Of late European pressure has mounted to impose strict sanctions against Iran because of its nuclear programme, and these pressures have only intensified after the formation of the new government in Britain which has threatened military action.
Of course the British government on its own is not in such a position and so it aims to spur the US and thus raise the intensity of the Iranian issue. The British Foreign Secretary William Hague, in his first external trip visited the US just three days after assuming charge as foreign secretary where he stressed that as British foreign secretary, he chose to first visit the US to underline the special relationship with America. [Al-Sharq al-Awsat: 15.05.2010]. This was a reference to an earlier report issued by a group of members of the British House of Commons about the special relationship between them. Thus William Hague emphasised the importance of this relationship and Britain's need for it.
William Hague promised to pressurise Iran and expressed his agreement with the US position, he said: "His government will work to convince the European Union to adopt resolutions and strong measures against Iran." He added: "We are in agreement on the need for sending a strong and unified message regarding Iran's nuclear programme, and pass a UN Security Council resolution to that effect. After this the United Kingdom will play a fundamental role to ensure that the EU moves firmly to follow up on such a resolution." [Al-Sharq al-Awsat: 15.05.2010].
He demanded intensifying sanctions against Iran as a first step leading towards achieving global legitimacy for eventual military action, he said: "Though we have not ruled out military action in future, but we do not call for it." [Al-Sharq al-Awsat: 15.05.2010].
This is merely a negotiating pressure alone on Iran, rather it reflects the British position and it was evident during the riots that followed the presidential elections in Iran that Britain was trying to destabilise and eliminate the Iranian regime. Britain is now trying to build European consensus in cooperation with France and Germany and bring pressure upon Iran, and not to speak of the ‘Israeli' pressure in this regard. It so happened that America reached an agreement with Iran and dispatched the president of Brazil and the prime minister of Turkey to Iran to sign a Uranium exchange pact in order to reduce the impact of threats and sanctions card that was being raised by Europe, and especially by Britain, followed by France and ‘Israel'. Thus Iran signed the latest agreement with Brazil and Turkey which includes clauses that Iran agreed to send 1200Kgs of 5.30% low-enriched Uranium to Turkey in exchange for 120Kgs of 20% enriched Uranium which was required for a peaceful nuclear reactor located in Tehran. The essence of this agreement may have been proposed by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) as a way out of the deadlock in the negotiations between Iran and the five permanent members of the UNSC and Germany about a year back which then failed due to the issue of guarantees and trust.
Two new major clauses have meanwhile been added to this agreement regarding the issue of guarantees and trust, these are:
1: That the enrichment process will be carried out in Turkey (as a compromised place).
2: In case the negotiations concerning the compliance of this agreement with the Vienna group consisting of the US, France and the IAEA fail, then Turkey will be bound to return the Iranian low enriched Uranium meant for enrichment back to Iran.
Examining this agreement closely, we find that it was the US that encouraged Brazil and Turkey under its patronage. The French website (france24.com) reported: "The United States, Russia and France encouraged Brazilian President Lula's official visit to Tehran and considered it as the last chance to avoid sanctions." An Egyptian newspaper reported this news on 18th May, 2010 from an undisclosed source.
The story of this agreement began with the dinner invitation by the Iranian Foreign Minister Manoucher Mottaki to all the 15 members of the United Nations Security Council including the five big powers along with Turkey and Brazil who are non-permanent members of the UNSC. This dinner was on the sidelines of the follow up conference on nuclear non-proliferation.
This dinner was attended by America's deputy ambassador to the UN Alejandro Wolff and ambassadors and lower ranks representatives of all the 15 member nations.
News agencies quoted a US official saying before the dinner began: "The United States considers this dinner as a new opportunity for Iran to convince the Security Council that it is capable of compliying with its requirements."
The passing of this resolution means saving Iran at the last minute from sanctions that were otherwise certain to come, sanctions that were drafted by Europe along with the US, China, Russia and Germany. This opportunity allows Iran a minimum period of another three months before the sanctions become effective in case of any future disagreement.
There is no doubt that the conduct of Brazil and Turkey was at the US's behest because Brazil, which is the eighth largest economic power in the world, needs America to continue its economic growth, and it was just one month back that it signed a military pact with the US.
