Muslims are Dotting Punjab’s Landscape Once Again

Muslims are dotting Punjab’s Landscape Once Again

Syed Ali Mujtaba

Punjab faced the full fury of the communal violence in 1947 during the Partition of India. The state witnessed an extremely turbulent and traumatic situation in the run up to the independence and Partition of the country.

The transfer of power from British to the dominion of India and Pakistan accompanied large scale transfer of population from both sides of the border. While Sikhs and Hindus were driven out of West Punjab, the entire Muslim population of East Punjab was ethnically cleansed or forcibly driven out of the state. 

Carnage of humanity unprecedented in the annals of history was witnessed in both sides of Punjab. The share of Muslims population in East Punjab was 33.0 percent before the Partition of India and in its aftermath it plummeted to less than 00.50 percent.   Virtually, the entire Muslims population of East Punjab was driven to Pakistan or were cleansed, their property looted or forcible occupied, mosques razed to the ground or vandalized, women were raped etc.    

However the situation has drastically changed from then and now. Muslims are growing fairly rapidly since last seven decades or so in Punjab. Muslims are once again dotting the rural and urban landscape of Punjab. Today of the total 277 lakhs population of Punjab, Muslim population is 5.35 lakh that is about 1.93 per cent of the total share of population.  

Though Muslims share in the total population of Punjab still remains very low,  the number of Muslims in Punjab has multiplied by six times in the five decades since 1961, while the total population has multiplied by a factor of 2.5. In 1961, the proportion of Muslims in the state population was only 0.80 percent; it has grown to 1.93 percent in 2011.

The growth in the share of Muslims has been much more pronounced during the last two decades and now Muslims population could be anywhere between 2 to 3 percent in the 6 out of the 20 districts of Punjab.

An interesting fact is, even amidst the holocaust of Partition, survive two pockets Muslim population in Punjab. One is the principality of Malerkotla in Sangrur district, and other the town of Qadian in Batala sub-district of Gurdaspur.

The Muslim population in Malerkotla and Qadian are quite different than those in other parts of Punjab. They are Punjabi Muslims, who remain settled there for several centuries and are of the same ethnic stock that of the Sikhs and the Hindus. They have little in common with the Muslims that have migrated to Punjab from other parts of the country.

The Muslims of Punjab who are recent immigrants are culturally different from original Punjabi Muslims.  Majority of them are farm laborers residing in the villages and those who are daily wage laborers or are concentrated in the towns and cities of Punjab. Even though they are culturally different, most of them are integrated into the linguistically milieu of Punjab.    

The Muslims growth story in Punjab is very significant. There were 1.14 lakh Muslims in 1971 and it increased to 5.35 lakh in 2011. In Malerkotla there were 61.5 thousand Muslims in 1971 and it has increased to 1.79 lakh in 2011. The share of Muslims population in Malerkotla, has increased from 15.2 percent in 1971 to 22.5 percent in 2011. The proportion Muslim population in Sangrur district, which includes Malerkotla, is now near 11 percent.

The Qadian town in Batala sub-district of Gurdaspur district is the birth place of Mirza Gulam Ahmed, who founded the Ahmadiyya sect of Muslims in 1889.  Qadian has much smaller Muslim population In comparison to Malrekotla, but is the second largest Muslim concentration in Punjab.  In Qadian town where the total population is only 23.6 thousand, Muslims are little more than 3 thousand. Their share in the population of the town has increased from 4.4 percent in 1971 to 13 percent in 2011.

Elsewhere in Punjab Muslims have also shown a much faster growth rate. The number of Muslims outside Malerkotla has risen from 53 thousand to 3 lakh 56 thousand. Cities like Ludhiana have a sizable Muslim population close to 2.5 lakh who are all migrants from other parts of India.

The stories of Malerkotla, Qadian are of course emblematic of the secular spirit of India in which different religions and sects continue to flourish and find dignity, security and prosperity, even in very tense times. These stories also remind us that in India since Independence, minority communities have invariably grown faster than the majority.

