Fareed moaned that it is observed that the importance of Record Management is not taken seriously by the DROs as a result of which records are not properly maintained. This is because there is no punitive clause in the Public Records Act, 1993 & the Public Records Rules, 1997. Based on the experience gained in the last decade on the working of the Public Records Act, 1993 & the Public Records Rules, 1997 and to make these legislations more effective, more particularly in the post RTI era, the Central Government has decided to take a fresh look and have constituted a Panel in February, 2009 to review and amend the Public Records Act & Rules. There is a move to add punitive clause in the rules to instill fear in the erring DROs, he informed.

Earlier, V. K. Juneja while welcoming the guests and delegates threw light on the aims and objects of the Orientation Course. Archivist Mr. Muzaffar-e-Islam proposed a vote of thanks and conducted the proceedings with aplomb.

The DROs attending the Orientation Course are from Subsidiary Intelligence Bureau of Union Home Ministry (Bhopal); Office of Director of Commercial Audit (BHEL, Bhopal); Directorate of Census Operations (Mumbai, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Bihar & M.P.); Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Directorate of Field Publicity, Regional Office (Bhopal); National Water Development Agency, Ministry of Water Resources (Bhopal); Directorate General of Mines Safety, Ministry of Labour & Employment (Dhanbad); Goa Shipyard Ltd., Ministry of Defence, Vasco-Da-Gama (Goa); Office of the Director of Accounts (Posta, Bhopal); Ministry of Environment & Forests (Bhopal); Archaeological Survey of India, Bhopal Circle; Narmada Control Authority, Ministry of Watr Resources (Indore); Food Corporation of India (Satna & Gwalior); Coach Rehabilitation Workshop, Nishatpura (Bhopal) etc.

Hyderabad: Majis Bachao T ehreek (MBT) Corporator Amjed Ullah Khan was arrested Tuesday (November 15, 2011) near NSS, Hyderguda by a teem led by ACP Abids, Inspector Narayanguda, Inspector Abids and Central Zone Task Force while he was going to address a Press Conference over a series of attacks on Muslim youths by Hindu Vani workers.

Mr. Khan was booked under Sec 151 of Crime No. 403 of Narayanguda Police Station and taken to Bolarum Police Station along with other three persons Mohammed Munawar Ali brother of Qader Ali who was attacked by Hindu Vani workers at Kachiguda Police limits on 9th Nov 2011. A photographer of Deccan News Khizer Md Khan was also arrested along with Amjed Ullah Khan.The police also manhandled the driver of Mr Khan and damaged the Laptop and Camera. The injured persons who were present in the vehicle were also arrested and released later.

Speaking to the media after his release Amjed Ullah khan said that Hyderabad is under Police Raj and there is no democracy. Every citizen and political party has right to express their views which is guaranteed by the Constitution of India. He said that A K Khan, Commissioner of Police, has stopped MBT from holding public meetings at Durreshewar and Hafiz Baba Nagar on the insistence of AIMIM leadership previously.

Amjed Ullah Khan, Corporator Azampura Division, questioned Hyderabad Police Commissioner that Mr.Praveen Togadia of VHP, Susma Swaraj and L K Advani of BJP can hold rallies and express their views then why not Muslims are also allowed to express their views. Mr Khan asked what was the Police Commisioner doing when Praveen Togadia gave inflammatory speeches against Muslims and Islam recently. Khan ao alleged that the Police Commissioner is working under the pressure of AIMIM and his arrest has been to appease the AIMIM leadership.

Mr Khan said he was also arrested by the same Police Commissioner previously also when the Babri Masjid judgment was announced. Khan also said that in the near future he will show some reveling facts about the Hindu Vani activities in Hyderabad.

Bhopal: The Bharatiya Janata Party ruled Madhya Pradesh Government has taken a decision provide better facilities to street vendors in the cities and enact a law for protecting their rights. The decision was taken at A cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Mr. Shivraj Singh Chouhan here on Tuesday.

A draft of Madhya Pradesh Path-Vikreta (Jeevika ka sanrakshan aur path-vikray ka vinimiyan) Kanoon Madhya Pradesh Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vendors Act) has been endorsed for this purpose.

