Asghar Ali Engineer - His life was Gentle; and the Elements…

Asghar Ali Engineer - His life was Gentle; and the Elements…
   SYED ALI MUJTABA

Well I will never forgive myself, if I don’t pen an obit on revered Islamic scholar Asghar Ali Engineer who passed away on 14 May 2013 in Mumbai. He was a reformist-writer and activist and internationally known for his work on liberation theology in Islam. He led the Progressive Dawoodi Bohra movement. The focus of his work was on communal and ethnic violence in India. He was an advocate of a culture of peace, non-violence and communal harmony.

 I first met him at AMU Aligarh in early eighties where I was an undergraduate student of History there.He was lecturing at the Kennedy Hall and some friends told me about this event. My knowledge about Islamic history was zero and I just curiously went to hear him. He was quoting from the Islamic literature and his speech was so learned that it bounced over my head.  Nonetheless I am indebted to him as he opened the horizons of my knowledge.

I remember vividly how he described about his Bohra community’s politics. The diktat of the spiritual head of the Bohra community Mr. Syedna, how he was attacked inside the mosque when he resisted his fatwas. I owe all this knowledge to late Asghar Ali Engineer. That conversation continued much after the lecture.  This event happened more than 30 years ago, but the memories are still fresh.

After that I started reading him mainly his write-ups in Mainstream then edited by Nikhil Chakravartty, also in Seminar edited by Romesh Thapar. Those were the days I was preparing for Civil Services exam in JNU. I was as well researching on the theme The Demand for Partition of India. My thesis is now in a book.  - http://www.amazon.com/demand-partition-India-British-policy/dp/8170998689

It was also those turbulent years of the late eighties and early 90’s. Ayodhya - Babri Masjid controversy was boiling, all around riots were happening in the country. A sequel of communal politics was happening in India, with first the demolition of Babari Masjid, the Mumbai riots, and then Mumbai bomb blasts.  All this had put the secularist in a corner while the communalist held sway.

It was at this moment of time Asghar Ali Engineer was not only chronicling those events but also through his writing resisting the politics of hate and revenge that ruled the roost. He upheld the secular values at time when communalism was making an onslaught. This is his greatest contribution to Indian society.

I remained deeply engrossed reading his ideas on communalism and secularism as they were so profound. He is the first person in this country to highlight the menace of communal riots. He use to visit those places where the communal riots took place and his fact finding reports published in the media exposed the saffron biases against the Muslims.  

It’s only when his fact finding mission reports gained publicity the so called national media which early use to parrot the police version of the riots or cooked up its own stories, to blame the Muslims, were forced to take a balanced view of such events.

Asghar Ali Engineer was not simply an armed chaired theoretician but also a grassroots worker who actually saw the developments on the ground and made his observations and comments. This makes his position much above the ranks and files of the scholars who have made their own distinct contributions.


He served as head of the Institute of Islamic Studies and the Centre for Study of Society and Secularism, both of which he founded in 1980 and 1993 respectively. He also made contributions to The God Contention, a website comparing and contrasting various worldviews.

Dr. Asghar Ali Engineer’s autobiography “A Living Faith: My Quest for Peace, Harmony and Social Change” was released by Vice President Hamid Ansari on 20 July 2011, in New Delhi.

My next encounter with him was in Chennai in 98-99, when I went to interview him as a reporter of a local daily. He was talking at the Anna University, after which I had an opportunity to interview him on the subject of communalism in this country.

My interview centered on the perils of communalism and his prognosis how to uphold the secular values in multi religious country like India. I found him to be convinced about the idea that secularism alone can be guiding principal of nation building.

He said communalists are like frogs that may come during rainy season and vanish. Secularists are those who can brave all weathers and stand like a rock to combat the divisive forces in the society. I must pay him my deep respect and sincere gratitude for imparting me a few piece of wisdom.

Even though he is no more among us, but his writings would continue to inspire millions of people in the country.  He was bacon of light serving the humanity with utmost conviction. All those who have read and heard Asghar Ali Engineer will never forget him and he will live in their hearts as long they are alive.

There can be no one like Asghar Ali Engineer but I am sure his words and action will be a source of aspiration to many in the country who may like to tread the path laid by him. I have no doubt in saying that he was of the finest human beings with whom I had the privilege to meet, interact and shake am hands. I really feel proud for having such an opportunity.  

I like to quote William Shakespeare and his famous lines in Julius Caesar as my concluding remarks in praise of late Asghar Ali Engineer – His life was gentle; and the elements so mixed in him, that Nature might stand up and say to the entire world, THIS WAS A MAN!

--
Syed Ali Mujtaba is journalist based in Chennai. He can be contacted at syedalimujtaba@yahoo.com

Mamta Kulkarni’s Life, Another Dirty Picture in Making

Mamta Kulkarni’s Life, Another Dirty Picture in Making 
Syed Ali Mujtaba



Bollywood diva of the 1990’s Mamta Kulkarni who was lost in this lonely planet for some time now has finally been discovered to be living in Nairobi, Kenya.

