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Sir Syed Lecture by M J Akbar
AMU News
Noted journalist Mr. M.J. Akbar said that India is most likely to
become a modern nation because all the four pillars of modernity
through Democracy, adult franchise, secularism, in which every faith
is equal before the law, gender equality, and economic equality
through economic opportunity are the driving forces of progress. He
felt that the poverty is the sustaining element of naxalites in the
country and this factor may become an inhibiting factor of modernity,
he observed. Recall what Sir Syed said in his letter from England when
he saw the maid reading a popular economic equality: as long as have
poverty, as long as we naxalites picking up gun because the poor have
not had enough to each, we Indian cannot overseas a modern India.
Mr. M.J. Akbar was delivering Sir Syed Memorial lecture on "Muslims
and Modernity ? Relevance of Sir Syed in 2010" organized by Sir Syed
Academy at Kennedy Auditorium, Aligarh Muslim University Aligarh.
Mr. Akbar said that the last two centuries, both Mughal and Othman
also failed to democratize the educational system and ignored the new
technologies like printing.
Mr. Akbar pointed out that one of the great man of his time, Sir Syed
Ahmad Khan was so depressed by the events of 1857 that he contemplated
settling down in Egypt. But he dismissed exile as cowardice and turned
to programme of reform and education for Muslims, urging them to
acquire the intellectual merits that had made the British victors and
modern scientific temperament and versatility in the English language.
This would restore the glory they had lost with the decline of Mughal
power.
He mentioned that Sir Syed's life was devoted to lifting Indian
Muslims out of what he described, a "fatal shroud of complacent
self-esteem".
Mr. Akbar highlighted the role of Sir Syed for propagating female
education and said that Sir Syed was far ahead of his age in demanding
education for girls. In 1869, he visited England to admit his son at
Cambridge and study the people he so admired. He mentions a young
girl, Elizabeth Mathews, a maid in the house where he was living. In
spite of her poverty, he notes, she would buy a half penny paper
called ?Echo? and would delight in reading punch it she chanced upon a
copy and Sir Syed wrote ?The Muslims have nothing to fear from
adoption of the new education if they simultaneously hold stead fast
to their faith, because Islam is not irrational superstition, it is a
rational religion which can march hand in hand, with the growth of
human knowledge'. Akbar said that Sir Syed promoted learning as well
as inculcate "national hood".
Highlighting the role of Ulema, Akbar mentioned that the Ulema have
always had a special place in Muslim societies, not merely as leaders
of prayer but as judicial and educational bureaucracy. The Indian
clergy energized despondent Muslims across the subcontinent, between
1825 and 1870, what is best described as a people?s war. By the time
this insurrection was defeated, it had planted seeds of a fierce
anti-west, anti- colonial sentiment that prepared the community for
the nationalist movement lead by Gandhi. Gandhi reorganized his
allies, and wooed Muslims through the Ulema, he added.
On the issue of Muslim reservation, Mr. Akbar pointed out that a
curious paradox has overtaken our policies, as Muslims because the
most decisive factor in the election of alliance governments, Muslims
in Parliament are coming down because the parties have created fear to
win their votes. They feed Indian Muslims fear in order to herd them
in one direction at polling booth. Muslims will get justice and
development when they vote for development. If they vote for fear they
will get fear. But we have a great opportunity in secularism and
democracy. We must seize the future that has been promised to us by
the Indian civilization that in both the starting point and the
horizon and with fullest criticism, the future is far bright than the
last two hundred years, he opined.
In his presidential address, Professor, P K Abdul Azis urged the
students to come forward to discuss the issues before the nation.
Prof. Azis said that education is the tool of empowerment and students
take the advantages of job. He also said that AMU is on expansion mode
and the University has received more than 800 acres of land in
different parts of the country. He said that we should be become
meaning player in nation building.
In his welcome address, Professor Shan Mohammad, Director, Sir Syed
Academy said that since the inception of Sir Syed Academy in 1974, AMU
institutes a Sir Syed Memorial Lecture almost every year under the
auspices of the Sir Syed Academy. He said that noted scholars like Dr.
Tara Chand, Dr. Rafiq Zakaria, Mr. B.N. Pandey, Mr. Sidharth Shankar
Roy, Kuldeep Nayyar, Abid Husain, Prof. AM Khusroo and Shayam Bengal
have delivered the Sir Syed Memorial Lecture in the part.
