Syed Hamid, Malik Ram, Burney, Hasan Sani Nizami, Anjum Naim(second row)
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Thursday, July 16, 2009
THE STORY TELLER'S TALE
Review by:Anjum NaimAfghan ruler, Ahmad Shah Abdali's fourth incursion into India on January 23, 1757 brought a message of destruction and devastation of Delhi. Plunder of this walled city, popularly known as Shahjahanabad was tremendous loss of not only lives and properties, it was, rather a ravage of a culture and civilization, which changed the course of Indo - Islamic history. The epoch reference of novella "The Story - Tellers Tale" launched at American Center , New Derlhi on March 25 , 2009, written by Umair Ahmad, who obtained his master's degree in International Relations from Syracuse University, New York,2001-2003, is the same ruined and plundered India of 18th century. Its witness is a story - teller, who was not present in Delhi at the time of its destruction and when he returns back to his city, he finds no shelter. The broken-hearted story - teller, however finds a roof over his head in a protected beautiful mansion situated outside the city, wherein he meets the main character of the novella, Begum, who is living a secluded life with her servants, because her husband is away these days, perhaps to get his share in the bounty. Begum making out the caliber of the story - teller's art decides to have a competition of story - telling with him. Both of them would tell a story to each other, no matter whether it is a story of one's own suffering or a tale of other people. Albeit there is a condition that the stories would reflect the temperaments of both of them. The competition begins and takes its own time. Both of them narrate four stories. Meanwhile, a new story takes place. It is a love story of Begum with the story - teller. Begum's sentiments are intense while the story - teller seems to refrain from it as he is in the know of sufferings of love. And in this way, their stories become the expression of their failed love affair. Though, characters of each story are quite different, but they depict our familiar pictures in present perspective. The excellence of story is it tells us, in today's diction how love expands the balance of political power, and how the latter influence love.
Basically, the main reference of this story is the very violence, which is evident in almost every scenario crossing the limits of time and space. The story teller could never get rid of this central theme and tries to present it everywhere, whatever the form may be. It seems that different forms of violence are colliding with each other in the mind of the story – teller. Umair says, "We are unable to ignore this fact because violence and violent tendency are affecting all of us in one form or the other. It has become the central reference of lives of people like us."
A common reader may think if we are discussing our familiar issues, why then they are being written in the form of a story ( Dastaan) or the traditional form of story – telling? Umair gives a very simple answer, "I really did not think about the audience, I was only exploring old ideas of pain in various fables, myths and stories I had heard as a child."
But he also accepts that the form of story – telling (Dastaan goi) is a very interesting and a very impressive means of communication. No other form could express our feelings in such an impressive way. "You can conjecture it by the efficacy of parables of Bible and Quranic stories. Moreover stories heard in childhood also become a part of our psyche," says Umair.
He says that he used to participate in traditional story – telling programmes during his student – life in the U. S. he was very impressed with tall tales.
Tall tales are exaggerated and imaginary stories from the 1800s. They were made – up to tell about the courage many had while exploring and adventuring to the "WILD, WILD, WEST". These stories entertained people around campfires on steamboats, and many other places.
While writing the novel, he took care of this American tradition. He further says that “Urdu and Persian stories, which were read in his family and epic of Mahabharata, are the parts of his literary taste. That is why I felt no difficulty in expressing my thoughts in this form.” It is worth mentioning that fictional elements of all the four stories presented in the novella are based on Panch Tantra (an anthology of Indian stories, parables of Bible and Quranic allusions.