As for Turkey, its Prime Minister Erdogan clearly stated that on the issue of implementing the clauses of the agreement, he will coordinate with America directly. He later stated that whatever was achieved was through coordination with Washington, a similar statement also came from Brazil!
United States reliance upon Brazil and Turkey in its time of need will help it to evade sanctions against Iran which are being imposed at the behest of Europe and the Jewish state. On the other hand, this means that America is taking advantage of the non-permanent members of the UNSC at the cost of the permanent members.
In conclusion it can be said that the entry of Turkey and Brazil as new parties in the Iranian nuclear issue helps America to prevent any damage from the proposed severe sanctions against Iran, because the entry of Brazil and Turkey in signing the agreement means a clear cracking of the so-called global community's effort against Iran on this issue.
Further, this agreement forges a general demand for negotiations on its implementation, and this gives Iran breathing space from the pressures being mounted by the international community, especially Europe. Irrespective of whether this is implemented immediately or is delayed, the intensity of pressures on Iran is certainly weakened gradually. Similarly the US's embarrassment at the hands of Europe and the Jewish state who have been making attempts to make America take military action or at least place effective sanctions has subsided.
Reference by:
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Saturday, June 5, 2010
U.S.-Muslim relations one year after Obama’s Cairo speech
By Abdus Sattar Ghazali
From the moment President Barrack Obama, a powerful orator, took office, he seemed eager to change the tenor of America’s relationship with Muslims worldwide. With his very positive rhetorical outreach in the early months of his presidency he raised a lot of expectations. On June 4, 2009 President Barack Obama delivered a speech in Cairo that elicited a near euphoric response from most officials and editorial writers across the Muslim World.
Not surprisingly, during 2009, the first year of his presidency, the approval-rating of American leadership increased by a significant margin in most Arab and Muslim countries when compared to 2008, George W Bush’s last year in office.
The numbers rose (according to Gallup June 1, 2009 polling) most impressively in Tunisia (from 14% to 37%); Algeria (25% to 47%); Egypt (6% to 25%); Saudi Arabia (12% to 29%); and Syria (4% to 15%). However, in Lebanon (25% to 22%) and Palestine (13% to 7%) they continued to fall.
During the last 17 months, Obama administration has taken a number of measures to woo the Muslim world.
1. The Obama administration is revising national security guidelines that strip references to “Islamic radicalism” and other terms deemed inflammatory to Muslims. President Obama and other administration officials stopped using terms like “Islamic extremism” shortly after taking office and are now purging “Islamic radicalism” from the National Security Strategy policy document.
The current National Security Strategy document, prepared by the Bush administration, states that “the struggle against militant Islamic radicalism is the great ideological conflict of the early years of the 21st century.” President Bush had gone further and used such meaningless terms as “Islamo-fascism” to justify his now doctrine of the war on terror and pre-emptive strike.
2. In April, Obama administration reversed guidelines that singled-out passengers on flights arriving from 13 Muslim countries, and Cuba, for mandatory screening. The guidelines were implemented in January 2010 after the attempted bombing of an airliner over Detroit on Christmas Day.
3. Swiss-Muslim scholar Dr. Tariq Ramadan entered the US for the first time in six years after being barred by the Bush administration. Dr. Ramadan, who has been critical of US foreign policy, told the New York Magazine he believes Obama has shown he knows how to communicate with Muslims, but not much else. “Obama has the vision and the words, but does he have the power? This is problematic,” Ramadan said. “It seems he is limited.”
4. The Obama administration has dispatched American Nobel Prize winners to advise Muslims scientists, economists and other professionals on how to improve their research and better manage their institutions.
5. At the end of April, the US government hosted a Presidential Summit on Entrepreneurship in Doha, Qatar, with some 500 mainly Muslim entrepreneurs attending.
6. Obama's outreach has included appointing Deputy Associate White House Counsel Rashad Hussain as special envoy to the Organization of the Islamic Conference. "As a hafiz [memorization student] of the Quran, he is a respected member of the American Muslim community," Obama said in the announcement. President George W. Bush first named a representative to the OIC in 2008 under similar objectives of outreach to the Muslim world.
