Rampant Corruption in India: Who is responsible?

Rampant Corruption in India: Who is responsible?
Syed Ali Mujtaba

A wise man that lived in Madras presidency narrated an anecdote that a tax collector (Tahsildar) who was very corrupt was punished and deputed to sit on the shores of the Corramandel coast and was given the job to count the waves. This man even in this found an opportunity to make money and started collecting tax from the ships that crossed the waves that he was suppose to count.

The moral of the story is corruption is an age old phenomena that’s evolving over a period of time. Earlier corruption used to be confined to certain section of society and large sections of them remained untouched. Now it’s a different story and corruption has percolated to each and every section of the society. It’s hard to point out where corruption is not present. We have been regularly fed media report on corruption;. Bofors, fodder scam, MPLAD scheme, coffin scam, hawala, match-fixing, Harshad Mehta, Ketan Prikh, George Fernandez Bagarau Laxman, Joyti Kumaran, Nuke deal trust vote, the list is endless. Every new report pales previous one into insignificance. All of them scream that corruption is growing at an alarming pace in India and if it goes unchecked, the peril of our nation is imminent.

In order to have introspection to the problem of corruption, a Chennai based NGO Nandini- Voice for the Deprived, organized anti corruption meeting on 15th August 2008 (Independence Day) at Chennai. The meeting was attended by over 250 participants consisting of former IAS officers, NGOs, professionals and large number of people from lower income group. The most noteworthy among them was Mr Kalyanam, now 88 years of age and who had served as personal assistant to Mahatma Gandhi.

Mr. N. Vittal, Former Central Vigilance Commissioner, of India delivered the keynote speech and began by saying that corruption has been defined by the World Bank as the ‘use of public office for private profit.’ In our country, there are five major players on the corruption scene, interdependent, strengthening and supportive of the vicious cycle. They are the corrupt politician (Neta); the corrupt bureaucrat (Babu); the corrupting businessman (Lala); the corrupt NGO ( Jhola); and the criminals (Dada).

He added that corruption flourishes in our system because of five basic reasons. (i) scarcity of goods and services; (ii) red tape and complicated rules and procedures; (iii) lack of transparency in decision-making; (iv) legal cushions of safety for the corrupt under the ‘healthy’ principle that everyone is innocent till proved guilty; and (v) tribalism among the corrupt who protect each other.

He further said corruption is a two-way street. For every bribe taker, there is a bribe giver. While the debate on corruption in our country has focused on the demand side of corruption, there has been a thundering silence on the supply side who bribes the public servants and politicians.

The former Central Vigilance Commissioner suggested a three-point plan to check corruption; first simplification of rules and procedures, second is empowering the public and bringing in greater transparency and third is effective punishment.

The important aspect of the meeting was that ahead of it, fifteen colleges from all over India took part in an essay competition “Rampant Corruption in India: Who is responsible.” Eleven college students among them won prizes and were awarded certificates and cash prizes during the meeting. Five of the students were allowed to speak and present their views on corruption in India.

One of them said corruption follows a vicious cycle, but the root cause is the corruption of the political system. The nexus between corrupt politicians and corrupt bureaucrats makes it look that any fight against corruption is the fight against the government itself, he said.

As long as the work is done, it is fine – this attitude of the people could be another cause for the rampant corruption in India. We have a tendency to blame the politicians, government employees or higher authorities in any sector for putting money in their pockets. But, have we ever introspected how true we are as citizens, with regard to the issue of corruption? How many of us do not look for “contact” for getting our children in good school or college, said another student.

The other underlying cause of corruption could be tolerance of the people, almost complete lack of intense public outcry against corruption and the absence of strong and effective public forum to oppose corruption allow it to reign over people.

Another student was intrigued about why that even the well informed people in India have carried this corruption burden for so long and why have they not revolted against it? Is this linked to an unflinching faith in karma theory or is it a reflection simply of utter helplessness, he asked? Even the efforts of great fighters like Anna Hazare have not made a dent into breaking the evil of corruption, and even the educated people are not supporting such efforts adequately, he said.

One speaker said we need a second freedom struggle and the fight against corruption must begin at home. Family and schools are the twin indispensable social institutions which must be activated to fight for value system in life. Functioning of these institutions at high ethical level can usher in a revolution to change the mind set of both the giver and the taker. The pressure must come from the public by agitating against corrupt practices. The youth can make a difference if there are role models for them, he said.


An interesting view was that most people who talk about corruption and ethics today appear to be of plus sixty. Most of them had been part of the corrupt system in public life in one way or the other earlier and had not fought against the issues when they had the power and energy. At sixty when they preach, they do not inspire confidence amongst the youth.

Alarm bell rang when some one said; one would shudder to think as to what would happen to the peace of the society, if the common men whose interests are defeated by the forces of corruption, would feel helpless and take to violence as the only option available to them to tackle corruption. He was obliquely pointing to the rise of the Maoist in India.

Another speaker pointed that if the corruption would continue at the present pace, it may lead to a situation where the corrupt people (both the givers and takers) would become shameless and even a sense of shame would not deter them from indulging in nefarious activities. This situation should not be allowed to deteriorate further and the corrupt forces in the country should be defeated at any cost, he advocated.

Use of modern gadgets like cell phones with cameras to expose corrupt officials was stressed by one speaker. Everyone can become a citizen journalist and make use of modern gadgets to expose the corrupt practices. Sting operation on corrupt official will certainly help reduce corruption to a great extent, he said.