The heartthrob of millions of youth of her generation has converted to Islam and is living with her husband Yousuf alias Vicky Goswami, a drug lord, who after serving prison sentence in Dubai has moved to Nairobi.

It is said that Mamta had a big role in Vicky’s release as she married him while he was serving jail sentence in Dubai. The marriage took place according to the Islamic rituals and both groom and the bride, recited passages of Holy Scripture before being declared husband and wife.

Mamta’s journey in life seems to be a fairy tale that has all the juice and spice for a Bollywood pot-boiler. It just needs a screen play writer to produce another 'Dirty Picture'.

Mamta charmed her way to stardom in Bollywood in the 90’s and then cashing on her physical assets moved into the inner circles of the underworld, finally to settle with Vikram alias Vicky Goswami, a drug lord.

Vicky Goswami (now 52), was a drug baron in South Africa. He first landed there in 1994 after being deported from Zambia for suspected drug trafficking. He left South Africa in 1995 in a huff, after the murder of drug dealer Robert "Rocks" Dlamini.

Vicky moved to Mumbai from where he continued his business. He supplied drugs to filmy personalities and it is then JAB WE MET story of Mamta Kulkarni started.

Mamta showed great interest in Vicky’s business and it seems both were made for each other. It was around 2002, when Mumbai police was looking for Bollywood connection with the underworld that Mamta moved to Dubai along with Vicky Goswami.

In Dubai, Vicky linked up with senior government officials and set up two methaqualone (mandrax) manufacturing plants.  His business flourished but a joint sting operation in Mozambique and South Africa led to the unearthing of his drug manufacturing factories in Dubai. Vicky was arrested and sentenced to life imprisonment.

It is reported that when Vicky was in Jail, Mamta stepped into his shoes to control his business. Sources imprisoned with Vicky say that he was treated well in jail. He had access to cell phone and he controlled his business with that.

Mamta use to visit Vicky in jail regularly. She is believed to be instrumental in setting her lover free. Mamta was able to convince the authorities that Vicky has converted to Islam and like to marry her, who has also converted to Islamic faith.

A life sentence in Dubai is in effect 25 years, but prisoners can apply for early release on various grounds. Apart from good conduct, these include converting to Islam and learning to recite passages from the Holy Qu'ran.

Vicky in order to strengthen his clemency appeal, converted to Islam took the name Yusuf and prayed five times a day in order to prove that he has became a devout Muslim and recited passage from the Holy Scriptures daily. While being incarcerated, he got married to Aysha alias Mamta Kulkarni according to Islamic rites. These things speed up his early release and his life sentence was cut short by ten years.

Vicky was released from the Dubai central jail in November, 2012. He was deported to India but since he had no cases pending against him, he left for Kenya along with Mamta Kulkarni. The couple are believed to be living happily in Nairobi.

Mamta Kulkarni was at a point in time, one of the biggest actors in Bollywood. In the ‘90s, she had worked with some of the top stars, including the three Khans, as well as the likes of Govinda and Akshay Kumar who were at the peak of their careers.

Born in 1972 in an ordinary Maharashtrian family, Mamta joined Bollywood at the age of 20. She worked in Tiranga in 1992 with Raj Kumar and Nana Patekar, and carved a niche for herself in the industry.


She got the lead role the very next year in Aashiq Awara with Saif Ali Khan. Both Mamta and Saif won the Best debut film awards that year.  In 1993 Mamta paired with film star Govinda in the film Ashant.

Mamta worked in nearly a dozen films in a brief span on two years, and signed up films at random for the next three years.  Her film with Akshay Kumar in Sabse Bada Khiladi was a super hit. In 1994, she had another hit Krantiveer with Nana Patekar.

Rakesh Roshan's Karan Arjun was a super hit in 1995, in which Mamta appeared with Shah Rukh Khan. At one point of time, Mamta was working with all three great Khans in Bollywood, Shah Rukh, Salman and Aamir. She did Baazi with Aamir Khan in 1995, which was a big hit.

It was the year 1997; Mamta become the love interest of director Raj Kumar Santoshi, who gave her an item number in the film Ghatak. Their relationship prospered and Santoshi signed her up for his next film China Gate. A quarrel between Santoshi and Mamta, led to her ouster from the film.

It is reported that Mamta complained this matter to underworld don Chhota Rajan, who intervened and Santoshi was forced to take her back. He however pruned her role badly, and gave the dazzling item number ‘Chamma Chamma’ to Urmila Matondkar. This led Mamta to level serious charges against Santoshi including those of sexual exploitation.

By the year 2000, Mamta was nearing a steep decline in her film career. Her film Qila with Umesh Mehra flopped, and Chhupa Rustam with director Madan Mohla too fared badly at the box office.

In 2002, Mamta did the role of a Devdasi in the film Khajuraho, a small B-grade flick, exposing her physical attributes, but that too got bombed.

