The deadliest weather related disaster is flood that has effected Pakistan particularly Sindh. In Sindh, district Khairpur at the moment is housing huge bulk of displaced people from Larkana, Kashmore, Jacobabad, Shikarpur, and many smaller villages like thul, ghouspur and the Kacha areas of Khairpur etc. The registered displaced people are more than 50,000. Around 120 camps are housing people in small clusters. These range from 250-300 people in smaller schools to 5000-8000 in bigger schools.
Monday, September 13, 2010
Flood situtation till 16th August-2010
The situation of flood is still persistent and displacement of people from Kashmore, Jacobabad, Shikarpur, surrounding areas of Sukkur and Kacha area of Khairpur is going on; people in groups are travelling to Hyderabad, Karachi and to Khairpur city areas.
The camps are being established by district government within Government school premises in Khairpur city and small towns of various talukas.
In Khairpur, civil society organizations are mainly active and playing their useful role with a great enthusiasm and vigour. Since the Indus Resource Centre has adopted couple of relief camps at Govt. Boys Primary School Mori and Govt. Boys High School Bhurgri, the provision of food and non food items are being provided to Mori camp whereas these items are in process for Bhurghri camp.
Major Highlights of relief activities
During last two days 400 food packets have been distributed to the victims of flood across Sobhodero and Gambat talukas by IRC under the coordinative efforts of District Govt. Khairpur.
Together with Red Crescent Society and District Government, IRC has managed to distribute 32 hygiene kits among affected families in Mori camp, which included, Towel, bath soap, Female hygiene pads, tooth paste, shaving razors, shaving cream and Nail cutter.
In Mori relief camp together with above stakeholders some utensils have also been distributed such as Vessels, Roti baking pot, silver food plates, adequate pot for floor kneading, Gerry Kans 15lts and sewed cloths. IRC has also distributed the non food items except those items which had not been delivered to them by any donor.
IRC has provided 02 sewing machines at Mori Relief camp with some 17 unstitched cloths to those females who are skilled and able to sew cloths. A proper room is allotted to these females so that sewing activity could be performed in conducive environment.
Stock register is made available at camp which helps us to understand how many things have been provided to campers.
Food is being provided to campers whereas breakfast is being prepared at camp venue by females.
Situation of sanitary condition is quite better as compare to previous scene which was prevalent a few days back, a sweeper is appointed by IRC who looks after toilets. Couple of toilets require maintenance whose responsibility has been fixed and to be undertaken on urgent basis.
Camp in Bhurgri is new and being taken care of to the best of our available resource.
SRSO organization is also active in field for flood affected people and has started providing temporary toilets and hand pump facilities. One hand pump and two temporary toilets have been provided by this organization at Govt. Boys High School Bhurgri.
Linkages are established with PPHI (Mobile) medical camp that has checked out IDPs at Bhurgri Camp.
There we have seen cattle today inside Bhurgri Camp they have arrived last night so, we are in process to have discussion with campers for their future plans.
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Flood Updates in Khairpur
On 21 July 2010, Pakistan was hit by heavier than usual monsoon flash foods. The monsoon floods have left above 2.5 million people affected and death toll has reached 1600 people (source: Strengthening Participatory Organization (SPO) assessment report, 3 August 2010).
The Indus River was flowing in low flood at Sukkur Barrage. It will be in high flood during the next 24 hours,” it said adding that the Indus River was flowing normal at Kotri Barrage and it will remain normal there during the next 24 hours. The Irrigation and Power Department said that discharge at upstream Guddu Barrage may remain between 8,50,000 cusecs to 9,50,000 cusecs on August 8 and August 9. Officials say 19 of Sindh’s 23 districts have been put on high alert.
Kashmore, Ghotki, Shikarpur, Sukkur, Larkana and Khairpur districts are considered high priority, and operations to evacuate vulnerable populations in low-lying areas are under way, according to Khair Muhammad Kalwar, Director of operations at Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA).