To know more on the subject, I had a freewheeling conversation with Dr Mohammad Khalid from Malerkotla and who teaches Political Science at Department of Evening Studies, Punjab University Chandigarh.

The conversation took place at Sri Venkateshwara University, Tirupati, where both had come to take part in the conference on India Vietnam relations held on March 18 and 19. I had the privilege to share the room with Dr Khalid at the University’s guest house.       

He narrates; “in the years following Partition, while Malerkotla continued to remain a haven of peace, there was an overall atmosphere of hostility towards Muslims and anything constructed as ‘Muslim’ was scorned off.  There seems to have a clear attempt of contempt towards Muslims denying them any place in the Punjab’s society."

He says; ‘there is a sea change in the communal and social situation of Punjab, since then. Now Muslims are no more vilified in the state and many pockets of Muslim settlement are visible in some cities of Punjab.’

The atmosphere has greatly improved now and it is no longer problematic to show one's Muslim identity. The old mosques are repaired and made functional and where there are none, new mosques have come up. Muslims can maintain their distinct identity and freely profess their religious faith without any fear.  

Dr Khalid revealed an important nugget on the religious context that may have some bearing on Muslim population in Punjab. He elaborated that many Sikh brothers have protected the Muslims from the communal fury during the Partition days, a fact which is little known.  There may have vested interests in doing so as many such Muslims had occupational utility like being carpenter, barber, mason, mechanic midwives etc. They were protected hiding them in Sikh attire and even with changed names.  

Now In the changed communal atmosphere in Punjab such Muslims have come into open and have registered their names in the census list leading to a slight rise in Muslim population. Such Muslims are now freely professing their faith visiting mosques and practicing their religious rituals without any fear. This is a remarkable change witnessed in Punjab now.    

He said; now Muslims can be found in all walks of life. A string of Muslim Punjabi folk singers has emerged in Punjab. Sadrul Sikander, Master Saleem, Khan Sab, Kamal Khan etc are doming the Punjabi music charts. The current heart throb of Punjabi music is Khan Sab, he said asking me to check up U tube videos.  

Muslims are active in the economics and politics of the state. They are freely doing business and some gaining prominence in politics as well, especially from Malrekotla, he said. The younger generation of Muslims in Punjab no longer caries the baggage of the past and they don't have the kind of fear or insecurities that the earlier generation witnessed following the Partition.

Dr Khalid gave part of the credit for improving communal relationship between the Sikh and Muslim communities to the Shiromani Akali Dal. The Anandpur Sahib resolution, a key ideological document for Akalis, does include a clause on protecting the rights of all religious minorities in India.

Talking, about Muslim immigrants from other parts of India to Punjab, Dr Khalid said, such people are the backbone of the state’s economy. Without these labor forces, the state may come to a grinding halt; Dr Khalid said and added that many among them are second generation immigrants now and are fully integrated into the Punjabi society.

Dr Khalid’s comment on the upcoming election was; it will be a political ‘dangal’ essentially between the Congress and Akalis in Malerkotla city, with the Aam Aadmi Party doing well in the villages.

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Syed Ali Mujtaba is a journalist based in Chennai. He has done his doctoral research on ‘The Demand for Partition of India. He can be contacted at syedalimujtaba2007@gmail.com

Mahatma and his Mock Assassins Visual Text Analysis

Mahatma and his Mock Assassins Visual Text Analysis

Syed Ali Mujtaba                        

A Professor from Madras University was describing the background of Champaran Satyagrah of 1917, at an International Conference on India Vietnam Relations through the Prism of Gandhian and Ho Chi Minh Philosophies at Centre of Southeast Asia and Pacific Studies Sri Venkateshwara University Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh on March 18, 2019.  

As the learned Professor was speaking why Mahatma Gandhi launched the mass movement from Champaran, my mind was jogging the memory lane doing the the visual text of Pooja Shakun, leader of the Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha,   who had enacted the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi on January 31, 2019.