In a desperate attempt to revive her career, she appeared shirtless on the cover page of the magazine Stardust, but that failed to create any ripples. The steep decline in her film career was evident.

Some say, Mamta’s mother was the reason behind her downfall, as she was greedy, and forced her daughter to sign films recklessly. Whatever may be the case, it was after that, Mamata changed tracks. She started doing shows for selected clients. This included parties thrown by the people from the underworld.

In 1997, she was reportedly paid a large amount to perform at a private function by a legislator from Bihar, who was later arrested after investigations into the Fodder Scam case.

As Mamta allegedly started keeping wrong company her personal life got in the way of her professional life. Her co-stars and producers began to avoid her, as she was found hobnobbing with the dreaded figures of underworld.

In those turbulent years, when Mumbai police was anxious to unravel the Bollywood-underworld connection, Vicky Goswami got struck in Mamta's charm. Mumbai police record shows that Mamta was in relationship with drug smuggler Vicky alias Vikram Goswami, a drugs supplier to those associated with the Hindi film industry.

Their relationship flourished and the lovers moved to Dubai to avoid controversies and crime. It was from 2002 onwards that Mamata Kulkarni totally disappeared from the Bollywood scene.

It is reported that Mamta owns three flats in her name at Sky Anchorage apartment in Andheri West, Mumbai.  All the three flats remains locked but Mamta sends maintenance charges for them regularly.

The latest buzz is that the 90’s beauty has got a plastic surgery done on her face in 2010 and has acquired a totally different look. She has obtained a passport from Dubai with a different looking photograph. Speculations are rife that Mamta is trying to erase her identity from her acquaintances in India and wants to live a life of complete anonymity in Nairobi.

The saga of Mamta Kulkarni is not yet over. The South African investigation agencies are still looking for Vicky Goswami for his illicit crimes committed in that country. It’s likely that there will be more news coming about Mamta Kulkarni in times to come.

-----------------
Syed Ali Mujtaba is journalist based in Chennai. He can be contacted at syedalimujtaba@yahoo.com

Surrogacy debate heating up in India

Surrogacy debate heating up in India
Syed Ali Mujtaba

The debate around surrogacy is really heating up in India with a PIL being moved in the Calcutta High Court on the issue of surrogate mothers and export of children produced by in-vitro fertilization (IVF) (test tube baby) to foreign countries.

The PIL alleged that poor women and girls have become victims of this recent trend in the country and the fertility centers are responsible for their condition.The PIL urged the High Court to direct the central and state governments for introduction of a law to protect the surrogate mother and the child and that the entire issue be investigated by the CBI.

Hearing the PIL, the division bench of Chief Justice Arun Mishra and Justice Joymalya Bagchi directed the central government to file an affidavit within eight weeks.

The petition claimed that production of children through surrogate mothers has become a booming business for fertility centres. It alleged that there was no government control on fertility centres in India and more than 1000 test-tube babies are born every year. There are about 1,000 registered and unregistered fertility centers in India.

A Kolkata-based NGO, India's Smile, had filed a PIL which cited the recent trend of fertility centres charging huge amount of money from couples who cannot, or do not want to bear children.

According to the petition, there is no law in the country to protect surrogate mothers or to stop the malpractice by fertility centres. Advocate Ajay Roy, counsel of the NGO, said the fertility centres force poor women and even girls to sell their eggs to meet the demand of the couples who cannot bear children.

The petition mentioned the incident of a 17-year-old minor girl, who reportedly died after the process of egg donation, was conducted on her by one Routanda Centre for Human Reproduction in Mumbai.

Another malpractice that the petition complained of was that many couples who cannot bear children or do not want to take the pain of bearing one, hire wombs of women for the purpose.

Fertilised eggs are placed in the 'hired' wombs of these women, who agree to go through it for money. After childbirth, the fertility centres issue a false birth certificate for the child where there is no mention of the surrogate mother. The couple then takes away the child, mostly abroad.

Notwithstanding the facts, the matter of surrogacy has become a serious issue in the country. Surrogacy in India is estimated to be a $445 million business with the country becoming a leading service provider. Each year, an estimated 25,000 foreign couples visit India for surrogacy services, resulting in more than 2,000 births.

This is because of the low cost of treatment and the ready availability of women willing to rent their wombs. In comparison to USA where surrogacy cost is about $70,000, it is a bargain in India — running anywhere from $18,000 to $30,000. A surrogate is generally paid about $5,000 to $7,000 for carrying a child to term.

Traditionally lax regulations surrounding the industry have made India a popular destination for couples from European nations and Australia, where surrogacy is not legal.

The issue shot into limelight in 2008 when a surrogate mother gave birth to a girl ‘Manji’ in Gujarat. The baby's parents, Ikufumi, 45, and his wife Yuki, 41, came to India and hired the service of a surrogate mother from Anand town in Gujarat.