In responding to this situation, on August 6, 2010, all (Indus Resource Centre) IRC Staff including Regional Manager Khairpur were present at the DCO House Khairpur, to help support the Govt. line agencies in packing up the food items and to take measures for their onward delivery to the flood victims. 1, 333 small food bags were prepared. The truck was loaded with 200 food bags which transported this aid to the flood affected areas of Sobhodero taluka district Khairpur. Three volunteers from IRC; Shafique Abbas Mangi, Akeel Ahmed and Ali Madad went to Sobhodero to distribute the food items in due course of time.
On August 7, 2010, IRC team including Naveed Khayal, Turab Ali, Ali Madad, Attique and Ghulam Muhhamd Junejo visited Jamsher Bund area existing in Kingri taluka where it was observed that, there were many small scattered villages found completely inundated consisted of 20-25 houses in each village. It was also observed that the agriculture was adversely affected in which some valuable crops like cotton, sugarcane and bananas were worth noted.
IRC volunteers along with Pakistan Army distributed 300 dry food bags among flood affected families of villages; Azizullah Kalhoro, Allah Dino Junejo, Karam Khan Junejo, Dost Muhammad Junejo, Khaliq Dino Junejo, Moar Kalhoro, Abdul Rehman Unar and Rasool Bux Junejo. All these villages are next to Jamsher Bund. According to Pakistan Army, they have shifted families to some safe places but still there were two villages i.e Azizullah Kalhoro and Allah Dino Junejo whose inhabitants showed reluctance to move to flood relief camps and wanted to take their livestock and grains with them, in case they are forced to be shifted. It was impossible to carry all these things by boat as the boat couldn’t bear the weight of buffaloes and cows.
August 8, 2010, IRC volunteers planned to distribute 500 food bags among 500 flood victims, team departed from DCO house Khairpur for Fareedabad Bund. Volunteers reached at Fareedabad Bund where Pakistan Army personnel were already available, Pak Army arranged the helicopter to take the Arial view of the inundated areas and to monitor all sorts of loss such as houses, crops, pet animals and grain stock etc.
Beside Fareedabad Bund, there was a village Sajan Mehaser where 45 food bags were distributed. Having done a systematic distribution relief team moved towards Point 06 and Point 0 of Ulra Jageer Bund where 100 and 110 food bags were delivered to Pak Army soldiers for their onward distribution to flood affected people. 150 food bags were also delivered to Pak Army for village, Abdul Rehman Unar. I am thankful to all the stakeholder and the Civil Society Organizations in taking such a great part for a noble cause of helping the helpless.
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Validation and sightseeing in Delhi
Today was the day of validation for all the training participants, each one of us was really excited to receive participation certificates were to be given by prof. Neelamghan NLLM-CMS at Meadows an international business school at Fareedabad India.
The very beginning session was led by Mr. Najmul Hoda (Assistant Professor) NIILM centre for management Studies. Later the session was proceeded by Prof. Neelmaghan who asked the participants to reflect back on their overall learning expectations from India and how far all of them managed to grasp over the things that they taught and facilitated for the last one week. Quite mix responses were aired by the participants that ensured all the participants have learnt many new concepts regarding microfinance and micro credit.
These responses of participants were:
• Women are quite proactive in India as compare to remote rural areas of Pakistan.
• Women of Pakistan have tremendous potential to join hand in hand with them to start a program that should shape their life.
• Linking microfinance with enterprise can be a feasible thing for Pakistan
• Loan insurance at small scale can be a workable model for Pakistan
• Concept of mobile banking is quite new and can be tested in Pakistan with working class families.
• In addition to learning aspects of team, it was greatly felt by the participants that a field visit to women self help groups was a need of time which couldn’t be made as part of training.
• Making cloth bags, paper plates, advancing in agriculture, embroidery with creativity, hand looms etc are the products that are already in the market of Pakistan but all is needed to have a channel of good marketing in Pakistan and aboard, while in India it has improved and transformed at grater level.
Having had diverse reflections of participants, Prof. Neelmaghan presented couple of videos on the outcomes of microfinance in India.