However, one year after Obama’s widely-publicized speech in Cairo, Muslims remained skeptical about his administrations’ core policies towards the Muslim world, particularly the Arab-Israeli dispute. To borrow Radwan Masmoudi, President of the Center of the Study of Islam & Democracy (CSID), the “hope and excitement in the Islamic world” that greeted Obama’s speech “began to turn into disappointment as people realized that turning promises into reality is not always easy or possible.”
Obama’s policy towards the Muslim world hinges on a number of major factors: the issue of Palestine; American presence in Afghanistan and Iraq; US drone attacks in Pakistan with heavy civilian casualties and the U.S. policies towards Iran.
Reference by:http://islamonline.com
From the moment President Barrack Obama, a powerful orator, took office, he seemed eager to change the tenor of America’s relationship with Muslims worldwide. With his very positive rhetorical outreach in the early months of his presidency he raised a lot of expectations. On June 4, 2009 President Barack Obama delivered a speech in Cairo that elicited a near euphoric response from most officials and editorial writers across the Muslim World.
Not surprisingly, during 2009, the first year of his presidency, the approval-rating of American leadership increased by a significant margin in most Arab and Muslim countries when compared to 2008, George W Bush’s last year in office.
The numbers rose (according to Gallup June 1, 2009 polling) most impressively in Tunisia (from 14% to 37%); Algeria (25% to 47%); Egypt (6% to 25%); Saudi Arabia (12% to 29%); and Syria (4% to 15%). However, in Lebanon (25% to 22%) and Palestine (13% to 7%) they continued to fall.
During the last 17 months, Obama administration has taken a number of measures to woo the Muslim world.
1. The Obama administration is revising national security guidelines that strip references to “Islamic radicalism” and other terms deemed inflammatory to Muslims. President Obama and other administration officials stopped using terms like “Islamic extremism” shortly after taking office and are now purging “Islamic radicalism” from the National Security Strategy policy document.
The current National Security Strategy document, prepared by the Bush administration, states that “the struggle against militant Islamic radicalism is the great ideological conflict of the early years of the 21st century.” President Bush had gone further and used such meaningless terms as “Islamo-fascism” to justify his now doctrine of the war on terror and pre-emptive strike.
2. In April, Obama administration reversed guidelines that singled-out passengers on flights arriving from 13 Muslim countries, and Cuba, for mandatory screening. The guidelines were implemented in January 2010 after the attempted bombing of an airliner over Detroit on Christmas Day.
3. Swiss-Muslim scholar Dr. Tariq Ramadan entered the US for the first time in six years after being barred by the Bush administration. Dr. Ramadan, who has been critical of US foreign policy, told the New York Magazine he believes Obama has shown he knows how to communicate with Muslims, but not much else. “Obama has the vision and the words, but does he have the power? This is problematic,” Ramadan said. “It seems he is limited.”
4. The Obama administration has dispatched American Nobel Prize winners to advise Muslims scientists, economists and other professionals on how to improve their research and better manage their institutions.
5. At the end of April, the US government hosted a Presidential Summit on Entrepreneurship in Doha, Qatar, with some 500 mainly Muslim entrepreneurs attending.
6. Obama's outreach has included appointing Deputy Associate White House Counsel Rashad Hussain as special envoy to the Organization of the Islamic Conference. "As a hafiz [memorization student] of the Quran, he is a respected member of the American Muslim community," Obama said in the announcement. President George W. Bush first named a representative to the OIC in 2008 under similar objectives of outreach to the Muslim world.
However, one year after Obama’s widely-publicized speech in Cairo, Muslims remained skeptical about his administrations’ core policies towards the Muslim world, particularly the Arab-Israeli dispute. To borrow Radwan Masmoudi, President of the Center of the Study of Islam & Democracy (CSID), the “hope and excitement in the Islamic world” that greeted Obama’s speech “began to turn into disappointment as people realized that turning promises into reality is not always easy or possible.”
Obama’s policy towards the Muslim world hinges on a number of major factors: the issue of Palestine; American presence in Afghanistan and Iraq; US drone attacks in Pakistan with heavy civilian casualties and the U.S. policies towards Iran.