Professor was saying that a Gandhiji’s disciple, Raj Kumar Shukla, goaded Gandhiji to visit Champaran and do something about the plight of the indigo farmers and their families who are reeling in penury and living in inhuman conditions.   

Gandhiji asked Acharya J.B Kirpalani, Dr. Rajendra Prasad and others to go to Champaran and prepare a report on people’s sufferings there. The Congress workers came up with a detailed survey of the villages, accounting the atrocities and terrible episodes of suffering, including the general state of degenerate living.

Gandhiji after going through the report pulled up Acharya Kirpalani saying; you have written so many things in this, but they all are about men, you have not all mentioned anything about the condition of women in Chaparan, why?

Acharya told Gandhiji that social equations in Champarn did not allow any outsider that too a male to talk to female and that being the reasons of non-inclusion of any information about the women there. He suggested to Gandhiji to send a women team to assess the condition of women in Champaran.   

Gandhiji immediately asked his wife Kasturba to immediately go to Champaran and meet women there and prepare a report on their condition.  Kasturba and a few associates traveled to Champaran for this purpose.

As they roamed in the streets they found only men folk and children on the streets and to their utmost surprise no woman were there in public view. They realized that most of them were living inside the closed houses.

Kasturba haggard and tired knocked the door of one of the houses in the strret of Champaran. A very feeble female voice emerged from inside asking their whereabouts. Kasturba told them they are woman travelers and like to have a glass of water to quench their thrust.

And after a while the door was opened ajar and a female hand with a glass of water emerged from the door. Kasturba drank the water and asked for more for her colleague and then asked for permission to be let inside the house.

After getting inside the house, Kasturba told the women that they have come to assess the conditions of the women in Champaran and ask them the reason why most of them remain indoors. 

The woman gave a chilling account of the plight of woman in Champaran. She said there are three women in the house and between them there is only one SAREE, to wrap their bodies. So they take turns in the morning to fetch water from the well and go to attend the nature’s call after the sunset in the fields.          

When Ksasturba submitted the report, Gandhiji was deeply moved by the condition of the people living in Champaran. The sufferings of the people there compelled him to change the strategy of freedom struggle in India. Thus Satyagrah became the main weapon of Gandhiji to protest the presence of British rule in the country. The Champaran Satyagrah was the first mass movement that has a seminal place in the 

struggle for freedom in India.

Now coming to the Visual Text Analysis of well clad Pooja Shakun, leader of the Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha, the only words that come to my mind is ‘arrogant’, ‘ignorant’ and ‘pitiable.’ 

Pooja Shakun, well fed and well clad lady who had enacted the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi hailing his murder Nathuram Godse as her hero if had undergone even a little of pain and suffering of the women in Champran, she should have shuddered to train her guns at the father of the nation even though symbolically.  

The Champaran Satyagraha was the first Satyagraha movement launched by Mahatma Gandhi in 1917.   It was a farmer's uprising against Indo cultivation that forced them to live in live in abject penury.

As Indigo was used to make dye the British forced the North Indian farmers to grow indigo for its exports value. Under Colonial laws, many tenant farmers were forced to grow some indigo on a portion of their land as a condition of their tenancy. Since this cash crop barely gave any returns to the farmers there was much resentment and anger among the farmers for growing this crop.

When Gandhiji returned to India from South Africa in 1915, he saw peasants in Northern India oppressed due to indigo plantation. He was moved by their conditions and used the methods to Satyagrah as a mass protest movement against injustices going on in the country.

The Champaran Satyagrah is a major landmark in the Indian Independence Movement. The mock assassination by Pooja Shakun, on October 2, 2018 is another landmark in the history of the country. Well these are some of the inchoate images  of changing India. 