After this session, a certificate ceremony was held but before this session to happen a request to Madam, Musarat Qadeem was made to come on stage and say few words being the team leader of Pakistani group. She highly appreciated the hospitality and the learning settings for all Pakistani delegates by NIILM in India. She invited NIILM to come to Pakistan and experience the best practices of Micro finance and see some impressing case studies of a few women of our times.
Later a certification ceremony was held with vote of thanks by Prof. Neelmaghan (President NIILM).
In second half team planned to visit one of the holy places in Delhi known as Lotus Temple which is situated 12 km to the southeast of Connaught Place. Architecturally one of the most splendid temples of India, Delhi Lotus Temple is called so because it is built in the shape of a Lotus flower. The temple got completed in the year 1986 and rises to a height of more than 40 m. Located on Bahapur Hills, it is the seventh and the latest Baha'i houses of worship in the world. Bahai Temple of New Delhi is a white marble monument designed like a half-opened lotus.
Twenty-seven giant lotus petals of white marble spring out from nine pools and walkways of the temple. These walkways represent the nine unifying spiritual paths of the Baha'i faith. Exquisitely manicured lawns surround the building of the Lotus Temple. Silence is a prerequisite inside the New Delhi Lotus Temple. Also, one needs to take off the shoes while entering inside. Made up of marble, cement, sand and dolomite, this temple is often equated with the Sydney Opera House. Baha'i Temple in Delhi is often compared to the Sydney Opera House.
There is a simple, but outstanding high central hall in the temple where people sit and meditate. Petal alcoves of the temple are inscribed with stimulating quotes of the Baha'i sacred scriptures. Though the temple belongs to the Baha'i sect, it is open to people of each and every faith. The Baha'i religion, an independent one, places great importance on prayer and meditation as instruments for the progress of the human soul. Committed to the oneness of all religions and mankind, it traces its origins to its prophet Baha'u'llah, born in Persia in the 20th century.
Having visited the temple team came back to Medows to prepare for next day conference at an Indian Chamber of Commerce at Kolkata.
Historical sites in Agra India
Peace process can be fostered and augmented through people to people contact (Stated by Ms Musarat Qadeem) Executive Director Paiman Trust.
In respect of our Pakistani delegation an overwhelming reception by an Indian Media and the management of Heritage Institute of Hotel & Tourism at Agra happened. The second day of an August-2010 was planned to attend press conference at Agra to do a meaningful and positive advocacy through media so that a process of bringing peace and solidarity between India and Pakistan.
The plenary was organized, in which some senior journalists attended the session and reflected over the positive relationship of Pakistani and Indian media over the current status of information sharing at mass level. Positive media is the only solution to bring awareness regarding a variety of activities of both the countries in a very productive manner. It was agreed that, many things are similar and common between these two neighbors and the new generation of both the countries respects each other and values an Asian culture and civilization.
Mr. Siraj Qureshi, Chief Correspondent (The Indian Express) seconded Ms. Qadeem about her move of having interaction of both the countries at people to people level so that differences, if there are any persistent at countries’ level could be addressed for confidence building and positive reinforcement. He reiterated about the role of media must be respected and in other hand media should understand and promote the atmosphere of information sharing and to be able to bring and depict the real picture of fact findings before the mass.
Later, team decided to visit Taj Mahal which was quite near to Heritage Institute of Hotel and Tourism. One of the wonders in the world is located in Agra city in the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is quite close to the national capital, New Delhi. It was built by Emperor Shah Jahan in the loving memory of his wife Mumtaz Mahal. Shahjahan was the fifth of the Mogul rulers and Mumtaz Mahal was his second wife. She was the daughter of the Prime Minister in Shah Jahan's father, Jahangir's court. Shah Jahan was deeply in love with his lady and took her along wherever he went. She died at a tender age of 39 during one such expedition of the emperor in 1630. It is believed that in her dying moments, Mumtaz Mahal had expressed a wish of a monument to be built in her memory. Devastated with grief at the loss of his dear wife, the emperor decided to commemorate his love for her in the most wonderful structure the world has ever seen.
