BASAUD; Once Zero Ground of Freedom Struggle, Now Struggling for Basic Facilities

To earn fury and wrath of the power-that-be has never fetched any good to a community and the easiest way to dodge their wrath or alternatively to continue availing facilities provided by them is to become a puppet at their hands at the cost of your own freedom. Though avoiding fury of a power and getting benefitted from a plan is not that bad yet one may not subscribe to this idea when it costs one’s freedom and independence. The villagers of Basaud in Baghpat district of Uttar Pradesh said no to leading a luxurious life when the British had tried to strengthen power in India and thus become a threat to her independence. The villagers, paying homage to the country, fought nail and tooth against the well trained British army and sacrificed their lives unhesitatingly to save the country from being exploited at the hands of foreigners.

When the revolt against British occupants or rather the very first movement of freedom started at Meerut cantonment in Uttar Pradesh on 10 May 1857, Baba Shahmal along with the villagers of Basaud and Badaka dared the British army in Baghpat district. A small but extremely enthusiastic group of country-fighters under Baba Shahmal, on 12 May 1857, carried out a raid on nearby Badaut Tehseel and freed it out of the claws of the occupants. In this raid, Wazeer Khan, the Kotwal (a term used then and now known as Station House Officer) of Baghpat, welcomed the Indian fighters open-heartedly and extended his full support to them.

Soon after this success, Wazeer Khan rushed to the Walled City of Delhi and met the last Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar, narrating the story of Baba Shahmal and urging him to nominate him Sobedar— governor— of Badaut Tehseel . Subsequently, the Emperor nominated Baba as Sobedar of the area. The Sobedar chose the village of Basaud as a safe place for the accumulation of rations and arms to help the freedom fighters in Delhi and at other places and destroyed the bridge at Yamuna River connecting the village from Meerut so as not to let the British army reach the village.

As soon as the occupants came to know about the development in the area, a British troop consisting of two tanks, 60 King Rifles and 50 trained horses headed towards the village. The villagers, having got the news of military expedition, sent the females and children of the village to a safer place and armed themselves with country weapons such as Lathi, Ballam, Farsa, etc. to take on the sophisticated weapons of the British army. The British troop, guided by Gauri Paltan, reached the village of Basaud on 17 July and killed almost all the male villagers. They also set ablaze the arms and rations kept for the Indian fighters in the Jama Masjid of the village.

On their return, they left behind Captain Cannon with 10 personnel to keep an eye on the village. The surviving villagers, who had seen the brutal murder of around 180 co-villagers at the hands of the British battalion, attacked them back but were made captive and 16 of them were hanged in public. The tree on which they were hanged is still surviving in the village. According to the founder of the Yuva Chetna Manch of Basaud, Master Sattar Ahmad, the freedom fighter Baba Shahmal was also in the village when it came under attack but some villagers, dodging the British troops, took him to the nearby jungle of Badaka. But the brave fighter again attacked the English on 18 July and sacrificed his life to become a martyr.

The villagers feel pride to narrate the anecdotes of their forefathers and more usually they end up with tears rolling down the cheeks. Khursheed Alam, President Yuva Chetna Manch, says some of the villagers dipped themselves in the pond of the village so as to escape from the tyranny of the occupants but they opened fire aiming at the pond and the transparent water in the pond turned red literally with the blood of the villagers. Mr. Alam added that the village was once categorised as a rebellious one by the British rulers and is still facing consequences though it has passed 62 years since they left the country. Ninety-five of every one hundred persons in the village are still forced to live hand to mouth.

The population of the village is around 8000 and the villagers themselves prefer to call the village “the village of labourers.” The residents are facing tough times as there is neither water supply in the locality nor a primary healthcare centre. The villagers have been demanding a college for a long time. Also, the road connecting the village to other cities is in a deplorable condition.

Ali Hasan, a resident of the village, alleged that they had knocked at the doors of local MP, MLA and the District Magistrate several times but all in vain. Though the village, in pre-Independence days, had refused to bow down to the “foreign intruders” yet they have to learn that they have no run from saluting the “home rulers” in independent India in order to avail themselves of even basic facilities.

Also available on

http://www.radianceweekly.com/368/10969/bodh-gaya-blasts-terrorist-violence-and-political-agenda/2013-07-21/freedom-struggle/story-detail/basaud-once-zero-ground-of-freedom-struggle-now-struggling-for-basic-facilities.html

UTTARAKHAND TRAGEDY; Development Needed But Not at Cost of Human Lives

The heavy downpour in Uttarakhand and the aftermath, which usurped hundreds of lives and left thousands stranded, is one of the worst natural calamities. The death toll, as we rush to the Press, is reported officially to be around 680 but it might climb to thousands when you will be reading the article. Around 10,000 personnel of Armed Forces on war footing for six days with 46 choppers including the advanced Mi-16, Mi-17, Mi-26 and the newly acquired C-130J Super Hercules are yet to approach nearly 50,000 people stranded in different parts of the 40,000 km inundated area.

