New branding for Dubai government departments launched
WAM
Published: March 29, 2008, 15:29
Dubai: The Dubai Government on Saturday unveiled a new livery and logo for all departments.
Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Dubai Crown Prince and Chairman of the Dubai Executive Council, released the new livery that aims to unify all government bodies and reflect their loyalty and Dubai's rich values.
Dubai Government departments have been directed to carry the new identity from April 1 under the supervision of the Dubai Executive Council.
During the first phase, member entities of the Council will adopt the new branding. Phase two will cover the remaining Dubai government entities.
Reflecting the emirate's history and its march towards rapid progress, the new logos underline the brand unity and synergy among the Dubai government and all its sub-entities.
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The elegant font, selected by Shaikh Hamdan, for Dubai's new identity is inspired by the font chosen by his grandfather, the late Shaikh Rashid Bin Saeed Al Maktoum.
Guidelines on merging each department's individual logos with the new Dubai Government brand logo will soon be circulated to all departments, specifying terms and conditions on its usage.
Sunday, March 30, 2008
New Dubai
Friday, March 21, 2008
MEELAD
NEWSTOMIND
شارك 170 طالباً وطالبة من 11 مدرسة على مستوى المناطق التعليمية في الاحتفال بالمولد النبوي الشريف الذي نظمته وزارة التربية والتعليم بمسرح مبنى الأنشطة بدبي أمس الأول.وأكد عبدالله مصبح مدير عام الوزارة أن الاحتفال بذكرى المولد النبوي الشريف يهدف إلى استخلاص الدروس والعبر التي تفيد المسلمين وتؤدي إلى الاقتداء بسيرة النبي (صلى الله عليه وسلم)، والتأسي بأخلاقه، وإرساء ذلك بين أبناء الأمة الإسلامية لتعزيز مبادئ التراحم والتكافل الاجتماعي والتآخي.وقال مصبح: ''إن حياة الرسول مملوءة بالعبر والدروس التي تعد طريقاً يهتدي بنورها كل البشر، والرسالة والسيرة المحمدية منهاج متكامل ومدرسة مفتوحة تستنبط منها البشرية كل ماتحتاجه من عبر ومواعظ''. وأوضح أن تنظيم الوزارة هذا الاحتفال يأتي من حرصها على غرس القيم النبيلة التي تميزت بها السيرة المشرقة لرسولنا الأعظم في نفوس الطلبة؛ لأنه قدوتهم ومعلمهم الأول.تضمن الحفل مقتطفات من الأناشيد والموشحات الدينية التي تتحدث عن صفات النبي عليه الصلاة والسلام.وشاركت في الحفل من دبي مدارس: عمر بن الخطاب النموذجية، والألفية الفكرية، والثاني من ديسمبر، وحتا للتعليم الأساسي، ومن الشارقة: معهد التربية الفكرية، ومدرستا صهيب، والنخيلات للتعليم الأساسي، ومدرسة علي بن أبي طالب، ومن عجمان مدرستا: خديجة للتعليم الأساسي الحلقة الثانية، ومشيرف، ومن أم القيوين مدرسة المناهل.وقدم الطلاب عدداً من الأناشيد والموشحات والابتهالات الدينية، واختتم الحفل بفقرة متنوعة فردية من الأناشيد قدمها ياسر الرصاصي من إدارة الأنشطة الطلابية. وقدم طلاب مدرسة صهيب نشيداً بـ''الإنجليزية''.حضر الاحتفال محمد جمعة بن هندي نائب المدير التنفيذي لشؤون الخدمات المؤسسية والمساندة بالإنابة، والدكتورة فوزية بدري نائب المدير التنفيذي للشؤون التعليمية بالإنابة، وعدد من المسؤولين في الوزارة وأولياء الأمور والإدارات المدرسية.
Awqaf marks Prophet's Birthday
Mar 21, 2008 - 03:23 -
Abu Dhabi, March 21,2008(WAM)--The General Authority for Islamic Affairs and Awqaf held country-wide celebrations last night to mark the birthday of Prophet Mohammed.The event was celebrated in a number of mosques with a variety of programmes that were attended by senior officials, Islamic scholars and large numbers of the faithful.In Abu Dhabi's Zayed bin Sultan Mosque , the celebration was attended by Sheikh Zayed bin Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Hamdan bin Mussalam Al Mazroui, Chairman of the General Authority for Islamic Affairs and Awqaf.In their sermons on the event, religious leaders highlighted the teachings of Prophet Mohammed and interpreted the tenets of Islam as revealed to the Prophet.WAm
Children across the country yesterday marked Milad Al Nabi with chants, seminars and performances to remember and celebrate His life, teachings and example.
Young and old mark the Prophet's birthday
By Siham Al Najami, Staff ReporterPublished: March 20, 2008, 23:55-
Dubai: The festival of Milad Al Nabi was marked on Thursday in the remembrance of the life, teachings and the example of the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH).
Milad, derived from the Arabic root word wulid, meaning to give birth or create, is used to refer to the observance of the birthday of the Prophet which occurs in Rabi Al Awwal, the third month in the Islamic calendar.
In a ceremony held at Al Rashidiya Mosque, Dr Omar Al Khateeb, Assistant General Manager of the Islamic Affairs and Charitable Activities Department in Dubai, said the festival of the Prophet's birthday should be a starting point for all Muslims to unite and face the challenges and difficulties facing the Islamic ummah (nation).
The Ministry of Education organised a series of celebrations performed by more than 170 pupils from 12 schools across the UAE to mark the significance of the Prophet in their lives. They performed religious chants on devotion and love to the Prophet.
Abdullah Musabih, General Director of the ministry, said it is keen to hold this celebration, as the Prophet's life offers "an ocean of knowledge and lessons on life, ethics, and humanity".
Yesterday, Children's City, along with the Dubai Islamic Affairs and Charitable Activities Department, held a number of activities and programmes. The festival included performances by a group of children and a lecture by Shaikh Alaa on the life of the Prophet, the best ways to follow his footsteps, and the importance of remembering him.
By Adel Arafah (Our staff reporter)
21 March 2008 -KHALEEJTIMES
ABU DHABI - The General Authority of Islamic Affairs and Awqaf (GAIAA) on Friday celebrated the birthday of Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) at Shaikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi.
The celebration was attended by a large number of officials and diplomats in addition to a large number of people.
In his speech, the Chairman of GAIAA, Dr Hamdan Al Mazrouei, stressed that the world, in general, and the Arabian Peninsula, in particular, was in darkness and barbarism until Allah send Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) to quell the darkness and restore the maximum rights to human beings.
Among those who attended the celebration were Islamic scholars, including Shaikh Mohammed Saeed Al Boti, winner of the Dubai Holy Quran Award and Al Habib bin Ali Al-Jafari.