A manuscript called, the 'Diwan-i-Muhandis' dating back to to the 17th century brings forth the name of its architect. It was a Persian engineer cum astrologer named Ustad Ahmad, a resident of Lahore, who designed the Taj Mahal. It is said that the king grieved for two years, spent most of his time secluded and alone in agony. His son, Aurangzeb, who assumed the Mogul throne, imprisoned him in the Agra Fort from where he could see the splendid structure. He passed away during this sojourn, with the Taj Mahal in front of him. It houses the tombs of Mumtaz Mahal and the Emperor Shah Jahan, who wished to be laid to rest besides his beloved wife.
Having visited Taj Mahal, we managed to visit Agra Forte which was also on the way back to Delhi.
The brief history of is associated with Akbar, king at 14, began consolidating his empire and, as an assertion of his power built the fort in Agra between 1565 and 1571, coeval with the construction of Humayun's tomb in Delhi. The Agra fort retains the irregular outline of the demolished mud-wall fort of the Lodis. The lofty battlements o the new fort cast its protective shadow over the far stretching mansions of court that nobles and princes built along the riverfront. The magnificent towers, bastions and ramparts and majestic gateways symbolized the confidence and power of the third Mughal emperor, Akbar.
The fort contains splendid palaces both in red sandstone and white marble built by two generations of prolific builders Akbar and later Jehangir and Shahjahan.
The fort is encircled by a fetid moat. The lofty battlements of the Agra fort cast its protective shadow over the far stretching mansions of nobles and princes built along the riverfront. The magnificent towers, bastions and ramparts and majestic gateways symbolized the confidence and power of the third Mughal emperor.
The fort contains splendid palaces both in red sandstone and white marble built by two generations of prolific builders, Akbar and later on by Jahangir and Shahjahan. Of the nearly Akbari buildings built in the Bengal and Gujarati traditions, only a few have survived, arrayed in a band on the riverfront.
The evening time was full of home work assignments for another day to begun with tremendous expectations by team to learn from the speakers.
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Historical places in Delhi
Once again Sunday was really a welcoming day for all of us by a morning rain, we in a team of three people Mr. Shafqat Ali Chaudhary, Mr. Asfandyar Khan and I headed towards Hamyoon tomb in Delhi which is hardly 30 kms away from our Meadow residence in Fareedabad.
We took an auto Rikshah that, one can easily hire with an actual charge in rupees according to a meter fixed inside.
We dropped in by auto nearby to Humuyan’s tomb, the tickets were purchased from archeological and tourism department that enabled us to get inside the area of tomb, the area is quite huge and capacious, in which lawns and parks are developed by Agha Khan Trust in-collaboration with Indian tourism department.
A brief history of Humyan’s tomb is quite fascinating as the building of the Humayun's Tomb was encouraged from the tomb of the Persian Mongol ruler, Oljeytu, at Sultaniyya. It is complex structure but has its own charm and grandeur. Thousands of travellers from all over the world visit the Humayun's Tomb every year and every day.
You can site Humayun's Tomb in Nizamuddin East in Delhi. Located conveniently at the banks of Yamuna, this tomb is major attraction among the tourists. Counted among one of the must visit monuments Humayun’s Tomb in Delhi was built by his beloved wife Hamida Banu Begam. Its construction work started in the year of 1569, which is fourteen years after the death of Humayun. It took about eight long years for the tomb to be completed.
This tomb is one of the most beautiful monuments in Delhi. Humayun's Tomb, Delhi depicts the true Mughal style of architecture, which was inspired from the Persian style of architecture. It was also recognized as the World Heritage Site by UNESCO because of the brilliant architectural beauty. It involved about 15 lakh rupees for the construction of the Humayun's Tomb in Delhi.
The tomb is surrounded by beautiful lush Mughal garden. The garden is divided into four parts by pathways. This is typical of all Mughal gardens. The various water channels for the fountains make this tomb a true architectural delight.
Inside the Humayun's Tomb, you can find various architectural features, which makes this tomb a truly grand structure. You can find baradari (pavilion) and a hammam (bath chamber) inside the tomb. Built of red sandstone, the dome of the tomb is made up of sparkling white marble. The octagonal chamber within comprise the tomb of Humayun.