The flood has once again exposed the preparedness of the country for natural disasters. The Chief Minister of Uttarakhand, Vijaya Bahuguna, in an interview with CNN, rightly confessed that the state disaster management committee did not meet in last six years and that the team was not prepared at all to handle the situation. The CM went on saying, “The government of India and those who are writing stories also have no force to deal with disasters like this.”

THE CALAMITY

The dual cloud burst and subsequent crumbling of Kedar Dome on 18 June caused a major rupture in the Charbari Lake which is at the distance of just 5 KMs from the Kedar Nath temple. The locality registered a record rainfall of 340 mm in the locality that day while, usually, the rainfall more than 150 mm a day is termed a heavy one in climatology.

This hazardous downpour made many believe that it was a man-made disaster and was nature’s way to avenge its exploitation. They have some points too. If you go through the map of flood hit areas, you will find it fully covered with sky touching mountains and the vegetative cover on mountains, which are comparably less on these ones, slows down the speed of rain before touching the ground or rather soak it midway. Also the global warming has affected the ecosystems of Himalaya most adversely in 100 years. Hence, the glaciers naturally release higher water in Himalayan rivers.

Unregulated expansion of giant hydro-electric projects and the incessant construction of roads in the area have also played their role in making mountains feeble hence causing landslides. Some say it was the failure of Bahuguna’s government which amplified the adversity. On the other hand, the Union Home Minister, Shushil Kumar Shinde, brushed aside these allegations saying it was natural.

THE PREVENTION

Whatever the reason for this calamity may be, the fact is that all are busy passing the ball in their rival’s court and considering themselves not responsible. Ironically, what if the global warming is responsible for this disaster? The crisis started centuries ago. Can anyone claim that the world has ever taken a single step since then to reduce the same or not our each move amounting to its magnitude? Similar talks had been made after the Nargis, the Hurricane Sandy, the Neelam and other such disasters. These topics are only to be talked about. What was and still is in our hand to minimise the wreckage is to put bridle on our so-called development model ignoring norms and the standards of the eco system.

The former Deputy Director-General of the Geological Survey of India, VK Raina, said in a statement that the natural calamities such as cloud bursts, flash floods et al cannot be prevented but deaths and damages could be contained by implementing the laws appropriately. Pertaining to note here is that the Ministry of Environment and Forests, on 18 December 2012, issued a notification declaring the entire watershed between Gaumukh and Uttarkashi, along the Bhagirathi river as eco-sensitive zone and banned all construction activities in the area at the stretch of 135 KMs. But the state government had opposed this move strongly saying this will hamper the development and economic growth in the area.

In the name of urbanisation and development, the locality is registering an increase in its population on a regular basis ignoring the environmental threats. Who guarantee that the same would not happen when the area has been converted into a city with millions of residents? We undoubtedly need development but not at the cost of our precious lives. Or ultimately one can say the Indians sacrifice their lives generously even for some petty causes like cold waves, heat waves, bushfires, road accidents et al then why this hullabaloo if the same is done for a relatively greater cause?

THE RELIEF WORK

No relief work is taking place in the area in an organised way. What the Armed Forces are doing is to rescue or airlift stranded people and help them reach relatively safer places. The situation at Jolly Grant Airport, Sahasradhara helipad and at local hospitals is far beyond to be confined in words. The rescued people, after having spent two or three days without any food and grain, are forced to expend up to Rs 200 for a biscuit pack worth Rs. 5. Some have bought a petty water bottle against Rs. 100. Nutan Shukla of Bareilly paid Rs. 5000 for one time meal for a group of five persons. The helicopter companies also charge per hour for the operation.

Since the relief work is not carried out in an organised way, it is hard to say who is doing what in this regard. But, a group of locals has been seen active at Jolly Grant Airport and nearby areas with eatables and so. Also the Shiromani Gurdawara Prabandhak Committee has set up a Langar (mass distribution of foods) outside Jolly Grant Airport. On being asked, a national secretary of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, wishing anonymity, said that the state unit has to take initiative and the Markaz (centre) is in touch with them. Hopefully, the operation would start soon. Mualana Abdul Hameed Nomani, General Secretary of Jamiatul Ulema Hind, while talking to the Radiance said the state unit of JUH is doing “something” but he did not explain what this “something” is.

