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Tuesday, October 6, 2009

[mukto-mona] Sexual harassment led to Delhi school stampede: fact-finding report



Sexual harassment led to Delhi school stampede: fact-finding report

By TwoCircles.net Staff Correspondent,
New Delhi: A fact-finding report released today has concluded that sexual harassment of girl students led to the stampede in the government senior secondary school in New Delhi's Khajuri Khas area on September 10 resulting in the death of five girls and injury of scores of others.
At the Government Girls Senior Secondary School (GGSSS) in Khajuri Khas 5 girls (Ayesha Khatoon, Monica David, Latika Nagar, Afroz Ansari and Mumtaz Ali) died in a stampede and at least 35 other girls were injured. While the government and school authorities said that sudden rush of girl students from ground floor to the first floor where boys were sitting after principal's instruction for changed seating arrangement led to confusion and then stampede, the locals and injured girls said they were molested by boys, which led to panic among girls resulting in stampede.


Students coming out of the Khajuri Khas school
As the area has sizeable number of Muslim residents, the majority of the victims are from the community.
A fact-finding team comprising Professor Azra Razzack, Dr Farah Farooqui, academics from Jamia Millia Islamia, Kavita Krishnan of AIPWA, Radhika Menon of Forum for Democratic Initiatives, Omprakash Sharma, Rahimuddin and Vinod Kumar of Building Workers Union, and Ram Abhilash of Delhi State Committee, CPI (ML) visited the school and surrounding areas. The team found that what happened on the day was more than a simple tale of girls caught in a human crush. Several important facts emerged from the testimonies of students to the team
Summary of the report:
Sexual Harassment
It emerged undeniably that on 10th September, girl students at the school were subjected to sexual assault and virtual terrorisation by boys, leading to panic and stampede.
Boys, seated together with girls in the overcrowded school for exams, due to rain and flooding in the tin-housed classrooms, had been instructed to go to the first floor classrooms in the main building, via a dark, cramped stairway.
Some boys assaulted girls, causing them to panic and rush down the stairs. On the stairway, the boys continued to severely sexually assault girls.
Many of these boys were not in uniforms and had covered their faces with handkerchiefs, and the girls felt they may not have been school students.
Several girls, including Shama Parveen, Sajida, Shabana, Shahana, Nazia, Samina, Pooja, Anupma have mentioned that the chaos only increased as teachers either remained in the staff room or vanished when the chaos aggravated.
One girl, Nazreen mentioned how she saw a woman teacher threatened by a couple of handkerchief masked boys that she would be flung down the steps if she interfered. The boys were also pushing the girls and pulling the clothes of girls who were passing by.
Some boys were said to be carrying blades wrapped in a kerchief in their hand and went about ripping the clothes of girls.
We also met a girl, Saajida of class VII, who had bite marks on her left upper arm. Shama Parveen and Anupama have been having nightmares of assaults by boys since 10 September 2009 and so are several other girls who appear to be suffering post-traumatic stress conditions.
Gender Discrimination in Curriculum
It is not just the boys who indulge in sexual harassment and assault on girls. The Government itself discriminates against girls' schools. Only 2 schools for the girls out of the 38 government schools in the zone offer science as a stream of study for girls at the senior secondary level, two others are co-educational. Notably, neither of the two girls senior secondary school in Khajuri Khas has the science stream, in fact the boys' school in the evening shift has science while the girls' school doesn't. Is it that the authorities want to keep the girls from poor families deprived of science education?
Also, many students said that the Principals treated their parents with great disrespect and rudeness. The male teachers in the boys' schools also kick and abuse the boys.
All the above factors create an atmosphere which encourages violence, anarchy and gender discrimination.
If Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan failed to provide basic infrastructure in the school, can 'Roopantar' really transform the school?
The school is part of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, receiving funds as well as benefiting from many 'consultants'. Yet the school lacked chairs, tables, classrooms, safety...
The school building is far too inadequate to accommodate the number of students enrolled in the school. The girls' school alone has strength of 2680 students, while the school only has 39 semi pucca rooms.
The school stairway is narrow and acted as a trap. It is bound on both sides by a wall making it dark even on a sunny day. It is the only stairway to the first floor building. This violates norms of a safe school building.
The school classrooms have only one entry and exit points, in case of a fire, the students would get trapped. The classrooms are dilapidated and the roofs of the upper primary classes can fall any day.