However, before the baby was born the couple separated and divorced. Manji's father claimed the custody of the child but laws in India do not permit this and the issue got entangled in legal battle.

The Supreme Court finally granted Manji's custody to her 74-year-old grandmother but this was contested by an NGO named ‘Satya.’ The NGO claimed that Manji was an abandoned baby.This made the Supreme Court to ask the central government to clarify its stand on issues related to surrogacy, particularly parentage and citizenship.

There was another case in which a Norwegian woman was stranded for over two years in India with twins born by an Indian surrogate. The mandatory DNA tests showed that the children were not biologically related to her, the Norwegian embassy in India refused to issue her travel papers for the twins. The case stretched out until 2012 and when the babies eventually were allowed to travel back to the parents’ country of origin, other complications continue to haunt the lady there.

In 2010 a French gay man, who had twins through an Indian surrogate, was allowed to travel back to France, where surrogacy is illegal. He is still engaged in a court battle even as the government there took away the twins and placed them in foster care.

Even though still there is not much clarity on the issue, the surrogacy debate is really heating up in India. In December 2012, India’s Home Ministry circulated to Indian missions abroad, stipulating that gay couples, single men and women, non-married couples and couples from countries where surrogacy is illegal be prohibited from hiring a commercial surrogate in India.

As of an unspecified date, foreigners who want to hire a surrogate must be a “man and woman,” the new rule says, “[who] are duly married and the marriage should be sustained at least two years,” Indian Mission circular added.

The opinion seems to be building for having relevant laws regarding this issue that should not only protect the surrogate mothers, but also some clarity on the foreigners who come to India looking for renting wombs.

The, British and American laws forbid surrogate mothers to charge a childless couple, whereas in India there is no such law. It raises the question whether surrogate mothers should be allowed to charge a fee. Besides, what to do with the fact that there is too much money that’s changing hands in this business.

All these issues and many more issues are supposed to be addressed through ‘Assisted Reproductive Technology, Regulation Bill 2010,’ that the government has drafted and plans to bring in the Parliament. It’s high time that this bill is tabled in the Parliament, discussed and debated and then passed to become a law in the country.

----
Syed Ali Mujtaba is a journalist based in Chennai. He can be contacted at syedalimujtaba@yahoo.com

Witness to Environmental Degradation Scene in India

Witness to Environmental Degradation Scene in India
Syed Ali Mujtaba

In the month of January, 2013, I traveled from Paras-Nath, the Jain pilgrimage center in the Jharkhand state to Gaya, Bihar. I traveled in the 'cattle class' compartment of a local passenger train to have the feel of real India.

The Indian states of Bihar and Jharkhand are on the eastern Railway route and the state of Jharkhand that is carved out of Bihar in the year 2000 has hilly terrain and tribal population. The lush green trees cover the rocks making it a perfect setting of a forest.

I have traveled on such train journey before and it used to be a beautiful sight with leaves brushing the windows and one can pluck some flowers or fruit on the way. Alas it’s no more, one can see the plight of the forest with its fallen trees from a distance.

A rampant felling of the trees is going on in this part of the world. Some mafia men operating in these jungles with the help of local tribal’s are cutting the trees in a large scale.

I was caught up in the train, which stopped midway in between the forest and rocks and saw huge amount of logs, (must be more than 100 ton of log) stuffed into the  train. All the passengers suffocated inside the compartment as the guys stacked the logs everywhere in the compartment. They were ferrying this goods from there to Gaya town, the seat of Buddhism in India.

Apart from wood there were many gunny bags of charcoal that was also loaded into the train. These charcoals were meant for the incense sticks (Agarbati) industry thriving in Gaya. The charcoal is produced burning the trees in the jungle, that’s first felled and then left to be dried and to be burnt to produce charcoal.

The activity is taking place in most of the passenger trains on Kodarma to Gaya line within a distance of about 50 kilometres. The train crosses the local stations like Gujhandi, Dilwa, Gurpa, Paharpur and Tankuppa where are logs loaded. Then most of the logs are off loaded between Bandhua and Manpur stations that fall in the outskirts of Gaya town.

The scene on the train is glaring. One is applaud why it’s not reported in the local media and why no action is taken to stop such kind of environmental degradation that’s going on with impunity.

There seems to be a very systematic operation going on in this part of the country. It is done with the connivance of local officials, forest department, and train officials.

The passengers traveling in such train are poor illiterate folks, who are just mute spectators. Even though they may not be happy about the way things are happening, they simply don’t know what to do.  

My inquisitiveness arose to know more about such blatant theft of forest resources happening in broad daylight in such secluded train route. I started inquiring about this and was told by a loader Deepak Marandi who was stacking the logs in the compartment that they pay 30,000 rupees to the train driver and other staff members for ferrying the logs to Gaya.