Umair has been, basically, an active journalist, affiliated with Outlook magazine and VOA, and political analyst. He has written many stories on lives of common people living in towns and villages of India. These stories got published under the title of 'sense terror' by Pages Editor, Catalonia 2008. His novel 'Encounters published by Tara Press, New Delhi , 2007' depicting the growing rigidity in a section of Muslims, the novella in hand and all of his writings make the issue of extremism in words and deeds, their subject matter. In a nutshell it is the subject matter that matters and not the mere form"
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Sunday, April 5, 2009
DIVERSITY IS ONLY THE FIRST STEP
INTERVIEW WITH EBOO PATEL
ANJUM NAIM
It is the office of director of Interfaith Youth Core, a Chicago based organization of youths having a desire to spread idea of religious pluralism with young people as its builder. And hanging on the wall is a well – known painting "Freedom of Worship", a masterpiece of Norman Rockwell, famous American painter of the first half of the 20th century. In the painting, four men and four women are shown praying and invoking the blessings of God. Everyone is praying in his or her own way. All of them – Catholics, Protestants, Jews, Colored and Whites – are standing shoulder – to – shoulder facing the same direction, comfortable with the presence of one another and yet apart.
Eboo Patel, director of I F Y C says that it is a vivid depiction of a group living in peace with its diversity, yet not exploring it. It is what we have set as the goal of our endeavors: Persuading the youth of different faiths to respect each other and solve their problems shoulder – to – shoulder, is termed as 'Religious Pluralism' by Patel.
Patel migrated from Mumbai to America with his father in 1975; he graduated from university of Illinois at Urban Champaign, and thereafter, obtains his Doctorate in Sociology of Religious from Oxford University on Rhodes Scholarship.
Engaged in to imbibe the ingredients of spiritualism and dynamism in services to humanity, Patel is associated with the advisory board of the Council on Foreign Relations (C F R), an American non partisan foreign policy membership organization founded in 1921, considered as the most powerful private organization to influence United States Foreign Policy. It publishes the bimonthly general 'Foreign Affairs'. He is also associated with the advisory board of Duke University Islamic Studies Centre (D I S C) established in 2006, as a sequel to the Centre for the Study of Muslim Networks, especially educational networks as essential instruments for advancing cross – cultural understanding.
President Barrack Obama has recently, established 'White House Office of Faith – Based and Neighborhood Partnerships', which will work on behalf of Americans committed to improving their communities, no matter their religious or political beliefs. Eboo Patel has been nominated as its member. Published in 2007, his book 'Acts of Faith' is, in fact, a story of his own life journey and his vision in creating an inter – faith youth movement. It reflects his thoughts particularly, the religious pluralism and the role of youth in its dissemination and implementation.
When asked why does he want pluralism among religiously diverse young people. What does it mean to him, what does it mean to other Americans or Indians. Do most Americans agree with him that religious diversity is important? Why or why not?, Eboo Patel explains, "When I say the word “pluralism”, I mean that to build a peaceful world, we have to go beyond the fact of diversity to actually engage it. A scholar at Harvard University, Diana Eck, says, 'religious diversity is a given, but pluralism is an achievement.'"
Explaining religious pluralism, he says, "To me, religious pluralism is three things. First, there must be respect for religious identity, which includes respect for secular humanist and non-believing identities. Second, there must be mutually inspiring relationships between people of diverse faith traditions. Finally, religious pluralism must include common action for the common good. It is not enough that we identify the call to serve in different traditions - we must act upon that call together. Religiously diverse young people can build a movement together by seeking out one another, coming to know each other, and then acting together to serve their communities."
Most Americans, in his opinion, agree that religious pluralism is important, and he would go a step further and say that people in general tend towards pluralism. He thinks the missing link is that people need the framework, leadership skills, training and resources to build a pluralistic world, and that is what his organization, the Interfaith Youth Core, tries to provide.