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
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Thursday, March 13, 2008
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Horrific accident on Abu Dhabi-Dubai highway near Ghantoot
By Kevin Scott, staff reporter, Mahmoud Saberi, staff reporter and Rayeesa Qhurshida, Staff Reporter Last updated: March 11, 2008, 13:15
Ghantoot: At least six people have been killed after a series of horrific accidents on the Abu Dhabi-Dubai highway near Ghantoot on Tuesday morning. Police have said around 200 cars were involved in the crash, which happened in heavy fog, with 25 cars catching fire. About seven people with minor injurious from the accident site in Ghantoot were treated and later discharged said a senior doctor from the Accident and Emergency Unit at Rashid hospital.
Serious casualties were taken to Al Rahba and Al Mafraq hospitals in Abu Dhabi.
Dr. Victor Mikhael Butros, in charge of the Accident and Emergency Unit of the hospital said: “We received the news of the accident at 9am and immediately a team comprising of two doctors and two nurses along with equipments were dispatched to the scene.
"We were told to expect 40 causalities but when our team reached the site we told that only seven accident victims with minor injurious will be sent to us. Those with serious injurious were admitted to two hospitals in Abu Dhabi.”
Police also said that because of the bad weather helicopters were unable to begin airlifting the injured until 11.30am.
Eyewitness Tahir S, said: “I was involved in the first crash. I could hardly see anything because of the fog. It was horrible. You could see 10m in front of you. “After the crash I looked behind and people were yelling and screaming.” Matt, 26, a German national said the scene was chaotic. He added: “The accident was a combination of fog and people using their hazard lights. I only escaped with a bruise.” Khamis I. Mohammad, deputy of traffic and patrol Abu Dhabi police said: “It was a disaster scene, everyone was speeding and after the first crash happened people just started hitting each other. “There were six buses carrying labourers, three buses had 50 passengers each.” He also advised people not to use their hazard lights and not to listen to the radio while driving. Did you witness the accident? Are you caught in the traffic? Fill in the form below to send your comments or upload your photographs by clicking on this link.
Your commentsDrivers should always drive with high concentration and maintain sufficient gapNazeerDubai,U.A.EPosted: March 11, 2008, 14:3613 cars crashed into Ruwais Road near TarifNoorAbuDhabi,UAEPosted: March 11, 2008, 14:36If you have no head lights on, tinted windows beyond the police legal allowance, hazards flashing, needle bouncing off the 160km, coffee in one hand, and a copy of the local newspaper on your steering wheel, what else was going to happen apart from today's accident. Having traveled for the last 4 years on the same route, i see it everyday. I can bet that all those who are suffering now are the ones that didn't cause the accident. Better to be 40 minutes late in this world than 40 years early in the next! Slow down and listen to advice.P BrentDubai,UAEPosted: March 11, 2008, 14:34Most of accidents are caused because of driving fast. In fog people should drive slowly and carefully, but if on the roads no controls and no rules, then it is normal that such accidents happen, So do not be surprisedmikeDubai,UAEPosted: March 11, 2008, 14:34Inshallah injured people will be fine. i was there in the scene and im speechless all i can say is that we all should learn from this terrible scene and behave and obey rulesosamaabu dhabi,uaePosted: March 11, 2008, 14:34This happens despite the licensing law being strict. I feel that the UAE govt must now think of building more metros and also local railways for the commuters, so that less number of people travel on this road.sanjeevDubai,UAEPosted: March 11, 2008, 14:34I am a student intern at Mafraq hospital. The only way to describe the aftermath in the ER would be to call it chaotic. Intensive efforts were made to help patients in the ER .Thank god they were successful as many people were treated for broken bones and tissue injury.omerbaniyas,uaePosted: March 11, 2008, 14:27Seeing the above accident, I request Road Traffic Authority to reduce the speed limit in Dubai-Abu Dhabi road.PawneDubai,UAEPosted: March 11, 2008, 14:27I've never ever seen such a horrible accidentArshadal ain,indiaPosted: March 11, 2008, 14:26The government should implement a rule that vehicles should not run at the speed of 60 Km/hr during the foggy condition, at the same time the employer(s) should consider the reasons of the delay occuring because of the fog as a valid reason in order to let the drivers drive the vehicle at the nominal speed.S M RazeenAbu Dhabi,U AEPosted: March 11, 2008, 14:26When you are driving through the fog please don't switch on the hazards and if you are stuck in the traffic when fogs there please switch on the hazards and if it is thick fog please horn at least two or three times. then only people can notice infront of them have to face some traffic. these things came to my mind today morning i also faced three accident on the way to dubai from abu dhab. two times i escaped from the accident because of the horn sound at the time i couldn't seen any hazards lights due to huge fog. lalithDubai,UAEPosted: March 11, 2008, 14:26This has happened due to some stupid people who always believe their car brakes will save them.BilalDubai,UAEPosted: March 11, 2008, 14:26So much for the new point system encouraging people to drive more safely...PaulAbu Dhabi,UAEPosted: March 11, 2008, 14:24Don't drive at all during thick fog, because if you slow down, you might get hit by cars from behind. Until UAE drivers reach a maturity level, stay home or park your car. Your life is more expensive than any other appointment you might have.TareqRAK,UAEPosted: March 11, 2008, 14:24I saw thing happening in front of me. I just save my life because my speed was slow so i could control my carVijayAbu Dhbai,UAEPosted: March 11, 2008, 14:24My collegue broke his hip in this accident. He is already really old and had replaced one hip couple of years ago.SimaoAD,uaePosted: March 11, 2008, 14:23I was heading to Abu Dhabi at 0630 hours just past Jebel Ali. When thick fog appeared I got off the road and sat in a garage area until it cleared as crazy people were driving in excess of 100kmh despite only 20 meters visibility. The reason for this crash is ignorance while driving in these conditions ie flashing light and of course speed
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Living Together: The Life of Muslims and Hindus in a Kerala Village
Here is a recent post I made to a discussion on Muslim Resurgence in Kerala: Renaissance or Reaction, at Fourth Estate Critique, a Google discussion group:IN THE other thread, The Arrest of an Editor, on the arrest of People's March editor P Govindan Kutty, there is a discussion about those who are not eligible to be part of a democracy. Well, I think this is a related subject. Who are eligible to be part of a democratic process and who are not...When we discuss about Islamic resurgence, it is common that this same ambivalence surfaces. Are they part of a democratic set up, are they to be trusted or are they working in secret for something sinister, with some ulterior motive, something quite alien to our ethos?John, in his note, had described the Islamic society on a global level, in an excellent macro study. In order to address the same problem, I try it at a micro level, looking at my own village and our own life to understand the complex relationships that define and give shape to our society today.Now, who are this 'us'? I raise this question because I know that there is a deep, hidden casteism in all our social interactions. Hence, it is necessary to make a declaration about one’s own "identity" in relation to these social/cultural/historical discourses.I belong to a place called Omassery, a panchayat on the periphery of the erstwhile Eranadu-Valluvanadu taluks which were the epicenter of the Malabar Rebellion. The dominant castes there are as follows: the Hindu upper castes, mainly Nairs; lower castes mainly Thiyyas, Cherumas and Pulayas; and Muslims. The Nairs were on the decline, though there