The upper primary classes of VI, VII, and VIII have the worst classrooms, which have no roofs, damaged walls and structurally deficient buildings.. Many sections of VI and VII in the absence of classrooms sit in the sun during regular school hours and students have taken ill as a result of it.
Even in the senior classes there are no chairs and tables.
After the Khajuri tragedy, Delhi Education Minister Arvinder Singh Lovely took the opportunity to advertise his pet 'public-private' project of 'Roopantar', promising that it would transform the face of Delhi Government Schools. But the question is: if SSA-funded schools continue to be in such a sorry state, can 'Roopantar' result in any real change? When Shiela Dixit's Delhi Government has crores to spend on Commonwealth Games, why is there no money and no emphasis for providing good schooling to the children of Delhi's workers and poor?
The Question of Minority Welfare and Education
Northeast Delhi, is a minority dominated district. While a section of the population lives in the earlier village settlements, a majority live in the unauthorised colonies waiting for government recognition and have high density of population. A large number of the victims of the stampede come from Kachi Khajuri, the unauthorised colony, while the school is located in an area called Pucci Khajuri. The Pushta road separates the two Khajuris and students have to cross the extremely accident prone, high traffic road to reach the school.
An MCD school upto elementary level exists in Rajiv Colony (in Kachi Khajuri) and parents have wanted that this school be upgraded to Class XII, to at least accommodate the girls from the area, but no moves have been made to consider this.
Kachi Khajuri, populated largely by Muslim workers (mostly migrants from UP almost 20 years ago), is badly neglected. Houses are unplastered, lacking water and drainage. The lanes were slush pools due to rains. Many people, including very young children, from kachi khajuri went to pucci khajuri to fetch drinking water.
Pucci khajuri relatively is better endowed. Several houses in the area are well designed and the state of the streets was relatively better. While five government schools, the dispensary and the ration shop are all in Pucci Khajuri, Kachi Khajuri only has the police station. All this has only built up the perception amongst the residents that the area was being neglected because they were poor working class Muslims.
The residents have long been calling for a ration shop, and upgradation of the school in the area. However amongst their grievance was that neither the Ward Councillor (Rambeer from Congress), the MLA (Mohan Singh Bisht of BJP) nor the MP (Jaiprakash Aggarwal of Congress) in the area had responded to their concerns.
Concluding remarks and demands
The poor school infrastructure, lack of safety norms, and overcrowding ensured that the school was like a bomb waiting to burst. The sexual harassment incident was the match that lit the bomb. In a way, there is a Khajuri waiting to happen – due to neglect of poor children's education, gender discrimination in schools and poor infrastructure – in every Government school in Delhi.
The girls of Khajuri are scared to return to school and their parents unwilling to send their daughters to school. The tragedy and denial of justice will result in the end of girls' education in the area.
No amount of 'Ladli' schemes can change the fact that poor schoolgirls, far from being pampered as 'Ladli' are being discriminated and encouraged to drop out of schooling. Instead of the bluff of 'Ladli' and 'Roopantar' the Government must ensure funding for government schools as a priority.
Specifically, in the case of the stampede affected schools the following must be immediately done to ensure justice to the victims and to make sure girl's education is not adversely affected.
Demands
1. Conduct an enquiry wherein the girls are allowed to give their statements while in their colony and investigate the role of miscreants in the events of 10 September 2009 in provoking the stampede.
2. Identify and punish the boys engaged in the sexual harassment.
3. Provide necessary free treatment, medicines and transport costs to girls who have been through the trauma. The State government must deploy necessary health facilities near the residence of the girls to ensure that treatment is taken. Trauma care, including counselling must be provided in the localities of residence for the affected school girls.
4. Take action against the school authorities because of whose negligence the stampede occurred.
5. Ensure the security of the students in school by preventing hooligans from hanging around the campus.
6. Ensure a curriculum for the boys in all schools that encourage healthy attitudes towards women.
7. Ensure wider options for girl's education in terms of subject and stream choice
8. Increase the capacities of the school s to maintain the acceptable teacher student ratio. Open new schools of senior secondary education including up gradation of existing schools. Immediately start a senior secondary school in Kachi Khajuri.
9. Health, ration, infrastructure and other needs of the community must be fulfilled in Kachi Khajuri which has been facing neglect and official apathy. It is unrealistic to imagine children will excel in education when they are worrying about drinking water,
10. The Delhi Education Minister must take moral responsibility and resign for the failure of his ministry to ensure basic safety norms and objectives of education in schools under his responsibility.