Under the proposed law, interests of street vendors in the cities of the state will be safeguarded and legal protection will be provided to them to earn their livelihood in this way. Arrangement of proper places will be made for them to run their business by regulating this business and incorporate in the master plans/city development plans of urban limits. Provisions of committees will be made for the protection of street vendors' livelihoods and allowing them to run their business with dignity. Besides, systematic and legal activities of local residents will also be reasonably regulated to facilitate hygiene and traffic at public places. The cabinet instructed to issue separate guidelines in this connection.

In deference to public sentiments, the cabinet decided to declare Mandsaur, the town of Pashupatninath Temple, as a Holy Town as announced by Chief Minister Mr. Shivraj Singh Chouhan. In compliance to this declaration, 100-meter radius area around Pashupatinath temple has been declared as Holy Area. The four limits of the Area have also been announced, which are cafeteria in the east, Gayatri Mandir in the west, Shivni river Ghat in the north and parking area (temple) in the south.

Ancient temples in the Holy Area will be identified and their maintenance will be undertaken. Religious festivals etc. will be identified and culture functions will also be organised on such festivals. A master plan of the area will be chalked out. Sale and purchase of eggs, meat, fish and liquor will be banned with a view to maintaining sanctity of the Holy Area. A dharmshala will be constructed for devotees and a Mela ground will be developed. Besides, various facilities will be made available for devotees.

The cabinet endorsed a draft policy for making better work atmosphere available to voluntary organisations and seeking their cooperation in all-round development of the state. Presently, about 87,000 voluntary organisations are operating in the state. These organisations have started the process of positive change in society by providing services and undertaking good works like research and training. These efforts have yielded new solutions as per changing times, to problem like poverty, discrimination, boycott etc. By endorsing this policy, Madhya Pradesh has entered the category of those states where efforts on this level have been undertaken to chalk out a state-level policy for voluntary organisations.

With a view to removing shortage of teachers in high and higher secondary schools, the cabinet sanctioned 13,489 additional posts of teacher for classes IX and X. These include 1,157 teachers of Hindi, 1,982 of English, 2,217 of science, 2,376 of maths and 1,923 teachers of Sanskrit. Following decision, the number of teachers of these subjects will rise in these schools and teaching quality will improve.

Besides, the cabinet sanctioned posts of six principals, six contractual teacher grade-2 and one secondary of contractual teacher grade-3 for each of 603 upgraded high schools under National Middle Education Campaign. Thus; a total of 4,824 posts have been sanctioned for these high schools at the rate of 8 posts per school. Now, these new high schools can be run smoothly.

The cabinet sanctioned creation of posts for establishment of District Malaria Office in seven districts as per set-up proposed by the department. These districts are Dewas, Sehore, Katni, Tikamgarh, Datia, Alirajpur and Singrauli.

It may be mentioned that District Malaria Officer's offices already exist in the rest of 43 districts of the state. Due to sanction of these offices in rest of seven districts, malaria, dengue, chikanguniya etc. diseases can be effectively controlled.

[Pervez Bari is a Journalist based at Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. He is associated with IndianMuslimObserver.com as Bureau Chief (Madhya Pradesh). He can be contacted at pervezbari@eth.net]

Bhopal: Lending support to the struggling survivors of the 1984 Bhopal Gas Tragedy, the world’s worst industrial disaster, 21 former Indian Olympians have come forward and jointly petitioned the organizers of the London Olympics 2012, the London Organising Committee of Olympic Games, (LOCOG), to cancel the sponsorship of Dow Chemical Company of a curtain-style wrap to encircle a London stadium where some Olympic events will be held.

The Dow Chemical Company is the current owner of Union Carbide, the American multinational responsible for the continuing disaster in Bhopal.

The representatives of five NGOs working for the welfare of the survivors of the gas tragedy on Monday addressed a joint Press conference wherein four former hockey Olympians namely Inam-ur–Rehman, B. P. Govinda, Syed Ali and Syed Jalaluddin Rizvi and international hockey player Salim Abbasi have supported the demand were also present.

