In a 2-day workshop organised by Movement for Peace and Justice (MPJ), Muhammad Ahmed (All India Co-ordinator, MPJ) said only those who do great work in this world are great and one of the great achievements is to help those in need. The great work is to wipe the tears of the poor, needy, orphans, widows, etc.
Listening to those in need is indeed a religious duty. The whole life of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be to him) was committed to helping others. A momin lives for others and this is the greatest of jihad. One should reign in his own nafs and bear the pain of people’s sarcastic remarks and help those in need. The world always had oppressors and the oppressed; and stopping the oppressor from oppression is also a jihad. Whenever oppression rises, some people stand up to quell it; this is also jihad.
The government for the welfare of the people makes and implements a lot of schemes, however those schemes do not reach the needy. Working for the people-in-pain is a great work and those who work for it are great people. If we instil fear of God in our mind and feel that our God is watching us, we will have a different attitude towards not only humans, but also animals. Today the poor strata of society are being marginalised and this is being done by the media also. Leaders, who are justice-loving, find it difficult to hold power and authority for a longer period of time.
He further added that the country’s need for a people’s movement is being fulfilled by MPJ which is looking after the needs of the people and in the present system, only people’s power can change the course of things. The programme began with the recitation of a few verses from the Holy Qur’ān.
Mohammed Azeem Pasha (Vice-president MPJ) spoke about the achievements of MPJ. He said MPJ is a pressure group and puts pressure on the government to get things done. From time to time, MPJ has organised protests, issued memorandums, corner meetings, etc. and brought the issues of people at the forefront. MPJ directed the attention of the government towards various recommendations of different committees regarding the poor strata of the society and educated the masses about their rights. When the government initiated the scheme to manufacture alcohol from cereals, MPJ came forward and protested vehemently. With the mission of ‘Right to Health for All,’ MPJ raised awareness among the people by organising mass movements. Machines in the medical centres were not operating as there was no one to operate them; it was MPJ which put pressure on the government and got them worked. It stood against the practices like hunda and helped the underprivileged people.
Mr. Azeem Pasha discussed in detail all the activities of MPJ which it undertook since its very inception. He mentioned the malpractices in government offices and presented a clear picture of the future programmes of the government that would do nothing but harm the people in one way or the other. He divulged the information about the upcoming circulars and schemes of the government.
Mr. Altaf (Joint-Secretary, MPJ), said that soon the centres for Information Technology will be established in every district. MPJ will have its own office and internet will be available there so that all the information can be accessed from there. The presidents from all the districts of Maharashtra came to attend the workshop and put forward the agenda for the upcoming years. They further talked about the issues that need to be resolved at the earliest. The first day of the workshop ended with the prioritisation of the tasks that need to be done in the coming years.
The second day of the workshop was majorly dedicated to the leadership development. Mohammad Siraj (President, MPJ, Maharashtra) spoke on the various aspects of leadership development.
He said leadership is of many types. Some consider political leaders as leaders; some say people constitute leadership, while some have other perceptions of leadership. However, actual leadership is the one which finds a place in the heart of the masses and this is what we should look forward to. The problem that we face today is the lack of knowledge and information. To be a good leader, one must be aware of all the happenings around him; a leader should be aware of everything and then the same awareness should be transferred to the level of the masses. He focused his talk on relationship-building between the various sections of society. In other words, he called for the need of a charismatic leader whom people associate themselves with. He ended his talk by emphasising that for MPJ to achieve the expectations of the people, we all must work hard and devote our time exclusively and dedicatedly.
Mr. Anees Ahmed, President, MPJ, threw light on ‘Right to Health’ and urged the government to be sensitive in this issue.