After visiting Humyun tomb we moved towards Al Karim Hotel located at Khawaja Nizamudin’s shrine vicinity, this is of one those hotels series which is known by its quality and taste in India.
Following the time constraint in mind we moved towards one of the other historical sites of India by hiring an auto as usual.
A Qutub Minar: The Tallest Monument
The tall and ever attractive monument of Delhi which can be seen from most parts of the city is called the Qutab Minar. Every body has the same question when one sees the structure for the first time. The question that is often being put up is "Why the monument is that big?" or "Was there any specific reason to build such a tall building or it was just a wish of the person who built it?" Well, the exact reason is assumed to have something related to commemorating the victory. Mughals used to build victory towers to proclaim and celebrate victories. Some say the minaret was used to offer prayer but it is so tall that you can hear the person standing on the top. Also, the minaret is not joined on to Qutuddin's mosque and the Iltutmish's mosque.
Qutab Minar is among the tallest and famous towers in the world. When Alauddin returned from the wars in the Deccan, he had this thought in mind that he would build a victory tower. The ruins of this very initiative can be seen adjacent to the Qutbuddin's mosque because Alauddin died at the very start of the construction work and no one carried on to finish the initiative taken by Alauddin.
Qutab Minar is another great masterpiece of Mughal architecture. It has a number of floors or storeys which has beautiful carvings like the one on the tomb of Iltutmish. There are inscriptions all round the tower and these inscriptions reveal that Iltutmish finished the tower. The structure of the wall is made as such that it widens from top to bottom, just to make the minar stronger.
The top of the tower gives an insight to Delhi because you get to see the bird's eye view of the city. To point a few sight seeing from the top, you will find views of the Hauz Khaz on the left and the walls of the Jahanpanah and Siri on the right. It was this very top of Qutab Minar that was used by Khilji and Tughlaq kings to watch the wild Mongol hordes when they threatened Delhi.
The Minar did receive some damage because of earthquakes on more than a couple of occasions but was reinstated and renovated by the respective rulers. During the rule of Firoz Shah, the minar's two top floors got damaged due to earthquake but were repaired by Firoz Shah. In the year 1505, earthquake again struck and it was repaired by Sikandar Lodi. Later on in the year 1794, the minar faced another earthquake and it was Major Smith, an engineer who repaired the affected parts of the minar. Great number of foreigners are coming to visit this site as it is literally amazing and extraordinary work of engineers of that time.
Our visit came to end as the sun was going down to complement visitors to come to visit Minar at evening time. On the way back home we had stop over at some where near to bus stop in Badarpur, a small boy Arjun was selling maze. We bought cooked maze from him and tried to know why he is doing this job in a very small age. On this question, he said that his whole family relies on him to earn bread for them. Again, I tried to know how much he earns daily; he said some times 100 and some time less than this amount. He goes to school in morning and then sales maze at bus stop. In India there, a quite great number of children associated with child labour and struggling very hard to sustain their families for years to come.
We took an auto Rikshah that, one can easily hire with an actual charge in rupees according to a meter fixed inside.
We dropped in by auto nearby to Humuyan’s tomb, the tickets were purchased from archeological and tourism department that enabled us to get inside the area of tomb, the area is quite huge and capacious, in which lawns and parks are developed by Agha Khan Trust in-collaboration with Indian tourism department.
A brief history of Humyan’s tomb is quite fascinating as the building of the Humayun's Tomb was encouraged from the tomb of the Persian Mongol ruler, Oljeytu, at Sultaniyya. It is complex structure but has its own charm and grandeur. Thousands of travellers from all over the world visit the Humayun's Tomb every year and every day.
You can site Humayun's Tomb in Nizamuddin East in Delhi. Located conveniently at the banks of Yamuna, this tomb is major attraction among the tourists. Counted among one of the must visit monuments Humayun’s Tomb in Delhi was built by his beloved wife Hamida Banu Begam. Its construction work started in the year of 1569, which is fourteen years after the death of Humayun. It took about eight long years for the tomb to be completed.
