All India Workers’ Training Camp, Raipur (Chhattisgarh)

MUSLIM RASHTRIYA MANCH (MRM)

All India Workers’ Training Camp, Raipur (Chhattisgarh) June 5 to 7, 2009
A Report

The Second All India Workers’ Training Camp of Muslim Rashtriya Manch (MRM) was organized at Shri Chhapru Panchayat Bhavan, Raipur, Chhattisgarh, from June 5 to 7, 2009. The first camp was held at New Delhi in 2007. The Raipur camp was attended by warkers of MRM coming from 15 states of India.


It may be noted that the Muslim Rashtriya Manch has completed six years of its fruitful existence and has been successful in spreading its work in over 135 districts in 22 states of India under the able guidance and leadership of Sri Indresh Kumar, Sri Mohd. Afjal, Sri Salabat Khan, Sri Tanveer Ahmed and others.

Looking at the spread of the organization the need for creating better workers was felt and with this view the first training camp was held in New Delhi in 2007 in which nearly 100 workers had participated. The second such camp was organized at Raipur. The stress was on inculcating skills and values required for building an organizational network throughout the country among the Muslims. Chairman of Chhattisgarh Madarsa Board and Haj Committee, Dr Salim Raj was the person who shouldered all the responsibility of the host. He was assisted by Advocate Mustafa Khan, a full time worker of MRM. Both Dr Salim Raj and Adv Mustafa Khan are associated with the MRM from its launching.

The number of participants from various states is as follows:

J & K – 11, Himachal Pradesh- 1, Punjab- 6, Delhi- 22, Uttarakhand- 10, Uttar Pradesh – 24, Bihar- 11, West Bengal- 5, Andhra Pradesh- 1, Maharashtra- 7, Gujarat- 16, Chhattisgrah- 23, Madhya Pradesh- 8, Rajasthan- 14. (Total- 159 from 14 states).
For the first time there was representation from Muslim students and women. 22 students from Jamia Milia Islamia and Delhi University and Lucknow University participated while 19 women from Delhi, Bihar, UP and Bihar attended the training camp.

Addressing the inaugural session of the camp Sri Indresh Kumar stressed the origin and progress of the Manch. He said that during an Id Milan program held on December 24, 2002 at Bapu Dham, Chanakyapuri, New Delhi, a fruitful interaction took place between top RSS leaders and Muslim representatives and there this idea of launching a forum for the Muslims was conceived. The then RSS Sarsanghchalak Sri Sudarshan, Maulana Jamil Iliyasi, Maulana Wahiduddin Khan, Sardar Tarlochan Singh, Sushama Swaraj, Mufti Muqurram of Fatehpuri Mosque, Indresh Kumar besides 200-250 Muslims and equal number of Hindus participated in that Id Milan program and discussed the idea of MRM. Now this movement has spread to 22 states and around 150 districts in India. Therefore December 24, 2002 is the foundation day of MRM.

What this movement has achieved so far? Indresh Kumar said that we had decided that we will help each other, look at the best qualities in others and greet each one with ‘Jai Hind’. We also decided that there would be an open dialogue between the different sections of the society. The movement had given four programs like ‘Salam 1857’ which saw organization of over 2500 programs all over the country in 2007 corresponding the 150th anniversary of 1857 War of Independence. The last program was held at Meerut on May 10, 2007 in which 4-5,000 Muslims had participated from all over the country; they lit candles in memory of the martyrs and paid their tributes to them. The MRM demanded that life sketches of all the martyrs be included into the school curricula all over the country so that the upcoming generations would draw inspiration from them.

The MRM also gave a clarion call to stop slaughter of cow and its progeny which forms the basis of agriculture-based economy. The MRM activists collected 5 lakh signatures of Muslims from all provinces and when delegation of MRM met the Vice-President Hamid Ansari and submitted its demand for banning the cow slaughter, he said that he had no objection in getting the law passed by the government, but the demand should come at least from 15 lakh Muslims of the country. The MRM immediately accepted the challenge and promised that they would bring 15 lakh signatures to the government soon. Meanwhile, the Deoband Madarsa came out with a fatwa forbidding Muslims to kill cows and oxen on Id or other occasions.

The third major achievement of MRM was its campaign against terrorism. The MRM believes that we are all Indians and terrorism has no place in Islamic tenets. It believes that terrorism is not jihad at all but it is worst kind of violence being perpetrated against the hapless individuals. A group of 175 Muslims from 12 states marched from Red Fort to Lal Chowk in Srinagar, in solidarity with the Hindus fighting for Amarnath land in J&K.

Similarly, the Manch has condemned all the terrorist activities and extended help to the victims of terrorism.

Indresh Kumar said that the Prophet had said that he used to get a cool breeze of peace from Hindustan. Therefore, the Darul Ulum said that the land of Hindustan was a land of peace (Darul Aman). It is still Darul Aman and will remain so forever. If this land does not remain Darul Aman and gets converted to Darul Harb or Darul Islam, then there can’t be any great deceiving of the Prophet. Indersh Kumar said that when the Prophet used to get cool breeze of peace at a time when Islam had not reached India. We must strive to maintain the status of Darul Aman for India.