were caste practices even in our village. The Thiyyas had their own kavu, which we called Karumanakkal. (I don't know the significance of the combination of these words kavu and mana here). The kavu was administered by a committee of family elders who elected the ‘aviathan’, who ran the property and looked after annual celebrations like thira. The Gulikan Thira was one of the most important there. In fact Gulikan was an important deity, and he inhabited the tree. I remember that in our own family, we used to make regular offerings to Gulikan, known as Gulikanu kodukkal, part of the ritual was the sacrifice of a cock to him under the tree. Once my father enlisted me to help him in this and when I saw the blood gushing out of the slit neck of the bird, I backed out and refused to be part of it ever since. In this social structure, I remember that the Thiyyas and other lower castes were much closer socially and culturally with Muslims, who had no caste prejudices. Our village, as most other villages in Malappuram, Kozhikode districts was dominated by Muslims, mainly Sunnis.But a much more major bond these lower castes had with Muslims was economic, as they worked in their fields, and took daily provisions, often on credit, from their shops. And their children went to schools set up by Muslims. My pre-high school days were spent in Karuvampoyil Govt. Mappila School, set up by a Muslim landlord. We had two libraries there in the village, one a public library and the other set up by local Jamat e Islami halqua. Then came politics. Nairs and others (there was just one Namboodiri illam in the whole place) were generally Congress or RSS; the Thiyyas and lower castes Communist and the Muslims, League. Now these equations seem to be undergoing a change: The lower castes, some of them at least, are now being drawn to the RSS-Congress line. Still Communists are dominant.In this scenario, what is important is to realize that Muslims as a community had a dominant role, in every sphere of our village life. They still do have it and they are now leading others, mostly from the backward castes, along with them. So these relations are very deep and extremely complex, which no external ideologies like the Hindutva could easily penetrate or destroy. The same is the case with Muslims who had such a deep relationship with others, and no amount of Pan-Islamism could force them to abandon their village people. My mother, who is now 85, is an example: She is a great devotee of deities like Sabarimala Ayyappan, Kottiyur Amma, and Sree Muthappan of Parassini...(Remember none of these deities ever practiced untouchability.) But she is equally devoted to Karakkattil Thangal, who appears to have settled in the area some 250-300 years ago along with other thangals like Bafaquis of Koyilandy, Sayeds of Kondotty and Jifrees of Kozhikode.Same is the case with my father: His greatest friend and ally was Kottuvatta Aboobacker Haji, an elderly person who had spent decades in the Andamans in the wake of the 1921 Rebellion. (I don’t know whether he was deported for his involvement in the rebellion or he chose migration there as part of the Andaman Scheme launched by the British Government those says.)So who is eligible and who is not eligible to be part of a democratic process? And why do we keep our tongues tied when we speak of our own past, and present, at least that of a substantial section of our society, who never had a chance to speak out? 29.01.2008
Posted by chespeak at 10:11 PM 0 comments
Labels: Democracy, Secularism, Social Justice
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Mayilamma and the Struggles for Water
Remembering the frail old woman who stopped Coca Cola, defending the people’s right to waterI first came across Mayilamma a few years ago in Delhi. She was coming out of the Constitution Club in Rafi Marg, just across the Indian Newspaper Society building where I worked as a reporter for a Malayalam newspaper those days. She had come to the national capital as a representative of the adivasi-dalit action committee in her small village called Plachimada on the Kerala-Tamil Nadu border.By then Plachimada and Mayilamma had become world famous. The dry village and the frail woman with untidy grey hair were by then symbols of a global resistance against Coca Cola. Mayilamma spoke to us Kerala journos in her peculiar dialect, which was neither Malayalam nor Tamil and one thing that was quite coherent was her loud and clear assertion: “We will never quit this struggle. We will not allow them to take our water.”It was water that pitted this woman who was in her late sixties, living with her four children in her derelict hut in the adivasi hamlet miles away from the towns and cities, against the global giant. She was born and brought up in Muthalamada, a village on the border of Palakkad. Then when she became 15, her father Raman and mother Kurumanda married her off to Mari Muthu of Plachimada. She came to live with him in the village bearing him four children when Mari Muthu died leaving her to carry on life.Life in these villages is tough. It is quite hot in the summer and the empty paddy fields dry up, the scorched earth emitting heat from within. The adivasis plant summer vegetable like water melon in the fields as inter-crop after paddy harvest, bringing water to nurse them from far away. That helps them survive in the off season when there is no work in the fields after the harvest is over. The village Plachimada is in the Chittur region of Palakkad district and it is a predominantly agricultural area, with paddy being the dominant crop. Sugar cane is also planted in some places and the main source of water for the villagers is the canals from the Malampuzha Reservoir which irrigates thousands of acres of fields. But water has always been in short supply, the cultivators giving up paddy as the costs were going up while their incomes came drastically down, and during the past two decades Palakkad had seen a massive drop in paddy cultivation. Even the State Government’s Statistics Department gave the figures that up to 40 per cent of the paddy fields had been converted into less water consuming crops like coconuts or simply left fallow, making the life of the adivasis and dalits all the more difficult. They had no land and no means to survive as the traditional ways of life came to a standstill. It was then the global giant came to their village. Armed with a license form the State Government and the local panchayart, Coca Cola set up their plant in Plachimada. Their rival Pepsi had another plant in another village, Pudussery.Within six months of their operations, all hell broke loose. The water level in the wells and other sources dropped in an unusual manner and the village turned into kind of a desert in a matter of a few months. Within the highly fortified compound of the Coca Cola plant, they had sunk six huge and deep wells that suck up all the sub-surface water leaving the villagers literally high and dry. The long trek of the women in summer months in search of water became longer and their anger boiling. It was then on April 22, 2002, the tribal women marched to the gates of Coca Cola company, and launched an indefinite satyagraha that entered into the annals of history. Police came in force, threw them out, they came back again and again and soon the agitation became a direct confrontation between the tribal women supported by the activists from all over the country and the world against the Cola giant. It was a long and arduous struggle. Mayilamma went to the small dilapidated hut they had set up in front of the gate every day and served water ands food to the satyagrahis, collecting everything from the public who supported their struggle. She was a face that appeared at the satyagraha scene everyday; whether it was rain or shine, whether she had work or not, whether her children had been fed or not. She was the public face of the agitation of these adivasi women who demanded that their water be restored to them. The struggle raised a number of issues and caught the attention of national and international press. BBC and others came, investigated the situation, exposed the lethal content in the chemical discharge from the plant that was causing harm to the soil as well, the High Court and Supreme Court intervened. The Kerala High Court in a landmark judgment against Coca Cola said that the right to water resources was a fundamental right of the people. A Joint Parliamentary Committee on colas and aerated waters set up by the Federal Government in Delhi sharply criticized to the excessive drawing of sub surface water for commercial purposes ignoring the need of the people living in the vicinity.As the struggle entered its 1000th day, Plachimada witnessed a huge turnout of activists and supporters from all over the world. The occasion was observed as world water meet which felicitated Mayilamma and others who launched this struggle. She was selected for the Outlook national award and was feted in many forums. This month the adivasi action committee is observing the first death anniversary of Mayilamma who died on January 6, 2007. She died after a long and hard struggle, her last days spent in acute pain as her skin was wracked with psoriasis. The one thing she repeated to all those who came to listen to her were these words: “We cannot leave our water to others. We need water from birth, we need it for our life and we need it till our death. Even after death we need it as we must wash the bodies of our dead before they set out on their last journey!”06.01.2008
