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By:

Quaid Najmi

4 January 2025 at 3:26:24 pm

Muslims aghast as a Hindu dons CEO’s cap

Mumbai : Sparking intense debate and deep unease among Muslims, the Maharashtra government has appointed a non-Muslim IAS officer as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the State Haj Committee (SHC), just as preparations for the annual Haj pilgrimage get underway.   According to official sources, Manoj Jadhav, a high-ranking IAS officer, is named the new SHC CEO, replacing Shaikh Ibrahim S. Aslam, who demitted office recently.   The appointment is being described by critics as unprecedented...

Muslims aghast as a Hindu dons CEO’s cap

Mumbai : Sparking intense debate and deep unease among Muslims, the Maharashtra government has appointed a non-Muslim IAS officer as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the State Haj Committee (SHC), just as preparations for the annual Haj pilgrimage get underway.   According to official sources, Manoj Jadhav, a high-ranking IAS officer, is named the new SHC CEO, replacing Shaikh Ibrahim S. Aslam, who demitted office recently.   The appointment is being described by critics as unprecedented in the state’s history, even as state government officials maintain that the SHC CEO’s role is administrative in nature.   Unconvinced, community leaders and legal experts point out that the position carries significant religious and operational responsibilities.   India sends around 1.75-lakh Haj pilgrims to Saudi Arabia every year, with a substantial majority coordinated through state and central Haj committees. The CEO is directly involved in overseeing the logistics, accommodation, travel schedules, coordination with Saudi authorities, and compliance with religious requirements associated with the Holy Haj pilgrimage.   Former SHC Chairman (2014-2018) Alhaj Ebrahim Gulam Nabi Shaikh, said the appointment has raised serious questions over its validity. “There is no provision in either the Central or State Haj Committee Acts that explicitly allows or envisages such an appointment. It is shocking how this decision was taken without consulting all stakeholders. Beyond administration, the CEO must address several religious and community-sensitive issues. Many Muslims are genuinely worried about how this will be handled,” he told The Perfect Voice.   Well-known advocate Yusuf Abrahani termed the decision “blatantly illegal” and said it has caused widespread distress. “I am in touch with major Muslim organisations, community leaders, trusts, and clerics across the state. We plan to challenge this appointment in court as early as next week,” he said.   Abrahani further noted that the CEO is traditionally expected to travel to Mecca and Medina, engage with Haj authorities, and possess a working understanding of Haj rites, rituals, and Islamic practices.   “This is far from being merely an organisational job. The question is not personal competence, but institutional appropriateness and legality,” he added.   Muslim intellectual M. Faisal Azmi, whose father, the late Hafiz Naushad Azmi was an ex-SHC Chairman, described the development as ‘absolutely unimaginable’. “It has shaken the entire Muslim community. Senior religious leaders and legal experts are discussing various options to challenge and rectify this,” he said.   “This is purely a matter of faith and religious administration of the Muslim community and cannot be tinkered with casually. It must be examined whether the Haj Committee Act permits such an appointment and under what circumstances. If it does not, the decision is clearly open to legal challenge.” SUHAIL KHANDWANI, Managing Trustee, Haji Ali Dargah & Mahim Dargah   “It is a matter of deep regret. Muslims are being systematically sidelined from key statutory and official bodies. Now even the Maharashtra State Haj Committee has not been spared. The motives may be questionable, but such actions will not succeed in weakening the community’s resolve.” MAULANA MAHMOOD DARYABDI, General Secretary, All India Ulema Council

AI in Sperm Sorting: An Unbiased Decision for A Better Outcome

Artificial Intelligence or AI is revolutionising fertility treatments of the future. The inclusion of AI enhances the accuracy, efficiency, and objectivity of sperm selection, hence potentially improving fertility outcomes by leaps and bounds. Traditionally, sperm sorting through manual methods is subjective to judgments. Processes like centrifugation and swim-up methods are used to separate sperm based on motility and morphology. Although they are effective, they have their limitations, leading to human errors that affect the success rates of fertility treatment. For instance, studies have shown that traditional sperm sorting techniques can have variability in success rates, with reported live birth rates ranging between 15 per cent to 25 per cent per cycle depending on the method and quality of sperm. Hence the introduction of AI helps in maintaining consistency in evaluations of sperm, using the same data set for every sample which leads to better judgments.


Automation and Standardisation- Automation of sperm selection and also introduction of AI in the process have improved the results in ART. AI-assisted sperm selection improves the accuracy in choosing high-quality sperm for fertilisation purposes, and also, pregnancy and live birth rates might be improved. Technologies like Intracytoplasmic Morphologically Selected Sperm Injection along with AI ensure the chances of pregnancies increase by about 10-20 per cent compared to the standard procedures. AI and Automation will decrease time taken to analyze sperm and increase opportunities to select better sperm with DNA integrity for better development and higher success rates in embryo selection. These processes ensure that the sperm selection process follows consistent criteria, reducing variability in outcomes caused by human error.


Analysing Complex Data for Better Outcomes- AI plays a crucial in improving IVF outcomes by analysing complex data and providing tailored recommendations. AI-driven tools and models such as those on SpOvum.ai point towards an opportunity to optimise ovarian stimulation decisions by assessing patient characteristics and follicle growth patterns. A study revealed that the use of AI in IVF improved egg yield and reduced medication costs. AI enables fertility specialists to make data-driven choices, improving overall IVF success rates and streamlining treatment processes.


Reducing Human Error- AI models can continuously learn and refine their performance by being trained on newer data. This adaptability ensures the technology remains unbiased and up-to-date with the latest scientific insights into sperm quality and fertility success rates. Studies have shown that AI-driven sperm sorting can decrease human-related errors by up to 25 per cent, improving sperm selection quality in terms of morphology and motility.


Reduction of Sperm Damage- The new AI-driven sperm sorting techniques also include microfluidic systems that are known to exhibit several advantages over the most commonly used conventional method, which is centrifugation. Traditional centrifugation methods, such as density gradient centrifugation, also cause severe oxidative stress and DNA fragmentation of the sperm because of the very high mechanical forces involved. The AI-infused microfluidic sorting minimises this damage significantly by involving gentler processes that mimic the natural pathway of sperm selection. The studies show that the process of microfluidic sorting decreases DNA fragmentation in sperm, which gives improved opportunities for success for IVF. For example, DNA fragmentation is 20 percent lower in sperm sorted using microfluidic processes than in traditional processing methods.


AI is bound to play an increasingly definitive role in fertility treatments, which will improve the outcomes for couples experiencing infertility.


(The author is a Co-Founder & CEO at SpOvum® Technologies. Views personal.)

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