With Regards

Abi
 

"At his best, man is the noblest of all animals; separated from law and justice he is the worst"

- Aristotle




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RE: [mukto-mona] DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE



Mr. Hannan Shah, a known Jamaatee ( the beasts who participated in the killing of Bangalee Hindu-Muslims in 1971 in the name of saving Islam and Pakistan), thinks he has discovered the Brommahastro to eliminate our State ideal 'secularism'. With the zeal of a school-debater he states, since Sheikh sahib' (not the Bangobandhu of the Bangalees) took the name of his Allah in declaring the Independence of Bangladesh, secularism has no basis in Bangladesh. For a closed-minded Jamaati, the Islamists of Moududi brand as he is, he will never understand secularism even venture to do so. So I refrain from criticism of his concept of secularism. But I do want him to understand that a good Muslim always begin a great job by seeking blessings from Allah. Does Mr. Hannan Shah believe that Bangabondhu was a Muslim?


To: robi9bd@gmail.com; sabit06@yahoo.com; mail2_nayeem@yahoo.co.uk; mokarram76@yahoo.com; mokhterahmad@gmail.com; siddiq_imran@hotmail.com; belayet_faith@yahoo.co.uk; rahmanbangladesh@yahoo.com; atq111@yahoo.com
CC: dahuk@yahoogroups.com; witness-pioneer@yahoogroups.com; khabor@yahoogroups.com; Shetubondhon@yahoogroups.com; mukto-mona@yahoogroups.com
From: sahannan@sonarbangladesh.com
Date: Sun, 4 Oct 2009 01:04:14 -0700
Subject: [mukto-mona] DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE

 

 

Dear sirs,

 

Assalamu Alaikum. This is official version of Awami League  on declaration of independence.This is from Awami League  website.It clearly shows that Sheikh sahib declared independence ( if this version is accepted ) in the name of Almighty Allah ( not in any other name ).How then anybody can say Secularism is the ideal or spirit of liberation war?

 

You can also see how badly Ziaur Rahman has been portrayed.

 

Shah Abdul Hannan

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You are here: Home arrowNewsletter arrowDECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE BY BANGABANDHU AND THE FALSEHOOD OF BNP-JAMAT ALLIANCE

DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE BY BANGABANDHU AND THE FALSEHOOD OF BNP-JAMAT ALLIANCE

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(G) At that stage, Bangabandhu in the early hours of 26th March, 1971 (before his arrest) declared Independence of Bangladesh which reads as under :

"I appeal and order you all in the name of Almighty Allah to fight to the last drop of blood to liberate the country. Ask police, the E.P.R., the Bengal Regiment and the Ansars to stand by you and to fight. No compromise. Victory is ours."

7. On the following day i.e., on 27th March evening, the then Major Zia the senior most officer available at that time while fleeing for life was forced by local Awami League Leaders to read out the Declaration of independence in the name of Bangabandhu in the following way :

"On behalf of our great leader, the Supreme Commander of Bangladesh Sheikh Mjibur Rahman, we hereby proclaim the Independence of Bangladesh."