AMU Registrar, Prof. VK Abdul Jaleel proposed a vote of thank.
On the occasion four books ? Sir Syed's Review as Hunder's India
Musalmans, Safarnama Musafiran-e-London edited by Ismail Panipati,
Safarnama Punjab edited by Prof. Iqbal Ali and Sirat-e-Faridia by Sir
Syed Ahmad Khan were released.
- Read the Lecture delivered by M J Akbar at
Aligarh Muslim University
Govt is most guilty of the malaise of paid news: Akbar
Indiantelevision.com
Team
(17 March 2010)
MUMBAI: Senior editor M J Akbar today said the entire agitation
against paid news was misplaced since the media was the greatest
beneficiary of doles given out by the government.
Speaking at Ficci Frames 2010 here, he said "the biggest purchaser of
news and credibility is the government."
Noting that the so-called control of content by advertisers was the
least of concerns before the media, he said mediapersons were
recipients of advantages like housing and government advertising in
newspaper.
Furthermore, the biggest power in the media was the Board Room in the
sense that content was often decided according to the business
interests of the media group.
Speaking on ‘Content is king, but who dictates it – advertising,
consumer taste or editorial policy’, he said the real problems for
newspapers were created by the creators. This was because the biggest
asset that present-day journalists and particularly managements in
newspapers had was ego-mania and not news. There was very little truth
in the maxim that the consumer was king and the news was in keeping
with what he wanted to see or read.
He said the editors of newspapers in the fifties or sixties were more
like editorial writers and did not interfere in the news – ‘in fact,
they hardly ever came into the newsroom. But this changed in the
seventies and particularly when the television news came in a large
way.
But he said the editor as dictator could not survive for long, but nor
could the consumer become dictator. And, therefore, the Board Room
took over.
Referring to the advent of new technologies, he said the Internet
could not be blamed for the downfall of television or newspaper. Every
medium has its advantages or disadvantages. For example, he said a
consumer could not carry a TV or personal computer around all the time
the way a newspaper could be carried, and so the print media would
remain supreme.
The Internet began dominating in the west because the newspapers were
denied the democratic right to choose their news, unlike India where
the newspaper has always had greater credibility with the reader.
Reservation is our right not alms: M. J. Akbar
By
TCN News
Hyderabad: “Muslim should not beg alms from government but also should
not hesitate to ask for their rights. To get reservation is our right.
When other backward and deprived people are given security and all
kinds of facilities then why not Muslims? Muslims who have ruled India
for centuries are now losing their self-confidence” said noted
journalist and columnist Mr. Mobasshir Javed (M.J.) Akbar.
He was delivering his extension lecture on ‘Challenges and
opportunities for Urdu Media in 21st century’ at Maulana Azad National
Urdu University, Hyderabad(MANUU) yesterday.
“Educational institutions and Universities like MANUU and teachers and
professors can change the situation of Indian Muslims and not
politicians. Urdu is so sweet language that has capacity to be
familiar with any other language. Therefore, It is used in many other
languages” he added.
He has advised students of journalism not to do journalism for panic
and appeasement but adopt journalism for downtrodden Muslims.
On the occasion, he also released a journal ‘Izhaer’ from the students
of Faculty of Mass Communication and Journalism.
Regretting on hijab issue he said: “It is very tough time in the
history of civilization in which to cover head is being termed as
backwardness while nudity and nakedness are considered as sign of
progress. Modernization means political equality, secularism and
gender equality and these all things are part and parcel of Islamic
teachings”
He welcomed the announcement 10% reservation for Muslims in West
Bengal and said that if government is sincere in the matter, it will
do it with appropriate cogent reasons otherwise it will be rejected by
court.
Earlier, giving brief introduction of guest-M.J. Akbar-, Vice
Chancellor K.R Iqbal Ahmad has informed the audiences that M.J. Aakbar
has nodded to be visiting professor for faculty of Dispatch and
Journalism.
Program was attended by students, teaching and non-teaching staffs of
the University and dignitaries of the city including ex-Minister of
state Mr. Bashiruddin, Professor Baig Ihsas, Mr. Aslam Farshuri and
senior journalist Mr. Naseem Arfi.
Later he was given memento by the Old Boy Association (OBA) of MANUU.
Office bearers of OBA welcomed the decision of M.J. Akbar to be
visiting professor of the University and hoped that it would bring
good result for the MANUU students.