Modus Operandi
Both, his message and movement gained popularity in the United States. He is wholeheartedly engaged in giving his message a rippling effect amidst restrictions and limitations. Narrating his all out efforts to expand his movement overseas, he says, "My organization works abroad through several channels. For example, during the last few weeks, two Interfaith Youth Core staff members, both Muslim women, embarked on a tour across Western Europe supported by the State Department. They will conduct trainings for young European interfaith leaders in Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy, Spain and France, with the goal of sparking an interfaith youth movement across Europe. Many of the communities they are visiting include recent Muslim immigrants to Western Europe, as well as established Muslim minority communities. "
According to him, this is just one of many partnerships IFYC has had with the State Department, which, over the past year, has meant IFYC presence in ten different countries. This includes the participation of four staff members on different speaking tours around the Philippines, India, and Western Europe. They are currently running three programs funded by the State Department - the Western Europe training tour will be followed in March by another training tour around the UK. In April, IFYC is bringing youth workers from the UK to the United States to experience the ways that dramatic religious diversity can be engaged in a vibrant civic sphere, and learn leadership techniques for their work.
He is looking forward to expanding their international work in Southeast Asia as well, and his upcoming work is one step in that direction.
Interfaith dialogue in a multi cultural society
Explaining the needs and significance of interfaith dialogue and related difficulties, Patel said, "In our globalized era, the world is smaller than ever before. The possibility of coming of age without encountering neighbors, classmates, teachers or friends of different faiths or cultures is narrowing more every year, and I think this kind of diverse, multi cultural society is the ideal place to hold interfaith dialogue. Interfaith dialogue and service is about taking the diversity at hand and transforming it into a new state of pluralism. "
In his opinion, the question at hand is not if dialogue can work in a multicultural society, because increasingly all societies are multicultural. The question is when are they going to take advantage of this ample opportunity worldwide to turn diversity into pluralism?
"We must engage these differences, build bridges between them and work together to achieve societies where common action leads to a better future for all", says Patel.
He believes that there will be no peace in the world without religious pluralism, and no religious pluralism without the leadership of young people. Young people today are growing up in the most globalized era in human history – they are truly the first interfaith generation.
That is why he says, "Faith formation for them is going to not only involve the question: 'What does it mean to be a Muslim?' It is going to have to include an additional element, 'What does it mean to be a Muslim in a community/country/world of Hindus, Christians, Jews, Buddhists, Sikhs, secular humanists, etc?' This interfaith generation is going to be asking a whole new set of questions about what it means to be young and religious in this day and age, and I hope that they will be able to answer this question by taking a leadership role in building pluralism."
When asked why he came India to participate/ organize in a religiously diverse young people leadership program and what kind of leaders he is looking for, he replied that he is looking for young people ready to build pluralism in their communities. Young leaders who want to reach out to others, build mutually respectful relationships and join in service with those who are different from them in order to serve the common good.
Source of inspiration
His inspiration for the work comes strongly from his grandmother, whom he visited in Mumbai when he was first beginning interfaith action.
"As I sat beside her in her home, she told me 45 years worth of stories of women that she put up in her home and helped get a fresh start – women who were abused, abandoned, out of work, out of hope, with no family or chance to begin again. When I asked her why she spent her life helping others get back on their feet, she said “I am a Muslim. That is what Muslims do.” And that is where I draw inspiration," says Patel.
Relevance of Martin Luther King Jr's in the present era.
He is deeply impressed by his mission. He says, "The Reverend Martin Luther King Jr’s non-violent movement is incredibly significant in our era, not only because of the immense power of non-violence as a mechanism of social justice, but because of how Dr. King came to understand non-violence: through an Indian Hindu."
Peeping into the history he narrates: In 1950, when King was a young student in a Christian seminary, he went to see a lecture on Mahatma Gandhi in Philadelphia. Learning about Gandhi’s Hindu-based satyagraha (soul force) movement to free India stirred something in King. He had always believed in the Christian ethic of nonviolence, but thought it was relevant only for personal relationships. He was amazed that Gandhi had made that ethic the basis of a successful social reform movement.
"Five years later, when King was named the leader of the Montgomery Improvement Association, he copied Gandhi’s approach in the Montgomery Bus Boycott. The people who marched with him called their movement 'Christian love', but King knew that it was a Hindu named Mahatma Gandhi who had, as he put it, 'furnished the method'", says Patel.