N.S.Venkataraman, Trustee of the NGO, Nandini Voice for the Deprived, and the main organizer of the meeting concluded saying the root cause of corruption is greed and how to overcome it is the biggest challenge before us. He stressed that efforts should be made to develop hatred against corrupt practices and corrupt elements in our society.

Normally on Independence Day, the entire nation remains in a holiday mood. There is little time for anyone on this day to brood over such ticklish issues. Given this fact, efforts made towards organizing such a purposeful public meeting where there was involvement of large section of the society is something laudable. The organizers of this meeting definitely deserve a word of praise.

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

Begging a blot on shining India

Begging a blot on shining India
Syed Ali Mujtaba

The news of Abhinav Bindra bagging a gold medal in the shooting event at the Beijing Olympics sounds music to the ears. So does the news from Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) that Chandrayan the Indian mission to the moon is all set to take off this year. Definitely every Indian feels proud, especially when it comes at a time when our young and vibrant nation has turned 61 and celebrating its Independence Day on Friday, August 15, 2008.

However, there are some glaring realities that stare at our face when we walk around our motherland on the eve of our Independence. In such sites, the cry of humanity seems to be at large. I can narrate a few anecdotes from my personal experience to illustrate this point.

On a sunny afternoon, I stopped at the Chidambram, some 58 kilometer south of Pondicherry to see the beautiful 13th century temple dedicated to Lord Nataraja. As I walked down the dusty lane to take a look at the fabled temple, I was mobbed by few young females, holding infants in their arms, begging for alms. I was aghast to see a big number of them approaching any foreigner visiting the temple. Most of them were young woman invariably holding toddlers; some of them were sucking their open breast. The cry of humanity haunted me at this site. The call of my consciousness forced me to part away with all the loose change that I had at that point of time.

At another occasion I stood at Chennai’s Madyakailash traffic junction, notorious for long traffic jams. This is a place one has to take on the way to the IT corridor, the Tidal Park. Here one can spot a blind orchestra playing live music from the truck parked near the traffic junction and several visually challenged persons moving around with a collection box begging for alms. The soulful music played by the orchestra forced many like me to part with the loose changes to those visually challenged person.

A blot on Mera Bharat Mahan

These two episodes minutely profile the problem of beggars in the country. There are few distinct type of people engaged in this activity. One category forms of the old aged persons. Those with physical deformity like absence of limbs or having wound forms another category. Then there are child beggars both boys and girls. Young females with infants and blinds form another category. The transgender make yet another category.

There are several places where one may find beggars. One can spot them at local trains, railway platforms, railway satiations, place of worship. They are also found on the traffic signals, subways over bridges, market place and any other place where large number of people generally frequent every day. In short, it’s difficult not to spot a beggar in the Indian social milieu.

The most interesting aspect about these beggars is that in spite of being an epitome of abject poverty, misery, and pains some them are musical artists par excellence. One can find them play old songs, often full of pathos to draw attention and evoke sympathy. Often they would take the name of god and say’ “if you give them one paisa, god will give you ten lakhs.” There are some who can sing incredible folk songs that impresses the audiences so much that they are forced to give them alms.

Cause of the problem

There are several reasons why one is forced into begging. It could range from abject poverty to family problems to failure in business or poor health. Some are forced to beg because their family members have abandoned them. Some women are abandoned by their husband, while some old men are abandoned by their children. Most of them take to begging out of compulsion that later becomes a choice.


While some beg for survival, there are others who take to it easy to earn money. In Chennai rough estimates say that the amount involved in begging roughly could be around Rs.15 crore a year. A member of a blind orchestra standing at the traffic junction could make nearly Rs.2, 000 a day. One good day can fetch up to Rs.200. The small children could even add up to those numbers as they evoke more sympathy.

The census of India counts beggars as non-working persons and begging is an offence under the Prevention of Begging Act, 1945. As per Section 144 of the Indian Railways Act, illegal hawking and begging are banned at railway stations. However, the fact remains that no one can escape them visiting public places.

There are reports that suggest the existence of organized racket involved in this activity. This could be discerned from children seen begging in residential colonies for school fees. These kids carry bonafide certificates from schools which they don’t actually attend but doing this as a job that fetches them Rs 100 a day. Similarly the involvement of significant number of visually impaired persons or females with infants points towards the existence of some gangs. The police however deny this fact and say they have specific complaints regarding any such gangs.


Punishment and rehabilitation

Often beggars find themselves on the wrong side of law. Several beggars complain of police harassment that often chase them away or demand money for letting them to beg. When a person is picked up from the street for begging, either he or she is taken to government remand homes or to the care centers run by non-governmental organizations.


In government run remand homes the beggars could stay up to 15 days and if convicted spend up to three years. Those who stay for long time are taught carpentry, tailoring, weaving and pottery but those who are for short duration often returns to their places and continue begging.

Compared to the government run homes the NGOs are involved in rehabilitating the physically disabled, aged or the juvenile beggars are doing better job. There most of the old that are on the verge of death are given end-of-life care. Those healthy are provided an opportunity for alternative livelihood through education and skills.