Posted by chespeak at 6:04 AM 0 comments
Labels: Adivasis, People, Social Justice
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Tsunami Breaks Villages, But Fails to Break Caste Walls
Remembering the Tsunami Experiences on its Third Anniversary DayBy N P ChekkuttyThe tsunami disaster brought into sharp focus the deep chasm between the two Indias : the India that is marching confidently ahead in the comity of nations and the India that lags behind, discriminated against and sorely lacking even in basic necessities. Even as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, addressing the Confederation of Indian Industry in Kolkata, asserted that India’s decision not to accept external assistance and rely solely on its own resources to fight the calamity was an instance of turning adversity into opportunity, dalit workers who toured coastal areas of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh were briefing the national media in Delhi on glaring instances of caste discrimination, even in the face of this horrendous tragedy.Activists from the National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights (NCDHR), Safai Karmachari Andolan and Sakshi Human Rights Watch, who toured dalit villages in the two states for over a week, brought back accounts of serious discrimination in aid distribution and rehabilitation between the fishermen community and dalits, both of whom were equally affected by the tragedy that struck on the morning of December 26. The tsunami knew only geographical boundaries, but we could see the deep and entrenched boundaries of caste dividing the affected people, said Paul Divakar, an activist from Hyderabad who is associated with the National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights, Delhi .Dalit activists Paul Divakar, Bezawada Wilson (Safai Karmachari Andolan), Dr S D J M Prasad (Sakshi) and others toured the districts of Kanchipuram, Thiruvallur, Chennai and Nagapattinam in Tamil Nadu, and Prakasam and Nellore in Andhra Pradesh, for an on-the-spot assessment of aid delivery and rehabilitation in the weeks following the tsunami tragedy. They reported several cases of caste discrimination against dalit refugees in both states, even amongst the official machinery.In a note prepared by the activists, based on their enquiries, they report extensive damage to dalit households and property in all the five districts they toured. Livelihoods have been destroyed and water sources contaminated by seawater. In many places relief camps were organised along caste lines, with separate camps for dalits, with aid distribution in the camps often erratic. There were instances of dalit hamlets being completely ignored by officials and organisations involved in aid delivery. Official estimates of loss of life and property have not been properly carried out in dalit areas; where they have, the losses have been underestimated. There were cases of unidentified bodies being buried close to dalit settlements despite the availability of land elsewhere. Restoration of drinking water, roads, public health services, communication facilities etc were done faster and more efficiently in fishermen areas while dalit areas were neglected. The extrication of bodies was done only by manual scavengers who are exclusively dalits. For this, ‘safai karmacharis’, as they are called, were brought in from neighbouring municipalities and corporations. They were offered no additional benefits and were paid only Rs 25 a day as additional wages. They had to work without proper protective clothing like gloves, face masks, etc.The team of activists visiting villages in Prakasam and Nellore districts in Andhra Pradesh said relief deliveries of rice, medicines etc reached only fishermen communities, not dalit areas. At Urla Palem, in Prakasam, the district collector, local MLA and MP who toured the fishermen village did not visit the dalit colony which was also badly affected by the disaster.Activists reported that assessments of dalit loss of property were underestimated as the dalits did not own pucca houses, unlike the fishermen community which was comparatively better off. They said revenue officials generally took the view that fishermen communities were the only ones that were financially destroyed by the tsunami, as they owned tangible assets like boats, nets, etc. In the case of dalits, who are equally dependent on the coastal economy and environment and who suffered just as much as the fishermen, the losses could not be quantified in the official sense. So dalits are at the receiving end of a double loss, as official estimates of losses from the tsunami do not take intangible losses, like damage to the coastal environment, into account.The Urla Palem salt cultivators are an example. Around 500 dalit families in the village of Urla Palem were engaged in extracting salt from 175 acres of land near the sea, under the auspices of the Binginapalli Scheduled Caste Salt Cultivators Society. These fields are now completely submerged, filled with saline water and sand, and it will take at least another month to clean up the area and resume work. Villagers told the team of activists that officials assessing the losses had not visited the dalit colony once to find out what the situation there was.A survey by the team in five districts of Tamil Nadu reveals the following information: In Kanchipuram, although 2,332 dalit houses were damaged, 365 head of cattle swept away, and 55 acres of land affected, no dalit family had received any aid. In Cuddalore, 20 dalits died, 614 houses were damaged, 13 boats lost and 19 head of cattle perished. But no aid was given to the dalits. In Thiruvallur (16 deaths, 102 people missing, 3,810 houses damaged), there was some aid distribution among the dalits. In Chennai (30 deaths, 2,825 houses damaged), aid has been made available. In Nagapattinam/Karaikkal (113 deaths, 1,914 houses damaged), aid has been distributed among the dalits.Dalit activists say the discrimination does not seem to be a conscious effort on the part of the officials. It stems from age-old practices and prejudices. Separate camps for dalits and non-dalits were set up in places where there had earlier been incidents of conflict between the communities.The activists also came across areas where camps had been jointly organised, and where communities lived together. One example was Poppukar camp, in Nagapattinam, where activists witnessed fishermen, dalits and members of other communities living together in a relief camp after the tsunami struck.Activists say that once media attention is drawn to instances of discrimination, higher officials respond quickly. But lower down the ladder, apathy and animosity towards dalits still exists in many villages.(The information detailed above is based on discussions with the team members in Delhi on January 12, 2005 . The situation regarding aid delivery is likely to have changed as local officials have been briefed about the survey’s findings)(N P Chekkutty is a senior journalist based in Delhi ) InfoChange News & Features, January 2005
Posted by chespeak at 2:35 AM 0 comments
Labels: Social Justice
Sunday, December 9, 2007
Get out Dalits, We Are Here to Develop!
