TwoCircles.net - Indian Muslim news

Uneasy calm in curfew bound MP’s Khategaon township
Opinion building, not emotion, key for Islamic Banking in India: Dr Manzoor
Pahel: A noble initiative from a young Azmi
Kerala shelves proposed Islamic bank
India is my soul, i still love the country: renowned painter Husain
Curfew relaxed for 90 minutes in riot-hit Karnataka town
Curfew continues in Bareilly, board students exempt
Gujarat riot victim seeks to present more evidence
Kannada daily's office vandalised over Taslima article
Injured Sania confident of playing in Commonwealth Games
Central forces rushed to Karnataka after Taslima row
Key prosecutors quit Godhra riots case
Curfew clamped in Bareilly following communal clash
Will be 'very happy' if Husain returns: Chidambaram
Riot-hit Karnataka towns peaceful, curfew in Shimoga
Two Bangalore dailies booked for Taslima writings
Bihar Govt makes 33% cut in grant-in-aid for Urdu Akademy

Uneasy calm in curfew bound MP’s Khategaon township

Posted: 03 Mar 2010 04:56 AM PST

By Pervez Bari, TwoCircles.net,

Bhopal: Uneasy calm prevails in curfew bound Madhya Pradesh's Khategaon township in Dewas district, about 70 km from Bhopal, which witnessed communal strife on Monday. No untoward incident occurred on Tuesday when curfew was relaxed for half an hour from 5.30 p.m. to 6 p.m. for the residents to buy essential commodities.

Opinion building, not emotion, key for Islamic Banking in India: Dr Manzoor

Posted: 03 Mar 2010 04:54 AM PST

By Mumtaz Alam Falahi, TwoCircles.net,

Pahel: A noble initiative from a young Azmi

Posted: 03 Mar 2010 04:15 AM PST

By Mumtaz Alam Falahi, TwoCircles.net,

New Delhi: It was a cold January in Delhi when the hot blood in then 28-year-old Shams Alam stirred to do something for society. Being an MNC employee, Azamgarh-native and Delhi-based Alam found little time for social cause. He and one of his friends sat and thought about taking an initiative. Pahel was the result. They formed the NGO and started devoting their weekends to bring dropouts back to school. Mumtaz Alam Falahi of TwoCircles.net has talked to Shams Alam in his Jamia Nagar office of Pahel.

Kerala shelves proposed Islamic bank

Posted: 03 Mar 2010 02:59 AM PST

By IANS,

Thiruvananthapuram : Bowing to stiff opposition from several quarters and a High Court verdict against it, The Kerala government has shelved a plan to start an Islamic bank and instead is launching an interest-free monetary institution.

Industries Minister Elamaram Kareem Wednesday informed the assembly that the state government is starting an interest-free monetary institution.

India is my soul, i still love the country: renowned painter Husain

Posted: 03 Mar 2010 02:48 AM PST

By NNN-PTI,

Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala state, India : Renowned painter M F Husain, who has accepted Qatar nationality, feels that the attack against him by right wing outfits in India that forced him into exile for 12 years was targetted at art and self-expression rather than his Muslim identity.

"I have not intended to denigrate or hurt the beliefs of anyone through my art. I only give expression to the instincts from my soul," the 95 year-old painter said in an interview to Malayalam daily 'Madhyamam' from Qatar capital Doha.

Curfew relaxed for 90 minutes in riot-hit Karnataka town

Posted: 03 Mar 2010 01:19 AM PST

By IANS,

Bangalore : The three-day-old curfew in violence-hit Shimoga town of Karnataka was relaxed for 90 minutes Wednesday morning. People thronged shops to buy essential goods.

Police said the situation is peaceful in Shimoga, about 280 km from here, where riots broke out Monday over publication of an article on the burqa, purportedly written by Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasreen and translated by a Kannada daily.

Curfew continues in Bareilly, board students exempt

Posted: 02 Mar 2010 11:46 PM PST

By IANS,

Lucknow : Curfew continued in several parts of Uttar Pradesh's Bareilly district Wednesday, a day after a communal clash over a procession, but exemptions were made for students appearing for their board exams.

District Magistrate Ashish Goel directed officials to ensure that students appearing for examinations did not face any difficulty in moving around. He said their examination admit cards would serve as curfew passes.

Gujarat riot victim seeks to present more evidence

Posted: 02 Mar 2010 11:40 PM PST

By IANS,

Ahmedabad : A plea for direction to the Supreme Court-appointed Special Investigation Team (SIT) to consider some more evidence in connection with the 2002 Gujarat riots will come up for ruling Thursday.

Salim Sheikh, an eyewitness and victim in the riots at the Naroda Patia neighbourhood here, had approached the Special Trial Court hearing the case through his counsel Mukul Sinha, stating that a CD prepared by senior police officer Rahul Sharma and a sting operation by a print media publication had not been taken into consideration by the SIT.