This tomb is one of the most beautiful monuments in Delhi. Humayun's Tomb, Delhi depicts the true Mughal style of architecture, which was inspired from the Persian style of architecture. It was also recognized as the World Heritage Site by UNESCO because of the brilliant architectural beauty. It involved about 15 lakh rupees for the construction of the Humayun's Tomb in Delhi.
The tomb is surrounded by beautiful lush Mughal garden. The garden is divided into four parts by pathways. This is typical of all Mughal gardens. The various water channels for the fountains make this tomb a true architectural delight.
Inside the Humayun's Tomb, you can find various architectural features, which makes this tomb a truly grand structure. You can find baradari (pavilion) and a hammam (bath chamber) inside the tomb. Built of red sandstone, the dome of the tomb is made up of sparkling white marble. The octagonal chamber within comprise the tomb of Humayun.
After visiting Humyun tomb we moved towards Al Karim Hotel located at Khawaja Nizamudin’s shrine vicinity, this is of one those hotels series which is known by its quality and taste in India.
Following the time constraint in mind we moved towards one of the other historical sites of India by hiring an auto as usual.
A Qutub Minar: The Tallest Monument
The tall and ever attractive monument of Delhi which can be seen from most parts of the city is called the Qutab Minar. Every body has the same question when one sees the structure for the first time. The question that is often being put up is "Why the monument is that big?" or "Was there any specific reason to build such a tall building or it was just a wish of the person who built it?" Well, the exact reason is assumed to have something related to commemorating the victory. Mughals used to build victory towers to proclaim and celebrate victories. Some say the minaret was used to offer prayer but it is so tall that you can hear the person standing on the top. Also, the minaret is not joined on to Qutuddin's mosque and the Iltutmish's mosque.
Qutab Minar is among the tallest and famous towers in the world. When Alauddin returned from the wars in the Deccan, he had this thought in mind that he would build a victory tower. The ruins of this very initiative can be seen adjacent to the Qutbuddin's mosque because Alauddin died at the very start of the construction work and no one carried on to finish the initiative taken by Alauddin.
Qutab Minar is another great masterpiece of Mughal architecture. It has a number of floors or storeys which has beautiful carvings like the one on the tomb of Iltutmish. There are inscriptions all round the tower and these inscriptions reveal that Iltutmish finished the tower. The structure of the wall is made as such that it widens from top to bottom, just to make the minar stronger.
The top of the tower gives an insight to Delhi because you get to see the bird's eye view of the city. To point a few sight seeing from the top, you will find views of the Hauz Khaz on the left and the walls of the Jahanpanah and Siri on the right. It was this very top of Qutab Minar that was used by Khilji and Tughlaq kings to watch the wild Mongol hordes when they threatened Delhi.
The Minar did receive some damage because of earthquakes on more than a couple of occasions but was reinstated and renovated by the respective rulers. During the rule of Firoz Shah, the minar's two top floors got damaged due to earthquake but were repaired by Firoz Shah. In the year 1505, earthquake again struck and it was repaired by Sikandar Lodi. Later on in the year 1794, the minar faced another earthquake and it was Major Smith, an engineer who repaired the affected parts of the minar. Great number of foreigners are coming to visit this site as it is literally amazing and extraordinary work of engineers of that time.
Our visit came to end as the sun was going down to complement visitors to come to visit Minar at evening time. On the way back home we had stop over at some where near to bus stop in Badarpur, a small boy Arjun was selling maze. We bought cooked maze from him and tried to know why he is doing this job in a very small age. On this question, he said that his whole family relies on him to earn bread for them. Again, I tried to know how much he earns daily; he said some times 100 and some time less than this amount. He goes to school in morning and then sales maze at bus stop. In India there, a quite great number of children associated with child labour and struggling very hard to sustain their families for years to come.
Saturday, July 31, 2010
DELHI SIGHTSEEING
We had an announcement on 30th July-2010 that Sat day and Sunday will be off from in house training sessions and all the teams would have educational and historical sightseeing.
The day begun with heavy rain in Faridabad and Delhi peripheries, however the bus headed towards Lal Qilah slowly.
We all came to Lal Fort and had quick visit of this historical place.