Describing King's speech in the church after returning from Montgomery, Patel says: "In 1959, as the civil rights movement was gaining ground, King went to India to study Gandhi’s legacy firsthand. He marveled at the religious diversity of the subcontinent, how Gandhi had brought people of all faiths and classes together to work nonviolently for freedom. When he returned to Montgomery, King got up in the pulpit of his church and spoke these words: “O God, our gracious heavenly father. We thank thee for the fact that you have defined men and women in all nations, in all cultures. We call you this name. Some call thee Allah, some call you Elohim. Some call you Jehovah, some call you Brahma. Some call you the Unmoved Mover.”
According to Patel, within King’s movement there are lessons beyond the impact of non-violent activism - lessons of respect for other faith traditions, lessons of mutually inspiring relationships between people of different religions, and lessons of deep understanding of the shared values between the world’s religions and how they can arouse common action.
Youth service
"In an era of global religious conflict, idealism has a new face: interfaith youth cooperation. The evening news features stories of young people killing each other to the soundtrack of prayer. Yet across the country and the world, young people of many faiths are coming together around the shared value of service," Patel explains.
In his opinion, they are changing the toxic conversation about religion and building the American dream of a place in which freedom for one relies on freedom for all. The watershed moment for their idealism has come: today’s young people will grow up under the leadership of Obama administration, in which civic engagement is supported in an unprecedented way.
"The call to national service is being heard loud and clear, and we at the Interfaith Youth Core look forward to not only inspiring young people to serve, but to empowering them to lead their peers in service as well," says Patel in a voice, full of confidence.
A member of the White House Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships And Council on foreign relations. When asked about the difference he made by being on the aforesaid committee, Patel replies that he is honored to have been named to the White House Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, and looks forward to being able to shape a task force on interfaith cooperation. The Council was just recently formed and only 15 of the 25 members have been named.
"Though our work is just beginning, I see this as proof that the potential of faith-based groups to do good in this country has been recognized. I hope that my year on this council ends with the recognition that faith-based groups can do the most good when they work together," he said.
“I believe that the twenty first century will be shaped by the faith line’’
Putting forth an explanation to this idea, he says, "One hundred years ago, the great African American scholar W.E.B. DuBois famously said that "the problem of the twentieth century will be the problem of the color line" Most people assumed that the color line divided black and white. But Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. came around 60 years later and changed the paradigm. He suggested that the real dividing line wasn't between black and white, but between those who wanted to live together as brothers and those who wanted to perish together as fools. "
"I believe the 21st century will be dominated by the question of the faith line. Our first and most important challenge is to recognize that the faith line does not divide Muslims and Christians, Hindus and Buddhists or secularists from the faithful", says Patel
He thinks that the faith line separates religious totalitarians and religious pluralists. Religious totalitarians want a society where their group dominates and everyone else suffocates. Religious pluralists want a society where people from different backgrounds live in equal dignity and mutual loyalty.
"The first challenge of the faith line is that the pluralists are in the majority, and yet the totalitarians have succeeded in convincing us to be afraid of each other. The second challenge of the faith line is for those of us in the majority to stand up for our pluralist vision, to tell our story, to put the extremists back in their place: on the extremes," believes Patel.
ANJUM NAIM
It is the office of director of Interfaith Youth Core, a Chicago based organization of youths having a desire to spread idea of religious pluralism with young people as its builder. And hanging on the wall is a well – known painting "Freedom of Worship", a masterpiece of Norman Rockwell, famous American painter of the first half of the 20th century. In the painting, four men and four women are shown praying and invoking the blessings of God. Everyone is praying in his or her own way. All of them – Catholics, Protestants, Jews, Colored and Whites – are standing shoulder – to – shoulder facing the same direction, comfortable with the presence of one another and yet apart.
Eboo Patel, director of I F Y C says that it is a vivid depiction of a group living in peace with its diversity, yet not exploring it. It is what we have set as the goal of our endeavors: Persuading the youth of different faiths to respect each other and solve their problems shoulder – to – shoulder, is termed as 'Religious Pluralism' by Patel.
