Telangana Muslims back Separate Statehood; but MIM Keeps Quiet

Even as the Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen, the Muslim political party with tremendous clout in Hyderabad, still keeping its cards on Telangana issue close to its chest, several other Muslim organisations have become active in support of the Telangana state.

Though Muslims in Hyderabad's old city, the bastions of the MIM are largely silent and aloof from the one month long agitation for Telangana state, the minority community members were participating in large numbers in protests and processions in other nine Telangana districts.


As the well established organisations like Jamat-e-Islami have declared their full support to Telangana on the grounds that smaller states will be helpful in providing good governance, several other Muslim groups like Muslim Forum for Telangana and Telangana Muslim Front have also come up to spearhead the movement.

The issue of Muslim participation in Telangana movement has always been sensitive and crucial as they constitute nearly 20 per cent of the four crore population of the region and were mostly concentrated in Hyderabad and other urban centers like Nizamabad, Kamareddy, Warangal, Karimnagar, Adilabad and Nalgonda.

Abdul Rahman Al Attas, the former Telangana Rashtra Samithi member of Legislative Council sought to dispel the impression that Muslims as a community were opposed to Telangana state.

"This is untrue. Muslims like the other people of Telangana region want Telangana state as their rights will be more secure and they will get back their due share in government jobs," he said.

He said that a Muslim Minority Joint Action Committee on Telangana was leaving for New Delhi on Saturday to meet Union home minister P Chidambaram , finance minister Pranab Mukherji and other senior leaders to spell out the stand of Muslims in favour of Telangana.

The MIM, which has one seat in Lok Sabha and seven in the state assembly, is among the eight recognised political parties of the state invited for the January 5 talks by the Central government. "We will not come out with our stand in the very first meeting as it will be a prolonged process," said the MIM president and Member of Parliament Asaduddin Owaisi .


Even as nearly 90 legislators of different political parties in Telangana region announced their resignations to mount pressure on the Central government to form the state, MIM has kept silent and the party has made no such announcement.

MIM has traditionally been opposed to the division of Andhra Pradesh and formation of Telangana state on the ground that separate Telangana state will be more fertile ground for the Bharatiya Janata Party and other 'communal forces' and the people from Andhra and Raayalseema regions were 'more secular' than those of Telangana.

"If Telangana is formed, politically it will be beneficial for my party as it can win 15 to 20 seats in a 119 member assembly. But we are not looking at the issue from the angle of political benefit. We feel that it will not be in the interest of Muslim minority. BJP can never think of coming to power in an integrated Andhra Pradesh but they will have a chance in separate Telangana," Owaisi had said a few months ago.

"We are neither for Telangana state nor for a united Andhra Pradesh. We are just saying that when they sit for discussion to decide the fate of the state, MIM should have chair at the table and Muslims as a stakeholders should be heard," he had said.

But with the mounting pressure on the Central government from pro-Telangana forces and inclination in the Centre to positively consider the demand, the MIM is a bit worried about the future.

Jamat-e-Islami Hind's Amir chief of Andhra Pradesh Malik Moatasim Khan declaring Jamat's support to Telangana movement dismissed the fear of communal forces becoming communally strong and said that the communal forces were present all over the country and Jamat along with other forces will fight against them.


"The issue now is not that of creating political consensus on formation of Telangana. But now the time has come to think of the development of the Telangana state," he said, adding that the Central government does not have any option but to form Telangana state.

Movement for Peace and Justice, another active organisation, has come out in its support and said Telangana state should be formed on the basis of justice.

Sources: Rediff.com

Trouble Making MLA

On Saturday, I went out with my wife for shopping at Abids (Hyderabad). There was usual flowing traffic on the road and we didnt sense what was going to happen. Once shopping is done, we were walking towards our car and I saw the traffic almost to a standstill. We sat in our car and were unable to take it out from the parking area.

Somehow or other, I took it out and found that I was almost in the same place for 30 min. I sensed some sort of trouble or bomb blasts (as there were serial blasts a day before at Benguluru). I called my dad and told him to switch on the TV and he told me that there was some trouble at the Abids Police Station.