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Syed Ali Mujtaba is a journalist based in Chennai. He can be contacted at syedalimujtaba2007@gmail.com

Phulwama terror attack has enraged the nation

 Phulwama terror attack has enraged the nation

    

   Syed  Ali  Mujtaba 

The terror attack on the CRPF convoy at Pulwama in Jammu and Kashmir is the most ghastly among all such attacks that so far has happened in the restive state.  Every Indian’s heart goes out to the families of the security personnel who were killed or injured in that dastardly attack. The family members of the victims of this barbaric terror attack deserve deepest condolences from every Indian.

No doubt the Phulwama terror attack has shaken the nation and the mood of the country is the perpetrators of terror should be brought to justice and punished. Having said that, there are several opinions floating in the social media on Indian response to such terror attack and all have the attraction to get carried away. However, as a mature Indian we should weigh the pros and cons before getting into the hate mongers trap.

The first idea making rounds is to go to war with Pakistan. War is not picnic where we can go unprepared. It is not as easy as it sounds and lot of preparation is required for doing that. India after the Parliament attack in 2001 had launched operation ‘Prakarm.’ The Indian Army was positioned in confrontation position for many days with the resolve to go all out war. However, given the implications of war, better sense prevailed among the leadership and Army was finally pulled back from the forward position of the line of control. So such war mongers should not be given any space and should be kept in abeyance.

The second idea making round is to respond to such terror attack is to go again for surgical strike. Well this ‘ACE’ India have already used in 2016 when our government carried out the surgical strike on 29 September 2016. We all know the results; terror attack has increased almost 90% in the last four years. Pakistan is now in a much better position to tackle any such surprise strike. It may have plucked all such gaps by now and India may not have the advantage of surprise in any such surgical strike this time.

There are also views that India should unilaterally abrogate the Indus water treaty and should stop water supply to Pakistan. But such ideas have huge international ramification. The fall out of such action will be difficult for India to manage. In any such case, if China blocks ‘Brahmputra’ water flow to India then what will happen? Can India go to war with China and Pakistan at the same time? So such idea has to be rubbished at once.

Another idea being circulated is to go for genocide of the Kashmiri Muslims.  The logic behind is since all Kashmiris Muslims are terrorists, so best solution to get rid of such people is to do their genocide or mass killing. India already has seven lakhs security personal the territory and executing such idea is a matter of a government order. This is most diabolic of all the ideas that are being floated on the social media. How India is going to handle the fall out of such mass murder? Imagination fails to fathom its depth. Such idea has all the trappings to make Kashmir a Syria.  So such idea is simply insane thinking.   

The next idea that’s afloat is to ban the cricketers and artists and other such people from visiting India. It includes doing any business with Pakistan. Well this idea is already in place and further India has revoked the most favored nation to Pakistan. However, even by doing all this we have not got any favorable results? And extending it further may not stop such terror attacks in future.  

Another idea that played upon is the Hindu vs Muslim card. The Hindu community is being egged to blame the Muslim community for such terrorists attack in Kashmir. This is the most heinous idea of all, because Indian Muslims have nothing to do with Kashmir. They are head and shoulders standing behind the nation. Those who are arguing on such lines are actually enemy of the nation. Both Hindu and Muslim communities should debunk such idea. They should   show maturity on de-linking the terrorists as they have no religion and are bunch of murders.

Here it could to be pointed that instead of showing helplessness on the terrorists attack and blaming Pakistani terror group, we should inquire into the security lapses that have led to such large scale terror strike. There are many security agencies in the country that are responsible for our inland security and they are accountable for such lapses. After proper investigation accountability has to be fixed on them and heads should roll of those found negligent in their duty.

Further, in such case blaming “Aman ki Asha” or hope for peace will not hold any ground. It is a testing time for the entire country. Such terror strike has taken place because of the absence of peace process and not because of those who are striving for peace in the region. The terror attack has happened because peace talks have been stalled for long time in Kashmir. The mature way to move ahead should be to open up peace negation with the people of Kashmir and win their confidence.  