Reference by:http://islamonline.com
US Muslims Go Cyberspace for Soul Mates
y Dina Rabie, IOL Staff
Matrimonial websites provide a platform for young Muslims to meet and learn about what they expect in a marriage.
WASHINGTON – In America, a growing number of single Muslims resort to matrimonial websites in their pursuit for life partners, seeing the cyberspace as a more accessible way to find Mr/Ms Right.
"We have people accessing our website from all across the US. We have people from Colorado, Missouri, Nevada," Vaseem Ansari, executive director of the Companionships matrimonial website, told IslamOnline.net.
The website was established in 2004 under the direction of Mohamed Majid, the imam of the All Dulles Area Muslim Society, to help Muslims looking for marriage partners.
"I got so many requests from young people to help them find the right spouses," recalls Majid.
"When it became so many requests, I reached out to young couples and established Companionships with me and my wife putting the program together."
The goal in Companionships program is to provide a platform for young Muslims to meet and be introduced to Islamic matrimonial education.
"We work professionally," said Ansari, adding that they get many professional, educated and articulate people who just need help finding the right spouse.
"Some of them just do not want to go for traditional marriage and want to try a different thing."
She explained that interested people register online and provide background about them, where they are from and what they are looking for in a spouse.
The matrimonial website then arranges for retreat events where soul-mate seekers get together in a kind of a workshop.
"They meet other participants, do activities together, we ask them provoking questions about social skills, religion and politics so that all participants know each other’s background and priorities in life," explains Imam Majid.
They follow up with those who approach them on proposing to other participants and provide them counseling as well.
"Even if participants do not find spouses, they get to learn abut marriage and what it is about."
Needed, Accessible
"We are creating a virtual community that is more accessible for them," imam Majid told IOL.
Imam Majid says that like Companionships, there are many other matrimonial websites that attract US Muslims.
"There are many Muslim matrimonial websites nowadays and Muslims, especially young people, use them a lot," he asserted.
"They even go to non-Muslim matchmaking websites and participate in it."
Some Muslim organizations like the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) has realized that and created its own matrimonial website too.
Imam Majid believes that such websites help meet a need in the American Muslim community, estimated at nearly seven millions.
"They are very diverse, so scattered across the United States," he noted.
"We are creating a virtual community that is more accessible for them."
Ansari agrees that matrimonial websites respond to the community’s needs.
"A lot of people are immigrants from different countries. They do not have big communities as back home and their families are not together," she explained.
"They need this social connection."
She added that they get in their program many professional, educated and articulate people who just need help finding the right spouse.
"Some of them just do not want to go for traditional marriage and want to try a different thing.
Reference by: http://www.islamonline.net
Matrimonial websites provide a platform for young Muslims to meet and learn about what they expect in a marriage.
WASHINGTON – In America, a growing number of single Muslims resort to matrimonial websites in their pursuit for life partners, seeing the cyberspace as a more accessible way to find Mr/Ms Right.
"We have people accessing our website from all across the US. We have people from Colorado, Missouri, Nevada," Vaseem Ansari, executive director of the Companionships matrimonial website, told IslamOnline.net.
The website was established in 2004 under the direction of Mohamed Majid, the imam of the All Dulles Area Muslim Society, to help Muslims looking for marriage partners.
"I got so many requests from young people to help them find the right spouses," recalls Majid.
"When it became so many requests, I reached out to young couples and established Companionships with me and my wife putting the program together."
The goal in Companionships program is to provide a platform for young Muslims to meet and be introduced to Islamic matrimonial education.
"We work professionally," said Ansari, adding that they get many professional, educated and articulate people who just need help finding the right spouse.
"Some of them just do not want to go for traditional marriage and want to try a different thing."
She explained that interested people register online and provide background about them, where they are from and what they are looking for in a spouse.
The matrimonial website then arranges for retreat events where soul-mate seekers get together in a kind of a workshop.
"They meet other participants, do activities together, we ask them provoking questions about social skills, religion and politics so that all participants know each other’s background and priorities in life," explains Imam Majid.
They follow up with those who approach them on proposing to other participants and provide them counseling as well.
"Even if participants do not find spouses, they get to learn abut marriage and what it is about."
Needed, Accessible
"We are creating a virtual community that is more accessible for them," imam Majid told IOL.