I saw a huge number of tribal people waiting near the railway tracks with their collection of logs to be loaded in the train. The train stopped exactly where such folks were standing. Some of the loaders were waiting along with the tribals, others traveled in the train. The loaders quickly got into the act once the train stopped. Logs were stacked between two compartments, on the passage and on the door and some near the window.  Some even took the wood up on the roof, but that’s dangerous as its hilly terrain, told Deepak.

The tribals were paid according to the weight of the wood they could collect and bring to the railway track. It appears that in certain cases an entire family was involved in this activity. After the loading was over, the tribals collected their wages and disappear into the forest. They are supposed to come next day with another bunch of logs.

After the loading operation gets over the train starts moving on its journey to Gaya. When the town starts approaching the train slows down at certain specified places and logs are unloaded. There trucks are waiting and logs are again loaded and transport via road to the city.

It appears there are ‘big fishes,’ which are funding this and buy the logs to use it for different purposes. Since the quality of the wood is very good it can be used for making furniture, said Deepak who was very candid in his description.

Its residues are used for burning purposes and replaces cooking coal. Some woods are even burnt to make charcoal that is used for making incense sticks.

With ‘Bodh Gaya’ (Vatican of the Buddhists) at arms distance, incense sticks are in great demand as Buddhist uses them for religious purposes. This is a lucrative business that’s thriving at the expense of the forest wood, explained Deepak my fellow passenger, sitting on the log of woods.

This is a true ground report that needs to be highlighted in the national media. It calls for immediate action to stop such wanton destruction of the forest resources. A constant vigil and follow-up is required so that such acts do not get repeated over a period of time.
--
Syed Ali Muntaba is a journalist based in Chennai. He can be contacted at syedalimujtaba@yahoo.com

Indian Muslims View Beg Attention

Indian Muslims View Beg Attention
Syed Ali Mujtaba

Muslim views are seldom highlighted in the mainstream media. There is little attempt to articulate the aspirations and frustrations of the largest minority group in India. As a result their pent up anger continues to grow. Often Indian Muslims are found lamenting that they get bad press. There are some grievances of Muslim community that not only needs consideration but some are in dire need to be addressed immediately. Here  an attempt is made to piece them together so that the pulse of the community could be felt very loud and clear.

 Muslims are being targeted in the name of Terrorism

Its felt that innocent Muslim youth are deliberately being targeted for cracking the cases of terrorism. The modus-oprendi is to first implicate some Muslim youths on fabricated charges and then detain them. Such detainees are then forced to make false confessions through third degree methods. The Nimesh Commission probed into the arrest of Muslim youth in UP has indicted the state government for arresting Muslim youths on concocted charges. This pattern has emerged through out the country in cases of acquittal of several Muslim youth who have spend long years in jails as under trial.  The Muslim community desires the release all such Muslim youth languishing in jails UP jails across the country. The community demands the governments responsible for such false arrest should pay adequate compensation to the acquitted "terror" victims. Their lost years, destroyed careers, and defamation should be taken into account in deciding the compensation.The community feels that the existing laws in the country are enough to deal with the scourge of terrorism and strongly demands the terrorist law POTA should be repealed as under such law innocent Muslim youths are targeted.

Welfare Schemes

The Sachar commission report on Muslim backwardness had prompted the government to announce a slew of schemes to up lift the community. These schemes are meant to be implemented in the so-called Muslim-dominated districts. However, only few schemes are executed so far. Even the educational scholarships scheme is not properly implemented. Last year sixty percent of budget of this scheme was not utilized and had to be returned. The community wants the government should honor its commitment towards minority welfare schemes.

 Reservation Issue

The Muslim community likes to remind the Union government for the implementation of the Mishra Commission report that has recommended reservation for the Muslims. It also wants to know why the government has not yet given its reply to the Supreme Court on including the Muslim and Christian Dalits in the SC / ST reservation list. The Muslim community feels that the exclusion of Muslim and Christian Dalits from the SC / ST quota is against the spirit of the Constitution of India.

Stop Illegal Religious Construction

The Muslim community takes serious note of the dangerous trend of the construction of illegal Hindu religious structure near Muslim shrine, Masjid, Qabristan, or monuments in the country. The modus- oprendi is to place an idol, a picture, or a piece of stone near a Muslim structure. This is followed by Hindu rituals and puja and after that the place is declared as a Hindu place of worship. Such provocation is going on from a long time and the Muslim community appeals to the Union government to wake up to such realities. It is of the view that such development is taking place through out the country and should be handled with the firmness it deserves, else may tar the secular credentials of the country. The Muslim community appeals to the media to report such development in an unbiased manner and the secular NGO's should come forward and file a complaint against such cases for necessary action.

Stop Saffron goons from targeting Muslims

The Muslim community takes note of the growing trend of saffron goons' intimidating certain section of the Muslim community that's traditionally engaged in the meat trade. Opening of new abattoirs and meat shops are resisted, old ones are closed down, and trucks transporting cattle are being hijacked. The Muslim community treats such hurdles an economic assault on a section of the community. It calls upon the state governments to punish the saffron goons, communal elements in the government that includes police found engaged in such activities.