8. Major Zia also reiterated the same in one of his own writings published in the erstwhile Dainik Bangla on 26th March, 1972 which was re-published in the Independence Day edition of the Daily Janakhanta in 2002. The writings of Major Zia also has been supported by his co-fighters like Captain Shamser Mobin Chowdhury (now Foreign secretary), Captain Nasim B.B. (later on General and Chief of the Army Staff) and Captain S. A. Bhuiya (later on General). All these lead to one conclusion that the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Proclaimed independence on 26th March 1971 and the war of liberation went on in his name and finally Bangladesh won its liberations after great sacrifice. Zia was not more than one of the sector Commanders.
9. Now let us examine the of BNP-Jamat claim for declaration of independence by Zia on 25th March :
(A) It is quite noteworthy that no other political or war colleague of Zia had ever claimed that Zia declared independence on 25th March 1971. Even before this Alliance Govt. came to power BNP did not also raise such baseless claim earlier. Rather the historical truth is that Zia as a loyal officer of Pakistani army was actively and zealously engaged on 25th & 26th March for unloading arms and ammunitions for Pakistani army from the ship 'SWAT' anchored at Chittagong port.
(B) In this connection it is also important to note that Ziaur Rahman had not to face any accusation from Pakistan for his so-called declaration of independence. Rather Pakistani rulers congratulated him for his appointment as chief of Army just after 8 days of the murder of Bangabandhu on 15th August 1975.
(C) Further during Bangabandhu's lifetime when Zia was Dy. Chief of Army knowing fully well about 15th August conspiracy did not take any measure to protect the elected Govt. and did not do anything to save the life of the President (Bangabandhu) of the country. This was a treachery and failure on the part of Zia which could have called for his court-martial, which did not happen. The self proclaimed murderers of Bangabandhu had told that the murders of 15th August and the revolt happened with the full consent of Ziaur Rahman. And as a reward the murderer Khondoker Mustaq Ahmed appointed him Chief of Army within 8 days of the murder of Sheikh Mujib. This goes to prove that Zia himself was associated with the murder of Bangabandhu. He betrayed his president and his oath of allegiance.
(D) His disloyalty to nation and lust for power are quite evident from the following:
If, indeed, Zia had truly accepted war of freedom and remained faithful to the Principles and vows for freedom, he would not give indulgence to the murderers of Bangabandhu and would not reward them. Had he been a real freedom fighter, he would not have declared himself the President of
Bangladesh illegally betraying the ideals and perception of freedom fight. He would not also change the constitution by military orders, appoint anti-liberation politicians in power, pardon Razakars by abolishing Collaborator's Act, allow communal parties and give them opportunity to take part in politics and would not bring back war criminal Ghulam Azam and allow reorganize fundamentalist party the Jamate Islami.
(.
13. From the above discussion it is clear that the Khelada-Nizami's Govt. aim is not only to establish Zia as the proclaimer of Independence. Their real object is to show the independence as disputed, illegal and unlawful by proving Bangaldesh's independence war as a mere mutiny or revolt of armies. If it can be proved that Bangbandhu did not proclaim independence on 26th March then the Declaration of Independence on 10th April 1971 becomes illegal and Mujib Nagar Govt. does not have any constitutional basis. By the false claim that Zia declared independence on 26th March, they want to mislead the people and according to the demand of the defeated foes of Bangladesh and collaboraters of Pakistani forces the Khaleda-Nizami Govt. by amending Constitution, changing national flag and anthem wish to make Bangladesh a theocratic and communal state. With this far-reaching aim they have taken move to change history and resorted to distortion With the same object in mind their conspiracy to deface the name of Banganbdhu from the history of nation and destroy the Awami League, have been continuing. The introduction of distorted history of independence and war of Independence in the text books is not an isolated issue. It is a part of a big game.

 

Newsletter _______________________
Vol. 3, No-15, 14 August 2004
Bangladesh Awami League Publication

 

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·                                 Godfathers running in polls on BNP tickets : Sheikh Hasina

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Article of the President



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[mukto-mona] One good Bengali write up on Hemaga Biswas's Haradhon Rongmon and Language problem of Assam








 




Dear
Friends, 
I would love to share one good Bengali write up on Hemaga Biswas's Haradhon Rongmon
and Language problem of Assam. Written by one renowned singer of the state Shobho Prasad Nandi Mazumder ( You might not have listen his name, because Assamese know little about Bengali intellectual of the sate and vice versa.)
Please read the article here:

Sushanta kar
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[ALOCHONA] Is every Bangla-speaking poor Muslim in India Bangladeshi migrant?



Is every Bangla-speaking poor Muslim in India Bangladeshi migrant?