These Olympians who are amongst the signatories of the joint letter said that in view of the current plight of the victims and the environment in Bhopal, Dow’s sponsorship is offensive to the spirit of the Olympic Games. They said that national and international Olympians should oppose the unholy alliance with the company that has poisoned Bhopal. They presented a list of 21 Indian Olympians who have so far signed on to an ongoing petition addressed to the organizers of the London Olympics 2012 – LOCOG. The 21 former Olympians are: Ali Sayeed, B.P. Govinda, M.P. Ganesh, Mukhbain Singh, V.J. Phillips, Ashok Kumar Dhyanchand, Syed Ali, Vasudevan Baskaran, Jalaluddin Rizvi, Hardeep Singh Grewal, Vineet Kumar, Balwinder Singh, Sujit Kumar, Jagbir Singh, Gavin Ferreira, Dhanraj Pillay, Sameer Daad, A. B. Subbaiah (all Hockey) and Ashwini Nachapa (Track & Field).

The five NGOs who organized the joint Press conference are: Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Stationery Karmchari Sangh, Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Purush Sangharsh Morcha, Bhopal Gas Peedit Nirashrit Pension Bhogi Sangharsh Morcha, Bhopal Group for Information and Action and Children Against Dow Carbide.

It may be mentioned here that the International Olympic Committee has taken decision to partner with Union Carbide's parent company, namely The Dow Chemical Company, for the London Olympics 2012, the 2014 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, the 2016 Rio Olympics and the 2020 Olympics”.

The former Olympians requested all the concerned authorities that they reconsider their decision on accepting sponsorship from Dow Chemical Company for London Olympics and also the future Olympic Games.

The letter said: “We have been told by the victims of the world’s worst industrial disaster that Dow Chemical is the owner of Union Carbide Corporation; company responsible for the 1984 disaster. Indian courts have proclaimed Union Carbide Corporation as an absconder and have held Dow Chemical responsible to bring this corporation to the court. Dow Chemical has yet to fulfill its legal responsibility”.

“Union Carbide is responsible for creating an environmental disaster in Bhopal due to it. The toxic waste dumped inside and around the factory has led to the contamination of ground water of more than 40,000 people and the contamination poses grave risks to their lives and health. Countless children are being born with deformities and intellectual deficits due to the effect of these poisons”, the letter stated.

The ex-Olympians in the letter said: “The Government of India too holds Dow Chemical legally responsible for clean-up of the factory site, but again the company has refused to accept its responsibility. We, the members of International Olympic community feel that it will be against the basic principles of the Olympic charter to partner with a Dow Chemical, which is responsible for the ongoing disaster in Bhopal”.

However, Dow Chemical Company has maintained that it never owned or operated the Bhopal plant and that legal claims regarding the gas leak were resolved when Union Carbide paid $470 million as compensation for those killed or injured. The Indian Union Government is seeking an additional $1.7 billion for the victims.

Meanwhile, the Bhopal survivors’ organizations condemned the Indian government and the Indian Olympic Committee for their deliberate inaction regarding sponsorship of the Olympic Games by a corporation responsible for poisoning and maiming thousands of Bhopal citizens.

“It is three months since we requested the Prime Minister and the Acting Chairman of the Indian Olympic Committee to register the country’s opposition to Dow Chemical sponsoring the Olympic Games in London next year but neither of them has moved on this.” said Ms Rashida Bee of the Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Stationery Karmchari Sangh.

Satinath Sarangi of the Bhopal Group for Information and Action said that as 100 per cent owner, Dow Chemical is sheltering the Union Carbide that is absconding from charges of culpable homicide in Indian courts for the last 19 years. They pointed out that Dow Chemical is also violating Indian laws by refusing to clean up the toxic contamination of soil and ground water caused by reckless dumping of hazardous waste by Union Carbide, USA.

“We are certainly not against the London Olympic Games, said Balkrishna Namdeo of the Bhopal Gas Peedit Nirashrit Pension Bhogi Sangharsh Morcha, “in fact we are opposing the besmirching of the reputation of the Olympic Games through its association with a criminal corporation.”

Ms Rachna Dhingra of the Bhopal Group for Information and Action pointed out that the Indian government has blacklisted Dow Agrosciences for bribing government officials. She said that recently the government has also cancelled the registration of three pesticides of this wholly owned subsidiary of Dow Chemicals for the same criminal offence.