The Way out
The exercise of all this is to tell that every developmental index of India falls flat when we see these living signboards scream about the darker side of our county. This concern becomes much more serious when our nation is turning 61. It’s high time that every countryman should take a pledge to weed out such harsh realities from our society. There should calibrated efforts made to house those who are waiting a call from almighty, and to rehabilitate those who are looking for a dignified life. All this could come only dawn upon when there is a realization to think twice as this could be another day for us in the paradise.
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Syed Ali Mujtaba is a working journalist based in Chennai. He can be contacted at syedalimujtaba@yahoo.com

They are Harry Potter Books with Difference

They are Harry Potter Books with Difference
Syed Ali Mujtaba


Muslim parents are always trying to figure out how to raise their children in a multicultural society while maintaining their religious identity. In such struggles some parents either overdo their part, and make their child a total misfit for the outside world, or keep them totally ignorant about their faith and let them fall prey to the dominant social milieu. In such a complex situation, some parents who may like to impart religious education to their children in a modern way find it difficult to source quality children’s books that can provide a clear understanding of Islam.

Understanding this dilemma, a New Delhi based publisher, Saniyasnain Khan has come up with the splendid idea to bring out a wide range of children’s books on Islam in English. Published under the banner Goodword Books, its popularity is slowly climbing the charts, and distributors call them the Harry Potter books on Islam.


The birth of Goodword Books

The journey for the inception of Goodword Books began with a humble attempt by the noted Indian Islamic scholar Maulana Wahiduddin Khan whose endeavor to present the peace-loving message of Islam has led to a widespread acceptance and popularity of his books. His son Saniyasnain Khan, carrying forward his message, has taken the initiative to produce high quality children’s books on Islam and started Goodword Books in 1996 and Goodword Kidz in 1999. Currently there are 35 people working at its head office in New Delhi, India.

Originally known as Al-Risala, Goodword Books boasts a wide range of children’s products: Islamic children's books, Islamic story books, board games, puzzles, gift packs, coloring books, mazes, crosswords, word searches, Quran stories, seerah stories, and many more exciting and fun-filled ideas and activities. With a hundred distributors in 20 countries its main markets are the UK, USA, India and Pakistan.



Saniyasnain Khan - Inspiring Muslim children

Goodword’s moving spirit, Saniyasnain Khan, is a well known author of children’s books on Islamic subjects. He has over 100 titles to his credit.

Some of them; Tell Me About the Prophet Muhammad, Tell Me About Hajj, Tell Me About the Prophet Musa, Tell Me About the Prophet Yusuf, My First Quran Storybook, and many more are very popular. His books have been translated into French, Danish, Turkish, Urdu, Arabic, Malay, and Uzbek languages.


Talking to DinarStandard Saniyasnain Khan says Islam is essentially a religion of peace and harmony but there are two main reasons why some people dislike Muslims and Islam. One is violence that has been associated with it, the other is the perceived bad treatment of women by Muslims.

‘I felt that there was a pressing need to educate the new generation about the real Islamic values so that they become little ambassadors of Islamic goodness and they also stimulate them to learn about Islamic ideals as they grow up,’ said Mr. Khan, whose first book “Tell Me About Hajj” has sold over 30,000 copies.

"Children get a lot of negative information about Islam. There is a big need to give them the right picture so that they grow up to be peace-loving individuals” said Mr. Khan who often contributes articles on spirituality to the Times of India.

A trustee of CPS International, a non-profit organization working towards peace and spirituality, the 48 years old Mr Khan says “my endeavor is to present books for children that provide a solid foundation of Islamic moral values. The basic purpose of these books is to teach themes carefully chosen from the Quran and other Islamic sources so that the children not only learn its ethical values but also embody them in their lives.”

Success of "Tell Me" series and quality production

Talking about the popularity of his books, he said the “Tell Me" series is very popular among parents and showed a letter from a Malaysian gentleman that said; "I believe that in the current condition of the world, stories from the “Tell Me" series are very important and its my hope and desire that these stories may reach out to non-Muslims as well and become as popular as Cinderella stories!"

Similarly, a teacher from Priestmead Middle School in Middlesex, UK, wrote him: "I am trying to make our Muslim children feel that their faith is accepted in school and would like to seek your permission to use ‘Little Hearts’ books as part of the discourse for the school assembly.”


Mr Khan who often participates in inter-faith initiatives towards peace and non-violence says these books are for children of all faiths. Recently a school in Delhi prescribed some of the books for its library and there is mention of their book ‘My First Quran’ in the catalogue recommended to teachers in British schools.

“It is a well-known fact that words and pictures together are most effective when it comes to teaching children. Goodword’s books combine simple language with imaginative illustrations so that children are attracted to them,” says Mr Khan adding “we are trying a more reasonable and simple approach so that children of all faiths find them attractive.”

Goodword’s area of specialization is Islamic stories for children based on the Quran and Hadith. There are more than 500 plus titles to its credit. These books are completely dedicated to developing meaningful and wholesome Islamic and moral values. There are more than 20 distinguished writers associated with Goodword Books. Sr. Nafees Khan (Canada), Tahir Kassam Ali (USA), Luqman Nagi (Saudi Arabia), Harun Yahya (Turkey), Dr. V. Abdur Rahim (Saudi Arabia), Fawzia Gilani-Williams (USA), Salma Umm Zainab (USA), Maryan Kinte (UK), Sajda Nazlee (UK) are but a few.

Goodword Books are available at most Islamic bookstore in more than twenty countries including the UK, USA, Malaysia, India and Pakistan. The Online Holy Books Shop India offers an extensive range of Goodword Books and other products like audio, CDs, and DVD. The Goodword Book’s website contains a wealth of information at http://www.goodwordbooks.com/.