Promulgate Waqf Bill

The Muslim community urges the government to hurry with the Waqf bill through the Parliament. It has to take into account the suggestions made by some Muslim organizations. One of the suggestions was to have the Waqf bill on the lines of Gurdwara Act of 1925. It will lead to the creation of a Waqf Committee that would manage the Waqf properties in the country. The committee can manage various educational institutions, hospitals and charitable organizations from the revenue earned from the Waqf properties. Its no secret that there is huge amount of Waqf properties scattered through out the country and are in utter neglect, encroached upon and illegally being sold. The community feels that many of the Muslim problems in India could be solved if Waqf properties are put into good use for them.

Dispose Babri Masjid Case 

The Muslim community reiterates its full faith in the Supreme Court of the country for the resolution of the Babri Masjid dispute. There are long list of litigation and appeals pending with the Supreme Court in this case. The community eagerly awaits an early disposal of all such cases.

Check Ecological Catastrophe in J & K 

Muslim community shares the anxieties of the Kashmiri brothers over ecological catastrophe due to the increasing activities and infrastructure development by the Amarnath Trust in Jammu and Kashmir. The activities going on to cater to the ever-growing number of pilgrims to Amarnath, is having disastrous impact on the area's fragile ecology. Muslim community appeals to the government to limit the visitors only to the ecologically permissible limit. It is learn that pilgrims has grown from a few thousand in pre-1990 to around 6.5 lakh in 2012.

The Muslim community's views as expressed here are of 'Muslim Mushawarat Committee,' an umbrella organization of several Muslim groups. Their exclusive narrative vouches an inclusive growth story. It definitely  deserves consideration. There is a silver lining in the litany of their demands, that is the Muslim community's unstinted faith in their motherland.
-----
Syed Ali Mujtaba is a journalist based in Chennai. He can be contacted at syedalimujtaba@yahoo.com

Muslim Profiling and Vishwaroopam

Muslims Profiling and Vishwaroopam

Syed Ali Mujtaba

The controversy centering on the profiling of the Muslim community in the movie Vishwaroopam has fallen into the quagmire of the hackneyed debate of right of expression vs right to protest.

The liberals are flagging the freedom of expression agenda, while those at the receiving end are vehement about asserting their fundamental right to protest for being profiled as terrorist.  

 The fire power of the media is used by the freedom of expression protagonist to convince their commands are the final words of wisdom on this subject. While those publicly humiliated, are using the democratic armory to score some brownie points. 

Call it vote bank or the seize mentality of the minority community, this time the voices of dissent cannot be trampled, courtesy the government of the day has to take cognizance of the ground reality and is backing those who are crying hoarse of being hurt.  Who is winning and who is losing in this debate is left to the individual judgment as there are other nuggets in this story to be explored. 

   

There is a tug of war between Federal and the state government over this controversy. The central government is asserting its right saying the state cannot over rule the Central Government’s Censor Board that has given approval for the screening of the movie.  

 The state government on the contrary argues that when public peace is in jeopardy and law and order situation is likely to be tampered, the local government is within the constitutional right to maintain peace. Since law and order is a state subject the central government has no over riding powers over this subject. In the case of Vishwaroopam, the state government is convinced that public peace is paramount and banning the movie is for the larger social good.

 The judiciary too seems to be divided on the issue of banning the movie. When the state government banned the movie, a single bench stayed the government’s order and ruled in favour of the release of the movie. The government went for a appeal and a dual bench turned down the single bench ruling and justified the ban.

 The matter may be heard in the Supreme Court and its likely that the Apex court may quash the ban citing precedents. However, the question remains, will the release draw full houses or people may keep away from the theaters fearing untoward incidents.   

A similar situation had emerged with the release of the movie Arakshan and “Jodha Akbar.” Both the movies were banned by the state government first and then the Supreme Court ordered the release of the film.  Even then the damage was done as many movie goers stayed away from the theaters fearful of the shadows of the guns and the prospects of bomb blasts. Ultimately both the movies became victim of their controversies.

Coming back to the profiling of the Muslims, the nineties have been full with movies that depicted Muslims as anti social and terrorists. The Hindi – Hindu – Hindustan paradigm of the majority right wing India society that momentarily triumphed following the destruction of Babari Masjid cast its spell on the Indian film makers.

A glut of films with negative shades of Muslim characters was produced by the Bolloywood. In the topics of patriotism and nationalism Kashmir and Pakistan provided the set piece for villainy. If the plot was terrorism, then Kashmir and Pakistan has to be on the fore. The logical deduction was the characters have to be Muslims.

In this added another big picture, the 9/11, and US quest for infinite justice and enduring freedom. The celluloid industry became busy churning out movies of good guys’ verses bad guys theme. The holier than though image was straight jacketed for the US and the audience were made to forget about the creators of the bad guys.