Patel migrated from Mumbai to America with his father in 1975; he graduated from university of Illinois at Urban Champaign, and thereafter, obtains his Doctorate in Sociology of Religious from Oxford University on Rhodes Scholarship.
Engaged in to imbibe the ingredients of spiritualism and dynamism in services to humanity, Patel is associated with the advisory board of the Council on Foreign Relations (C F R), an American non partisan foreign policy membership organization founded in 1921, considered as the most powerful private organization to influence United States Foreign Policy. It publishes the bimonthly general 'Foreign Affairs'. He is also associated with the advisory board of Duke University Islamic Studies Centre (D I S C) established in 2006, as a sequel to the Centre for the Study of Muslim Networks, especially educational networks as essential instruments for advancing cross – cultural understanding.
President Barrack Obama has recently, established 'White House Office of Faith – Based and Neighborhood Partnerships', which will work on behalf of Americans committed to improving their communities, no matter their religious or political beliefs. Eboo Patel has been nominated as its member. Published in 2007, his book 'Acts of Faith' is, in fact, a story of his own life journey and his vision in creating an inter – faith youth movement. It reflects his thoughts particularly, the religious pluralism and the role of youth in its dissemination and implementation.
When asked why does he want pluralism among religiously diverse young people. What does it mean to him, what does it mean to other Americans or Indians. Do most Americans agree with him that religious diversity is important? Why or why not?, Eboo Patel explains, "When I say the word “pluralism”, I mean that to build a peaceful world, we have to go beyond the fact of diversity to actually engage it. A scholar at Harvard University, Diana Eck, says, 'religious diversity is a given, but pluralism is an achievement.'"
Explaining religious pluralism, he says, "To me, religious pluralism is three things. First, there must be respect for religious identity, which includes respect for secular humanist and non-believing identities. Second, there must be mutually inspiring relationships between people of diverse faith traditions. Finally, religious pluralism must include common action for the common good. It is not enough that we identify the call to serve in different traditions - we must act upon that call together. Religiously diverse young people can build a movement together by seeking out one another, coming to know each other, and then acting together to serve their communities."
Most Americans, in his opinion, agree that religious pluralism is important, and he would go a step further and say that people in general tend towards pluralism. He thinks the missing link is that people need the framework, leadership skills, training and resources to build a pluralistic world, and that is what his organization, the Interfaith Youth Core, tries to provide.
Modus Operandi
Both, his message and movement gained popularity in the United States. He is wholeheartedly engaged in giving his message a rippling effect amidst restrictions and limitations. Narrating his all out efforts to expand his movement overseas, he says, "My organization works abroad through several channels. For example, during the last few weeks, two Interfaith Youth Core staff members, both Muslim women, embarked on a tour across Western Europe supported by the State Department. They will conduct trainings for young European interfaith leaders in Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy, Spain and France, with the goal of sparking an interfaith youth movement across Europe. Many of the communities they are visiting include recent Muslim immigrants to Western Europe, as well as established Muslim minority communities. "
According to him, this is just one of many partnerships IFYC has had with the State Department, which, over the past year, has meant IFYC presence in ten different countries. This includes the participation of four staff members on different speaking tours around the Philippines, India, and Western Europe. They are currently running three programs funded by the State Department - the Western Europe training tour will be followed in March by another training tour around the UK. In April, IFYC is bringing youth workers from the UK to the United States to experience the ways that dramatic religious diversity can be engaged in a vibrant civic sphere, and learn leadership techniques for their work.
He is looking forward to expanding their international work in Southeast Asia as well, and his upcoming work is one step in that direction.
Interfaith dialogue in a multi cultural society
Explaining the needs and significance of interfaith dialogue and related difficulties, Patel said, "In our globalized era, the world is smaller than ever before. The possibility of coming of age without encountering neighbors, classmates, teachers or friends of different faiths or cultures is narrowing more every year, and I think this kind of diverse, multi cultural society is the ideal place to hold interfaith dialogue. Interfaith dialogue and service is about taking the diversity at hand and transforming it into a new state of pluralism. "
In his opinion, the question at hand is not if dialogue can work in a multicultural society, because increasingly all societies are multicultural. The question is when are they going to take advantage of this ample opportunity worldwide to turn diversity into pluralism?