Some Pens are Sharp - They can cut borders
India and Pakistan often relate to each other through a whole spectrum
of words. And while these exchanges only pose more questions, they
also leave us with one. Is there an answer at all?
Find out with
M J Akbar
and
Zahid Hussain
in
"Reality vs.
Rhetoric"
A stimulating discussion on whether the writing emanating from India
and Pakistan has stoked mistrust and hostility between neighbours.
On January 29th at the Amphitheatre, India Habitat Center, 6.30 p.m.
To register for the session, sms akadel to 58888
(sources: Times of India -
Aman Ki Asha: Peace with Pakistan. Give tomorrow a Chance)
Breaking the ice
Ronojoy Sen, 31 January 2010
Times of India
It was on an unusually balmy January evening — perhaps a reflection of
the warmth generated by Aman ki Asha initiative jointly launched by
TOI and Brainstorming session: MJ Akbar and Zahid Hussain kicked off
the Aman ki Asha literary exchange festival in New Delhi.
Jang — that two of the best-known journalists from India and Pakistan
and author of several books,
Zahid Hussain and MJ Akbar,
engaged in a dialogue on how to take peace between the two countries
forward at a very difficult time.
Hussain set the ball rolling when he strongly backed people-to-people
initiatives by saying, "The ice has been broken, and dialogue has
started at some level. This kind of interaction will help in improving
the atmosphere. It's important at this point of time to understand
each other." He felt that things had started improving in 2002 after
the then prime minister A B Vajpayee had met President Pervez
Musharraf, but 26/11 had left a huge hole in Indo-Pak relations.
"In this kind of situation there is a need for rational understanding.
Its good that we haven't gone back to a situation where there is a
military stand-off," he said.
Hussain, however, warned that there were huge misperceptions and gaps
in understanding, which had been accentuated by lack of dialogue. "If
we want to move towards peace and better relations, there has to be
dialogue. When we stop talking to each other there is no hope," he
said.
Akbar
raised a
fundamental question:
"How do you
define peace? If peace means an absence of formal war then India and
Pakistan are at peace. But clearly that's an inadequate definition of
peace. We know it in our instincts."
But he felt
there was one reason for optimism.
"The peace
constituency has grown. If we look at the history of the peace
movement between India and Pakistan, it was occupied by people who
were either idealists or do-gooders or regional romantics. That is not
simply enough to be a solution. The real reason for optimism is that
the peace constituency is now occupied by realists. This is an
important fact and this I hope is true in Pakistan as well,"
he said.
-
Read More
Ram Jethmalani
A Special Welcome to Our New Chairman of the Board
Ram Jethmalani was born with a silver mind in his
mouth: he was only 18, three years short of the statutory requirement,
when, in 1942, the Bar Council of Sind and the Chief Justice of the
Karachi High Court gave him special leave to appear. He was a success
story at the starting line; today, 67 years later, he remains
nonpareil in the sophisticated world of law. But Ram Jethmalani has
ascended from a mere hall of forensic fame towards the portals of
adulation through a unanimous verdict in the court of public opinion.
History is full of men who have become famous by providing a few
answers; Ram has protected the credibility of our democracy by asking
the right questions. Nor did he limit them to just a few.
Questions are bread and water of journalism. It is our privilege to
welcome him to our publication as the new Chairman of the Board. He
says that he is interested in working on just three more cases, but
somehow one doubts that he will be able to escape those who need his
skills in the courts. What is more important to us is that he will
give his time and knowledge to help us grow from a covert root to a
flourishing tree.
- www.covertmagazine.com
Ram Jethmalani Joins M.J. Akbar’s Covert
Magazine As Chairman Of The Board
Prominent lawyer Ram Jethmalani has joined Covert
magazine as the chairman of the board of directors. The magazine is
promoted and edited by M.J. Akbar, one of India’s best known editors.
The fortnightly was launched in May 2008, shortly after Akbar left The
Asian Age, a paper he founded, under controversial circumstances.
Akbar confirmed the development. “It’s a welcome development and a
prelude to our growth.”
When asked about the magazine’s expansion plans, Akbar said Covert is
looking to expand, especially in the National Capital Region. “Having
established our base and credibility, we are indeed gearing up for
expansion, especially in Delhi and NCR,” he said.
Akbar declined to discuss details about the magazine’s sales growth or
revenues and wouldn’t say if it was in the process of raising money.
“You shall see what you shall see,” he said.
-
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