One can understand the Hollywood perspective on such themes, but Bollwwood and Kollywood falling in line needs to straighten out.. It’s often discussed Indian movies produced these days are more foreign in nature and hardly have any Indian connect. The language, the dress, the location and many other such things are all foreign in nature and meant for the Diasporas or such international audience who generate much higher revenue. So taping international market gets priority and the Indian audiences are plated with some sleek visual delight. This formula seems to be working and every film maker seems to be in this race.

The movie Vishwaroopam is a classical example of such visual fantasy. The plot develops in the US, travels to Afghanistan and is plated to the Indian audience in Tamil language. Which Indian audience may relate to such a plot? 

Obviously the audience that most likely to connect with the movie will the Muslims. In the construct of villainy, they found their religion being denigrated in this film. If they chose to protest then what’s harm? It seems the freedom of expression protagonist like to cease the right to cry for being hurt. They want such slapped to sanity. Even in ‘demoncracy,’ this is not permissible.  

Vishwaroopam, as the name suggests tries to portray the shape of the world. According to the filmmaker's world view; “all Muslim are not terrorists, but all terrorists are Muslims”.  This is simple message the movie wants to convey.

When the controversy has reached its nadir, the question is being asked, is it the ignorance or the arrogance of the film maker that’s on display padding the anti Islamic visual contents in the movie Vishwaroopam? Belting US agenda, why the film maker did not thought of its viewers sentiments. 

From Iraq to Afghanistan, from Syria to Egypt, the .entire Muslim world is up in flames due to the hegemonic agenda of the US. In this backdrop a Tamil movie tries to blow the trumpet of Stars and Stripes.     

Embarking on such superlative projects with prejudiced world view is bound to ruffle feathers. Can a film maker afford to do this in a market driven industry which judges the success of the movie purely on its cash returns.

 Here a mention can be made about few movies that did the profiling of the Muslims with outmost sobriety. ‘New York’ ‘Kurban,’ ‘My name is Khan’ all tried present the problem of terrorism against the US in a holistic way. The Islamic content in the movie My Name is Khan is beautifully highlighted and this was well appreciated by the Muslims audience as well as others.

 A mention has to be made about a documentary Allah Hu Akbar (Allah is Great). This shows the protagonist Salim taxiwala, a devout Muslim who prays five times a day and firmly believes that Allah’s commandments run supreme on this earth. He carries a white foreigner in his cab to the airport but his follies during the journey make his passenger miss his international flight. Little did this cab driver realize that his carelessness inadvertently saved the life of the passenger whose flight was high-jacked by international terrorists who blew up the plane shouting Allah Hu Akbar. Such plot of good Muslim vs bad Muslim has a straight connect with the Indian audience. 

 ‘Vishwaroopam’ no doubt can be a great feast for the celluloid but its presentation has rough edges that are bound to poke those whom it tries to paint in negative shades. This takes us another area and that is the approval certification for its screening issued by the Censor Board of India. 

 The movie Vishwaroopam has raised eyebrows at the members of the Censor Board who has given it the clearance fit for screening. Their negligence for assessing the repercussions over clearing the anti Islamic content is glaring in this case.  Is the Censor Board a Holy Cow that needs to be worshiped? Can we blindly approve all that it clears for public viewing as an epitome of infallible truth?

  

The free flow of blood and gore, explicit sexual content finds its presence in the large body of the cinematic art that the Censor Board approves fit for entertainment. There is no control on the screen play, dialogue, lyrics that are full with innuendos and filth. Umpteen examples of highly sexual and lewd content can be cited that the Censor Board has cleared as fit form of cinematic expression.

Can we gulp such pulp fiction without making any hue and cry, just because the Censor Board has approved it? The general view is no film these days is worthy to be watched with family and children. Some argue that growing crime in the society is directly proportional to the immoral cinematic content licensed by the censor board. Who will address such concerns? 

In this money spinning industry where astronomical amount is spent on the making of the movie, a trend has developed that the seal can be bought by greasing the palms and the censor board is reduced to selling certificates.

The way out to the ‘Vishwaroopam’ controversy is found through an out of court settlement with the group objecting to its contents. But is this the right way to do so? How long a movie or any piece of art can lean on the crutches of the government or judiciary’s protection for its viewing. This question has to be addressed by those in the field of the creative art even before they start working on their storyboards.

 --------

Syed Ali Mujtaba is a journalist based in Chennai. He can be contacted at syedalimujtaba@yahoo.com - Earlier writeup of the author on the same theme can be checked here 

1- Bollywood and the Indian Muslims

http://www.indianmuslims.info/book/export/html/12167

2- The new Bollywood Muslim

http://www.livemint.com/Leisure/ywfzO7eB5mIxAR1NXXP0bO/The-new-Bollywood-Muslim.html

With You Without You

With You Without You 
Syed Ali Mujtaba

The post ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka has many sordid stories to tell, some about the woes of the war, others of its aftermath. Depicted is one such story in the movie "With You, Without You" (Oba Oba Ekka Nathuwa) that was screened at the 43 rd International Festival at Length Goa, India from November 20-30 2,012th.