By Mumtaz Alam Falahi


New Delhi: The attitude of government agencies, both central and state, particularly police gives the answer in positive. There is no denying the fact that illegal Bangladeshi migrants have infiltrated our country over decades. But it is also a fact that lakhs of Bangla-speaking poor Muslim residents of West Bengal have become internal migrants in search of livelihood over a period of time, and can be found in various states. The pity is that these Indian citizens are also treated as illegal immigrants though they have valid election IDs or ration cards issued by West Bengal government.




So far BJP leaders have claimed that there are several crore Bangladeshi migrants in India. Now the Central Government seems to have concluded that there are two crore illegal Bangladeshi migrants. A news report in October 4 issue of Indian Express says that according to estimates sent by state governments regarding number of illegal migrants from Bangladesh living in states, their population now constitutes two percent of India's total population. It is an open understanding among governments and politicians that by Bangladeshi infiltrators they mean only Bangla-speaking Muslim migrants. The question is: if the government has enlisted Bangla-speaking Muslim residents of West Bengal also as Bangladeshi migrants. The attitude of government agencies towards these people again gives the answer in positive.




Like in other parts of the country, Bangla-speaking poor Muslim residents of West Bengal are in thousands in Delhi. Hardly a day passes when they do not face harassment – that ends up in extortion -- at the hands of law enforcing agencies. A petty crime or terror blasts and police pounce on their clusters thinking them as 'natural' perpetrators.


Prakash Vihar is a jhuggi-jhopri colony in New Delhi's Rohini area. The colony has about 200 poor Muslim families from West Bengal. Their only source of income is rag picking. Almost all of them have valid proofs of their being Indian citizen – some possessing election IDs or ration cards from West Bengal while others have similar documents from Delhi. Yet they are vulnerable to khaki terror and are living at the mercy of the police. They are frequented with police raids; some young men are picked branding them as Bangladeshis and released only after their family coughs up money.





With Commonwealth Games in Delhi round the corner they are facing another round of police torture and harassment. A couple of weeks ago a police team pounded on them threatening to push them out to make the city 'clean' before the Games. While the area is not on the map of Games venues they are being harassed.




Hazrat Khan is living in the colony for seven years. He has election ID both from West Bengal and Delhi. Hailing from Birbhum district in West Bengal Khan earns from rag picking. "Though I have valid proofs of being Indian citizen police brand me Bangladeshi and harass me," Khan tells TwoCircles.net. He lives here with wife and children while other members of his family – mother, sister, brother, uncle and others – are in Birbhum. Before this colony he lived in Amar colony area in the city. He came to Delhi 19 years ago.





Kanchan Khan, a man in mid-twenties, is also from Birbhum. He is living here with his family for seven years. He too is a rag picker.

Some of the residents of this colony are from Murshidabad. This is Jamruddin Khan. He left Murshidabad in West Bengal 15 years ago and first settled down near Yamuna River in east Delhi. He has been living in Prakash Vihar for seven years. He is also a rag picker. In support of his being Indian citizen he shows a ration card issued from West Bengal government.





Why do police ignore their valid proofs of citizenship and brand them as Bangladeshi? "Because they are poor and followers of Islam" says Pramod Kumar, general secretary of Green Flag Waste Workers' Union. Kumar lives near the locality and has been working for welfare of these residents. He says Bangla-speaking Hindu residents of West Bengal are not treated as such.

Faisal Khan of National Alliance of People's Movement, who is working with Pramod, is planning to organize a protest by Bangla-speaking people possessing valid proofs of citizenship before the Delhi police headquarters or National Human Rights Commission. On the fact that police reject their election IDs as fake, Khan said it is on the authorities to prove their allegation. It is easy for election commission to check genuineness of an election ID, Khan said.