Imam Majid says that like Companionships, there are many other matrimonial websites that attract US Muslims.
"There are many Muslim matrimonial websites nowadays and Muslims, especially young people, use them a lot," he asserted.
"They even go to non-Muslim matchmaking websites and participate in it."
Some Muslim organizations like the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) has realized that and created its own matrimonial website too.
Imam Majid believes that such websites help meet a need in the American Muslim community, estimated at nearly seven millions.
"They are very diverse, so scattered across the United States," he noted.
"We are creating a virtual community that is more accessible for them."
Ansari agrees that matrimonial websites respond to the community’s needs.
"A lot of people are immigrants from different countries. They do not have big communities as back home and their families are not together," she explained.
"They need this social connection."
She added that they get in their program many professional, educated and articulate people who just need help finding the right spouse.
"Some of them just do not want to go for traditional marriage and want to try a different thing.
Reference by: http://www.islamonline.net
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
In Search of Muslims in Bengal
By Nigar Ataulla
During the heydays of the DD, Satyajit's Ray's films were a treat to watch. Kolkata appeared totally serene. But today real life Kolkata seems to be eons away from that reel life portrayal.
Negotiating streets of Kolkata and West Bengal on my voyage of discovery of Bengali Muslims was no mean task. So there I was (my husband in tow), groping through crowded roads, traffic snarls, overflowing drains, heavily dented trams and honking taxis. We wriggled our way into the Indo-Arab Cultural Association. Even before I could catch my breath, I was unleashing my advice for Sabir Ghaffar, the enthusiastic youngster and general secretary of the Association: 'Why don't you compile a directory of Muslims in West Bengal just like our Millat Directory from Bangalore'. The Association helps Bengali Muslims 'to connect to their Arab roots'. But I wished the youth could have made much prudent use of their resources and energy by probing the reasons for mass poverty that is so omnipresent in West Bengal. It has brought out an Islamic colouring book so far.
Our next stop was Madrasa Aliah, founded in 1781 in Calcutta by Warren Hastings. He ran the institution out of his own pocket for 18 months till he was reimbursed by the Bengal Government. It was founded in Baithak Khana near Sealdah. But is currently located to the north of Wellesley Square renamed Haji Md. Mohsin Square in the Taltala area. Its first head was Mulla Majduddin who was succeeded by Muhammad Ismail in 1791. The school taught Persian, Arabic and Muslim Law (Fiqh) and its graduates were hired as interpreters for the British Raj. After facing financial crises, Captain Ayron a retired British army officer was appointed in 1819 to be on the Madrasa management committee for helping the Board of Revenue. Upon further financial and administrative deterioration, another European head, Aloys Sprenger, was brought in 1850.
The Madrasa has now been turned into Aliah University by an Act in 2007 and through section 3(3) has been conferred status of a minority educational institution under the Department of Minority Affairs and Madrasah Education, Government of West Bengal. Aliah has set up Centre for Vocational Studies and taken up several programme for the skill development among minorities.
No one seems to be more ardent believers in biodiversity on roads than Kolkattans. Roads just outside the Aliah University were lined up with huts with plastic roofs and spaces were shared with all kinds of cattle by humans.
When queried about the way to West Bengal Urdu Academy, a passerby had the following to say: Seedha jayen, ek kachre ke dheir ke pas wali imarat hi Urdu Academy hai!. (Go straight, the building near the heap of garbage is the one you are trying to locate! Grime infested books on the Victorian era shelves with garbage piles underneath the creaking staircase presented the tell-tale picture of the state of language in West Bengal. The West Bengal Madrasah Board has though huge space at its disposal, vies with the Urdu Academy for the dubious distinction for the most unkempt places. A grogy-eyed officials looked totally non-plussed at our request for any publication from the Board and promised to send them by post. We are still expecting the knock of the postman!