Last but not the least terror attack on the CRPF convoy in Pulwama, is a gross failure of the central government's policy towards Jammu and Kashmir. While government celebrated the surgical strike of 29 September 2016, it failed to control the counter terrorists attack in its aftermath. India demonstrated that it has got the wherewithal to cross the LOC, but in its aftermath it has shown its own vulnerability, getting repeated pounding on its own turf. The current Pulwama terror attack shows that we cannot protect ourselves.

A responsible government should have acknowledged its lapses and taken the blame of the killing of its security personnel. However government of the day does not have any such moral courage. Instead of admitting its failure the government is blaming the Pakistani terror outfit and showing its helplessness. At the end of the day the government reduced to a caricature to condemn the terror attack. It is shedding crocodile tears over death of security forces and doing no more.

Well it is a time of grief for the entire nation as more than forty security forces has lost their lives in the terror attack.  However the question remains that is Pakistan alone responsible for such incident or India too has a role? Well it won’t be incorrect to say that our own government’s ill-conceived Kashmir policy is the main reason for the loss of the lives of our security personals? The fact remains that the loss of our brave soldiers is due to the failure of our government to evolve a sound Kashmir policy that could win the trust of the people.

Since there is going to be election time soon in the country, it should be warmed that there should not be any politics over such terror attacks. Any such blame game would divert attention of the people and the focus of the problem would be lost.  The political parties, the intelligentsia and the think tanks should come together and suggest the ways and means to nip problem in the bud so that no such situation never ever happen in future.  

As peace activists, my prescription is; talks alone could lead a solution for any such problem. Notwithstanding the fact it needs to be reiterated that the entire country stands united behind the current government in handling such tense situation.

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Syed Ali Mujtaba is a journalist based in Chennai. He is the founder and moderator of the South Asia Contact Group. He can be contacted at syedalimujtaba2007@gmail.com

India Remains a Corrupt Country Under Modi Rule

India Remains a Corrupt Country Under Modi Rule 

Syed Ali Mujtaba

The damaging report published by The Hindu Newspaper provides the clinching evidence that PMO was hobnobbing with the negotiations in the purchase of Rafael aircraft from France. In other words it’s the PM who was presiding over the act of corruption using his high office. 

‘The Hindu’ reportage by N. Ram that “Government waived anti-corruption clauses in Rafale deal” and “Defence Ministry protested against PMO undermining Rafale negotiations,” conclusively has given the proof  that this government is corrupt and has misled the nation on Rafale deal.

Now the ball is in the BJP’s court to provide equally powerful documentary evidences to claim the moral high ground that it has provided a corruption free government. Its denial in media or public forum won’t convince the nation. This is no small issue and cannot be brushed under the carpet. It involves the PMO, the highest executive office of the country that is indicted on corruption charges.

This new evidences provided by ‘The Hindu’ is a fit case to be heard by the Supreme Court that can reopen the case on  the Rafale deal where it has already given a clean chit to the government. Now there is a new twist in this case and the highest office of the country is mired in corruption. As such the intervention of the Supreme Court is must because it undermines the entire edifice of governance of the country.

Will the apex court reopen the Rafale deal case and call the investigation as to who is misleading the nation. Can it ask the PMO to stand in the dock and deny the allegations? Will the PMO wash its dirty linen in the Supreme Court?  It’s a testing time for the entire nation.

If that happens then an interesting tussle between the judiciary and the executive is bound to be witnessed as to who is higher of the two democratic symbols.  So now after the new findings the pendulum has shifted to the judiciary and it remains to be seen how it further handles the Rafale deal case.

The American business magazine ‘Forbes’ has published an article giving graphic account of how corruption is still thriving under Modi's regime. It says five years ago, people in India gave Narendra Modi the chance to realize his big promise to clean up corruption in the country. But today, Modi’s promise remains a promise and corruption is still thriving in all the usual places in India.