Besides children’s books, Goodword also publishes books for adults. These range in subject matter from history, religion and philosophy to dawah and Arabic learning. It has already produced a vast body of well researched books on Islam and Islamic history, all written by noted scholars and academicians. The rich collection of books presented by Goodword makes it a leading name in the publication of meaningful, authentic books on Islam. It has also started selling Urdu translations of its books.

Mr. Khan, sums up his dream saying the long term vision of Goodword is to generate the love of Islam in children and young people so that when they grow up they spread its beauty around them.
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Syed Ali Mujtaba is a working journalist based in Chennai. He can be contacted at syedalimujtaba@yahoo.com

India Obsessed with Nuke Deal and Murder Mystery

India Obsessed with Nuke Deal and Murder Mystery
Syed Ali Mujtaba

In New Delhi there are two dramas that are currently being staged. One of course is the nuclear deal and second is the twin murder mystery that rocked the neighborhood of the national capital some two months ago. Thanks to the national media the entire country is forced to follow the two dramas scene by scene frame by frame. It seems both the media and the government are consciously engaged in diverting the peoples attention of the people on controlling the prices of essential commodities that’s hitting the roof.

As far as the nuke deal is concerned it has become plain and simple politics. The ruling Congress party that’s piloting the nuclear- civil deal with the US has come to loggerheads with its own allies; the left, who are oppose to the deal. The left by pulling out of the government has reduced the ruling alliance into a minority. The Congress party, the dominant partner in the ruling alliance, instead of seeking truce with its left allies, is hobnobbing with other political parties to muster political majority. It’s resorting to horse trading to reach the magical figure of 272 to pass the floor test in the Lok Sabha.

There seem to be a sense of desperation in the current dispensation that’s keen to override the domestic agenda for foreign policy consideration. This political wisdom is logic of a rare kind. There are so many issues that are left out hanging due to lack of consensus in India and government is going ahead with other pressing issues. However, the desperation for the clearance of the nuke deal is something unprecedented as if the national existence is in jeopardy if the deal does not get through at the stipulated time. This is something intriguing and some one has rightly commented what‘s the deal behind the deal?

However more then the nuke-deal, it’s the Arushi-Hemraj murder mystery case that’s gathering a huge TRP rating on the TV channels. Even though it doesn't concern any common Indian, the TV channels have been selling this story like a hot potato for two months now. The entire country is forced to solve this murder mystery of a minor girl Arushi Talwar and a domestic help Hemraj that was committed at a home in Noida town in the state of Uttar Pradesh, adjoining Delhi.

The TV channels try to force down the throat a concocted story that the father of the deceased Mr. Talwar when found that her minor daughter was having sex with the domestic help Hemraj killed the two in a fit of rage. A simple honor killing theory leaves many question a begging. Can a father kill his own daughter? If the father is the killer, could the mother remain silent; whether she is a mother first or a wife first?

The TV channels are not answering these simple questions and making a killing out of their concocted honor killing story. The channels conducting media trial on the television screen have shown no respect to the mental agony of the parents they might have been undergoing due the murder of his daughter. Imagine if the murder suspect would have been some political bigwig of country. Can the TV channels sell this juice uninterrupted for two months in a row? Can any one imagine how many TV channels may have been up in flames by now? Poor Mr Talwar, who is neither Ram Sevak nor a Shiv Sanik and can no way gather a mob to silence the canard on the TV, has little option then to quietly suffer the humiliation.

The big question is who has given a license to the TV channels to conduct such media trials and play with the sentiments of an individual. Can they be pulled up for such crime or will it become an order of the day and carried on forever in the name of providing entertainment?

If the TV channels are stupid, the Central Bureau of Investigation is equally callous in handling this case. Willy-nilly the premier investigative agency of India too have fallen prey to the concocted story of honor killing and picked up the father of the deceased on grounds of suspicion. Talwatr a middle aged dental doctor was kept in confinement for 50 days to be released on bail when no evidence could be mustered against him. It was the same CBI that initially claimed to crack this case basing on the confession made by the suspect during the polygraph test evidence that has no locus standing in the court of law. After 50 days, its same CBI that saying…You find him I will fix him… we are still clueless about this murder mystery.
However, this case brings out some very hard questions that the people of the country may like to know the answers. Is every Indian guilty till the police exonerate him/ her of the charges? Can the investigative agencies have such sweeping powers that it can detain a person for indefinite time on mere grounds of suspicion? Can it retrieve its action without any accountability? Who will compensate the tarnished moments of the person that comes with such arrest?

Imagine, the arrests that are being made in bomb blasts and communal riot cases, where people are arbitrarily picked up on grounds of mere suspicion. I am aware of a case where one person was picked up and had to languish in jail 12 yrs to come out proven innocent. This case is of Kolkata where a bomb blast had taken place some time in 1970s. The guy in question who was in his 20’s then was having his hair cut in a barber’s shop when the balst took place. The police when came looking for the suspect found the identity of this guy who was wearing a sleeveless singlet and a Technicolor lungi identical to their imagination and thus picked him up. The poor mother of this guy who lived in a remote village in Bihar could hardly afford any money to travel to Kolkatta to fight for his son’s case. Unfortunately, there were not many human rights activists who could take this up or the TV channel that could conduct a media trail. In the end the poor chap had to be in jail for 12 long years for a crime that he never committed. His name is Bharati, and I know him well.