"We must engage these differences, build bridges between them and work together to achieve societies where common action leads to a better future for all", says Patel.
He believes that there will be no peace in the world without religious pluralism, and no religious pluralism without the leadership of young people. Young people today are growing up in the most globalized era in human history – they are truly the first interfaith generation.
That is why he says, "Faith formation for them is going to not only involve the question: 'What does it mean to be a Muslim?' It is going to have to include an additional element, 'What does it mean to be a Muslim in a community/country/world of Hindus, Christians, Jews, Buddhists, Sikhs, secular humanists, etc?' This interfaith generation is going to be asking a whole new set of questions about what it means to be young and religious in this day and age, and I hope that they will be able to answer this question by taking a leadership role in building pluralism."
When asked why he came India to participate/ organize in a religiously diverse young people leadership program and what kind of leaders he is looking for, he replied that he is looking for young people ready to build pluralism in their communities. Young leaders who want to reach out to others, build mutually respectful relationships and join in service with those who are different from them in order to serve the common good.
Source of inspiration
His inspiration for the work comes strongly from his grandmother, whom he visited in Mumbai when he was first beginning interfaith action.
"As I sat beside her in her home, she told me 45 years worth of stories of women that she put up in her home and helped get a fresh start – women who were abused, abandoned, out of work, out of hope, with no family or chance to begin again. When I asked her why she spent her life helping others get back on their feet, she said “I am a Muslim. That is what Muslims do.” And that is where I draw inspiration," says Patel.
Relevance of Martin Luther King Jr's in the present era.
He is deeply impressed by his mission. He says, "The Reverend Martin Luther King Jr’s non-violent movement is incredibly significant in our era, not only because of the immense power of non-violence as a mechanism of social justice, but because of how Dr. King came to understand non-violence: through an Indian Hindu."
Peeping into the history he narrates: In 1950, when King was a young student in a Christian seminary, he went to see a lecture on Mahatma Gandhi in Philadelphia. Learning about Gandhi’s Hindu-based satyagraha (soul force) movement to free India stirred something in King. He had always believed in the Christian ethic of nonviolence, but thought it was relevant only for personal relationships. He was amazed that Gandhi had made that ethic the basis of a successful social reform movement.
"Five years later, when King was named the leader of the Montgomery Improvement Association, he copied Gandhi’s approach in the Montgomery Bus Boycott. The people who marched with him called their movement 'Christian love', but King knew that it was a Hindu named Mahatma Gandhi who had, as he put it, 'furnished the method'", says Patel.
Describing King's speech in the church after returning from Montgomery, Patel says: "In 1959, as the civil rights movement was gaining ground, King went to India to study Gandhi’s legacy firsthand. He marveled at the religious diversity of the subcontinent, how Gandhi had brought people of all faiths and classes together to work nonviolently for freedom. When he returned to Montgomery, King got up in the pulpit of his church and spoke these words: “O God, our gracious heavenly father. We thank thee for the fact that you have defined men and women in all nations, in all cultures. We call you this name. Some call thee Allah, some call you Elohim. Some call you Jehovah, some call you Brahma. Some call you the Unmoved Mover.”
According to Patel, within King’s movement there are lessons beyond the impact of non-violent activism - lessons of respect for other faith traditions, lessons of mutually inspiring relationships between people of different religions, and lessons of deep understanding of the shared values between the world’s religions and how they can arouse common action.
Youth service
"In an era of global religious conflict, idealism has a new face: interfaith youth cooperation. The evening news features stories of young people killing each other to the soundtrack of prayer. Yet across the country and the world, young people of many faiths are coming together around the shared value of service," Patel explains.