The reputed magazine says the erstwhile Congress-led UPA-II dispensation at the end of its tenure, had acquired a reputation of being mired in many corrupt deeds and it’s the same "odium" that is now being attached to the Modi government.  

The magazine cites evidences of high profile corruption cases that has shook Modi’s administration. To name a few is the murky Rs 60, 000 crore weapons deal with France to purchase 36 Rafale fighter planes. Then the Rs 200 crore bank fraud uncovered last year at the Punjab National Bank. These two are just a tip in the iceberg of scandals that has shaken the nation under Modi regime.  

Meanwhile, a report by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) states that India is ranked among the "worst offenders," in terms of graft and press freedom in the Asia Pacific region in 2017. This is another damaging report on Modi government performance since it had come to power with the plank to free India from corruption.

Similarly, the 'Transparency International' (TI) a leading non political, independent, non-governmental anti-corruption organisatio has documented corruption under Modi regime ranking India at 78 out of 175 countries. The recent ranking is worse than its 2015 ranking of India. These findings have surprised Indians because Prime Minister Modi has come to power with a promise to free India from the vice of corruption.

After coming to power Narander Modi made some bold moves to control corruption. He banned 500 and 1000 rupee notes to get rid of “black money.”  However this measure miserably failed to achieve any tangible results. The government could recover fake currency only to the tune of Rs. 41 crore that accounted for only 0.0027 per cent of the total currency that came back into the system following notes ban.

At the fag end of the BJP government’s tenure in office it appears that that PM Modi was fighting corruption among the country’s poor but was maintaining stock silence corruption in the high places, especially among the rich of the country. The Rafael deal and the Punjab National bank cases are examples to this trend.

Whatever may be the government’s statistics on the GDP growth rate or on the developmental index, India remains a breeding ground of corruption.  The Modi government had failed to spread the benefits of economic growth to the masses and on the contrary he encouraged a narrow elite to thrive under his regime giving rise to crony capitalism.

If we look back, the corruption allegation against the Congress-led UPA-II had reached its crescendo by 2014 and its reverberation facilitated the current BJP government to come to power. The incumbent PM personified the aspirations of the millions of Indians when he gave the assurance that neither he will indulge in corruption nor allow anyone else to do that. His assurance to rid the country of corruption raised him to the level of the pied piper of Hamlin that had lulled the rats to the river through his music. In this case, the nation responded to the music of bringing good days (Ache Din), by giving a thumping majority to Narandera Modi.

However, nothing has changed under the Modi rule. A random survey of Indians to measure the change in their life style, would surely end up in negativity with the majority saying their lives have not all changed and some may even respond that it has become worse under Modi regime        

India’s situation under Modi rule is neither new nor unique. Every successive government aspiring for power make populists promises like ending poverty and bringing prosperity etc.  However, after coming to power the incumbent government becomes a breeding ground for corruption. This is exactly what has happened under the Modi regime.  He came to the office with the promise to change the situation of the people but what he actually did is to change the rules and regulation that may help only few elites while the masses continue to reel under misery.  

Now, it’s the Congress party under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi that is doing the same. The Congress President is selling the dream that he would change the face of the country, once it’s voted to power. His promises are so lofty that it has made social activist, Madhu Kishwar to wit through his tweet 'Wait Till Rahul Gandhi Promises Free Sex for Every Adult Indian.’

Indian journey since seventy years or so has been abysmally a low speed train ride. Who, How, When it will change only God knows. Indian politicians have a jolly good time after hoodwinking the people.  As a silent spectator the people by and large are a witness to the inchoate images of changing India.

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Syed Ali Mujtaba is a journalist based in Chennai. He can be contacted at syedalimujtaba2007@gmail.com  

Inayat Khan, IAS Officer, Inspires Indian Muslim Girls

 IAS Officer,  Inayat Khan,Inspires Indian Muslim Girls 

Syed Ali Mujtaba

She is dynamic, young, upright, energetic, flamboyant, IAS officer Ms Inayat Khan,  the new District Magistrate (DM) of Shiekhpura district, of Bihar state. She is a 2012 batch IAS officer of Bihar cadre. The 31 years old new district collector of Shiekhpura represents the aspiration of modern Indian Muslim middle class girl. She had cracked UPSC Civil Services Examination in 2011 and got the rank of 176 and secured IAS ranking along with Bihar Cadre.