To cut the long story short, the Union Minister Renuka Chowdry has spoken on the Arushi Talwar murder case and advised Mr. Talwar to sue the Uttar Pardesh police for tarnishing his image. Why not the honorable minister herself files a public interest litigation case against the UP police, the CBI and the TV channels for misrepresentation of facts in this case? Where are the professional PIL filers, who jump in at slightest pretext to overburden the courts with public litigations? Why don’t they come out and fight against such injustices in the country? Well in India to give advices is very easy job the most difficult is to fight for a cause. This seems to be true about the Arushi Talwar murder case as well.

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

Tales from the Raj- Nostalgia at its Best

Tales from the Raj- Nostalgia at its Best
Syed Ali Mujtaba

On my way back to Chennai after the last Christmas holidays, I boarded the train for Kolkata at Jamalpur, a sleepy railway junction on eastern railway in Bihar, that once use to hub of railway activities when steam and coal driven iron horses use to crisscross the country.

Jamalpur still is an important place on the map of eastern railways because it boasts of one of the earliest railway locomotive workshop in the country established way back in 1862. It has also a railway engineering collage that produces top class mechanical engineers for the Indian railways.

The eastern side of Jamalpur has row of independent houses for the officers working in the railway workshop and other important railway establishment in Jamalpur. During the British rule, the East colony looked almost like a little England and was an exclusive white zone. The church and the cemetery there tell the story to even to those who are not looking for one.

Any discussion among the passengers boarding the train from Jamalpur invariably takes to the talks on the heydays of the Raj and some old-timers my recall the activities in the east-colony with great enthusiasm, now a thing of a past.

Mr Sinha, a police inspector and two young people working at the railway workshop in Jamalpur was my companion in the train journey to Kolkata. While Sinha was traveling to Sahibganj, a three hours journey to join his duty, spending his weekend in Jamalpur, the others were traveling with their families to attend a wedding at Kolkata.

Sinha, a potbelly, thick mustached man had fudged his date of birth and was still serving the Bihar police even getting close to 70. His retirement was due in two months and he was lamenting about it. He wished to die in office at the ripe age enjoying all the facilities that men in police uniform enjoy in that backward state that sits at the bottom of developmental index in the country.

A great fan of the Raj, Sinha had the first hand experience of the ‘White Sahibs.’

He kept every one captivated with stories about the life in the east colony of Jamalpur.Sinha’s uncle worked as a domestic help at the bungalow of one Henry saab, an officer at the railway workshop. As a young boy Sinha used to frequent Henry Saab’s house and had fond memories of those days.

The conversation actually started with the sorry state of Jamalpur workshop. The guys working there said why can’t the railway minister pump in some funds and make Jamalpur once again the railway hub. Every thing is there that one can ask for as far as infrastructure is concerned as it requires just some funds. India had three railway ministers Ramvilas Paswan, Nitish Kumar and now Lalu Yadav, all in quick succession from Bihar but none have given any thought to develop Jamalpur. The other guy replied him saying all the railway ministers who took interest in the rehabilitation of Jamalpur have lost their ministry and it’s a jinxed case.

Sinha, immediately jumped into the conversation and took us to the flashback of the Raj. It was different days, English people were ruling country. Every thing was in order. Jamalpur was a bubbling with activities. More than 25,000 people use to work at the workshop. There use to be three shifts and the coolie train use to chug out of the workshop and transport the workers to quite far of places. Many people in the surrounding areas were depended on the Jamalpur workshop, Sinha said.

Sinha, upping his narration took us to have a peep into the life and times of Hennery Sab. My uncle worked at the bungalow of Hennery Sab. I used to go with him to that house sometimes, Sinha said nostalgically.



What a house it used to be, a big lawn full of flowers and Hennery Saab and his Memsab use to sit under the garden umbrella. They had two Alsatians dogs, a horse, a cat, a parrot and some other birds, hens and a green jeep in the bungalow.

I had seen Memsaab riding horse at the east end road and saab use to play golf in the golf course Sinha relished telling that as if he had an exclusive copyright over it.

Both Hennery Saab and memsahib were found of hunting, they had a few double barrels and rifles with them. I use to help my uncle clean the guns. There were three rifles, two DBL (double barrel) and one sleek pistol that I think belonged to memsaab. Once I accompanied them to a hunting expedition in the Bhimband Lake that’s in Kharagpur jungles of Monghyr district.

Such expeditions were usually in winters when the lake was full with ducks, cranes and other migratory birds. A lot many birds flew over the lake and others rested in waters, their chirping filled the atmosphere and it was an unforgettable sight, Sinha said.

An advance party would normally go and pitch up tents near the lake. There use to be chairs, table, garden umbrella and folding beds use to be put up there. There were separate tents for servants. The coal stuff ovens were carried there for cooking and make shift toilets was erected.

Hennery Saab, memsaab with their friends use to come in the jeep and stayed overnight in the tents and the shooting session use to begin since the morning. Hennery memsaab was a sharp shooter and her rifle shots were remarkable Sinha said. There use to be competition and invariable she uses to beat every one as she could shoot a duck in a cluster of birds.

Henry Saab use to go after the wild boar in jungles and all this fun filled activities lasted for the entire day. While the Sab and memsaab use to return before the sunset, the other staff left the place only by next day.

As Sinha was narrating this hunting expedition, every one sitting in the moving train listened to him patiently. To me it was the reels from the movie ‘A Passage to India’ by David Lean.