Nawab Khan of the Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Purush Sangharsh Morcha said that the survivors of the Union Carbide disaster in Bhopal would observe its 27th anniversary as a day of action against Dow Chemical’s sponsorship of the London Olympics. He said that Dow Chemical would be burnt in effigy in the form of a five headed monster snake holding the Olympic rings.

“Because of Dow Chemical’s refusal to clean up Bhopal’s poisons, hundreds of children are being born disabled. It is indeed shocking that the organizers of the London Olympics have not cared to find out about their sponsor’s misdeeds” said Safreen Khan of the Children against Dow / Carbide.

Meanwhile, Dow Chemical’s liabilities in Bhopal regarding soil and ground water contamination through reckless disposal of hazardous waste is enormous. From 1969 to 1984 Union Carbide generated thousands of tonnes of toxic waste that it dumped in insecure pits and ponds in and around the factory as part of its waste disposal system designed by the corporate headquarters in Danbury, USA. There are more than a dozen scientific studies by government and non-government agencies starting from 1990 till 2010 that establish that cancer and birth defect causing chemicals have leached from the wastes and gone in to the ground water that the communities next to the abandoned factory use for drinking. Over 40, 000 residents have been drinking this water for last 14 to 20 years and the injuries as a result of this slow poisoning have manifested as alarming rate of horrific birth defects, cancers and chronic diseases of the liver, kidneys, lungs, brain, abdomen and skin.

According to the “polluter pays” principle, established in both India and USA, the designer and supervisor of the waste disposal system in the Bhopal factory, Union Carbide continues to be liable for the environmental damage (at least till a distance of 3.5 kilometers from the factory and at least 100 feet deep). Also, it may be pointed out that this was in clear violation of the lease agreement signed with the Madhya Pradesh Government that stipulated returning the land “in its original condition”. As per the “successor liability” principle, again established in both India and USA, as 100 per cent owner of Union Carbide, USA, TDCC is liable for the continuing environmental and health damage in Bhopal. Holding TDCC liable for Union Carbide’s misdeeds, in 2005 the Government of India presented an application before the Madhya Pradesh High Court seeking Rs. 100 crores (22 million USD) from Dow Chemical as an advance for remediation of the toxic contamination in Bhopal. The application lies pending and the money remains unpaid till date.

TDCC is following a racist policy of double standards the corporation is following with regard to its legally inherited Bhopal liabilities. Till date the company refuses to accept this legal liability claiming instead that Union Carbide is a separate and independent company and therefore beyond its control. Dow Chemical’s refusal is rather contrary to its stance in the USA where, following the 2001 merger, outstanding liabilities of Union Carbide are directly addressed by Dow representatives and, once paid, are registered as charges upon Dow’s consolidated earnings.

The complete detailed list of Indian Olympians endorsing a Petition to LOCOG against Sponsorship of the London Olympics 2012 by the Dow Chemical Company, USA is as follows:-

S.NO NAME OLYMPIC YEAR WHERE SPORT

1. Ali Sayeed 1964 Tokyo, Japan Hockey

2. Inam-ur-Rehman 1968 Mexico City, Mexico Hockey

3. B. P. Govinda 1972 Munich, Germany Hockey

4. Charles Cornelius 1972 Munich, Germany Hockey

5. M. P. Ganesh 1972 Munich, Germany Hockey

6. Mukhbain Singh 1972 Munich, Germany Hockey

7. V, J. Phillips 1972

1976 Munich, Germany Montreal, Canada Hockey

8. Ashok Kumar Dhyanchand 1972

1976 Munich, Germany & Montreal, Canada Hockey

9. Syed Ali 1976 Montreal, Canada Hockey

10. Vasudevan Baskaran 1980 Moscow, Russia Hockey

11. Syed Jalaluddin Rizvi 1984 Los Angeles, USA Hockey

12. Hardeep Singh Grewal 1984 Los Angeles, USA Hockey

13. Vineet Kumar 1984 Los Angeles, USA Hockey

14. Balwinder Singh 1988 Seoul, South Korea Hockey

15. Sujit Kumar 1988 Seoul, South Korea Hockey

16. Jagbir Singh 1988

1992 Seoul, South Korea

Barcelona, Spain Hockey

17. Ashwini Nachapa 1988 Seoul, South Korea Track & Field

18. Gavin Ferreira 1996 Atlanta, USA Hockey

19. Dhanraj Pillay 1996

2000

2004 Atlanta, USA

Sydney, Australia Athens, Greece Hockey

20. Sameer Daad 2000 Sydney, Australia Hockey

21. A.B. Subbaiah 1992

1996 Barcelona, Spain

Atlanta, USA Hockey

[Pervez Bari is a Journalist based at Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. He is associated with IndianMuslimObserver.com as Bureau Chief (Madhya Pradesh). He can be contacted at pervezbari@eth.net]