Valanthakkadu: A Dalit Island’s Encounter with DevelopmentBy N P ChekkuttyThe tiny island of Valanthakkadu in Maratu panchayat off Kochi is a unique ecosystem. Just one kilometer away from the national highway in the midst of the commercial capital of Kerala, the 246-acre island is surrounded by the richest mangroves in the southern parts of the State. Situated in the Vembanadu Lake, Valanthakkadu is home to a variety of fishes that are unique to estuaries as the lake itself is a mixed water-body of salt and fresh water extending to hundreds of kilometers to the east spread over the districts of Ernakulam, Alapuzha and Kottayam.Till a few months ago, Valanthakkadu was a sleepy village where only 44 families lived, all of them poor fishermen who eked out their livelihood from the lake around. The main sources of their livelihood were fishing, collection of shell fish like clams, growing of prawns in enclosures and cultivation of a particular variety of rice known locally as pokkali, a unique rice variety seen only in these parts. The rice plants are seen above the salt water while their roots are sunk in the lake’s bottom.Valanthakkadu’s social and ecological system is now in turmoil: The island in the heart of the commercial hub of Kerala is the envy of builders and land-developers. Around 200 acres of private land, which remained idle for generations giving a common fishing and cultivation ground for the people – normally they are submerged in water except in summer-- have been taken over by the builders’ lobby with a view to developing it into a high tech city that will bring huge investments and money.As the workers from the builders’ firms recently descended on the island in large numbers and started cutting down the mangroves surrounding the village, people rose in protest converting this small island into a scene of contest between the band of developers on the one side and the deprived people on the other.“We lived here for generations and all of us supported ourselves with the natural resources available in the island,” said Sahajan, a youth in his twenties, who is now one of the leading activists of the Committee for the Protection of Valanthakkadu, set up recently. He pointed out that except for a few youngsters who are employed as casual labour in the booming construction business in the city, the entire population of the island depend on the rich ecosystem for their living. He says the people are not impressed by the offers being made by the builders and developers who have promised the State Government to set up a high-tech city that would generate 75,000 new jobs and modern houses for those who live in the island. “Why do we need those houses as without this ecosystem we will have no way to survive here?” he asked.But Valanthakkadu has many other aspects that speak of the lesser known casualties of the march of development. On a visit to the island last week, this correspondent came to realize that of the 44 families living in the island, except for one Christian family, all others are Dalits, belonging to the Pulaya community. As untouchables in a caste-ridden society, they were sent to this uninhabited island in the midst of the lake a few generations ago. Now they are once again being uprooted, as much of the land in the island is originally owned by rich families who live in the mainland. Each of the settler family in the island own around 15 to 25 cents of land in their possession, while major share of the land in the island is owned by outsiders whose properties were till the other day hired as common fishing and cultivation areas. A socio-cultural study of the island revealed much more interesting aspects: Most of the families have their own fishing nets and other traditional implements which are now predominantly used by womenfolk or older people as the youngsters prefer to cross the lake in search of jobs outside. The island is connected to the outside world through a ferry boat manned by 65-year-old Vasu Chettan, who says he gets around Rs. 50 a day. It was evening as we crossed the water, little fishes jumping in the still silver-coloured water partly covered by green hyacinths and the island a majestic view of scenic beauty.The boat lands at the foot of the Primary Health Centre, the only public institution in the island which has not even a primary school to boast of. The few and scattered houses, a few of them tiled and concrete structures, can be reached through narrow footpaths. Most of the houses are modest dwelling places and one could see the fishing nets and other implements hanging from the walls. There are two types of nets, the prominent one mainly used by men who go out into the lake in boats and swing them wide, and the other- a smaller variety-- used by women who tackle the smaller species of fish. Women also collect clam and other items of shell fish diving deep into the water. The mesh-size of nets are made in such a way that younger fishes are allowed to escape.“We go for fishing early in the morning and sell whatever we get at the market across the lake,” said Biji, a 36-year-old woman who is unmarried. She said her mother Chinnamma, 65, takes the fish to the market and normally they get nothing more than 50 or 60 rupees a day. “We have no other income, our brother is bed ridden, and we don’t know what we will do when we are forced out,” she said.Ambika Gopi is a mother of two and she was on her way to the lake with her small net as we met her. A former president of the island’s micro finance group, Kudumbasree, she said her family’s only income was from fishing. They have recently bought a small boat and fishing net with a loan of Rs. 10,000 from the micro finance unit and have to repay Rs. 350 towards the loan every month. She said she has two children, a girl going to a degree college and a son who is admitted to a private course for which she has to shell out Rs. 400 a month as fee. “The new owners of the land are not allowing us to fish and we will face doom if the Government does not intervene to save us,” she said. Most of the families have similar worries to share with the outside world. But except for a few activists like C R Neelakantan, a nuclear scientist turned environmental activist, who is associated with the Valanthakkadu Protection Committee, few people from Kerala’s public life have come here to investigate. One exception was Kallen Pokkudan, a Dalit activist and campaigner for the protection of mangroves, who is known for his heroic efforts for the preservation of mangroves in the northern parts of Kerala. “Pokkudan came here and he was horrified by the way this precious ecosystem is being wantonly destroyed,” said Neelakantan who accompanied him on the visit. An indigenous expert in local mangroves, Pokkudan was able to identify 12 varieties of them in the island. He felt that this is the largest system of natural mangroves in the southern parts of Kerala.Neelakantan said the Valanthakkadu Protection Committee has petitioned the State Government against any destruction of the fragile ecosystem in the area. The committee also has filed a petition with the Kerala High Court against any move to destroy the mangroves in the island. The Chief Minister has instructed the Industries department to take into account the concerns of the local people before any MOU is signed for the development of the proposed high tech city. But the local people are wary about the promises as they fear they are powerless against the immense resources of capital invading their village.Originally published at www.infochangeindia.org)
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Indian Sports is Game for Politicians and Retired ...
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US Presidential Election Hot News in Kerala
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A River Returns to Life: The Story of Chaliyar
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First Chapter: Muhammed Abdurahman
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Why Hillary-Obama Tussle is Big News in Kerala?
Salam Mumbai: An Elegy to the City of My Dreams
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The Plunder of Kerala's Rivers
► January (15)
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Civil Society Movements and Political Parties
Is the Concept of Class Struggle Still Relevant?
When Resistance Becomes Surrender...
Will Nano Put Dear Old Rickshaws to Rest?
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A Landmark: 2500-year-old Canoe Found in Makotai
Mayilamma and the Struggles for Water
Silent Valley Buffer Zone:A Step Forward for Keral...
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► 2007 (33)
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Tsunami Breaks Villages, But Fails to Break Caste ...
Tsunami and the Night of `Live’ Terrors
Bikaneri Bhujia Battles the World's Titans
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Democracy at Grassroots: Kerala's Sea Courts
Devil's Sermon: Hamara Finance Minister ko Kyun Gu...
Response to Story: ‘Get Out Dalits…!’
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Dams: Public Safety versus Development Needs
The Radical and the Faithful
Mukundan C Menon: Tribute to a Fighter
A People's Court for the High Seas
The Unsung Heroes of Indian Villages
Get out Dalits, We Are Here to Develop!
Media the Scare-Monger?
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Chekkutty N Pudussery
Dedicated to free thinking& free flow of information. View my complete profile
Sunday, March 9, 2008
അറബിക്....ഇന് അറേബ്യ...!
UAE makes Arabic official language
By Duraid Al Baik, Foreign EditorPublished: March 10, 2008, 00:32
Dubai: The government on Sunday decided to use Arabic as the official language in all federal authorities and establishments.
The move was hailed by UAE intellectuals who called on local governments and private institutions to follow suit.
