ISNA Announces 2010 Election Results,Imam Mohamed Majid New ISNA President

USA,Sep,28,(Deccan Samachar Service) ISNA is proud to share with our community at large the young and diverse new group of ISNA leaders elected to the Majlis Ash-Shura this September. A mix of American born and foreign born Muslims were elected by ISNA members with a broad range of ethnic diversity and ages. "The diversity and youth of our new leadership point to the healthy direction ISNA is taking as it strives to lead the development of the Muslim community in America and bring new and fresh ideas to the table. ISNA members have elected a new group of leaders that more adequately represent the diversity of the American Muslim population," stated ISNA Secretary General Safaa Zarzour.The newly elected leaders join 16 current Majlis members and comprise a young and motivated segment of the community, with ISNA President Imam Mohamed Majid and ISNA Vice President Azhar Azeez both under the age of 42. Additionally, a new milestone was reached this election season as ISNA members elected the youngest person ever, Asma Mirza aged 26, to the Majlis.
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Ayodhya verdict on Sep 30

Sep,28, The Supreme Court Tuesday paved the way for the Allahabad High Court to give its verdict on the Ayodhya dispute, dismissing a petition that sought its postponement. The high court has decided to announce the verdict Sep 30 at 3.30 p.m.Former bureaucrat Ramesh Chandra Tripathi had filed the petition for deferring the high court verdict on the Babri Masjid-Ramjanmabhoomi title suit in Ayodhya till the end of the Commonwealth Games.An apex court bench of Chief Justice S.H. Kapadia, Justice Aftab Alam and Justice K.S. Radhakrishnan passed the brief order when the court reassembled after lunch break Tuesday.Speaking for the bench, Chief Justice Kapadia said: “Having heard the arguments in detail, we are of the view that the petition deserves to be dismissed.”With the dismissal of Tripathi’s petition, the decision on when to pronounce the verdict now rests with the high court.In its pre-lunch sitting, the apex court heard the arguments from both the sides.Attorney General G. Vahanvati told the court: “If there is any possibility of the settlement (out of court), we will welcome it but at the same time we don’t want any uncertainty to continue.”“For the sake of maintaining law and order, we cannot keep security forces in sustained animation,” he added.The apex court last week ordered an interim stay on the pronouncement of the title suit verdict by the high court, acting on a petition by Tripathi.Tripathi had also sought the court’s direction to the parties to explore the possibility of an out-of-court amicable settlement.
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Uncertainty on Ayodhya shouldn’t continue: Attorney General

The Supreme Court was set to decide on a petition to defer the Ayodhya verdict at 2 p.m. Tuesday even as the government said it did not want “any uncertainty to continue”.The apex court had last week ordered an interim stay on the pronouncement of the Babri Masjid-Ramjanmabhoomi title suit verdict by the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court, acting on a petition by retired bureaucrat Ramesh Chandra Tripathi,Appearing for the central government, Attorney General G. Vahanvati said: “If there is any possibility of the settlement (out of court) we will welcome it but at the same time we don’t want any uncertainty to continue.”“For the sake of maintaining law and order we cannot keep security forces on sustained animation,” he added.
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Rajya Sabha to get independent TV channel

The Rajya Sabha is likely to have an independent TV channel to broadcast its proceedings from next month’s winter session of parliament, official sources said Monday.The sources said the proceedings will be aired by a separate channel from Nov 7, the expected date for start of the winter session.They said the new channel, an initiative of Rajya Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansari, will initially air proceedings of the house along with a few other programmes. It would eventually be a 24X7 channel.Gurdeep Singh Sappal, OSD to Rajya Sabha chairman Hamid Ansari, is understood to have been appointed as the CEO of Rajya Sabha TV.In 2006, DD Lok Sabha was replaced by Lok Sabha TV (LSTV), a 24-hour TV channel broadcasting in Hindi and English.The Rajya Sabha proceedings are at present aired by a Doordarshan channel.
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Ayodhya vedict delay petition untenable: Sunni Central Wakf Board