Murshidabad, on the southern bank of river Bhagirathi is four hours away from Kolkata by rail. It was the capital of undivided Bengal during the Mughal rule. Later Bengal nawabs retained this as capital. Royal buildings bear the glory of those halcyon days. The administrative headquarters of the district is at Berhampur. It was in 1704 that Nawab Murshid Quli Khan shifted the seat of government from Dhaka to Maksudabad, which was rechristened Murshidabad after him. The family of Jagat Seth maintained its position as state bankers at Murshidabad from generation to generation. Even after the conquest of Bengal by the British, Murshidabad remained for some time the seat of administration. Hastings removed the supreme civil and criminal courts to Calcutta in 1772 only to be brought back in 1775. In 1790, under Lord Cornwallis, the entire revenue and judicial staffs were fixed at Calcutta. Of historic interest are Nizamat Kila (the Fortress of the Nawabs), also known as the Hazaarduari Palace (Palace of a Thousand Doors), built by Duncan McLeod of the Bengal Engineers in 1837, in the Italian style, the Moti Jhil (Pearl Lake) just to the south of the palace, the Muradbagh Palace and the Khushbagh Cemetery, where the remains of Ali Vardi Khan and Siraj Ud Daulah are interred. Though Hazaarduari palace is in fine shape, Wasif Mahal, the palace of the last nawab is rotting in filth! Worse still is the fate of rich treasure of manuscripts that are decaying in the palace. According to a descendant of the nawab, a store-keeper here, the palace is under the state Government administration. Paid guides dole out all kinds of spurious and dubious versions of history. But the truth that may be lying buried in the manuscripts, needs to be unearthed. But who will unravel the truth?
Malda or formerly English Bazaar, is still five-hours away towards north of Murshidabad. An English factory was set up here in 1771. Malda is the base for visiting Gaur and Pandua. Gaur, capital to three dynasties of ancient Bengal—the Buddhist Palas, the Hindu Senas and the Muslim Nawabs—has seen three distinct eras of glory. Pandua, once the alternate seat of power to Gaur, has the third largest concentration of Muslim monuments in Bengal. Historical monuments include the Jami' Masjid (1566) and the landmark Nimasari tower across the river. During the 18th century, it was the seat of prosperous cotton and silk industries.
Gaur, 12 km south of Malda, right on the Indo-Bangladesh border, offers rich feast of history and archaeology. Monuments on the must-see list are Bara Sona Mosque, Dakhil Darwajah (built in 1425), Qadam Rasul Mosque, Lattan Mosque and the ruins of the extensive fortification. Pandua, 18 kms north of Malda, another important site of archeological importance has some impressive Muslim architecture including the vast Adina Mosque built by Sikander Shah in 1369. It is one of the largest mosques in India.
But present day Muslims of West Bengal, wallowing in poverty and illiteracy, seem to be the unworthy inheritors of the glorious past. No aspect of Muslim life in Bengal today offers anything positive that could provide room for hope.
Reference by: http://islamicvoice.com
During the heydays of the DD, Satyajit's Ray's films were a treat to watch. Kolkata appeared totally serene. But today real life Kolkata seems to be eons away from that reel life portrayal.
Negotiating streets of Kolkata and West Bengal on my voyage of discovery of Bengali Muslims was no mean task. So there I was (my husband in tow), groping through crowded roads, traffic snarls, overflowing drains, heavily dented trams and honking taxis. We wriggled our way into the Indo-Arab Cultural Association. Even before I could catch my breath, I was unleashing my advice for Sabir Ghaffar, the enthusiastic youngster and general secretary of the Association: 'Why don't you compile a directory of Muslims in West Bengal just like our Millat Directory from Bangalore'. The Association helps Bengali Muslims 'to connect to their Arab roots'. But I wished the youth could have made much prudent use of their resources and energy by probing the reasons for mass poverty that is so omnipresent in West Bengal. It has brought out an Islamic colouring book so far.
Our next stop was Madrasa Aliah, founded in 1781 in Calcutta by Warren Hastings. He ran the institution out of his own pocket for 18 months till he was reimbursed by the Bengal Government. It was founded in Baithak Khana near Sealdah. But is currently located to the north of Wellesley Square renamed Haji Md. Mohsin Square in the Taltala area. Its first head was Mulla Majduddin who was succeeded by Muhammad Ismail in 1791. The school taught Persian, Arabic and Muslim Law (Fiqh) and its graduates were hired as interpreters for the British Raj. After facing financial crises, Captain Ayron a retired British army officer was appointed in 1819 to be on the Madrasa management committee for helping the Board of Revenue. Upon further financial and administrative deterioration, another European head, Aloys Sprenger, was brought in 1850.