The residents of the locality have a makeshift mosque in the middle of the colony. Faiz Ahmed, Imam of the mosque, says these residents hail from West Bengal. Police harass them as they do not catch big people and make money from them. Ahmed, himself from Uttar Dinajpur in West Bengal, has been rendering his services as Imam in the mosque for the last 10 months. Earlier he lived in Rajasthan.


http://twocircles.net/2009oct06/every_bangla_speaking_poor_muslim_india_bangladeshi_migrant.html#



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[ALOCHONA] Islam in China



Islam in China

Yusuf Abdul Rahman

[The Ancient Record of the Tang Dynasty describes a landmark visit to China by Saad ibn Abi Waqqas (ra), one of the companions of Prophet Muhammad (s) in 650 C.E. This event is considered to be the birth of Islam in China. The Chinese emperor Yung-Wei respected the teachings of Islam and considered it to be compatible with the teachings of Confucius. To show his admiration for Islam, the emperor approved the establishment of China's first mosque at Ch'ang-an. That mosque still stands today after fourteen centuries.Muslims virtually dominated the import/export business in China during Sung Dynasty (960 - 1279 CE). The office of Director General of Shipping was consistently held by a Muslim during this period. During the Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644 CE), a period considered to be the golden age of Islam in China, Muslims fully integrated into Han society by adopting their name and some customs while retaining their Islamic mode of dress and dietary restrictions.

Anti-Muslim sentiments took root in China during the Ch'ing Dynasty (1644 - 1911 CE), which was established by Manchus who were a minority in China. Muslims in China number more than 35 million, according to unofficial counts. They represent ten distinct ethnic groups. The largest are the Chinese Hui, who comprise over half of China's Muslim population. The largest of Turkic groups are the Uygurs who are most populous in the province of Xinjiang, where they were once an overwhelming majority.]

Although it may come as some surprise, Islam has survived in China for over 1300 [1400] years. It has done so despite such upheavals as the Cultural Revolution as well as regimes hostile to it.

Even though there are only sparse records of the event in Arab history, a brief one in Chinese history, The Ancient Record of the Tang Dynasty describes a landmark visit to China by an emissary from Arabia in the seventh century. Saad ibn Abi Waqqas (ra), one of the companions of Prophet [Muhammad (s)], led the delegation [in 650 C.E.], which brought gifts as well as the belief system of Islam to China. According to the traditions of Chinese Muslims, this event is considered to be the birth of Islam in China.

Although the emperor of the time, Yung-Wei, found Islam to be a bit too restrictive for his taste, he respected its teachings and considered it to be compatible with the teachings of Confucius. For this reason, he gave Saad complete freedom to propagate the faith among his people. To show his admiration for Islam, the emperor ordered the establishment of China's first mosque at Ch'ang-an. The mosque still stands today, after thirteen [fourteen] centuries.

As time passed, relations between the Chinese and the Muslim heartland continued to improve. Many Muslim businessmen, visitors, and traders began to come to China for commercial and religious reasons. [Arabs had already established trade in the area before Prophet Muhammad (s).] The Umayyads and Abbasids sent six delegations to China, all of which were warmly received by the Chinese.

The Muslims who immigrated to China eventually began to have a great economic impact and influence on the country. They virtually dominated the import/export business by the time of the Sung Dynasty (960 – 1279 CE). Indeed, the office of Director General of Shipping was consistently held by a Muslim during this period.

In spite of the economic successes the Muslims enjoyed during these and later times, they were recognized as being fair, law-abiding, and self-disciplined. Thus, there is no record of appreciable anti-Muslim sentiment on the part of the Han (Chinese) people.

By the beginning of the Ming Dynasty (1368 – 1644 CE) Islam had been nourishing in China for 700 years. Up to this time, the Muslims had maintained a separate, alien status which had its own customs, language, and traditions and was never totally integrated with the Han people. Under the Ming Dynasty, generally considered to be the golden age of Islam in China, Muslims gradually became fully integrated into Han society.

An interesting example of this synthesis by Chinese Muslims was the process by which their names changed. Many Muslims who married Han women simply took on the name of the wife. Others took the Chinese surnames of Mo, Mai, and Mu – names adopted by Muslims who had the names Muhammad, Mustafa, and Masoud. Still others who could find no Chinese surname similar to their own adopted the Chinese character that most closely resembled their name – Ha for Hasan, Hu for Hussein, or Sai for Said, and so on.

In addition to names, Muslim customs of dress and food also underwent a synthesis with Chinese culture. The Islamic mode of dress and dietary restrictions were consistently maintained, however, and not compromised. In time, the Muslims began to speak Han dialects and to read in Chinese. Well into the Ming era, the Muslims could not be distinguished from other Chinese other than by their unique religious customs. For this reason, once again, there was little friction between Muslim and non-Muslim Chinese.