The Sunni Central Wakf Board Monday said the petition by retired bureaucrat Ramesh Chandra Tripathi seeking the deferment of the Allahabad High Court’s verdict in the Babri Masjid-Ramjanmabhoomi title case was “untenable, misconceived and frivolous” and needed to be dismissed.The board’s affidavit, filed in the apex court registry, also said the petitioner’s “assumption of so-called repercussions or apprehensions was totally  unfounded”.Seeking the vacation of interim stay restraining the Allahabad High Court from pronouncing the Ayodhya title suit verdict, it said there was no such apprehension among the general public of Ayodhya and Faizabad.Describing Tripathi’s petition as nothing but an attempt to thwart the entire judicial efforts of last 60 years and put the clock back, the affidavit said that Tripathi has not appeared in the high court to plead his case in the last 19 years.The only occasion he appeared in the court was in May 2005 when he told that court that he had no witness to present before the court and his evidence was closed, the affidavit noted.It said it was “evident that Tripathi has no following amongst the Hindus and such a person could not be expected to undertake the exercise of out-of-court mutual settlement between the contending parties”.Given the nature and background of the Babri Masjid-Ramjanmabhoomi dispute, the affidavit contended that it could not be resolved through mediation, conciliation or arbitration.Another respondent Mohammad Hashim said the efforts for negotiated settlement were being made since 1986. It started with Jagadguru Shankracharya of Kanchikoti inviting (noted Islamic scholar Maulana Syed Abul Hasan Ali Nadwi) Ali Mian in 1986 to find a mutually acceptable resolution of the dispute.Then several initiatives were taken by the then Prime Ministers V.P. Singh, Chandra Shekhar, and P.V. Narasimha Rao and former president R. Venkataraman.The Shankracharya of Kanchikoti made another attempt to settle the dispute through the negotiation route by roping in the All India Muslim Personal Law Board president, Maulana Rabey Hasni Nadwi but this effort also proved fruitless.He said that the AIMPLB too has repeatedly said that the dispute could only be resolved by the verdict of the court.
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Now, e-learning content on USBs

Hyderabad, Sep 28 : Information technology (IT) solutions provider FirstObject Technologies Limited Tuesday said it has entered into an agreement with optical media giant Moser Baer India Limited for launching its e-education content on DVDs and USB drives."We plan to launch the DVDs and USBs in a phased manner throughout India by the end of October 2010," said P. Ramnath, director of Firstobject. According to the company, the collaboration with Moser Baer will enable it to widen its product offering in the media range through DVDs and USB drives. The company is currently offering e-learning products like Firsteschool and Firstlawschool through web based platform in the country. Recently, Moser Baer launched new USB drives with Bollywood movies. It plans to further launch higher storage capacity drives with entertainment content.
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US consulate announces 1 year scholarships to US Community Colleges

Hyderabad, Sep 28 : The US Consulate General, with funding from the Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs has invited applications from eligible candidates for the Community College Initiatives Program.The one-year program offers youth from Andhra Pradesh, without a university background, the opportunity to study at a community college in the United States to develop professional skills. This is the second year that the US Consulate General Hyderabad has sought applicants. Last year, seven applicants from Andhra Pradesh were selected and are now studying in the US. The United States Government provides funding for round-trip airfare to the US, tuition costs, health benefit plan and cultural enhancement activities for selected candidates. To apply to the program, candidates must have completed secondary school education; have two years work experience in the field in which they are applying. They must also have English language skills that will provide a basis for enrolling in academic course work following two months of intensive English language study in the US.Candidates from economically disadvantaged background will be given preference. Candidates holding a master's degree are ineligible to apply. Eligible fields for the program including Agriculture, Applied Engineering, Business Management and Administration; Health Professions, including Nursing; Information Technology; Media; and Tourism and Hospitality Management. Applications can be downloaded from http://hyderabad.usconsulate.gov/ccip.html. Interested candidates may submit their completed applications to the Public Affairs Section, US Consulate General - Hyderabad by October 22, 2010 , a release from US consulate here said.
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