ALLOCATE 6% OF GDP FOR EDUCATION: JIH EDUCATION BOARD
Jamaat-e-Islami Hind’s (JIH) Education Board has reiterated the demand for spending six per cent of GDP on education. Delivering inaugural address at a workshop on the ‘Education Budget in India,’ organised by the JIH Markazi Taleemi Board (Education Board), JIH President Syed Sadatullah Husaini has stated that education is a fundamental human right and it is the government’s duty to facilitate it to every citizen. He said, “Article 38 of the Constitution states that India will be a welfare state, which means every individual will be provided basic rights, equally. The insertion of Article 21A after the constitutional amendment of 2002 makes education a fundamental right. It was done with high hopes but it did not bring any major change. Still education is a major issue of our country. The JIH President pointed out that it was slashed to Rs.930 million, which is just 0.5% of GDP while, it should be 6% to improve the quality of education. He said, “Jamaat-e-Islami Hind has been demanding the same that was also recommended by many education commissions and experts. Even the same suggestion has come from ‘NITI Aayog’.”
71 CASES OF COMMUNAL DISCORD IN DAKSHINA KANNADA IN 8 MONTHS
On January 3 this year, in Mangaluru, an aggressive campaign against Muslim men selling fruit and vegetables took off on social media. A few days later, a few Hindutva vigilante barged into a birthday party being held at a café in Mangaluru’s Puttur area, claiming that boys and girls of different religious communities were partying together. The People’s Union for Civil Liberties, Karnataka (PUCL-K), All India Lawyers Association for Justice (AILAJ), All India People’s Forum (AIPF) and Gaurilankeshnews.com have recently published a report in which they have identified at least 71 instances of communal discord, all attracting criminal charges, in the eight-month period staring January this year. These cases expose a pattern of growing communal intolerance in the region, reported The Wire on November 20. Maitreyi Krishnan, a lawyer and the lead researcher on the report said the 71 cases identified in the report were those reported in the media. “There certainly are a lot more,” she added.
33% MUSLIMS EXPERIENCED DISCRIMINATION IN HOSPITALS: OXFAM
About 33% of Muslims in India said they have experienced discrimination on the basis of their religion in hospitals, a survey by NGO Oxfam India has found. A total of 3,890 people from 28 states and five Union Territories took part in the survey, the findings of which were released on November 23. The survey also found that 22% of respondents from Scheduled Tribes, 21% from Scheduled Castes and 15% from Other Backward Classes reported having experienced discrimination in hospitals. The survey sought to assess the extent to which the Charter of Patients’ Rights, prepared by the National Human Rights Commission in 2018, was being implemented. Data for the survey was collected from February to April 2021. Anjela Taneja, Inequality, Health and Education lead at Oxfam India, remarked that medical practitioners imbibe the same biases as the rest of society, and that these biases sometimes reflect in the ways in which they engage with patients.
TAKE DOWN ‘CONVERSION JIHAD’ SHOW VIDEOS: NBDSA
News Broadcasting and Digital Standards Authority (NBDSA), in its order on November 15, while referring to a complaint made against News Channel News Nation’s November 6, 2020 show title ‘Conversion Jihad’ called upon the broadcaster to take remedial action against their anchors if they fail to remain impartial during broadcasts. However, since the broadcaster issued an unconditional apology, the NBDSA warned News Nation to be careful in future and directed it to remove the video of the show, if still available, from the website of the channel, or Youtube, or any other links, and the same should be confirmed to the NBDSA in writing within seven days. Against this backdrop, the NBDSA further noted that the certain statements made by the anchor Deepak Chaurasia and captions “Memchand zinda hai Jamaat sharminda hai”; “500- Hindu kaise banaye Muslim?” and “Kya Mewat Pakistan ban gaya?” aired during the impugned programme violated the aforesaid Regulations, Principles and Guidelines.
FIR FILED AGAINST KANGANA RANAUT FOR SOCIAL MEDIA POST
The Mumbai Police have booked actor Kangana Ranaut for an Instagram post, in which she referred to those protesting against the contentious farm laws as “Khalistani terrorists”, Live Law reported on November 23. Ranaut has been charged under Section 295A (deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings) in the first information report registered at Khar police station in Mumbai. In an Instagram post last week, Ranaut had said that “Khalistani terrorists were arm twisting the government”. Her comments came a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that the three farm laws will be repealed during the Winter Session of the Parliament scheduled to begin on November 29. The Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee had filed a complaint against the actor in a letter addressed to Mumbai additional commissioner of police and the Cyber Cell of Delhi Police. The FIR against Ranaut has been filed based on that complaint.
JIH DELEGATION APPLAUDS OFFERING SPACE FOR FRIDAY PRAYERS
A delegation of the Jamaat-e-Islami Hind (JIH) led by its vice-president Prof. Mohammad Salim Engineer visited the Gurudwara Shri Guru Singh Sabha in Sadar Bazar, Gurgaon in Haryana to applaud its management for offering its premises to Muslims for Friday prayers. Though the Friday prayers could not be held in Gurudwara premises because of the day being Gurupurab, the biggest festival of the Sikh community, the Muslim leaders said that the gesture itself was very important, particularly when some people were strongly opposing Friday prayers in government parks and open plots and Muslims have very few options. Expressing thanks to Gurudwara chairman Sherdil Singh Sidhu and his wife-Gagan-for their offer for Friday prayers, the JIH Vice President said that the gesture was a strong message to those who wanted to divide society. Prof. Salim said that Sidhu’s gesture and a Hindu youth Akshay Yadav permitting Muslims to use his shop in Sector 12 of the city for Friday prayers showed that the majority of the people in India believed in co-existence and religious tolerance.
FOUR MUSLIMS CHARGED UNDER UAPA IN TRIPURA GET BAIL
A court in Tripura on November 23 granted bail to four members of socio-religious group Tahreek-Farooghe-Islam, two weeks after they were arrested and charged under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. Qamar Ghani Usmani, the president of the organisation, and three others, Ehsanul Haque Razvi, Qari Aasif and Mudassir, were booked for several criminal offences, including Section 13 of the UAPA. Section 13 of the Act deals with “punishment for unlawful activities”. The four Muslims had gone to Tripura to visit those affected by the communal violence that spread across the state last month. They were detained on November 4. Two journalists, Samriddhi Sakunia and Swarna Jha, were also arrested on multiple charges, including spreading communal disharmony. On November 22, a Tripura court granted bail to both the journalists.
CHRISTIANS ‘BANNED’ FROM HOLDING WORSHIP SERVICES
More than 50 house churches were not allowed to hold worship services in Madhya Pradesh on November 21. According to International Christian Concern (ICC), the VHP and other radical Hindutva groups sent out a notice to Christians in the Jhabua district forbidding them from gathering. “I read the circular last Friday and decided not to have worship on Sunday,” a local pastor told ICC. “The last five months have been difficult. Our congregation has been reduced from 40 members to 15. Even these 15 are now scared.” The notice explicitly stated that churches were not allowed to gather unless they had special permission from the local magistrate. It went viral on social media causing many believers to cancel worship.