The movie depicts the life in a society which still has unhealed wounds of the war, a war that lasted over three decades, killing over tens of thousands of people and rendering many more homeless. The film is set in the months after the Tamil Elam war and explores the emotional fall-out of such trauma on the lives of ordinary people in Sri Lanka

The movie tells the tale of the confrontation between a man from the majority Sinhalese point of view and a woman from the Tamil minority community. Their struggle with their own past is the main theme of the movie a metaphor that is used for the struggle within the tear drop island itself.

Selvi (Anjali Patil) is a beautiful but quiet Tamil refugee girl who catches the eye of a middle-aged Sinhala pawnbroker (Shyam Fernando) when she comes to his shop to cash in her last jewel. The Buddhist pawnbroker captivated by the Tamil beauty follows her to her temporary home. He discovers that his love interest is about to get married to an old man for wants of money.

The pawnbroker throws all caution to the winds and proposes to marry the Tamil girl. Selvi too breaks all barriers that divide the Tamil and Sinhala societies and moves into her savior's house. They slowly but surely fall in love with each other but neither of them ever talks about their past.

All was hunky-dory until an old army friend of the pawnbroker turns up in the house, and a terrible secret emerges, that unstitches the wounds of the war. Selvi, comes to know that the pawnbroker has army connection and the trauma of her past begins to hunt her.

The pawnbroker in order to unburden himself confides to Selvi, that he was in the Army before and was involved in the operation at Killinochi. He further tells her that in the operation the soldiers accompanying him had raped a Tamil girl who died subsequently and he got disgusted with such acts brutality and decided to quit the Army and have taken up the business of running a pawn shop.

The confession of the pawnbroker brings the memories of the ethnic conflict to the fore and Selvi becomes hysterical. The trauma of war over powers her and no amount of cajoling has any sobering effect on the Selvi. The pawnbroker tries to coax to be normal and promises to take her to India for sight seeing tour. He even sells his pawn shop and gets ready with his travel plans but Selvi is totally withdrawn. She has bouts of depression and has little interest in life.

It's a very romantic evening; Selvi watches from the high rise window the dark clouds hovering over the hills, playing hide and seek, signaling the coming of the beautiful bout of rain. The pawnbroker who has gone to the city is returning home riding a motor cycle. He has smiles on his face as he has got the air tickets to India and had purchased goodies for Selvi. He is trying to race with the clouds, avoiding being caught in the rain, the background score hinting for an emotional union, but the climax has a gory side.

Selvi, lost in her seems to be enjoying the spectacle of the nature and appearing to have a better view of the clouds, climbs up to the window and lo and behold, she then jumps out of it to her death. The pawnbroker on return finds that he was late to unite with his lady love, even though was able to beat the rain. This is the most haunting scene of the movie. This has a political message that represents Tamil - Sinhala divide. The lady after weighing her options to choose between love and politics, eventually sacrifice herself rather than giving herself to the protagonist lover, that too a former army man, whom Tamils hated awfully.    

The expression of the woes and miseries of the poor Tamil girl is powerfully portrayed by Indian actor Anjali Patil, who bagged golden peacock for the best actress at the Goa international film fest. The role of the pawnbroker is played by talented theatre actor Shyam Fernando who makes a debut in cinema. Others in the cast include Wasantha Moragoda and Maheshwari Ratnam.

The film is directed by Sri Lankan filmmaker Prasanna Vithanage. Some consider "With You, Without You" Prasanna's seventh directorial venture as his best work so far.

While talking about the creation of his film Prasanna told the media persons at the Goa film fest media conference; "When I was reading Fyodor Dostoyevsky's novel" The Meek One "over and over again, two things stuck into my mind. One was its probe into masculinity and the second was how consumerist values ​​have deprived people of human connection. When adapting this novel to a film, I based it upon the biggest issue facing our country, which is the ethnic conflict, "he said.

"With You, Without You," has a striking resemblance to the film "The English Patient," a 1996 romantic drama based on the novel of the same name by Sri Lankan-Canadian writer Michael Ondaatje. This movie is set before and during World War II, and is a story of love, fate, misunderstanding and healing. Directed by Anthony Minghella, this movie won nine Academy Awards, including Best Picture.

While watching the movie "With You, Without You" I had problem in categorizing this film. The movie is about love, it is related to the post war conflict as well; it is also an exhibition of third world cinema. What could be its proper genre was something that baffled me. Notwithstanding these facts, this co-production by India and Sri Lanka can be described as Sri Lanka 's independent cinema at its best.

-
Syed Ali Mujtaba is a journalist based in Chennai. He attended the 43 rd International Length Festival, November 20-30 at the 2,012th from Goa. He can be at Contacted Syedalimujtaba@yahoolcom