The Madrasa has now been turned into Aliah University by an Act in 2007 and through section 3(3) has been conferred status of a minority educational institution under the Department of Minority Affairs and Madrasah Education, Government of West Bengal. Aliah has set up Centre for Vocational Studies and taken up several programme for the skill development among minorities.
No one seems to be more ardent believers in biodiversity on roads than Kolkattans. Roads just outside the Aliah University were lined up with huts with plastic roofs and spaces were shared with all kinds of cattle by humans.
When queried about the way to West Bengal Urdu Academy, a passerby had the following to say: Seedha jayen, ek kachre ke dheir ke pas wali imarat hi Urdu Academy hai!. (Go straight, the building near the heap of garbage is the one you are trying to locate! Grime infested books on the Victorian era shelves with garbage piles underneath the creaking staircase presented the tell-tale picture of the state of language in West Bengal. The West Bengal Madrasah Board has though huge space at its disposal, vies with the Urdu Academy for the dubious distinction for the most unkempt places. A grogy-eyed officials looked totally non-plussed at our request for any publication from the Board and promised to send them by post. We are still expecting the knock of the postman!
Murshidabad, on the southern bank of river Bhagirathi is four hours away from Kolkata by rail. It was the capital of undivided Bengal during the Mughal rule. Later Bengal nawabs retained this as capital. Royal buildings bear the glory of those halcyon days. The administrative headquarters of the district is at Berhampur. It was in 1704 that Nawab Murshid Quli Khan shifted the seat of government from Dhaka to Maksudabad, which was rechristened Murshidabad after him. The family of Jagat Seth maintained its position as state bankers at Murshidabad from generation to generation. Even after the conquest of Bengal by the British, Murshidabad remained for some time the seat of administration. Hastings removed the supreme civil and criminal courts to Calcutta in 1772 only to be brought back in 1775. In 1790, under Lord Cornwallis, the entire revenue and judicial staffs were fixed at Calcutta. Of historic interest are Nizamat Kila (the Fortress of the Nawabs), also known as the Hazaarduari Palace (Palace of a Thousand Doors), built by Duncan McLeod of the Bengal Engineers in 1837, in the Italian style, the Moti Jhil (Pearl Lake) just to the south of the palace, the Muradbagh Palace and the Khushbagh Cemetery, where the remains of Ali Vardi Khan and Siraj Ud Daulah are interred. Though Hazaarduari palace is in fine shape, Wasif Mahal, the palace of the last nawab is rotting in filth! Worse still is the fate of rich treasure of manuscripts that are decaying in the palace. According to a descendant of the nawab, a store-keeper here, the palace is under the state Government administration. Paid guides dole out all kinds of spurious and dubious versions of history. But the truth that may be lying buried in the manuscripts, needs to be unearthed. But who will unravel the truth?
Malda or formerly English Bazaar, is still five-hours away towards north of Murshidabad. An English factory was set up here in 1771. Malda is the base for visiting Gaur and Pandua. Gaur, capital to three dynasties of ancient Bengal—the Buddhist Palas, the Hindu Senas and the Muslim Nawabs—has seen three distinct eras of glory. Pandua, once the alternate seat of power to Gaur, has the third largest concentration of Muslim monuments in Bengal. Historical monuments include the Jami' Masjid (1566) and the landmark Nimasari tower across the river. During the 18th century, it was the seat of prosperous cotton and silk industries.
Gaur, 12 km south of Malda, right on the Indo-Bangladesh border, offers rich feast of history and archaeology. Monuments on the must-see list are Bara Sona Mosque, Dakhil Darwajah (built in 1425), Qadam Rasul Mosque, Lattan Mosque and the ruins of the extensive fortification. Pandua, 18 kms north of Malda, another important site of archeological importance has some impressive Muslim architecture including the vast Adina Mosque built by Sikander Shah in 1369. It is one of the largest mosques in India.
But present day Muslims of West Bengal, wallowing in poverty and illiteracy, seem to be the unworthy inheritors of the glorious past. No aspect of Muslim life in Bengal today offers anything positive that could provide room for hope.
Reference by: http://islamicvoice.com
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