Then traffic police team came (after full 45 minutes) and we were told to take a "U" turn on Abids Road. Never in my life I had experienced such a situation on this very busy shopping district where I was told to take a "U" turn on this on-way road. Came Home and learned what the hell happened.

Background:

A day before, Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation(GHMC) officials brought down a portion of a building on the Chapel Road after giving notice to the owner, Mir Adil Ali that his building, is built on a encroached land. The owner along with 20 of his friends attacked the GHMC officials and chased the away after injuring 3 of the officials. The attackers didn't even spare the lady official, Shama and she was hurriedly rushed away by her car driver to safety. While a case had been lodged on Mr.Adil, the GHMC officials and their sub-ordinates went on Strike to take action on the perpetrators of the attack.

The incident was informed to Mr.Sharma, the head of GHMC. On saturday, on the leadership of City Chief Planner (CCP), Mr. Purushottam Reddy and 100 GHMC officials, they went back to the same place to bring down the building.

Then the Majlis Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) Member of Legislative Assembly from Karwan Constituency, Mr.Afsar Khan comes to the location. He vents his ire on the CCP and puts his hands on the shoulder of the CCP. Angered by this aggressive posture of the MLA, the GHMC staff starts shouting against the MLA. Meanwhile, another MIM MLA from Asif Nagar Constituency, Mojam Khan joins Afsar Khan. He started using foul language which cannot be written here against the GHMC staff. Already irate GHMC staff attacks the MLA and roughs him up.


Then out of the blue, Afsar Khan, despite surrounded by his security guards, takes out his personal revolver and shoots two rounds in the air. Now....this is great !!

Now comes another twist. The Government Security Guards then take the "Lathi" (sticks) our of the hands of Police and started beating Police !! Ha!Ha!Ha! Look at their "Swami Bhakti" !! The police were chased and beaten by security guards !! This Happens Only In India !! Where else can you see such a situation ??

Now, not only we got to be careful of gun wielding MLA's but their security guards too who dont mind beating the police.

Now, another twist. The MLA's other goondas stage a rasta roko (literally meaning, stop the traffic) bringing the bumper to bumper traffic to a stand still shouting that GHMC staff should be arrested. At this point, we were told to take a U Turn on the Abids Road. While coming back, I noticed the traffic been diverted into other areas and kilometers of traffic jammed all because of one person who was elected by the poor people.

After sometime, they were joined by other MLA's from their party, Mr.Akbaruddin Owaisi and Ahmed Pasha Khadri and after sometime, by Hyderabad Member of Parliament, Mr.Asaduddin Owaisi. They had a closed door meeting with GHMC top officials and a telephonic conversation with the Chief Minister himself !! The Government came down and agreed to put cases against the GHMC officials who were attacked by MIM cadres. Yes! Yes! I wrote right only. A case was filed against those persons who were attacked. This Happens Only in Hyderabad - Where else ?? The MIM cadres were happy and left after creating huge traffic jams from 11.30AM till 4.00PM giving a tough time to the police, ordinary citizens and to the patients of different hospitals whose ambulances got stuck up in the traffic snarls.

Now, what is the government doing ?? Why is it not having guts to act tough ? The police say that they didnt want to create tension and riots in the old city. Till how many more years we need to fear goondas like this ? Act tough once, let riots happen, act tough then also, that would send a clear signal to the trouble mongers. Instead, we are trying to pacify them and making them above law. If we leave them now, they would become unmanageable monsters.

These are the same people who have attacked eminent writer, Taslima Nasreen when she visited Hyderabad earlier. Why is the Government making peace with them ?

The government is compromising on the security aspects and creating more fundamentalists with its acts. It is worrying that any action against the trouble mongers would only push the minorities away from it. But, I sincerely believe that ordinary Muslims would not support such people. It is high time political parties stop appeasing minorities and sincerely work for their upliftment.

Muslims also should understand that voting on the basis of religion have not taken them anywhere. They have been voting MIM past many decades but still the old city of Hyderabad had not changed a bit. We need leaders who are constructive, not destructive.