The rise of the Ch'ing Dynasty (1644 – 1911 CE), though, changed this. The Ch'ing were Manchu (not Han) and were a minority in China. They employed tactics of divide-and-conquer to keep the Muslims, Han, Tibetans, and Mongolians in struggles against one another. In particular, they were responsible for inciting anti-Muslim sentiment throughout China, and used Han soldiers to suppress the Muslim regions of the country.

When the Manchu Dynasty fell in 1911, the Republic of China was established by Sun Yat Sen, who immediately proclaimed that the country belonged equally to the Han, Hui (Muslim), Man (Manchu), Meng (Mongol), and the Tsang (Tibetan) peoples. His policies led to some improvement in relations among these groups.

After Mao Zedong's revolution in 1948 and the beginning of communist rule in China, the Muslims, as well as other ethnic minorities found themselves once again oppressed. They actively struggled against communists before and after the revolution. In fact, in 1953, the Muslims revolted twice in an effort to establish an independent Islamic state [in regions where Muslims were an overwhelming majority]. These revolts were brutally suppressed by Chinese military force followed by the liberal use of anti-Muslim propaganda.

Today, the Muslims of China number some 20 million, according to unofficial counts. The government census of 1982, however, put the number much lower, at 15 million. These Muslims represent ten distinct ethnic groups. The largest are the Chinese Hui, who comprise over half of China's Muslim population and are scattered throughout all of China. There is also a high concentration of Hui in the province of Ningsha in the north.

After the Hui, the remainder of the Muslim population belong to Turkic language groups and are racially Turks (except for the Mongol Salars and Aryan Tajiks). The Turkic group is further divided between the Uygurs, Uzbeks, Kazakhs, Kirgiz, TatarsDongshiang. Nearly all of the Turkic Muslims are found in the western provinces of Kansu and Xinjiang. The largest of these Muslim groups are the Uygurs. and

The Uygurs are most populous in the province of Xinjiang, where they make up some 60% of the total population. This relatively small percentage is due to the massive influx of non-Muslim Chinese into the province in recent times, a situation that has brought problems of assimilation and raised concerns about the de-Islamization of one of China's predominantly Muslim regions. [Muslims in Central Asia, under the USSR, were subjected to a similar population management, Russification of Central Asia].

Muslims, and the Uygur in particular, suffered tremendously under the regime of Mao Zedong and his "Cultural Revolution." During the communist reign of terror, there was a violent campaign to eradicate all traces of Islam and of the ethnic identity of all non-Chinese. The Uygur language, which had for centuries used Arabic script, was forced to adopt the Latinforced labor in the some 30,000 communes set up in the predominantly Muslim provinces. The imams and akhunds were singled out for humiliating punishments and tortures….[and were forced to] tend to pig farms, which were sometimes kept in government-closed mosques. alphabet. The Uygurs, as with most believing Muslims, were subjected to

Under the pretext of unification of national education, Islamic schools were closed and their students transferred to other schools which taught only Marxism and Maoism. Other outrages included the closing of over 29,000 mosques, the widespread torture of imams, and executions of over 360,000 Muslims.

Since the death of Mao and the end of his hard-line Marxist outlook nearly fifteen years ago, the communist government has greatly liberalized its policies toward Islam and Muslims. And despite the horrors of the Cultural Revolution, Islam has continued to thrive in China.

Today the campaign for assimilation started during the Cultural Revolution has slowed somewhat and the Turkic Muslims have greater freedom to express their cultural identity. The government has, for instance, allowed the reinstatement of the Arabic alphabet for use with the Uygur language. There is, however, continued discrimination against the Turkic Muslims by the immigrant Chinese (favored by the government) who have settled in the far western province of Xinjiang. This immigration has posed a problem as Han Chinese are migrating to Muslim areas at the rate of 200,000 a year. In many places where Muslims once were a majority, they are now a minority.

Since religious freedom was declared in 1978, the Chinese Muslims have not wasted time in expressing their convictions. There are now some 28,000 mosques in the entire People's Republic of China, with 12,000 in the province of Xinjiang. In addition, there is a large number of imams available to lead the Muslim community (in Xinjiang alone there are over 2,800).