Kannada daily's office vandalised over Taslima article

Posted: 02 Mar 2010 11:27 PM PST

By IANS,

Bangalore : The office of regional daily Kannada Prabha in the coastal Karnataka town of Mangalore was vandalised late Tuesday by a group of masked men protesting the publication of an article based on the writings of Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasreen, police said.

A petrol bomb thrown at the office caused a minor fire but none of the employees of the Kannada daily were hurt, a police spokesperson told IANS on phone from Mangalore, about 350 km from here.

Injured Sania confident of playing in Commonwealth Games

Posted: 02 Mar 2010 11:26 PM PST

By IANS,

Kolkata : Indian tennis sensation Sania Mirza, who is out with a troublesome wrist, is confident of playing in the Commonwealth Games, beginning October 3 in New Delhi.

Sania, who complained of an old wrist problem during her first round loss in Dubai Tennis Championships last month, will be out of action for six weeks.

Central forces rushed to Karnataka after Taslima row

Posted: 02 Mar 2010 11:06 PM PST

By IANS,

New Delhi : Central paramilitary forces have been rushed to riot-hit parts of Karnataka after violence erupted over an article on the Muslim veil based on Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasreen's writings, Home Miniser P. Chidambaram said Tuesday.

"The situation is under control, we have rushed in central forces," Chidambaram told a new conference.

Riot-hit Shimoga and Hassan towns were peaceful Tuesday, a day after two people were killed during protests over the article on the Muslim veil published by a Kannada daily.

Key prosecutors quit Godhra riots case

Posted: 02 Mar 2010 10:58 PM PST

By IANS,

Gandhinagar : Two key public prosecutors in a 2002 arson case of the Gujarat riots, in which Congress MP Ehsaan Jafri lost his life with many others, Tuesday submitted their resignations to the Supreme Court-constituted Special Investigation Team (SIT), one of them said.

Assistant Public Prosecutor Naina Bhatt told IANS that she and Special Public Prosecutor R.K. Shah have resigned.

She said she was not very comfortable with the way things were going.

Curfew clamped in Bareilly following communal clash

Posted: 02 Mar 2010 10:54 PM PST

By IANS,

Lucknow : A minor communal clash followed by sporadic arson late Tuesday afternoon led the administration to clamp curfew in several parts of Bareilly city, officials said.

Timely action by District Magistrate Ashish Goel was stated to have saved the situation from taking an ugly turn.

Trouble sparked off over the passage of a Barawafat procession. What started with exchange of hot words between members of rival communities, almost instantly snowballed into a violent clash as members of a particular community went on an arson spree, burning down a few shops.

Will be 'very happy' if Husain returns: Chidambaram

Posted: 02 Mar 2010 10:53 PM PST

By IANS,

New Delhi : Home Minister P. Chidambaram Tuesday said the government would be "very happy" if eminent painter Maqbool Fida Husain, who has been given Qatari citizenship, returns home after years of self-imposed exile.

"We would be very happy if M.F. Husain returns to India," Chidambaram told reporters in reply to a question about the 95-year-old painter, who was offered Qatar nationality last week.

Under attack from sections of the Hindu right, India's most celebrated artist has been shuttling between Dubai and London.

Riot-hit Karnataka towns peaceful, curfew in Shimoga

Posted: 02 Mar 2010 10:49 PM PST

By IANS,

Bangalore : Karnataka's riot-hit Shimoga town was peaceful with the ongoing curfew keeping people indoors and Hassan town was quiet too, police said Tuesday, a day after two people were killed during protests over an article on the veil based on the writings by Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasreen.

"The situation is peaceful in Shimoga and near normal in Hassan," A.R. Infant, additional director general of police, told IANS late Tuesday.

Two Bangalore dailies booked for Taslima writings

Posted: 02 Mar 2010 10:43 PM PST

By IANS,

Bangalore : Police Tuesday filed cases against two local dailies in Karnataka for carrying an article based on Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasreen's novel that sparked clashes and riots in two towns Monday, claiming two lives and injuring many.

"We have booked cases under sections I53A, 153B and 295A of the IPC (Indian Penal Code) against both the newspapers for provoking the public and causing misunderstanding between two communities," Bangalore additional police commissioner A.M. Pujar told IANS here.

Bihar Govt makes 33% cut in grant-in-aid for Urdu Akademy

Posted: 02 Mar 2010 10:28 PM PST

By TwoCircles.net Staff Reporter,

Patna: The BJP-JD(U) combine government in Bihar has made a big cut in the annual grant-in-aid for Urdu Akademy in the state budget for 2010-2011 fiscal year. The Urdu Akademy that runs under the state Minority Welfare Department will get only Rs 34,76,000 against Rs 99,40,000 that it got in 2009-10 fiscal year.

The state government, however, has not made any cut in the grant-in-aid for Anjuman Taraqqi e Urdu. The Anjuman will get Rs 8,00,000 in the new fiscal year like the last one.