When Sinha said, goodnight folks have a pleasant journey to Kolkata, I realized the three hours of journey had already flew past. Although the train had stopped at many stations it for first time I could figure the slowing down sound of the moving train.
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Syed Ali Mujtaba is a working journalist based in Chennai, India. He can be contacted at syedalimujtaba@yahoo.com

Movie Dasaavatram is the Flavor of the Season

Movie Dasaavatram is the Flavor of the Season
Syed Ali Mujtaba

Lord Vishnu has incarnated in various life forms through different ages in situations where Hindu religion was in danger. In Hindu mythology, there are ten incarnation of Lord Vishnu; Tortoise, Fish, Boar, Narasimha, Parasurama,Vamana, Krishna, Rama, Buddha and Kalki.

The Tamil movie Dasaavtaram staring Kamala Hassan has supposedly taken a cue from the 10 aavtars of lord Vishnu and its named as so. However its storyline does not seem to have any linkage with the avatars of Vishnu and its all about a deadly virus that find its way out of a well guarded lab in the US and is ready to destroy the world, but its impact gets mitigated eventually by the killer Tsunami waves that had hit the Coramandel coast in 2004.

It could really have been a great mythological movie, if the 10 avatars of Vishnu could have been fit into this story of good verses evil. Many movie goers who had gone to the theater with such expectations came back saying it’s a mish mash of a film having nothing to do with their religion.

Dasaavatram had a perfect opening with all hype and hula built around this mega film much ahead of its release. The Vaishnavites sect of Hindus filed a court case praying this movie hurt their religious sentiments. The Madras High Court rejected their plea on the ground that they were complaining without seeing the film. Then the Supreme Court was moved that too rejected the plea saying the contention lacks circumstantial evidences.

All this happened because the story line of the film was kept a well guarded secret. Its promo tend to suggest that the movie had strong religious aroma but when it was released in theaters on June 13, 2008, the moviegoers came out saying Dasaavatram had nothing to do with the Hindu religion.

The movie opens with settings in the 12th century Tamil Nadu which was a hot bed of fight between the Shaivites and Vaishnavites followers of the Hindu religion. The Shaivite King orders a Vishnu devotee Rangarajan Nambi (Kamala Hassan-1) to utter “Om Namah Shiva” (I bow before Shiva) who refuses to do so and instead says “Om Namoh Nariyana” (I bow before Vishnu). For this Nambi is punished and tied up with the idol of Lord Ranganatha and taken in a boat and thrown into the ocean. The character of Nambi ends there in the movie, only the idol of Lord Ranganatha resurfaces in the end, when the Tsunami struck the Coramandel coast in 2004.

The moviegoers are wondering about the connection of Nambi’s character with the rest of the movie. ‘Why this was there at all, it looked the last shot where the idol reappears, was meant to justify the opening,’ said Vijay who had seen the movie first day first show. He did not seems to be happy with the quick end of Nambi’s character and calls it a patch work not meant for this movie at all. ‘Perhaps Kamala Hassan was planning a period film and so shot this character with a different story line altogether, but that project could not materialize and so this character was patched up in Dasaavatram. Such things are common these days among the musicians and this has happened in this case as well,” Vijay said adding that the common people have been coned.

Another moviegoer, Raghav tries explaining this puzzle in a different way. ‘Kamala Hassan’s movies are like abstract paintings and one has to look at it from that point of view, maybe the linkages of Nambi’s character could be traced at the abstract levels to seek justification,’ he says.

Dasaavatram’s release was hyped up with the audio release of the film. Hollywood actor, Jackie Chang flew into Chennai with his bodyguards to attend the star studded function. Hindi movie’s super star Amitabh Bachachan too came to Chennai to attend the function. Controversy dogged the event, when bollywood’s sex bomb, Malika Sharawat who acts in this movie, sat on the stage with legged crossed in micro- mini skirt. While the 85 years old Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Karaunanidhi, could only give her side looks, that too with one eye behind the dark glasses, the audience sitting in front had a theme for a dream that evening.

Dasavathram supposedly made at a whopping cost of Rs 60 crore created enough excitement before its release. The movie sold its audio rights to Sony BMG for close to 2 crore rupees. Theatres across Chennai were booked for the next ten days with almost all the multiplexes having 6 shows a days. In the end the promise of a cinematic extravaganza turned out to be a dam squib, just a flavor in the season of entertainment.

The film actually begins in United States where an Indian scientist Govind Ramasamy (Kamala Hassan-2) discovers that a deadly virus that could be used as a biological weapon goes missing from his lab. He launches a man hunt for it and the plot takes the line of “War on terror.”

American president George W Bush (Kamala Hassan-3) makes appearances on the screen several times, urging the rest of the world to combat this evil design. The American president is shown as a buffoon contemplating a nuke war.

The most interesting part of the plot is here the terrorist are not the Al Qaeda or of Afghan variety, as the Hollywood flicks tend to suggests but are reputedly referred as American terrorists. What the movie tries to convey that the destruction of the world could necessarily not be at the hands of turban headed Islamic jihadist, but the Americans wearing western cloths could also trigger the catastrophe.



Govind has an Indian friend who has a Japanese wife and he gives information to the American terrorists that the biological weapon is in house. The terrorists come looking for the weapon and in the process kill him and his wife. The Japanese wife has a brother called Narashashi (Kamala Hassan-4) in Japan who is a marital arts expert and he plans to take revenge against his sister’s killer. In the course of the hunt for the biological weapon, Govind travels to India. He is chased by a CIA agent, Christian Fletcher (Kamala Hassan-5), the villain of the film. The bio weapon is accentually parceled to India from US to an old woman, Krishnaveni (Kamala Hassan-6), who yearns for the return of her son. When Govind reaches India, he is hauled by a RAW investigative officer, Balram Naidu (Kamala Hassan-7). Naidu a light and interesting character is meant to provide comical relief to the audience.

