‘Jihadi’ held in Andhra

The following is an editorial in "The Telegraph" regarding the events in the last few days with reference to renting out flats to Mr Iqbal.


NOT FOR ALL
Barack Obama wants to extend his hand if the Muslim world is willing to unclench its fist. But Calcutta prefers to keep its fist closed tight than offer the hand of help. On the day the United States of America, along with the rest of the world, was welcoming its first-ever black president (and one with a distinctly Muslim middle name), a 32-year-old Muslim man told The Telegraph about a strikingly different kind of reception he has received in the so-called cultural capital of India. Mohammed Asif Iqbal, an IT consultant, has proved himself many times over. This visually impaired young man has distinguished himself professionally, worked in the US, and earned the praise of a former Indian president. But clearly, all these were not good enough for him to get an apartment in the city, which prides itself for its hospitality and secularism. In his quest for a place to rent, Mr Iqbal has been repeatedly shown the door for having the wrong name. Investigation has now revealed that religious profiling prevails over many aspects of life in Calcutta. From renting a place to opening a bank account, Muslims are having to work that much harder for the fundamental rights they are entitled to as citizens of a democratic nation.

If an educated, successful and self-aware citizen like Mr Iqbal can be summarily denied accommodation for having a “Muslim” name, the daily trials of the less privileged members of the minority community are only to be imagined. Sectarian violence and hostility are not exactly unexpected elements in the Indian polity, but this discrimination of religious minorities is not taking place in Narendra Modi’s Gujarat or being engineered by the cadre of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena. Such harassment would have been inexcusable anywhere, but all this is happening in West Bengal, a state ruled by an avowedly secular party — and this makes the shame of it all the more painful. The government, evidently, has failed to preserve the equality of individuals as enshrined in the Constitution. But in this failure, society, too, has much to answer for. The polity alone cannot change for the better if its people are unwilling to embrace newer, plural visions of life. The only way forward, as Mr Obama told his people yesterday, is “based on mutual interest and mutual respect”. West Bengal, and more so the Bengalis, would do well to heed his words.


From "The Telegraph"
OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

Hyderabad, Jan. 21: Andhra police have arrested an explosives expert from Kerala who allegedly sent youths to Pakistan for training in jihadi activities in Kashmir.

Abdul Sattar, who police say designed some of the bombs that went off in Hyderabad in 2007 and in Bangalore and Ahmedabad last year, was detained in Hyderabad last week. He was today remanded in the custody of Karnataka police, which wanted him in 10 cases.

Sattar is accused of recruiting youths from Kerala and putting them through the basics of militancy in some Hyderabad madarsas before sending them to Pakistan.

Andhra police zeroed in on Sattar after arresting one of his alleged recruits, Sheikh Abdul Jabbar, from Tirur in Kerala’s Malappuram district, from Hyderabad last November. Jabbar was later handed over to Kerala police.

“With the arrest of Sattar and Jabbar, we have found out how Muslim youths in two districts of Kerala, Malappuram and Kannur, are being lured into terrorism,” said a senior intelligence official.

Police officials said Sattar, a businessman in electrical goods, had first come to Hyderabad in 2004 and stayed at Jamia Arifia Nooria, a seminary-cum-educational institution in Cyberabad’s Bandlaguda.

Sattar had links with Arifuddin, a cleric and a custodian of the seminary’s dargah who had come to Hyderabad from Kerala 20 years ago, police said.

When even educated people and businessmen get involved in cross border terrrorism, why should it surprise the The Telegraph" when people hesitate in renting out flats to certain people.
The community should make concerted efforts to advise its community to desist from getting involved in these activities.
They should also report to the police if any new face appears in their areas as that may be a prospective terrorist looking for new recruits.
They should then allow the police to enquire how and from where that new face has come.
This should be done by all Calcuttans, living anywhere.
If any new face appears in their locality, they should report the the police.
Actually, it should be made mandatory for any person settling down in a new locality to report to the police.
The police should make necessary investigation without demanding any bribes, which seems very unlikely.
We all know how the police demand a bribe when they go to enquire and file a report for a passport applicant.
My grand-daughter is only three months old.
Since my son may be going abroad, he is having passports made for his wife and daughter.
I won't be surprised if the police demand bribe for my grand-daughter's report.
I have always maintained that the police and the politician are the fountainhead of all corruption in India and are associated with all types of criminals and criminal activities.
Radheshyam