There has been an increased upsurge in Islamic expression in China, and many nationwide Islamic associations have been organized to coordinate inter-ethnic activities among Muslims. Islamic literature can be found quite easily and there are currently some eight different translations of the Qur'an in the Chinese language as well as translations in Uygur and the other Turkic languages. The Muslims of China have also been given almost unrestricted allowance to make the Hajj to Mecca [Reflections from the Hajj]. In 1986 there were some 2,300 Chinese Muslims at Hajj. (Compared to the 30 Soviet Muslims allowed to make the same pilgrimage, this number seems quite generous, considering that the Soviet Muslim population outnumbers China's by nearly four times).

China's Muslims have also been active in the country's internal politics. As always, the Muslims have refused to be silenced. Several large demonstrations have been staged by Muslims to protest intrusions on Muslim life. Last year, for instance, Muslims staged a massive protest rally in Beijing to demand the removal of anti-Islamic literature from China's bookstores. The Turkic [group] Muslims have also held demonstrations for a greater voice in the running of their own affairs and against the continued large-scale immigration of non-Muslims into their provinces. In the news this spring are more reports of demonstrations and struggles by Chinese Muslims to regain their rights. Insha'Allah they will be successful.




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[ALOCHONA] BDR deployment reinforced along Myanmar border



BDR deployment reinforced along Myanmar border
 

Tension mounts over intrusion, fencing move
 

Bangladesh has reinforced paramilitary troop deployment along the border with Myanmar in the wake of the latest surge in tension. All but essential leaves of Bangladesh Rifles personnel have been cancelled.
   Tension mounted along the Naikhyangchhari border in Bandarban after Myanmar had resumed border fencing Friday. Myanmar on Saturday also reinforced army deployment on its side of the border.
   The home ministry in letters sent to the director general of the Bangladesh Rifles and the inspector general of police on Tuesday asked them to keep their forces 'on alert' along the border with Myanmar.
   Dhaka may need to resume diplomatic efforts to stop intrusion of Myanmar citizens into the Bangladesh territory seeking shelter or employment, a home ministry official said, referring to the latest communications with the foreign ministry.
   'Troop deployment in the border has been reinforced and all but essential leaves of BDR personnel have been cancelled,' Major General Mohammad Mainul Islam, director general of the Bangladesh Rifles, told New Age on Tuesday.
   He said BDR troops had been deployed along sensitive areas in the border and other preparation had also been made.
   The home ministry official further said intrusion of Myanmar citizens into Bangladesh was damaging Bangladesh's overseas
   labour market and reputation of Bangladeshi workers.
   'Most of the illegal migrant workers, including boatmen in Cox's Bazar, Bandarban and other places along the Bangladesh coast are Myanmar citizens,' the source said, quoting an intelligence agency report.
   The report observed intrusion of Myanmar citizens, including refugees, emerged a new threat to Bangladesh's internal security and job market.
   In the context, the source said the government 'should take renewed steps to increase engagement through diplomatic channels for the repatriation of Myanmar Rohingya refugees.' Myanmar needs to be persuaded to stop fresh intrusion by its citizens into Bangladesh, the source said.
   The recent trouble in the relations between the two neighbouring countries had started since November 2008 as Myanmar's naval ship intruded into Bangladesh's territorial waters.
   The standoff in the Bay of Bengal resulted from Myanmar's intrusion into Bangladesh's territorial waters for oil and gas exploration in 2008.
   Bilateral tension also mounted when Myanmar began barbed wire fencing along the border with Bangladesh early this year.
   Bangladesh resumed its negotiation with Myanmar on maritime delimitation in 2008, after about three decades. The series of discussions are yet to make any headway in resolving the issue.
   As Bangladesh and Myanmar have overlapping claims on territorial waters in the Bay, Yangon has recently warned US company ConocoPhillips not to take over offshore Block 11, claiming it was located within Myanmar's maritime boundary.
   The US company is recently awarded the production sharing contracts for hydrocarbon exploration in deep sea Block 10 and 11.
   ConocoPhillips now wants to discuss with the foreign ministry the latest situation of the disputed areas in the two blocks for which the company was selected.

 

http://www.newagebd.com/2009/oct/07/front.html




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