The plot gets disjointed from here and characters get connected through some unconnected events and others quite predictably in an accidental way. Suddenly a Sikh pop singer, Avatar Singh (Kamala Hassan-8) comes up, who is fighting a loosing battle against cancer. The story then wavers to a social activist, Annachi (Kamala Hassan-9) who is fighting the sand mafia in Tamil Nadu. Then attention shifts to an eight foot Tamil speaking Pathan, Kalifullah Khan (Kamala Hassan-10) a buffoon of a character.

The movie ends up in a high voltage drama centered on the Tsunami of 2004, when Fletcher tries using the bio weapon to destroy the world but is sucked by the Tsunami whose salt water neutralizes the bio weapon.

As we see, the story of Dasaavatram is not only weak but quite complex. The high pace of the movie sustains the tempo of the movie that does not allow much of thinking. Music is mediocre, and songs by Hindi playback Himesh Reshammiya is terrible. The only saving grace is its background score.

This jumble mumble of a movie however stands out for its excellent technical work and versatile actor Kamala Hassan’s extraordinary performance in several characters. So excellent is his make-up and voice modulation that it is a difficult task picking any one character as outstanding.

Tsunami shots are perhaps the outstanding presentation in the movie. Top class visuals, superb special effects and the background score together created a big impression on the moviegoers.

In sum Dasaavatram may well go down in the history of Indian cinema as a unique experiment in the commercial circuit but its span may not last beyond a season of entertainment.

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

"The 99" Comic Books- A World Class Brand

"The 99" Comic Books- A World Class Brand
Syed Ali Mujtaba


What is common between Spider-Man, Batman, and X-Men? Well they all are comic books with Judeo-Christian archetypes that shape the minds of the younger generation the world over.

However, since these characters do not sync with the culture of the children brought up in different traditions they can’t be superheroes to all.
In order to fill this void, a Kuwait based entrepreneur, Dr. Naif Al-Mutawa has created a superhero comic series that incorporates an Islamic identity to the world of comic books.

A Ph.D. in clinical psychology and an M.B.A. from Columbia University, 37 year old Al- Mutawa, aims to provide positive and inspirational images to Muslim children drawing inspiration from Islamic history, culture and traditions. It is with this intention in 2003; he started the Teshkeel Media Group (www.teshkeel.com) whose growing success has already secured it two rounds of funding totaling $25 million.

Teshkeel’s core focus is to cultivate themes intrinsic to Islamic culture and deliver a unique, values based, multi media experience to children in the 9 to 12 age group with a global appeal. At the end its business goal is not selling comic books but, just as Marvel Comics (owners of major global superhero brands), to build Intellectual Property/ brands on a global scale and enable lucrative licensable business propositions.

Already, Teshkeel comic book sales are second only to Superman and Spiderman in the Arab world (which by the way are also distributed in the MENA region by Teshkeel), they are expanding to South and South East Asia, they have licensed merchandise being produced in France, are planning an animation series, and a whole theme park around its characters.

An Idea is born…

Al-Mutawa’s interest in creating children's literature began when he created a series of children's books that won him an UNESCO award. While practicing Clinical Psychology, the passion of writing for children always stayed with him and he knew the potential for marketing such concepts in his region which has the fifth largest children's population in the world.

Talking to Dinar Standard Al-Mutawa said that after a hectic few years practicing clinical psychology he needed a break from it and decided to pursue an MBA, however he wasn’t sure of his subsequent plans.

“That was the summer of 2003. I was in a cab with my mom and my sister. My sister basically turned to me and said: 'Naif- promise me you will go back to writing after school.'”

“This is where I was kind of fate struck and said to her, if it is for me to go back now, it has to be a concept that has the potential of Pokemon - otherwise it doesn't make sense, having a Doctorate and three Masters Degrees.”

“So in my mind I was thinking what reaction people would have against Pokemon...my next thought was my God what has happened to Muslims, what happened to the tolerance of the libraries of Baghdad and the libraries of Alexandria…then I thought of Allah and how disappointed he must be…my next thought was Allah has 99 attributes, and ironically this brought me back full circle to the concept of Pokeman and by the end of the cab ride I had the beginnings of the idea ” Al-Mutawa said.

That’s how the concept of “the 99” was born - creating a superhero adventure series--blending fiction with historical events in Islamic history and universal applicable Muslim values.

He adds; “the first round of financing was done in 7 months time and almost $ 8 million was raised from 54 investors from 8 countries. That’s why I say I have investors in the US, Mexico, China, Lebanon, Poland, Egypt. Around a million and quarter came from my business school classmates at Columbia University and the rest came from Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, including four financial institutions, the leading retailers of the region,” Al-Mutawa said.

Teshkeel CEO Dr. Naif Al-Mutawa at the launch of the first Bahasa Indonesian versions of "The 99" by local publishing house, the Femina Group.

The launch coincided with release of "Fatah The Opener," a superhero of Indonesian origin. Toro Ridwan, a Jakarta teen discovers a mysterious stone that gives him the power to open and close instant gateways to any location.

“The 99” Adventure Series

Modeled on the 99 attributes of Allah, the 99 concept is based on the sagas of the battle of good versus evil. The narrative begins in the backdrop of 99 gems scattered throughout the world, each embodying one of the 99 characteristics of Allah. The setting is the thirteenth century sacking of Baghdad and the Spanish crusades and the action revolves around 99 individuals living in 99 different countries who become superheroes upon possessing one of these gems.