In his opinion, they are changing the toxic conversation about religion and building the American dream of a place in which freedom for one relies on freedom for all. The watershed moment for their idealism has come: today’s young people will grow up under the leadership of Obama administration, in which civic engagement is supported in an unprecedented way.
"The call to national service is being heard loud and clear, and we at the Interfaith Youth Core look forward to not only inspiring young people to serve, but to empowering them to lead their peers in service as well," says Patel in a voice, full of confidence.
A member of the White House Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships And Council on foreign relations. When asked about the difference he made by being on the aforesaid committee, Patel replies that he is honored to have been named to the White House Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, and looks forward to being able to shape a task force on interfaith cooperation. The Council was just recently formed and only 15 of the 25 members have been named.
"Though our work is just beginning, I see this as proof that the potential of faith-based groups to do good in this country has been recognized. I hope that my year on this council ends with the recognition that faith-based groups can do the most good when they work together," he said.
“I believe that the twenty first century will be shaped by the faith line’’
Putting forth an explanation to this idea, he says, "One hundred years ago, the great African American scholar W.E.B. DuBois famously said that "the problem of the twentieth century will be the problem of the color line" Most people assumed that the color line divided black and white. But Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. came around 60 years later and changed the paradigm. He suggested that the real dividing line wasn't between black and white, but between those who wanted to live together as brothers and those who wanted to perish together as fools. "
"I believe the 21st century will be dominated by the question of the faith line. Our first and most important challenge is to recognize that the faith line does not divide Muslims and Christians, Hindus and Buddhists or secularists from the faithful", says Patel
He thinks that the faith line separates religious totalitarians and religious pluralists. Religious totalitarians want a society where their group dominates and everyone else suffocates. Religious pluralists want a society where people from different backgrounds live in equal dignity and mutual loyalty.
"The first challenge of the faith line is that the pluralists are in the majority, and yet the totalitarians have succeeded in convincing us to be afraid of each other. The second challenge of the faith line is for those of us in the majority to stand up for our pluralist vision, to tell our story, to put the extremists back in their place: on the extremes," believes Patel.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
SAMINA KHAN
By : Anjum Naim
What is common in between 37-year old Piyush Bobby Jindal, governor of Louisiana and 30-year Sameena Khan, recipient of "Golden Apple Award", an American esteemed award, for the best performance in the field of education? Both hail from Maler Kotla city of Punjab state in India. Sameena Khan is another feather in the hat of Maler Kotla. These days she is in her ancestral land to meet her parents, and people particularly students and academicians are coming to meet her. Sameena says, the esteemed Golden Apple Award enthused me to open a school in her ancestral city, on the lines of school affiliated to Chicago Public School, and include people in all her teaching experiences, which rendered hopeful results.
Golden Apple Award is considered as one of the prestigious educational awards in America. It is the brain-child of Martin J. Koldyke, a very active personality in the educational arena. He was associated with Invest Banking. The award was designed to present to Chicago teachers for their extraordinary services. He believed that the teachers who render their yeoman services in the field of education, deserve awards and prizes as an acknowledgement of their significant services in making a more consolidated and bitterly educated society.
"This award is a great honour for me. I could only dream it, a dream, which at last came true," says Sameena.
Golden Apple selects 10 best teachers for this prestigious award every year since 1986. These selected teachers become the members of Golden Apple Academy of Education. They chalk out plans to make teaching functions more useful and meaningful, and develop the syllabus in the light of their valuable experiences. Moreover, the awardees are bestowed upon with many more honours, public rewards and benefits. They can get admission in any number of courses in their choicest subject in North-Western University of Evanston, free of cost. Besides, they also get a laptop computer along with cash awards of $ 3000 each.
One thousand teachers had filled up the nomination forms. They had to present 16 write-ups on different topics related to education, on the basis of which 100 of them were short listed. Thirteen out of them reached the final award whereupon 10 were selected finally. Sameena was one of them.