Dr Ebtisam Al Kitbi, Professor of Political Science at the UAE University in Al Ain, said the long overdue move was a step in the right direction in emphasising the national identity. He urged the government to follow up on its implementation.
Al Kitbi said the move will enhance the presence of Arab speaking people in labour market and restore the national identity," she said.
She said the decision is in harmony with the UAE constitution, which states that the language of the land is Arabic without exception.
Saturday, March 8, 2008
Thursday, March 6, 2008
iuml
Amount insufficient for implementing Sachar committee report: KunhalikuttyTHIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Rs 100 million allocated in the budget presented by Finance Minister Thomas Isaac is insufficient for the implementation of Sachar Committee report in the state, IUML general secretary P K Kunhalikutty said here. It reflects the state government's neglect towards the Muslim community. No instruction to control the price rise has been mentioned in the budget and it will not create any change in the society, he added.
praful bidwai
Khaleej Times Online >> Columnist >> PRAFUL BIDWAI
India needs some healthy populismMarch 1 2008
NOW that India has to have the next general election within 14 months, if not earlier, the Congress is making moves to face the contest, if not quite fight it. It’s doing so without its heart in the exercise. Or else, it wouldn’t have adopted defensive, dodgy or tactless postures, neglected alliance-building, and presented an unappealing appearance.
Last week, the Congress did something a confident party shouldn’t do: train its state-level spokespersons in corporate-style “media management”. It invited self-styled desi gurus like Ujjwal Chowdhury to a two-day session on “anger/stress management”, “the right way” of shaking hands, dressing up for television and deciphering body language.
The spokespersons got “capsules” on the India-US nuclear deal, Ram Setu and the Sachar Committee from TV-oriented Congressmen like Kapil Sibal and Salman Khursheed. A couple of journalists were thrown in too, to caution against “off-the-record” conversations and excessive drinking.
Amidst this image-polishing exercise, most participants forgot that an image derives from its object.
If you don’t have an inclusive economic policy, you can’t sell Special Economic Zones by citing their (negligible) employment potential. If your decision-makers believe the only strategic-political “game in town” is the American one, it’s futile to sell the India-US nuclear deal by claiming it’s good for India’s energy security (which it manifestly isn’t).
It won’t do to chant the Aam Aadmi slogan while giving tax-breaks to the rich and demanding lower EMIs (equalised monthly instalments) on housing loans for the upper classes, and saying nothing about the majority who don’t even have a pukka house with a toilet.
The Congress can’t lay claim to a pluralist notion of Indianness based on a multi-lingual, multicultural identity, and defend the right to live and travel anywhere in India while mollycoddling the ultra-chauvinist Shiv Sena and Raj Thackeray.
The Congress hasn’t risen beyond “SEZ-EMI” salesmanship. This won’t win the votes of the majority. The Congress-led United Progressive Alliance has pursued GDP-obsessed policies which have increased inequalities and jeopardised millions of livelihoods — from the tribals in Orissa’s and Chhattisgarh’s mineral-rich tracts to farmers working lands being acquired for posh housing, to vegetable-hawkers and raddiwalas everywhere.
As organised retail grows, stores catering to the middle class are (under)selling vegetables at half their wholesale prices. Some retail chains are even offering Rs25 for a kilo of old newspapers — directly hitting some of India’s hardest-working people, who perform a valuable ecological function by recycling waste.
The greatest irony is, the UPA is only half-committed to its own progressive schemes. These include the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act — being extended from 200 districts in 2006 to all 600 districts now — the Right to Information Act, and the Forest Rights Act, which grants tribals modest plots of highly degraded forest land.
The NREGA can annually create 100 days of employment at minimum wages for each rural poor household. Admittedly, it needs improvement. In 2006-07, only 56 per cent of below-poverty-line households got the promised employment — a fair increase over previous year’s 41 per cent. Yet, wherever the administration followed the rules, it got good results — even in Rajasthan and Assam. Elitists have crusaded against the NREGA, ridiculing it for spreading corruption without denting poverty. Some cite a provisional, limited report of the Comptroller and Auditor General. A careful look at it shows that corruption runs in the lakhs, not crores, and can be greatly reduced through safeguards built into the Act’s guidelines.
Independent citizens’ groups and academics like Jean Dreze, have conducted several NREGA audits. They conclude that corruption can be substantially reduced, and employment targets met, through popular involvement, and proper attention to the schemes’ location, application procedures, distribution of job cards, record-keeping, etc.
A scheme like the NREGA needs the widest publicity on rural television/radio, with an emphasis on the right of the poor to work. It also needs dedicated bureaucrats willing to work with civil society, as well as a strong push from above. The UPA continues to drift Rightwards on foreign and security policy too. India’s “strategic partnership” with the US, and Israel, is growing just when these two are making the world more insecure. Meanwhile, India is losing stature in West Asia, Southeast and South Asia, and now in Africa.
Having agreed with the Left not to negotiate the US-India nuclear deal further, the UPA is caving in to pressure from the US to abide by a tight deadline (early May) to complete it for US Congress ratification.
Merits apart, this risks a mid-term election for which the UPA isn’t prepared. After the election, it may again need to tie up with the Left — unless it wants to become dependent on Mayawati.
The truth is, the Congress/UPA lacks a political strategy. It looks over the shoulder all the time and is afraid of taking bold populist measures in the best sense of that term — putting the interests of the majority at the centre while mobilising mass energies.
Nor is the UPA remotely showing a sense of urgency in organisational matters. It has lost allies Telangana Rashtra Samiti and the MDMK. Its constituents in Bihar (Rashtriya Janata Dal-Lok Janashakti Party) and Tamil Nadu (the DMK-led alliance) peaked electorally in 2004. It has to find new allies — as Sonia Gandhi did four years ago with tireless efforts. The UPA should know that its adversaries, especially the BJP, have chinks in their armour — despite appearances. It can take them on only by reaching out to the masses. At least, it shouldn’t lose by default.
Praful Bidwai is a senior Indian journalist, political activist and widely published commentator
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
English-Mind
Globalisation of the English language
By Manal Ismail, Staff Writer/Reema Saffarini, Special to Gulf NewsPublished: March 01, 2008, 01:05
Reema Saffarini and Manal Ismail discuss the highlights of the International TESOL Conference.
When you meet people for the first time how do you usually introduce yourself? Do you base your introduction on where you are from? The social clique you belong to? Does the language you speak have anything to do with how you look at yourself? What exactly shapes your identity?
Notes investigated the matter last week during the First International TESOL Conference (Teaching of English to Speakers of Other Languages) Conference that was held at the American University of Sharjah (AUS), and which featured a number of prominent national and international speakers in the field of teaching English language. The two-day conference — TESOL in a Globalised World: Exploring the Challenges — was held under the patronage of His Highness Dr Shaikh Sultan Bin Mohammad Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah.
Study survey
Dr Fatima Badri, Professor of English and Linguistics and Director of TESOL at AUS, talked about a study she conducted to see how language and the elements of identity are linked.