Bhopal: Within just one year of entering into the field of non-conventional tusser production, Madhya Pradesh stands among leading states in the sector like Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Orissa and Andhra Pradesh.

In the first year 2010-11 itself, beneficiaries produced 192 lakh tusser cocoon against the target of 150 lakh. Against the target of tusser cultivation in 5000 hectares of forest area, it was cultivated in 9,600 hectares. During the period, 5,600 producers were benefited by tusser cultivation.

Tusser producers of village Jyoteshwar in Narsinghpur district of the state have created history by earning an average income of Rs. 25,000. It is hoped that about 20,000 thousand producers will be benefited by tusser cultivation in the state during the current fiscal. After tusser cultivation and cocoon production, people of the state are also likely to get employment on a large scale in thread-making from tusser cocoons.

Tusser is a kind of silk. Producers of silk breed its cocoons on the trees of mulberry since its larva silkworm feeds on the leaves of mulberry alone while the larvae of tusser eats leaves of Arjun and Saja trees in forests and forms their cocoons on these trees. It is also called tusser silk or jungle silk.

The undivided Madhya Pradesh was a leading state in tusser production, but its bifurcation most of tusser producing areas went to the share of Chhattisgarh due to which newly carved Madhya Pradesh had lagged behind in its production. Now, the state is all set to regain its lost position in tusser production due to the sustained efforts made by the Bharatiya Janata Party ruled current State Government.

[Pervez Bari is a Journalist based at Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. He is associated with IndianMuslimObserver.com as Bureau Chief (Madhya Pradesh). He can be contacted at pervezbari@eth.net]

Bhopal: Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mr. Shivraj Singh Chouhan will take part in India Economic Summit-2011 at Mumbai on November 14 and express his views on the new role of states as catalyst of development.

The Chief Minister will also hold talks with heads of industrial houses and executives of world-level companies taking part in the summit on new models of economic development and development potential in the state. Mr. Chouhan will also meet World Economic Forum Chairman Prof. Klaus Schwab.

He will also hold separate talks with the heads of Tata Steel, Godrej, Infosys, Alvia India, Boeing International, Tata Consultancy, Ultratech Cement, Procter & Gamble India and Videocon Industries. These companies have made large-scale investment in the state.

Besides economic experts, political leaders of Australia, Belgium, Canada, Mozambique, Singapore, Tanzania, Britain and America are also taking part in the summit.

[Pervez Bari is a Journalist based at Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. He is associated with IndianMuslimObserver.com as Bureau Chief (Madhya Pradesh). He can be contacted at pervezbari@eth.net]

Sardarpur: "In the 400-year history of this village, we had never experienced communal tension between Hindus and Muslim before 2002. In fact, Muslims and Hindus had lived in this village so peacefully that it could be a model village for communal harmony," said Munsafkhan Pathan, retired police official and one of the prime witnesses to Sardarpura massacre case.

Pathan was busy with preparations for his nephew's wedding scheduled on November 11, when DNA visited him in Sardarpura on Wednesday. Talking about communal harmony in the village, he said: "This village was under the regime of Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad of Baroda and the Muslim fighter community had been given the responsibility of protecting the area. Thus, Sardarpura village came up. In fact, till now, we have a letter written to our forefathers by the Thakor administrator of nearby Dhanpura, in which it was mentioned that the Muslim administrator of Sardarpura had brought Patel community people from Dhanpura to Sardarpura and helped them settle there for agriculture."

He added, "In fact, Muslims of this village have shed their blood to protect the villagers from the attacks by dacoit Meerkhan. But under the influence of RSS and VHP, the mentality of young people of the village got changed."