These characters are not all Arabs, but Muslims from all over the world. Jabbar, the enforcer, is a hulking figure from Saudi Arabia with the power to grow immense at a sneer. Noora, the Light is from the United Arab Emirates who can read the truth and help people to see it in themselves. Darr is the afflicter from the United States. Of the 99 super heroes, almost half of them are female and 31 of them wear hijab. However, none have the feminine characteristics. Batina, derived from the word meaning hidden, is superwoman. Mumita who hails from Portugal has unparalleled agility.

The 99 gems scattered around the world are a metaphor for the spread of Islam that takes on as many faces as the places it’s rooted in. The comic goes on to personify the modern Islamic Diaspora. Multicultural backgrounds are found in several characters. One such character is from Sudan but grew up in France.

Role Models

Commenting on creating heroes, Al – Mutawa says, “One thing that kept popping into my mind was the lack of real, proper modern day role models and heroes in our part of the world. Historical figures as role models have issues; it depends on what side you belong to. You know the whole George Washington conundrum...to Americans he's a political hero, to the British he's a political terrorist. So that’s the problem with historical figures in Islamic society as well. Except with the prophet Mohammad (pbuh), there are few people on whom everyone would agree as their hero.”

However, the concept of “the 99” doesn’t directly incorporate Islam, says Al- Mutawa adding, "it’s only about its positive values. When you read the comic, there's no mention of Allah or the Prophet (pbuh). Nobody is praying, nobody's is reading the Quran. There's no religion in the book. It’s based on the basic human values that we all share, the real virtues of Islam, the attributes of Allah…generosity, strength, wisdom, foresight and mercy. This is the essence of the 99,” he said.

Building a world-class brand with world-class talent

Al- Mutawa has assembled top tier talent for this job. “The writing is done by one of the writers of Xmen, the penciling and inking is done by the same people who work on Batman. Then I hired two of the managers that took Marvel publications through the 1990s. I have the former marketing head of Marvel working as my chief operating officer, and the former publisher of Marvel working as a consultant. Their expertise has made the 99, a top class product,” Al- Mutawa said.

The 99 comics have struck a universal chord and Al- Mutawa is a happy man. “Alhamdulillah we have licenses from two publishers...one in Malaysia,a publisher in India- Chandamama is doing all of South Asia except Pakistan. We signed with a French based publisher in Morocco that caters to North Africa. We sold a merchandising license to a Spanish company for back to school products. Pencils and bookcases, which are licensed, are coming to the market this August to December” Al-Mutawa said.

Talking about its circulation, estimated at over 20,000 copies per issue, Al-Mutawa says, “the 99 comics are always either the middle or the top of our sales compared to the Spiderman, Batman and others that we sell. Sometimes its number two or three in the market, but it’s always more than Archies, more than Hulk...always more than X men.”

“Also, we have licenses for novelties in Archies comics and cartoon network for the region. We just basically translate and put out their stuff. This is basically the Trojan horse technique, where every copy of all these other comics has ads for the 99 in them. Sometimes, free giveaways in those comics. We are seeing steady growth in terms of circulation,” Al- Mutawa said.



Teshkeel recently announced partnership with United Entertainment & Tourism Company (UETC) of Kuwait to develop the region's first superhero theme park featuring THE 99 characters.


Licensing “The 99”

He laments that there is a relatively small market size for comics, but acknowledges the fact that the opportunities on its intellectual property aspect are tremendous. “We never expected to make money publishing comics, this is more of a way to develop the IP” Al- Mutawa said and adds it’s panning out well. “Newspapers are paying us money to publish the 99. In Kuwait a newspaper is publishing the 99 story every Friday. So does a paper in Saudi and in Abu Dhabi as well,” he said.


"The 99" Village

Cashing in on the intellectual property Teshkeel Media has recently partnered with United Entertainment & Tourism Company (UETC) of Kuwait to develop the region's first superhero theme park featuring THE 99 characters. THE 99 VILLAGE will be created on the site of UETC's existing amusement park in Jahra, Kuwait. It is expected that THE 99 Village theme parks will soon follow throughout the GCC.

"This is incredible if you think of the history of theme parks in the past hundred years or so, only a handful of concepts have got the license.” he said.

Moving further on IP, Al-Mutawa says he is working on the idea to develop “the 99 animated television series. “Inshallah by the middle of next summer we will be announcing a major animation partner. Right now negotiations are on with a few, all of whom are top tiered international players. We are also negotiating a direct DVD dealership with somebody in Hollywood,” he said.

Al-Mutawa has received a second batch of financing of $18 million from an Islamic investment bank. The bank has a Shari'ah board and has approved the activities as ‘Islamic.’ Al-Mutawa says, “I don’t want to get into the controversy of halal or haram, because I am convinced that only this type of activity would take Islam in the media out of the gutter.”

A trailblazer in Muslim Life style products, Al-Mutawa’s vision is to see “the 99” become the first and foremost series in the world. “My dream is to make “the 99” a global IP asset, an effective global brand. Right now it’s just a seedling that needs the right nursing” he concludes.
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Syed Ali Mujtaba is a journalist based in Chennai. He can be contacted at syedalimujtaba@yahoo.com.


The copy right of this article is with Dinar Standered.
http://www.dinarstandard.com/mlm/99Comic051908.htm