Thirty-year old Sameena was born in Ethiopia (Africa) where her parents were in teaching profession those days. Thereafter, she migrated to Nigeria. She obtained a Bachelor's degree in Micro Biology from Kadona Polytechnic, Nigeria which is renowned throughout the length and breadth of Western Africa. In 1994, she shifted to her brother in America wherefrom she took admission in Master degree course in Biology in the University of Wisconsin. She, later on, joined North-Easter University to complete her Master Degree. She also obtained Master's Degree in Education, with distinctions from Chicago University of D. Paul. Because of her long stays at different places, she is not only well versed with English, Hausa (Nigerian), Urdu, Hindi and Punjabi, she also has experience of a multi-cultural society. That is why, when she got an opportunity to teach children of African origin, she did not feel any unfamiliarity. "When you make your profession your hobby, it starts giving you joy, and in turn you get involved in finding newer and better ways to adorn it," says Sameena.
‘‘ You were always a science student, and you got your Master's Degree in Science, why, then, did you go for teaching profession?” Sameena replies with smile on her face, "Teaching is in my genes. My father as well as my mother are professional teachers. My father always says, medical and teaching professions are the most revered professions and these activities are termed as "continuous charity" in Islamic terminology. In the beginning, Sameena had a desire to become a medical doctor but she had natural attachment with teaching. So she participated in a competition held under the aegis of Global Educator Outreach Programme wherein more than one thousand candidates from 23 countries. Sameena was among the 50 selected countries. Chicago Public School is considered as the third largest school system in America. More than 600 schools are affiliated wherein about 409,000 students receive education. Sameena was appointed as a science teacher in Clark Magnet School, which is affiliated to Chicago Public School. She started her teaching career from this very institution.
Sameena says that pupils of African origin study in her school. In the beginning she felt it difficult to tackle and teach them, but since I passed my childhood amongst African children, I started tackling them very soon keeping their psychology in view. I got the speculated success and student came closer to me. I too was over joyous in teaching them, " teaching is not a profession, but a passion for me", says Sameena.
"What were your initiatives, which improved students' performance?" In reply, Sameena says that she teaches science to students of 6th, 7th and 8th standards. She observed that students were reluctant to science and dislike to attend the classes. School records showed that most number of drop-out cases were from 8th standard. Its prime cause was their disliking for science. She made all out efforts to make it more interesting. She told, "First of all I brought out the students from the classroom and engaged them, more intensively, in the lab, and created their interest in science through practicals. Observations and experiments helped them very much and the reluctant students started joining the classes." Her efforts bore the fruits and grades of students showed improvement. Illinois Standard Achievement Test scores increased rapidly. According to a school press release, in 2001, 34% students scored equal to the national average. In 2003, it increased to 46, in 2005 to 80, in 2006 to 84.6 and in 2007 to 89.6.
School's administration was very happy over Sameena's activities, her dedication to the school, her hands-on activities and her innovative teaching methodologies. This was the reason why Principal of the school, Dr. Henry West nominated her for Golden Apple Award. On the basis of nomination by her colleague teachers and the school administration, she has already been awarded Chicago Area Annual Award, Com-Ed 100 and the Drive Award 2006, which is awarded every year by Chicago Public School.
Sameena Khan asserts," All children deserve excellent teachers, and the institutions, which give importance to this phenomenon, success knocks their doors." He remembers her father, how serious he was in this regard. In India, teachers have always enjoyed a respectable position. That is why, educational standard has always been superb in India. According to her, Indian students are considered as trustworthy in America. It is why Indian students are in majority amongst the alien students in America. In her opinion, American concept of teaching is gaining ground rapidly in India. "What is needed most is to inculcate interest in them for learning."
Thursday, February 12, 2009
LAL QILA , DELHI
Lal qila jis ki deewaren ab jagah jagah se kamzoor par rahi hain aur jis ke Dewane-Khas aur Dewane-Aam ab apni kasmpursi ki faryad karte nazar aate hain, ka yeh Lahori Darwaza ab bhi apni tareekh byan karta nazar aata hai.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
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