According to Badri, there are fears in the Gulf region that the dominance of English in the educational system from kindergarten to university stands to be "one of the most important agents of [disassociation] from local cultures".
In her presentation, Badri examined the ways in which the use of more than one language expresses "different acts of identity".Who is an Arab?
If you had to answer this question, what would you say? Is it a person who speaks Arabic? Is it a person who comes from one of the 22 countries that make up the Arab world?
Badri surveyed a 100 Arab students to determine the relationship between the Arabic language and the Arab identity. She posed 33 questions to see whether Arab students studying in English in the UAE believe that their predominant use of English in everyday life impacts their "Arab-ness".
She also looked at how the linguistic behaviour of these Arab students affects their perception of the Arab identity.
According to Badri, the Arab identity has generally been associated with knowing Arabic. "To speak Arabic means you are an Arab," she said.
However, Badri says there are many other components that are said to comprise the Arab identity such as shared culture and language, common experiences and place in history, geography, social informatics and shared economic interests, ethnicity, religion and shared external challenges and conflicts.
In other words, said Badri, students believe that being an Arab depends on many factors besides language. "Increasingly, language is playing a less symbolic and more pragmatic role in the lives of its speakers," she said.
So what did the study exactly show?ObservationsStudents who took part in the study were from different parts of the Arab world, which included the Gulf, Levant and North Africa. Their opinions on the role of Arabic as an expression of Arab identity showed that language is no longer the most important criterion for being identified as an Arab. The survey also showed that although knowledge of the Arabic language is taken for granted, the students taking part in the study said they could no longer imagine themselves solving a mathematical problem in Arabic.
"The … definition of ‘Arab-ness' is now based on the feeling of belonging to the same culture. What makes students identify themselves as Arabs is their shared destiny and not necessarily the language," said Badri.
In fact, when the students were asked to act as Ministers of Educations in their own countries and come up with an "educational language policy", answers showed that many thought that a foreign or second language should be introduced from the elementary level and be used as the medium of instruction for scientific and technological subjects up to grade 12 and at the university level. "The students suggested that teaching Arabic should be restricted to religious studies, history and Arabic literature," said Badri.
Results
The survey also looked at how frequently the students use English and Arabic with their parents, siblings, friends, strangers and at the university level. Fifty-seven per cent said that they never use English when talking to their parents; however, the use of both English and Arabic reached more than 80 per cent when addressing friends, strangers and people at the university.
Sixty-three per cent said they prefer to use English when studying, while 43 per cent said they prefer Arabic.
Seventy-one per cent of the students said that they "definitely do not" see changes in "belonging to their Arab identity" as a result of learning English.
The overall responses of the students, said Badri, reveal that "students prefer using English for interpersonal functions without feeling less Arab".
She added that students feel they need to master English because it is the "language of knowledge".Threatening the Arab identity Even though speaking a foreign language in everyday life does not make an Arab less Arab, Badri believes that the Arab identity and language are under threat. "The threat … does not come from English as a language, but from the negligence of Arabic," she said.
"There is a need to raise awareness among Arabs that a language that is not used in the sphere of communication is threatened with disappearance. Also, there is a need to have an educational system that encourages a balanced bilingualism by encouraging the use of Arabic language as well as a medium of instruction."
With English developing as the universal language, it is necessary to instill English language skills in today's youth. The question is, how do we teach those skills and what methods can be used to effectively teach students?Suhair Al Alami from the Al Ghurair University in Dubai discussed the main benefits of utilising literature in ESL contexts.
"By using literature to teach English, students gain a deeper understanding of the values of other cultures and individuals," she said.
Al Alami highlighted four universal emotions that can be portrayed in texts from around the globe. These emotions can be used to connect to a reader at a deeper level. This theory, as introduced by various researchers, has been initiated as an approach for teaching English literature in international contexts.
"According to research, happiness, fear, anger and sadness are what comprise the universality of human emotion," she said. "Whether you're in the UAE or the depths of China, people are happy and people are sad. These emotions should be viewed as the main vehicle for engagement with a literary piece."
Learner-centred educationAl Alami also stressed that the student must be placed as the centre of a structured curriculum. "The teacher must no longer be the unquestionable authority in the classroom," she said. "Educational practitioners must cater to students needs to effectively enhance their capacity for learning."
Tailoring classroom content to students' interests will leave students with a feeling that they don't have to learn, but that they want to learn.
During the event
Dr John Mosbo, Vice-Chancellor of Academic Affairs at the American University of Sharjah (AUS), welcomed the participants on behalf of His Highness Dr Shaikh Sultan Bin Mohammad Al Qasimi, Member of Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah and President of AUS and Dr Winfred Thompson, Chancellor of AUS. He said that English has become a lingua franca in the Gulf states, emphasising the importance of keeping English language teachers up-to-date with the latest developments.
A number of issues were discussed, including teaching English to students of different cultures; language and identity construction in the global world; early literary practices in UAE primary schools; Islamophobia and English language teaching in the Arabian Gulf; challenges of teaching American literary texts to Emirati students. A number of workshops were also held pertaining to English language teaching and globalisation in cooperation with the AUS Faculty Development Centre.
"This conference is the first of its kind in the region because it does not discuss how we can teach English as a second language, but how it should be taught in a globalised world. English has become the lingua franca and is being used by more people whose first language is not English rather than those whose first language is English," said Dr Fatima Badri, Professor of English and Linguistics and Director of TESOL at AUS.
Three preliminary speakers highlighted the English language teaching challenges in a globalised world. Robert Phillipson from the Copenhagen Business School asked whether English is a necessary lingua franca or an uncontrollable lingua frankensteina. David Graddol of the English Company Ltd spoke about how globalisation is challenging TESOL, while Julie Belz discussed the role of computer mediation in the instruction and development of second language pragmatic competence.
Most students associate literature with large textbooks and turgid language. However there are methods to make the process more engaging for students. One example would be to include a glossary at the end of the text.
"An attached glossary would encourage students to look up unfamiliar terms, which will not only help them in understanding the reading, but develop their vocabulary in the long run," Al Alami said. "The selection of words can be determined by the English level of the class and the frequency of their use."
Creating interactive discussions can also help clarify anything that students may perceive as vague or complex. Asking readers to respond to text will also make it more involving. Content is also an important consideration when choosing meaningful text.
"Instructors should consider factors like the age, interest and familiarities of the group they are teaching," Al Alami said. "Only this way would instructors receive optimal input."
Al Alami also added that writing could be simplified by promoting brainstorming exercises and going through a series of stages including prewriting, drafting, revising and proofreading, "Through a step-by-step approach, students can learn from their errors and be more confident in their work," she said.
lifeline
'I will never forget ...my former boss'
Compiled by Qadijah S. IrshadPublished: February 29, 2008, 00:30
Sansare Dattaram Rajaram can never forget that day. It was the year 1979. As an auditor, he had just recently joined Pansell Kerr Foster, a company based in Dubai and had been asked to go to Abu Dhabi on an audit assignment.
This particular assignment meant spending a few days in Abu Dhabi.
