India News Briefly | DesPardes.com

MAR 21 - Carnatic Prince of Arcot Nawab Mohammed Abdul Ali joined issue with Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) leader L.K Advani's reported comments that Congress led United Progressive Alliance Government was indulging in minority appeasement.

The direct descendent of the erstwhile rulers of Carnatic from 1690 to 1855 and subsequent Princes of Arcot since 1867 to the present day, Nawab Ali is the only royalty in India that�s being recognized by the government that pays for his upkeep and maintenance.

Born in the Royal House of Arcot, on the 9th August, 1951, Nawab Mohammed Abdul Ali is the eldest son of the Nawab Ghulam Mohammed Abdul Khader, the late Prince of Arcot and lives in the historic palace of his ancestors, 'Amir Mahal', in Royapettah in the city of Chennai (Madras), India.

The family traces its lineage from the second Caliph of Islam, Hazrath Omar Bin-Khattab. Nawab Mohammed Abdul Ali succeeded his later father, and was recognized by His Excellency the President of India, as "HIS HIGHNESS THE PRINCE OF ARCOT".

The Prince runs a non-governmental organization Harmony India to preach secularism in the country, and has said that the defense of minorities "is not a matter of appeasement but of basic fair play" since such provisions are guaranteed under the Indian Constitution.

Leader of the Opposition L.K. Advani on Sunday described the Government's `appeasement' of minorities as a crime against society and said such appeasement annoyed the majority community because secularism meant justice, equality and fair play.

Reacting to Advani�s comment on minorities� appeasement a crime against society, the Prince of Arcot said, "to describe India's Muslims as pampered lot is to stand reality on its head."

The Prince also disagreed with Advani�s view that "if appeasement caused any serious damage, it was to the minority community itself by isolating it from the mainstream."

The Prince said that according to official statistics, the country's religious minorities in general and Muslims, in particular, were seriously under represented in the government and private sector and educational institutions. He also claimed that while poverty was prevalent among all Communities, it prevailed to a greater extent among Muslims.

Advani

Advani who was hauled for his praise for Jinnah during his visit to Pakistan and had to quit the party�s president ship for this singular act has once again started humming his tried and tested formula of criticizing �minority appeasement� to mobilize Hindu votes for the up coming assembly election due in five states in May.

He cited the decision on reservation for Muslims in Andhra Pradesh, the minority status for the Aligarh Muslim University, repeal of the Prevention of Terrorism Act, creation of a separate Ministry for Minority Affairs and plan for a head-count of Muslims in armed forces as some of the measures taken by the government to `appease' the minority community.

The Prince of Arcot who has neither an inclination nor a desire to get into politics disagreed with Advani�s interpretation that the UPA was adopting the policy of `appeasement' of Muslims for electoral gains. He said that it would be wrong to interpret government�s attempts to address the genuine issues of the Muslims in terms of minority appeasement.

The coinage of the word `minorityism' is a misnomer, the Prince said in retaliation to Advani�s comment that BJP was not against the minorities but did not believe in the concept of �minoritysm.�

He also hit hard at Advani�s proposed "yatra" saying such attempt may unstitch the Ayodhya wounds with which Muslims now have been slowly able to reconcile with.

The Prince gave a call to all the secular minded people in the country not to get swayed over the voices that�s been hitting hard at the secular social fabric of the country. �The evil designs to divide the society on the emptive issues and by plying with their sentiments should not be allowed to succeed,� the Prince said.

While being devout Muslims, the Nawabs of Carnatic and the Princes of Arcot were known for practicing and preaching secularism long before it became a public currency. They respected plurality and diversity in the society. With Madras that�s now Chennai as their seat of power, the Nawabs of Carnatic once presided over the area much larger than the current state of Tamil Nadu. Details on them can be obtained from their official website (www.princeofarcot.org)

Note from Wikipedia : Arcot is a city and metropolitan district in Vellore District of Tamil Nadu state in southern India. Located on the Palar River, the city straddles a highly strategic trade route between Chennai (Madras) and Bangalore, between the Mysore Ghat and the Javadi Hills. Its name is believed to derive from the Tamil word arkad, "Six Forests."