The Red Fort in urdu: لال قلعہ , usually transcribed into English as Lal Qil'ah or Lal Qila) is a 17th century fort complex constructed by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in the walled city of Old Delhi (in present day Delhi, India). It served as the capital of the Mughals until 1857, when Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar was exiled by the British Indian government. The British used it as a military camp until India was made independent in 1947. It is now a popular tourist site, as well as a powerful symbol of India's sovereignty: the Prime Minister of India raises the flag of India on the ramparts of the Lahori Gate of the fort complex every year on Independence Day.
Having finished the visit at Lal Qila, the team was divided in some groups so that sightseeing could be prioritized with consensus.
We in a team Mr. Shafqat Chaudhary and I headed towards a holy place of Sultan-ul-Mashaikh, Mehboob-e-Ilahi, Hazrat Shaikh Khwaja Syed Muhammad Nizamuddin Auliya (1238 - 3 April 1325) (Urdu: حضرت شیخ خواجة سیّد محمد نظام الدّین اولیاء) shrine, also known as Hazrat Nizamuddin, who was a famous Sufi saint of the Chishti order in South Asia, an order that believed in drawing close to God through renunciation of the world and service to humanity. He is one of the great saints of the Chishti order in India. His predecessors were Moinuddin Chishti, Bakhtiyar Kaki and Fariduddin Ganjshakar. In that sequence, they constitute the initial spiritual chain or silsila of the Chisti order, which is widely prevalent in India and Pakistan.
Nizamuddin Auliya like his predecessors stressed upon the element of love as a means of realisation of God. For him his love of God implied a love of humanity. His vision of the world was marked by a highly evolved sense of secularity and kindness. It is claimed by the 14th century historiographer Ziauddin Barani that his influence on the Muslims of Delhi was such that a paradigm shift was effected in their outlook towards worldly matters. People began to be inclined towards mysticism and prayers and remaining aloof from the world.
Then we both moved towards the shrine of Ameer Khusrau Dehlavi (1253-1325 AD), a prolific classical poet associated with royal courts of more than seven rulers of Delhi Sultanate, is also a household name in much of North India and Pakistan, through hundreds of playful riddles, songs and legends attributed to him. Through his enormous literary output and the legendary folk personality, Khusrau represents one of the first (recorded) Indian personages with a true multi-cultural or pluralistic identity.
Without loosing time, we both rushed to visit Mirza Ghalib's Tomb in Delhi whose real name is Mirza Asadullah Khan Ghalib, the legendary Urdu poet of Delhi, buried under it. The tomb in Delhi was designed by the famous architect of Hyderabad, Nawab Jang Bahadur. Located in Nizamuddin area, this tomb lies next to Hazrat Nizamuddin's Mazaar and north of the enclosure of Chaunsath Khamba. An academy was established nearby later in 1969 to perpetuate his memory and works. The greatest Urdu poet of the nineteenth century, he was a great writer of ghazals and a friend of the Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah 'Zafar' . He was also appointed as the teacher of Bahadur Shah II.
The grave in Mirza Ghalib's Tomb in Delhi is covered by a small marble structure and enclosed within a compound wall.
The courtyard, which surrounds the grave in Mirza Ghalib's Tomb in Delhi, is always locked. Guess why? So that gate-crashers and intruders can be kept away from the serene and pure ambience of the place.
After visiting the tomb of Mirza Ghalib we both Shafqat and I planned to have food some where nearby to Delhi Jamia Masjid preferably Al Karim Hotel. Finally we were able to reach at AlKarim Hotel and had delicious food and then headed towards red temple called as Shri Digambar Jain Lal Mandir which is an oldest and best known Jain temple in Delhi India. It is directly across from the Laal Quila in the historical Chandni Chowk area.
It is known for an avian veterinary hospital (bird hospital) in a second building behind the main temple.
Located just opposite the massive Red Fort at the intersection of Netaji Subhas Marg and Chandni Chowk, Digambar, Jain Temple is the oldest temple of the Jain religion in the capital, originally built in 1656. An impressive red sandstone temple today (the temple has undergone many alterations and additions in the past and was enlarged in the early 19th century), the Digambar Jain Temple is popularly known as Lal Mandir.