One morning, he was awakened by a phone call. It was from an accountant in his client's company.
"He told me that he had received news from my office in Dubai that my mother [who had been ailing for some time in India] had passed away."
"I was devastated,'' he says. "I could not control my grief and broke down.''
It took him a while to pull himself together, after which he telephoned his secretary and told him that he would be going to India by the first available flight.
"I packed my bag, made arrangements to hand over charge to another accountant and began to prepare for my trip back home.'' Rajaram's client was arranging a vehicle to take him to Dubai.
So bad was his state of mind that he was in no position to arrange his transportation back to Dubai and he was fortunate that his client was kind enough to do so.
As he was packing his bags, Rajaram was beset by worries. Would he be able to get a ticket at such short notice? Would he be able to reach home in time to attend the ceremonies ...?
"You see at that time there was no online booking and so one had to personally visit an airline office and book the ticket. All this meant a lot of delay."
As he was leaving his temporary accommodation in Abu Dhabi, he saw a familiar face getting out of a car.
"It took my fuddled brain a minute to realise that it was my boss Mr Rafik. The moment I saw him I broke down and sobbed uncontrollably.
"Mr Rafik just hugged me and kept consoling me. He told me not to worry about my belongings and said that he would personally drive me to the airport.
He also said, 'As for your flight ticket, do not worry, it will be ready by the time you get to Dubai.'
"I did not know how to thank him,'' says Rajaram, who is today assistant manager in the company.
"I had heard many stories about how kind-hearted and generous he was.
I could not believe that this man, who perhaps is one of the busiest men I have ever seen, actually drove all the way from Dubai to Abu Dhabi to be there for me in a time of crisis.
"To me, that gesture was a sterling example of his greatness as a human being.''
Having survived the ordeal of losing his mother, Rajaram returned to Dubai and carried on working for his kind-hearted boss. He was indeed a fortunate man to be working with such a great boss.
"He had great respect for everybody and did not consider any job below his dignity.
"A very family-oriented person, he would often ask his employees about their welfare, or whether they were happy with their salaries. We received salary increases and bonuses regularly and our company had a very low turnover rate of employees.
"For many, Mr Rafik was more than a boss; he was almost like a brother. Though he had close to 100 staff working for him, he knew everyone's name, their family conditions ... He was always there when you needed a helping hand."
And so it was the years passed by and Rajaram was once again woken up in the wee hours of the morning on May 20 last year.
"A colleague called me up to inform me that Mr Rafik had passed away in the US following a heart attack. He was just 60."
"It was only when the condolences began to pour in that I came to know that apart from being a great human being, he was also a very compassionate man as he used to donate generously to various charities.
"I feel truly privileged to have worked for such an individual for nearly 32 years."
today
Education
Festival promotes Arab-Indian ties
By Binsal Abdul Kader, Staff Reporter Published: March 06, 2008, 00:53
Abu Dhabi: Shaikh Nahyan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, will inaugurate the the second Indo-Arab Cultural Festival, on Thursday at Kerala Social Centre.
Anwar Al Katib, Mohammad Obaid Ghabash, Shashi Kumar of Asian College of Journalism, and MCA Nazer, an Indian journalist, will lead media seminar.
Cricket
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Log on to : http://www.cricket.indiatimes.comTuesday, March 4, 2008
Business
Securities scam: SEBI bans Arvind Johari for 10 yrs5 Mar 2008, 0046 hrs IST,PTI
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MUMBAI: Market regulator SEBI on Tuesday banned Arvind Johari, owner of Lucknow-based Cyberspace, from trading for 10 years for his involvement in the securities scam in 1999-2001. In addition to Johari, 39 other entities have also been banned from trading for five years for creating false market for Cyberspace shares through artificial trade. “Arvind Johari be restrained from accessing the securities market and prohibited from associating with securities market to buy, sell or deal in securities in any manner for a period of 10 years,” SEBI said in its order. The period of debarment against Johari, following the interim order on April 6, 2001, will be set off, SEBI said. The 39 others,banned for five years, include G N Johari, Anand K Johari, A M Johari and Co and Kamal Infosys. SEBI order said, “Arvind Johari, director of Cyberspace has used undue influence on many of the noticees to yield his manipulative design. Since he was the key player in the game plan, he should be penalised sternly as compared to the penalties to be imposed on other noticees.” During the investigation, the market regulator found unusual movement in the scrip of Cyberspace, mostly engineered by same set of people through trading in a circular manner. Trading in the scrips of the company was suspended at Bombay Stock Exchange and National Stock Exchange in April, 2001. BSE, on a preliminary investigation, found involvement of promoters in activities leading to manipulation of share prices of Cyberspace. Also, following the suspension of trading from the BSE and NSE in April 2001, it was proved that the promoters of the company - Cybersapce - were responsible for entering into trades that were “not genuine trade transactions”. The regulator thus concluded that the promoters carried out transactions in scrip of the company in a deceptive manner with some ulterior purpose and created artificial volumes by using fund raised through preferential allotment of shares.
cricket
History at GabbaBRISBANE, Reuters: India ended their tour of Australia on a high note when they beat the hosts by nine runs on Tuesday to win their best-of-three finals series 2-0.Sachin Tendulkar scored a superb 91 and paceman Praveen Kumar went on to capture four wickets as the tourists followed up Sunday's six-wicket win in Sydney with a thrilling victory at the Gabba in Brisbane.The Australians, who also lost last year's tri-series finals at home to England, recovered from a terrible start to give themselves a glimmer of hope when James Hopes (63) and Matthew Hayden (55) made half-centuries, only to come up short. (AFP Photo)Scorecard Match in pics Watch: Historic win for India Congratulate Dhoni's boys Players to watch Special: Tri-series
Sunday, March 2, 2008
family
Second wife has no claim on family pension:
MUMBAI: It's not just society that looks down on a second marriage. In tune with the laws of the land, the Bombay High Court, too, has frowned on such relationships. In an important judgment, a division bench of the court recently held that a second wife has no claim over the family pension of a government employee. The bench of Justices Ranjana Desai and Roshan Dalvi dismissed a petition filed by a Pune resident who had laid claim to the family pension of her "husband" after his death. The petition was filed by Leelabai Bhegade, who claimed to be the second wife of Vithal Bhegade. Bhegade, who had retired from the Pune Ordnance Factory in 1983, died in 2000, followed by his first wife Laxmi in 2002. Leelabai then applied for the family pension. The government rejected her plea. The Central Administrative Tribunal, too, dismissed her application and she approached the high court. Advocate J M Tanpure contended that the ration card, as well as electoral rolls, showed Leelabai as Bhegade's second wife. Advocate S S Pakale, representing the Union government, cited a series of laws as well as provisions against bigamy. Most important was the Hindu Marriage Act enacted in 1955. Section 11 of the Act says a second marriage by a Hindu man during the lifetime of his first wife will be deemed null and void. Further, Rule 21 of the Central Civil Service (Conduct) Rules bars a government employee from entering into a second marriage when his or her spouse is still alive.