Inayat is basically from Agra Uttar Pradesh. After completing her school education, she took admission in Anand Engineering College AEC, Agra. She completed B. Tech in 2007 with Electronics Engineering and started to work with a software consultancy company.

But after one year, she realized that she is getting no satisfaction from the current job. She resigned and came to Delhi for the preparation of Civil Services exam. She took a room at Gandhi Vihar, near Mukherji Nagar, quite close to Delhi University and started the preparation for the exam.

Inayat wrote the Civil Service exam first time in 2009. She qualified Prelims and Mains but could not find her name in the Interview list. Thereafter in 2010 she qualified the Gramin Bank exam but she did not joined the job and moved to Delhi for the preparation of the Civil Service exam. Inayat cracked the prestigious exam in 2011 and secured IAS ranking and Bihar cadre. Bihar is adjacent to her home state UP.

The young IAS officer came to Bihar when she was just 25 years old. She came to limelight during her probation period when she was sent to field for 6 months training program.

It was the election year. She took notice that there was no excitement among rural people about the election. She wrote few plays about election and convinced many folk artists to enact her plays. She organized plays in the rural area and her hard work was well appreciated and she hogged the limelight of the media.

Then her first posting was as the BDO of Pandarak, Patna District.  After that she was got transferred to Rajgir, where she worked as the SDO. Then she got transferred to Bhojpur District where she worked as a District Development Commissioner DDC.  Here, she work hard to transform the face of MNREGA project. This employment scheme was deemed as a failure in Bhojpur but Inayat ensured that people get benefit of this social sector initiative. Her tireless and transparent work resulted in the huge increase in the completion of MNREGA project.

That is not enough, she was constantly working in a very praiseworthy manner. She is

responsible for installing CCTV camera and bio matrix machine to register in and out timing of the staff members in each circle offices of Bhojpur.  She also use to go for inspection every now and then and catch officer who are negligent of their duties.  Many a time she was seen parking her vehicle and walking around with officials for assessing the ongoing development projects.

Inayat Khan is widely regarded as an honest officer who is working tirelessly for the development of the society. There is lot of expectation by the people of Shiekhpura that she will do wanders for this backward district.

Every Indian Muslim should proud of officer like Inayat Kan. This dynamic officer whose date of birth is 17th May, 1987.  She is expected to reach greater heights of the glory of Civil Service Administration of India. She serves as a role model for the Muslim girls of our country. It is expected that more and more Muslim girls should take inspiration from Inyat Khan and aspire to join the Civil Services of India.   

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Syed Ali Mujtaba is a journalist based in Chennai. He hails from a farming family of Shiekhpura. He can be contacted at syedalimujtaba2007@gmail.com 

 

 

Revamp Faith Based Mental Care Healing Centers in India

Revamp Faith Based Mental Care Healing Centers in India

Syed Ali Mujtaba

The news of Supreme Court’s intervention in freeing some twenty two mentally-ill persons chained at a faith-based mental center in a Dargah in Badaun, Uttar Pradesh is bit surprising.  

Surprising not because the mentally ill people were freed at the orders of the Supreme Court but because the Apex Court has jumped the gun without going into the merits of chaining and taking into account only the human rights angle.   

Here, the important thing to consider is the symptoms of mentally diseased and the treatment available to cure them. Sometimes mentally ill patients suffer from mood disorder, bipolar affctive disorder, anxiety, depression, hypertension and schizophrenia.  In such symptoms some patients are violent and uncontrollable and have to be kept in chain to administer them medical treatment.