The town's strategic location has led to it being repeatedly contested and prompted the construction of a formidable fortress. It was captured from the Hindu Marathas by a Muslim Nawab of Karnataka, who made it his capital in 1712. In 1751, Robert Clive captured the town during the conflict between the United Kingdom and France for control of South India. He successfully held it with only 500 men against a powerful opposing army raised by the Marathas, resisting for 56 days. The enemy army eventually dissolved and its leader, Chanda Shahib, was killed. Muhammad Ali took over as Nawab, effectively serving as a vassal of the British. His successors soon ran up enormous debts at the hands of English speculators. In 1801, the town was annexed by the British East India Company.

In the 20th century, Arcot declined in importance and was incorporated into the district of Vellore.

The Arcot region is also one of the quickest areas to develop mainly due to the influence of Danish Missionaries in the region. The people who lived in the Arcot region especially in and near the temple town of Tiruvannamalai, where belonging to a clan called the arcots, these were warriors and landowners, some of them were ancient dravidians and Hindu Marathas from whom the Nawabs fought and ruled over them.

First Gay Society spring up in Chennai

By Syed Ali Mujtaba

MARCH 16 - Madras that�s Chennai, the economic hub of South India, a megapolis where conservatism and liberalism exist side by side made history when it boast the formation of Men Community Development Society exclusively to cater to the needs of homosexuals.

The Society currently has 300 members and has identified more than 7,000 future members in Chennai city alone.

The Society is formed to address violations of homosexual men's human rights, help them get help from the government, to provide them support in times of need, and to help them form more such organizations in other districts of Tamil Nadu, said AJ Hariharan, president of Indian Community Welfare Organization, (ICWO), an anti-AIDS non-governmental organization that announced the formed this society.

Dr Jaya Shreedhar, who works with homosexuals, said gays are accepted in Western countries but not here and such initiative would change people�s attitude towards them. Homosexuals are born with their sexual preference; it is innate and cannot be 'changed,' she said stressing that homosexuality is not 'abnormal.' In fact, a Bill is being mooted to make homosexuality legal, she pointed out.

The Society would stop its members from becoming prostitutes, make them health conscious and train them to make money without resorting to commercial sex, said A J Hariharan

The job of the society is to educate its members about sexually transmitted diseases, particularly HIV/AIDS, help them become financially independent, encourage them to save and provide them medical help, he added.

The Society has its own doctor and clinic because the common grievance of its members was that doctors treat homosexuals with disdain, he said adding that it will have computers, driving, tailoring, beautician and folk art courses for its members.

The ICWO, which was formed in 1992, has been working with homosexuals for the last six years in its efforts to combat HIV/AIDS.

Taking Shabana Azmi for a ride!

March 16: Former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir Farooq Abdullah claimed Wednesday that he had committed no mistakes at all.

The National Conference leader was reacting to the media reports about his son and National Conference chief Omar Abdullah's statement in Pakistan that his father and grand father did make mistakes over Kashmir.

"I have made no mistakes. The only thing I have done was riding on a motor-cycle with cine star Shabana Azmi years ago," he told reporters in Jammu.

"Is riding on a motor-cycle with Shabana a mistake. If it is, then it is my mistake. Otherwise, no mistakes have been committed by me," Farooq said.

On mistakes committed by his father Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah, Farooq said "I don't know whether he had given lift on motor-cycle to anybody."

"Once I go to heaven, I will definitely ask him," he said in a lighter vein.

On autonomy, Farooq said any proposal that fulfilled aspirations of people of Jammu and Kashmir was acceptable to the National Conference.

Jaya Bachchan Moves Supreme Court

March 10: Jaya Bachchan, who is facing disqualification as a member of the Rajya Sabha, today moved the Supreme Court seeking clarification of the term �office of profit�.

The Election Commission has recommended her disqualification to the President on the ground that she is holding an office of profit as chairperson of Uttar Pradesh Film Development Council.

Bachchan, who was elected as a candidate of the Samajwadi Party, has in her application requested the court to clarify the term �office of profit� under the Centre or the state government.

She has sought to know under what situation or circumstance a person is deemed to be holding an office of profit with the Centre or a state government.

The Election Commission however rejected the charge of bias in its recommendation to the President for disqualification of Jaya Bachchan saying it was �uncalled for�.

�The Commission has to act according to the provisions of the Constitution. The Commission has to follow the legal and Constitutional provisions and send the necessary opinion to the President and that process has started,� said B.B Tandon Chief Election Commissioner of India, commenting on the EC�s recommendation for disqualification of Jaya Bachan as the member of Rajya Sabha.

Check it out >