Indresh Kumar further said that the Darul Ulum had also issued a fatwa saying that Hindus cannot be kafirs because kafirs are those who do not believe in God. The Hindus believe in God and as such they cannot be described as Kafirs.

Outlining the future programs of MRM Indresh Kumar said that from August 9 to 15 the MRM will observe ‘Tiranga Lehrao-Atank Bhagao’ week all over the country.
During this the MRM will unfurl the national tricolor in public places and take oath to fight terrorism. The MRM activists will also spread the message of love and brotherhood all over the country.

To pay tributes to the martyrs of 26/11 terrorist attack on its first anniversary, the MRM will organize a massive rally at Mumbai on November 25, 2009 and commit itself to thwart the terrorists’ designs to destabilize India.

During the Holy Ramzan the MRM workers will organize plantation programs to save environment and control pollution under the slogan ‘Pradushan Bhagao, Paryavaran Bachao’.

Indresh Kumar said that so far the MRM work has spread to 22 states and there are 15 full time workers. Besides, a monthly magazine is also being published. So far 7-8 books are also published by the MRM.

The MRM has decided to concentrate on students and women wings and will shortly organize national level convention of students and women. It has also decided to set up a VIP Contact cell which will work in establishing and developing contacts with ambassadors, envoys, bureaucrats, and people in higher echelons.

The MRM has set up its publication wing ‘Madare Watan Prakashan’. Advocate Siraj Qureshi has been entrusted with the responsibility of this publication wing.

The second session was devoted to ‘Role of Muslim women in National Reconstruction’. (Bharat ke nirman me Muslim Mahilaon ki Bhumika). Srimati Shahnaz Afzal of New Delhi chaired the session while Shama Khan was the main speaker. Shama Khan traced the contribution of Muslim women in freedom struggle and sighted some examples of modern India where Muslim women had contributed to development of the nation and society. She said that an atmosphere of freedom was necessary for the Muslim women to go out of her house and work for the society.

Shahnaz Ali Begum, Chairperson of Urdu Academy of Chhattisgarh said that encouragement from the men folk of Muslim community was required for women to devote their time for social work. Nazira Hussain also spoke on the occasion.

In his concluding remarks Sri Tanveer Ahmed said that Muslim women of India have excelled themselves in any field in Asian continent. They can contribute a lot in reconstruction of our nation.

The third session discussed the system of organizational functioning. Sri Girish Juyal, Organising Secretary of MRM dealt in details with the functioning style of the MRM.


On the second day i.e. June 6, 2009 the first session was held on Indian Culture and Traditions. Mohd Afzal, National Convenor of MRM, New Delhi was the main speaker. Kabir Award for Communal Harmony winner from Gujarat Ganibhai Chowdhary presided over this session.

In his speech Afzal said that the India was world leader because of our rich and all inclusive culture. Our culture strives for welfare of mankind and leads them to become a pious soul. We Indian have always honored the religious sentiments and beliefs of other people. We must strive to remain loyal to our motherland (Madare Watan) and imbibe good qualities to enrich our lives. He said that Id-e-miladunnabi is the contribution of Indian Muslims to Islam. In Saudi Arabia, where the prophet was born, no birthdays are celebrated. It is only in India that we Muslims celebrate the birthday of the Prophet. This is in accordance with our Indian culture, he said. Even many a Muslim families follow rituals like Haldi, etc. during marriages, which are part and parcel of our Indian tradition and culture. We must take pride in being Indian and Muslim too.

The second session was devoted to zonal meetings. Zone 1- J&K, HP, Punjab, Delhi, Zone 2- Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh, Zone 3- Bihar, West Bengal, Zone 4- AP, Maharashtra and Gujarat, Zone 4- Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh. The meeting of Maharashtra, and Gujarat was conducted by Tanveer Ahmed.

The afternoon session was assigned to regional reports. Workers from various states give information about the activities being conducted in their states under the banner of MRM. Bashir Ahmed from Jammu, Nazir Ahmed from Kashmir, Abdul Gayum Raja from Punjab, Abu Talib from Delhi, Islam Khan, Muin Khan, MI Adam Khan, Dr Sadaqat from Uttarakhand, Israt Jahan from Bihar, Inamul Haq from West Bengal, Saroj Khan from Rajasthan, Latif Maqdoom from Maharashtra submitted the reports of activities of MRM in their respective provinces. Besides, Girish Juyal gave information about the work in Jharkhand while Indresh Kumar said that MRM has set up its units in Karnataka and responsibility of setting up branches in Nagaland and Assam has been given to Adv. Siraj Qureshi and Girish Juyal.