The Badaun district authorities acting on the Supreme Court’s observations freed the 22 mentally-ill patients and handed them over to their family members. They never considered that these patients were brought by their family members to such a healing centre because they were unfit to live in the society as they were creating social tension. The mental asylums after admitting the patients had put them in chains because that’s the only way they can start the healing process.

So before pronouncing judgment on such cases, SC may have a thought how best such mentally ill patients could have been treated and in such context may have underscored the utility of faith based mental healing centre and have suggested ways and means to improve the mental health care treatment.

The Badaun Dargah is one among many much mental care spiritual centres in India. The Erwadi Dargah is another such mental health care center in Tamil Nadu.  This faith based mental center hogged the limelight in 2001, where fire broke out there, burning alive some 40 mentally ill patients who were chained and unable to escape the flames.  

The Erwadi Dargah is 200 years old faith based healing centre for mentally ill patients in Tamil Nadu. It is the abode of Hazrat Sultan Syed Ibrahim Saeed who died in 1792.

The Erwadi Dargah incident was one of the most horrifying tragedies in the recent times. However, much water has flown down the bridge since then and now. The Tamil Nadu government has totally revamped the treatment pattern of the mentally ill at the Dargah, while still maintaining the sanctity of the spiritual based healing process.

The Tamil Nadu government in 2013 launched Mental Health Programme at Eawadi Dargah and launched a comprehensive mental healthcare scheme called the ‘Dawa-Dua’ programme. The government while acknowledging the spiritual healing power of the Daragah, opened a psychiatric clinic to scientifically treat the patients within the Dargah premises, 

Initially there was some resistance for setting up the clinic in the dargah as some people believed that mental illness is due to the evil spirits captivating the body and can be freed by prayers for forgiveness by the spiritual healers.

However, after some persuasion such people  were convinced that the medicines can work inside the dargah premises more better because its power may magnify by the blessings of the holy ‘Saint,’ who lies buried in the shrine.   

Soon after the setting up of the psychiatric clinic under ‘Dawa-Dua’ programme, the tarnished fame of the healing power of the Erwadi Dargah increased many fold. The news of the astonishing treatment under clinical and spiritual guidance sunk well among the people who started flocking in the Erwadi Dargah once again.

The shrine receives 1000 visitors each day some being mentally ill patients. Those having violent symptoms are chained within the dargah's premises after that they receive treatment at new psychiatric clinic, “Dawa-Dua”.  Its only after their nerves get cooled they are set free to carry out the rest of the treatment till they are fully cured. There are reports that more than 1,000 patients have so far been cured since the launch of the launch of the “Dawa-Dua” programme. 

So successful is the programme that it has sparked interest among other religious community especially Christian faith and they are visiting the Erwadi Dargha to study the programme to replicate in their own religious establishment. 

Boyed by the successful implementation of the ‘Dawa-Dua’ programme, the state government has earmarked an additional Rs 7.5 lakh to build a 50-bed psychiatric hospital at the dargah premises.

The faith based mental centers especially the Muslim shrine are dotting the Indian landscape. In such places, the arguments over faith versus science do not work. Mostly destitute and poor flocks to the Dargah to get cured through the spiritual healing process as they believe that the evil spirit from their body can be warded off only through faith based healing process. 

So one can say what one want about such faith based healing system but the fact remains that the results clearly explains that it is inexplicable and to which modern science have no answers.

It is due to the social pull factor of the Erwadi dargah that the Tamil Nadu government has established a psychiatric clinic there. The mentally ill here get psychotherapy treatment and also spiritual healing at the Dargah premises.

It would be in fit of things if the Supreme Court had ordered the Uttar Pradesh government to revamp the mental centre at the Badaun Dargah on the lines of Earwadi Dargah. Even, it could have passed a suo motto order that all such faith based healing centres should be upgraded as faith and science healing centers.

However, euphemistically one can say that just like the statue of justice that is blind folded, the learned seers of justice have delivered the judgment missing the trunk from the branches of the tree.

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