top of page

By:

Quaid Najmi

4 January 2025 at 3:26:24 pm

Educated Muslims being hounded: Owaisi

Mumbai: AIMIM President Asaduddin Owaisi has flayed what he termed as a ‘media trial’ in the alleged TCS Nashik conversion case and claimed that educated Muslims youth are being deliberately targeted as part of planned ‘hate campaign’, here on Saturday. Reiterating full faith in the judicial process, Owaisi said that justice cannot be handed out through media narratives or television debates and the law must be allowed to take its own course. “We are seeing a very dangerous trend… Now,...

Educated Muslims being hounded: Owaisi

Mumbai: AIMIM President Asaduddin Owaisi has flayed what he termed as a ‘media trial’ in the alleged TCS Nashik conversion case and claimed that educated Muslims youth are being deliberately targeted as part of planned ‘hate campaign’, here on Saturday. Reiterating full faith in the judicial process, Owaisi said that justice cannot be handed out through media narratives or television debates and the law must be allowed to take its own course. “We are seeing a very dangerous trend… Now, educated Muslims are being picked out for orchestrated allegations and media campaigns. This doesn’t augur well for society and justice itself with the media playing the role of the judge and jury,” said Owaisi sharply. Flanked by the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen state President Imtiaz Jaleel, Owaisi also emphatically said that it was wrong to link his party with the TCS case prime accused Nida Khan, “who will be ultimately proven innocent in the courts”. He expressed concerns over the slur campaign driven by malice and political motives against his party as well as Nida Khan in some sections of the media even before the investigations were completed or a judicial scrutiny. “Merely because some allegations have been hurled at a young woman professional, attempts are being made to paint her ‘guilty’ through media trials, even before judicial scrutiny. But, we have complete faith in the judiciary and are confident that the court will eventually exonerate her,” asserted Owaisi. Public Discourse Raising questions on the probe and accompanying public discourse with stress on the alleged recovery of certain ‘evidence’ from Nida Khan’s home, he sharply questioned: “Since when have a burqa, a niqab or religious literature become objectionable… Is wearing a hijab now regarded as evidence of a crime?” He said that these details along with baseless allegations are sensationalism in the media to create further prejudice against the minority community and reflected a deep-rooted hostility aimed at harassing educated Muslim men and women. Owaisi pointed out that a complaint in the TCS Nashik case was filed by a leader linked with the ruling party, and as per the software giant’s statement, Nida Khan was not with its HR Department and transferred even before the controversy erupted, contradicting several media reports. Of the nine cases lodged in the matter till date, in one case, she was accused of hurting religious sentiments, but nobody can comment on it before the court pronounces its verdict, he pointed out. Court Fight Dismissing attempts to drag and link the AIMIM into the row, he referred to a party Municipal Corporator Matin Patel who was booked merely on the basis of certain allegations and vowed to contest the matter in the court. Here Owaisi cited multiple examples of educated Muslims being scrutinised – including in Delhi when some educated youths were arrested for possessing a book by the legendary Urdu poet Mirza Ghalib and they were later released. There was another one from Allahabad where some Muslim boys were targeted for writing an Urdu ‘sher’ (couplet) prompting judicial intervention, and predicted that even in the Nashik TCS case, the truth will ultimately prevail as no criminal charges against Nida Khan may stand. AIMIM to set up voter help-desks AIMIM President and Hyderabad MP, Asaduddin Owaisi said his party is developing a digital application containing electoral records of all 288 Assembly constituencies in Maharashtra for 2002-2024, to help voters in the SIR process. For this, the AIMIM will set up help desk centers in its strongholds to facilitate the process and ensure proper utilisation of voter data. Alleging discrepancies in electoral records, he said such errors create huge problems for the voters, especially the poor or illiterates. Owaisi mentioned how of the nearly 27 lakh names placed in the adjudication list in West Bengal, “90 pc were poor Muslims.” These centers would be open for all Muslims, Buddhists, Christians, Dalits, Adivasis and the general public needing assistance with the electoral records.

Gold, silver trade shows signs of recovery

Sharp fall in rates revives sentiment in a market battered by unprecedented surge

Kolhapur: After reeling under an extraordinary surge in global bullion prices, India’s gold and silver jewellery industry has begun to show early signs of relief, as a sharp correction in prices over the past two days has lifted sentiment in the domestic bullion market.


The earlier rally had pushed the sector into what traders described as a severe economic crisis, wiping out business worth several lakh crore rupees and putting nearly two crore jobs under stress. With prices now cooling, manufacturers, traders and consumers are cautiously returning to the market.


Three-month spiral

The crisis began around the Diwali season and intensified over the next three months. Gold, which was available at around Rs 1 lakh per 10 grams, surged to an unprecedented Rs 1.82 lakh. Silver’s rise was even sharper: from nearly Rs 1.10 lakh per kg to close to Rs 4.20 lakh, a near fourfold increase.


The spike paralysed India’s jewellery manufacturing sector. Production units shut down in large numbers, and lakhs of artisans were pushed into unemployment. Across the country, thousands of traders reportedly faced insolvency, with refund and settlement disputes running into thousands of crores.


The impact was particularly visible in bullion trading hubs linked to MCX derivatives. Several trading firms reportedly collapsed. In Rajkot alone, over 45 traders are said to have declared insolvency. In Indore, news of a firm incurring losses of around Rs 1,500 crore sent shockwaves through the Madhya Pradesh bullion market. Manufacturing clusters in Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu — key jewellery production centres — saw prolonged disruption.


The tide turned as aggressive gold buying by major powers began to ease. Russia, seeking to stabilise its fiscal position, is learnt to have released significant quantities of gold into the market, contributing to a global price correction. The shift has brought visible relief in the Indian market.


While fluctuations in bullion prices are not unusual, traders say this year’s surge resembled an “unnatural tsunami”. Geopolitical instability, a strong US dollar and rupee depreciation were major drivers. At the same time, large-scale gold buying by countries such as China and Russia — seen as an attempt to reduce dependence on the dollar — added to the rally.


Social media speculation about further price spikes fuelled retail frenzy. Many investors entered bullion derivatives markets, while some consumers reportedly broke bank deposits to buy gold at elevated prices. The result was severe stress across the trade.


Scale of the sector

India imports about 700 tonnes of gold annually and recycles another 250 tonnes. Silver imports are estimated at $9–9.5 billion a year. A significant portion of trading takes place on commodity exchanges such as MCX through futures and options.


The Centre had projected higher revenue from transaction-related taxes in the Union Budget, but the volatility underlined how sensitive financial and commodity markets have become to policy and global signals, traders said.


With prices stabilising, manufacturing units that had cut their workforce by as much as 90% and sent workers back to their native places have begun calling them back. Factories that had shut solely due to high input costs are reopening, and trading activity is gradually resuming in major markets.


Industry voice

Bharat Oswal, President, Kolhapur District Bullion Association; Member, Gold Council, says, “This year’s shock to the gold and silver market was severe. Producers, traders and consumers — all have suffered. The episode is a reminder against chasing excessive profit and taking uncalculated risks. Both traders and buyers must remain cautious, as bullion markets are extremely sensitive to global developments.”

Comments

bottom of page