After visiting Lal Mandir we both came back to Meadow, Global school of management hostel.
Training sessions and sightseeing in Delhi
The day started with a lecture program of Mr. Najmul Hassan (Assistant Professor) NIILM-Centre for management studies Dehli Fareedabad India, on Islamic Microfinance.
Mr. Hassan said that, the concept of Islamic microfinance emerged in late 1990 after Islamic banking system across Islamic countries of south Asia.
Religion influences on development, hence all the bankers thought to have complete economic code of Islamic microfinance to support the Muslim marginalized communities.
Mr. Hassan, quoted the example of village banking in Seria which happened to be the successful model, whereas in Yaman this concept couldn’t work, because in microfinance, an idea of giving back the credit money (capital) with an agreed interest is an illegitimate/Haram in Islam.
In India there are some examples of microfinance that has helped some people to upgrade the cooperative standards i.e Amul dairy products is one of the tangible instances.
In charity, the recipient of (Khairat) never thinks that the money received by him/her is non returnable, as it is legitimate in Islam for certain poor class. While Zakat can be given to those even if they are not Muslims.
In Iran an example of Karze Hasna is some thing that can be taken by some one who deserves and registered recipient with bank.
Mr. Hassan clarified that Ulmas the (Scholars) of Islam are seriously thinking about the microfinance structure and its very basic concept of helping poor, however risk analysis in this concept is very important before disbursing microfinance.
After tea break the other session was facilitated by Dr. Alka Srivastava (Micro Finance consultant), She is the one who has worked very hard to organize women groups in Andhra Pardesh, in which some (Women Empowerment Models) can be the example for other countries too; as some women groups launched quite wonderful and effective wine quit movements for their male counter parts and they succeed it. In some villages where teachers were not coming to attend schools, these women groups helped support the process of participation and had some meaningful protests for the restoration of closed schools and finally the Government people in power accepted their concerns and transferred the teachers to those schools where the teacher was desperately needed. Dr. Srivastava, firmly believes that until unless civil society is not going to help the Government in the process of fact finding and issue identification, we as nation can’t achieve our stipulated results for the holistic development process of any country in the world.
She emphasized on the fair and transparent process of credit disbursement so that, from the day one community should start thinking that the money they get is not meant for charity purpose but this is some thing through which an idea of earning and enterprise is achieved meticulously. Dr. Srivastava, shared her experiences of life that there is a huge difference in consumption and production characteristics hence one has to catalyze the whole idea of enterprise development, so as to achieve an ultimate social empowerment of women through micro finance practicalities as this is one of the tools for social empowerment of women who are deep rooted in society.
The second half of the day was planned to visit Jamia Masjid Delhi where all the males had to perform Juma prayers and to eat food at Al Karim Hotel near by Jamia Masjid.
The Masjid-i Jahān-Numā (Persian: مسجد جھان نما, the 'World-reflecting Mosque'), commonly known as the Jama Masjid of Delhi, is the principal mosque of Old Delhi in India. Commissioned by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan, builder of the Taj Mahal, and completed in the year 1656 AD, it is the largest and best-known mosque in India. It lies at the origin of a very busy central street of Old Delhi, Chandni Chowk.
The later name, Jama Masjid, is a reference to the weekly Friday noon congregation prayers of Muslims, Jummah, which are usually done at a mosque, the "congregational mosque" or "jāmi' masjid". The courtyard of the mosque can hold up to twenty-five thousand worshippers. The mosque also houses several relics in a closet in the north gate, including an antique copy of the Qur'an written on deer skin.
Having visited and performed Namaz, we in team of four people Mr. Shafqat Chaudhary, Mr. Mohsin, Mr. Arshad and I, left for another historical place of worship by Sikhs since last many centuries known as GURUDWARA SISGANG which is hardly 2 kilometres away from Jamia Majid. This is place where one can imagine a religious unity and strength of Sikhs.
So by that way the day ended up with great learning, joy and fun by all the team members.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)