Indresh Kumar also declared the national team of MRM on this occasion. The team is as follows:

• Janab Tanveer Ahmed-- Patron
• Janab Mohd Afzal-- National Convenor
• Janab Salabat Khan-- National Convenor
• Shri Girish Juyal--National Convenor Organising Mobile-0 93122 56571
• Janab Umer Iliyasi-- Convenor, Public Relations
• Janab Pirjada Sibli Kasmi-- Convenor, Public Relations
• Mohtrama Shama Khan -- Office Prabhari
• Shri Nandan Bist -- Office Incharge
• Janab Siraj Qureshi(Advocate) -- Madar-E- Watan Prakashan
• Mohtrama Saroj Khan-- Madar-E- Watan Prakashan
• Janab Imran Chaudhary --Convenor Students’ wing
• Janab Mustafa Khan (Advocate) -- Convenor Students’ Wing
• Shri Mahirajdhwaj Singh -- Special Invite

Indresh Kumar also declared names of the in charge of various zones.
Mohd. Afzal will look after J&K, HP, Haryana, Punjab and New Delhi; Prijada Sibli Kasmi and Mihirdhwaj in charge of Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Adv Siraj Qureshi and Girish Juyal in charge of Bengal, Jharkhand, and North-east; Tanveer Ahmed in charge of Rajasthan, Gujarat, MP, Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh; Umer Iliyasi in charge of A.P., Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Laskhdweep.

Besides some convenors were also appointed. Accordingly, Sanwar Patel will be convenor of MP, Khurshid Aga for Awadh, Moin Khan for Kanpur, Afjal Engineer for Patna, and Shakeel Patel for Nagpur.

Indresh Kumar said that the above are the main workers and office-bearers of the Muslim Rashtriya Manch. The MRM is a non-political movement and will not take part in politics in any form. But at the same time the workers of MRM are free to join any political party of their choice.

The Third session was conducted by Tanveer Ahmed on qualities of workers. He also discussed the issue of Vande Mataram and said that there was a fatwa stating that Vande Mataram is praying to the motherland. Therefore there is no objection to chant first two stanzas of Vande Mataram, he said.

On June 7, 2009 the first session was conducted by students of Jamia Milia Islamia. Imran Qureshi chaired the session while Adv Siraj Qureshi was main speaker. The students talked about the problems they are facing and pledged their support to spread the work and message of MRM amongst the student community.

The Concluding session was addressed by Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh Dr Raman Singh, Dr Johar Mia, noted Sufi scholar and former RSS Chief K S Sudarshan. Dr Johar Mia said that Islam is a religion of peace and there is no place for any kind of violence in it. Terrorism is entirely against the basic values of Islam. He praised the MRM work and pledged his support to spread the message of MRM in future.

Dr Raman Singh informed about the welfare activities undertaken by his government for the minorities, poor and below poverty line people. He said that his government did not discriminate among the poor and took care that the benefit of all these schemes reached the deserving people. He congratulated the MRM workers for spreading the message of patriotism and love and brotherhood among the masses.

Sri K S Sudarshan, former Sarsanghchalak of RSS, who was instrumental in formation of Muslim Rashtriya Manch (MRM), addressed the gathering with clarity and explained the vision of MRM. He said that when he first met Maulana Wahiduddin Khan, Maulana Jamil Iliyasi and other Muslim Scholars, he asked them: “When 99.9 per cent Muslims in India belonged to this vary land, then why did they consider themselves ‘minority’? This question came to the Muslim scholars as most unexpected and set the ball rolling. Sudarshan said that the Muslims in India are not minority, but are very much the part and parcel of the national and social life. They must understand this and contribute their mite in development of the nation.

He said that in true sense the Parsis, Jews and Anglo-Indians are minorities in India. The Muslims, who had not come from outside India, and belonged to this land. They might have changed their way of worship some centuries, generations ago. But they share same ancestors, culture and traditions with the Hindus.

He said if Islam means peace then how this all cruelty had entered into it? He said that when religion ties itself with imperialism then it becomes violent. All sorts of bad qualities creep into it and it loses its original character.

He said that the Prophet tried to unite the quarreling Arab tribes and establish peace in Arabia. In that he put forth the tenets of Islam. The Quran says that Allah had sent 1 lakh 24 thousand Nabis (Religious leaders) to this earth, and that the Prophet Mohammed was the last Nabi. The Quran teaches to honor all these Nabis and Paigambars sent to various parts of the earth, including Hindusthan.

Sudarshan said that the British had divided the Muslims and Hindus for their political endgame. We must understand that politics divides while culture unites. He gave reference of a two-day dialogue between Swami Ramteerth and Muslim religious scholars on various issues like om, kafir and kufra and peace. He also referred to Pundit Jawaharlal Nehru’s address to Aligarh Muslim University students in which he asked them to take pride in their glorious past culture and traditions.

Sudarshan asked the MRM workers to spread the message of love and peace and brotherhood amongst the society and appealed them to remember that they share the same ancestors, culture and traditions with their Hindu brothers. He also urged them to feel the unity in diversity and experience the inherent unity of mankind in the light of Islam and its tenets of peace and brotherhood.