According to Pathan, earlier during the marriage processions, members of Patel and other communities would stop playing music voluntarily while passing by the mosque in the village, but afterwards, they won't stop but no Muslim ever objected. After some time, the members started throwing firecrackers at the mosque during such processions. Senior community leaders from both the sides tried to control them but in vain.

"In fact, a day after the Godhra train carnage, some shops of Muslim traders were burnt in the village. Sensing seriousness of the matter, I had called a special meeting of all the communities for preventing further damage to communal harmony. While many people attended the meeting, Patel community people remained absent. The reason for their absence was known on March 1, 2002, when 33 innocent people, including women and children, were brutally burnt in a room," Pathan said.

Even today both Hindu and Muslim residents are trying their best to restore confidence in both the communities _ for each other. "We had planned to invite all families of the Patel community, including the accused, to my nephew's wedding. Now that the verdict is out , we are not sure if they would accept our invitation. Besides, we had tried to bring in a compromise formula in the case, but because of political interests of some people, our efforts were ignored and overruled," he said.

Bhopal: Rajgarh, the bastion of Digvijay Singh, general secretary of the All India Congress Committee (AICC) is all decked up with a saffron hue where 3-day massive Hindu convention of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) is getting underway on November 13 to discuss various issues including terrorism, corruption, conversion, infiltration, casteism, proposed communal violence Bill etc.

The RSS move to hold Hindu convention at Rajgarh, which was a princely state under the British Raj, is to corner Digvijay Singh in his home town as he has been targeting the Sangh Parivar off and on with his caustic statements and remarks which has probably unsettled the RSS and forced it on the back foot. Singh has accused the RSS of involvement in terror activities. He had accused the RSS cadres of involvement in terror activities way back in 2002 when he was still the chief minister of Madhya Pradesh saying that he had enough proof to back his allegations. He continues to attack the RSS.

Though Singh has kept his word about not contesting an election for 10 years after the humiliating loss in the 2003 Madhya Pradesh Assembly elections, he makes it a point to campaign in Rajgarh. In the 2009 Lok Sabha general election, Narayan Singh, who had never contested even an Assembly election, had won the Rajgarh seat thanks to his mentor Singh.

A huge tent township has come up in Rajgarh, a parliamentary seat once held by Digvijay Singh and where he continues to call the shots, at the Sankat Mochan Mandir venue. Whole of the Rajgarh has been decorated with saffron flags and the RSS workers from all over the district have reached to perform voluntary services in preparing the venue for the grand occasion. The town is 145 KMs from the Madhya Pradesh state capital Bhopal. Some Swayam Sevaks would also exhibit physical exercise and an exhibition of nationalism and the works done by the Sangh.

RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat will address the convention on Sunday at a stadium named after Hindutva icon Veer Savarkar during his first-ever visit to the communally sensitive town.

Activists of Hindu Samagam Samiti, Rajgarh, moved from door to door in the nearby villages making people to take a pledge to adopt Swadeshi, to keep away from foreign goods, work for cow protection and greet each other with ‘Ram Ram’ among other things.

Meanwhile, Madhya Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) president and MP Kantilal Bhuria in a statement here said: “The RSS that was born to nurture Hindu interests has deviated from its aim and has totally forgotten them. Now, it is only acting as the political agent of the BJP and is working for the interest of the BJP while indulging in vote bank politics.”

Bhuria further said that the outfit ‘now works to mislead Hindus by resorting to dramatics of organising Hindu conclaves for last few years in Madhya Pradesh. It is surprising to note that the RSS’s mentors of the State remember to hold this type of conclaves when the elections in the State are around (the corner)’. A similar Hindu conclave was organised by the RSS in Jhabua during the last Assembly elections of the State, and since then, it never looked back at the plight of that region, he added.

Bhuria, also a former Union Minister, advised the RSS to go back to its roots of Hindu interest and take up genuine concern as the way of reviving its reputation which is fast falling among the Hindus. It would be in the interest of the RSS to stay away from political gimmicks, he added.

[Pervez Bari is a Journalist based at Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. He is associated with IndianMuslimObserver.com as Bureau Chief (Madhya Pradesh). He can be contacted at pervezbari@eth.net]