Likewise, the All India Shi’a Personal Law Board has set up a relief fund for the victims and Maulana Firangimahli of All India Muslim Personal Law Board has urged every individual to participate actively in rescue and relief operation. To the social organisations and other NGOs, what this scribe wishes to say is that leave the rescue at Armed Forces as only they can do it in a better way but do make yourselves available for the rehabilitation of those rescued.

 Also available on

http://www.radianceweekly.com/365/10869/crushing-debacle-of-ruling-awami-league-bnp-led-18-party-alliance-wins-landslide-victory-in-city-corporation-elections-in-bangladesh/2013-06-30/natural-calamity/story-detail/uttarakhand-tragedy-development-needed-but-not-at-cost-of-human-lives.html 

‘To Follow God’s Path Properly, Keep the Seducers Off’ (Review Article)

Though man is born free and no one can force him to embrace servility to any particular object(s) yet he cannot be autonomous despite all his longings to it. He is destined to be a slave. But the question is whom should he serve and whom shouldn’t? The book Submission to God, Glory to Man by Maulana Syed Jalaluddin Umari mulls over the issue in a well satisfying manner. The Maulana has analysed in his book the behaviour of man towards his Creator and Sustainer and tried to prove that when a man does not submit to the only God, he bows his heads to every animate and inanimate object that appears to him as a “treasure house of might and power.”

Underlining the consequences faced by those who prefer adoring other than one God, the book which was originally written in Urdu entitled Khuda Ki Ghulami, Insaniyat Ki Meraj asserts, “After turning away from service to God, man takes someone else as an object of authority, fit to be obeyed, and that object of authority takes advantage of his obedience for self-aggrandisement.”

Adding, “It is indeed a fact, though few realize it, that every system of political power, except that of God, exploits man and it exploits him ruthlessly.”

The writer has equally criticised different versions of slavery i.e. slavery of objects of nature, slavery of priesthood, political slavery, slavery to community, race and nation, and finally slavery to the self.

Commenting on the slavery of community, race and nation, Maulana Umari says that the social variables like the community, the race and the nation have become icons of adoration and service to the nation has replaced loyalty to feudal lords. He sums up the topic saying, “The slavery to one man is as improper as slavery to a community and a country.” According to the writer, accepting every word of religious leaders as gospel truth is tantamount to giving them status of God. Coming to the slavery of the self, the writer says, “...slavery to self does not allow man to remain human and makes him a lumpen element in thoughts, temperament and actions.”

The writer, in other chapters of the book, sums up the relationship of human beings in accordance with the universe and concludes that the whole universe is fully engaged in submitting to God and man, when he declines following the orders of Allah, contradicts with his surroundings. The writer asserts that the freedom, gifted to man by his Creator, is not unbridled and he, most of the times, is bound to follow the universal orders. Pointing out the real status of the human being in this world, the writer says that being a full time slave of God is his real and genuine status. Giving an example of a hired employee, the author says that as it is not fair for an employee to go against his employer, how one can justify his being defiant to God who first created him and since then has been fulfilling all his needs.

Quoting some verses from the Qur’ān, Maulana Umari says that the witnesses from history suggest that dozens of communities and societies had been liquidated because they chose a way other than what was given by God for their lives. In the last chapter of the book, the writer says with an emphasis that in order to follow God’s path properly and appropriately one must keep the seducers off.

The writer’s idea in this book seems much similar to what has been earlier derived by Sayyid Abul A’ala Maududi in his books Towards Understanding Islam and Fundamentals of Islam. In Towards Understanding Islam Maududi pens down, “...it is in the very nature of man, as it is with every other thing in this universe to obey him...everything in the universe is “Muslim” for it obeys God by submission to his laws—the sun, the moon, the earth...even a man who refuses to believe in God and offers his worship to someone other than Allah has necessarily to be Muslim as far as his existence is concerned.” (Islam means submission to Allah as is asserted in early chapters of the book.) In Fundamentals of Islam, Maududi describes that there are three major reasons why one goes astray— self-worship, worship of society and culture and blind obedience of human being—which are very much similar to what Maulana Umari writes under the chapter ‘Different Versions of Slavery’. Even the examples given by him in the book seem very close to Maududi’s. However, Maulana Umari’s book under study determines the real status of man in the world and the universe in a straightforward manner and as such can bring many wandering souls back to the right path.

Also available on

http://www.radianceweekly.com/365/10876/crushing-debacle-of-ruling-awami-league-bnp-led-18-party-alliance-wins-landslide-victory-in-city-corporation-elections-in-bangladesh/2013-06-30/review-article/story-detail/to-follow-gods-path-properly-keep-the-seducers-off.html