New Delhi, August 7 In an apparent bid to reach out to the minorities, BJP President Nitin Gadkari here on August 5 wrote a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh demanding that his government take steps to deal with encroachments on Wakf properties.

New Delhi, August 5 It was a unique meet in the sense that the authority concerned came, listened to the grievances of the representatives of the largest minority community of the country, declared the remedy and went away.

New Delhi, August 3 A thought-provoking “Shaam-e-Muzakera” on “Right to Education Act” was organized here this evening under the auspices of the Institute of Objective Studies (IOS). Presided over by IOS Secretary General Prof Z M Khan, the Shaam-e-Muzakera proposed constitution of a committee to ponder over the entire act and submit a report to the IOS so that the government and the authorities concerned might be pursued for necessary clarifications and amendments.

New Delhi, July 29 The Group of Ministers (GoM) has directed the organizers of the Common Wealth Games (CWG) to provide a “true” representation of India’s inclusive culture by mentioning the influence of Islam upon India in both the opening and closing ceremonies of the CWG.

New Delhi, July 27 Former Supreme Court judge V R Krishna Iyer recently strongly advocated Islamic banking system, saying it was based on humane principles, thus, good for all of humanity. "Those who support humanism should welcome Islamic banking and finance in India wholeheartedly."

New Delhi, July24 All India Muslim Majlis-e-Mushawarat (AIMMM) has urged the Muslim educational institutions to organize themselves at district/ state levels so that threat to closure or penalty could be met united.

New Delhi, July 22 Seasoned Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer Ausaf Sayeed was named as India's next ambassador to Yemen on July 19. The 1989-batch officer, currently serving as joint secretary for west African affairs in the Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi, is expected to take up his new assignment in Sanaa in mid-September.
Sayeed is one of the youngest IFS officers to be appointed as an ambassador. He earlier worked in the Indian missions in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Denmark in various capacities. His last assignment was as consul general of India in Jeddah (from August 2004 to July 2008) during which he was widely credited for bringing about considerable improvements in the management of Haj.

New Delhi, July 22 All India Muslim Majlis-e-Mushawarat (AIMMM) has urged the Central Government to accept the final verdict on the title suit related to Babri Masjid, being heard by the Special Bench of the Allahabad High Court. Syed Shahabuddin, President of the AIMMM and Convener of the Babri Masjid Movement Coordination Committee (BMMCC) in a statement issued here on July 20 said as the Babri Masjid title suit proceedings approached its finale, the nervousness of the Sangh Parivar was growing.

New Delhi, July 21 The National Commission of Minorities (NCM) received a record number of complaints from Muslims---up from 1,508 in 2007-08 to 2,268 in 2009-10 - alleging discrimination by scheduled commercial banks in the opening of accounts and getting loans. And the figures for 2009-10 are for only nine months---July 1, 2009, to March 31, 2010.

Muslim leaders belonging to different organizations and groups have condemned the violent attack and chopping off of the hand of T J Joseph, a lecturer in Ernakulam District of Kerala by some miscreants on the pretext of taking revenge for Joseph’s act of blasphemy.

All India Milli Council general secretary M Manzoor Alam has written to Union Home Minister P Chidambaram protesting against harassment and religious profiling of Muslim youth.

How long will our empty, self-serving and self-deceiving views on the Kashmir situation continue to befuddle us? The latest statement has come from CPI-M general secretary, Prakash Karat, during his recent visit to Srinagar.

India-origin Newsweek Editor Fareed Zakaria has returned an award he received five years ago from his then most admired Jewish group Anti-Defamation League (ADL) over its opposition towards the construction of the planned ground zero mosque and Islamic center in lower Manhattan.

Long before Afghanistan became the longest shooting war in American history, the question loomed: Could it have turned out differently?

The controversial bill on communal violence that was passed by Rajya Sabha in 2005 is yet to become a law. The reason for the delay has been strong objections from human rights and Muslim organizations. The bill kept in pending five years ago was revised in 2009 and then a few cosmetic changes were made. However, the groups concerned are still not satisfied. They still want crucial changes to achieve the real purpose.

The first international conference on Afghanistan was held in Kabul on July 20. Eight previous conferences with UN partners have been held elsewhere, notably this year on January 28 in London. Participated by 65 countries, the 6-hour conference issued a communiqué on the occasion. It shows how the Afghan Government and the world leaders want to resolve the imbroglio of Afghanistan.

For years now the decline of Urdu in India has been a subject of discussion and debates. While there are several instances that caused severe blow to the interest of Urdu, I believe it was Sir Antony MacDonnell's stint as the Lieutenant Governor of the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh that caused major irreparable damage.