Oh ! my love,
to have you and to lose you
are like the two seasons
of the life...


as like the thirst and ocean
or  may perhaps be 
like the death and life...


the tradition has been prevailed
since the beginning of this universe
that on the palm of the life 
there are the lines of death
and always on the verge of the colourful  dreams
there is an existence of  darkness...


Oh ! my love
to have you and to lose you
are like the two seasons  
of the life...
-Firdaus Khan

In my book of life 
there are so many pages of my past memories 
being preserved 
very carefully
as of date…
Some pages are endowed with
the fragrance of closeness
as if adorned on the palms 
with soaked henna smells  slowly...
More so
some pages engrossed by the dark night 
of aloofness
sink into the fog of cool winter
like an apathetic  calm evening… 
  
Even today I have preserved  
with utmost care 
all those of my old memories
like someone keeps the holy books
at holy place in the home...
-Firdaus Khan

Some of the memories 
are reserved for those nice moments... 

when on the earth 
the carpet of moonlight spreads all around 
where the flowers with their moisten smell
make the nature more romantic...

and the season of romance blooming everywhere
when the eye-lash gratifying with lusty cheers
and there is an immediate desire of heart
that this time must stop here and now...

and throughout such a moment 
too many centuries be surpassed… 
-Firdaus Khan

Oh' Dear
I still remember those moments
when you said to me: 
'your poetry is not just a poetry
but the spell of sacred book of love
learned by you at heart...'


And hence
I started thinking...that
your every word itself is like the Kalame-ilahi
which I wish to read perpetually 
as like that of the Kalma... 
-Firdaus Khan

Oh my love !
waiting  for you a long way               
am being reached
to the stage of life 
from where
the journey of life once started 
comes to an end  
with the breakage of last breathe...
 
but again right from here        
the second journey starts 
which will finally be over
in the doomsday...


such a journey of your love 
I have to pass through in the life 
from one place to far off  distances
even life after the life 
for you only...
-Firdaus Khan

My love!
in the age of
such a fiery noon
you are
the shadow of thick and fleshy tree…


In a burn up lonely night
you are the moonlight
silvery cool and calm...


In a life
like the wasteland
you are
the ocean of ever flowing
aabe zam-zam…
I am the earth
thirsty of years and years
you are
my immense rainy season...


You are the idol
My love
incarnates in my soul


At all
look at the inhibited dreams of mine
as I worship you for years and years
hiding of everyone... 
-Firdaus Khan

 
When
in the calm and lonely night
a breezing wind sings a song 
of quite unknown season of love...
I do start changing
the pages of my past days
one by one... 
and even more to the introversion
where in the island of memories or
such as like 
once hot summer's afternoon of June
I feel warmth of your  that touch  
even now feeling that at this moment...
-Firdaus Khan

Oh' Friend
Why you go away
Far, far from me
Often, that time
When
I need you
Very much...
Oh' Dear
Why you go away...
-Firdaus Khan 

Sarvesh Kumar
Dargah Bu Ali Shah Kalander
It is located at Panipat. It is believed that the bricks or body of Bu Ali Shah Kalander were brought here from Buddha Khera. It is a sacred shrine of the Chishti Sect. It is believed that when Bu Ali Shah Kalander had died, his body was buried at Buddha Khera. Later, the residents of Panipat had taken either the body or the bricks of this shrine to Panipat. Historians have not been able to confirm the real facts regarding this transfer.

Mazaar of Sheikh Anam Allah
It is located at Panipat. Mazaar of Altaf Hussain Hali .
Hali was a sensitive Urdu poet. His mazaar is located at Panipat.

Mazaar of Ghaus Ali Shah
It is also located at Panipat. It is frequently visited by the devouts.

Dargah of Hamza Pir
It is located at a distance of 10 km from Narnaul at village Dharsun. The full name of Hamza Pir was Hazrat Shah Kalamuddin Hamza Pir Hussain. Ladies were not allowed to visit this shrine.

Dargah of Pir Mubrak Shah
It is located at Kaliyana village in Bhiwani district. A fair is organised every Thursday at this dargah. On the occasion of Bakr Eid, an Urs is organised on the twenty-sixth day of the month.

Mazaar of Seikh Junaid
It is located at Hissar towards South of the Nagaur Gate.

Mazaar of Sant Mir Shah
He was also known as Baba Shah Khan. His Mazaar is located at Patehabad. A rock edict of Humayun can also be seen in the precincts this mazaar.

Tomb of Sheikh Chehli
Sufi Saint Sheikh Chehli (also called Sheikh Chilli) had come to visit Hazrat Qutab Jalaluddin at Thanesar. He had come from Iran during the reign of emperor Shah Jahan.
Unfortunately, Sheikh Chehli died at Thanesar. He was buried at Thanesar and a beautiful marble tomb was built at the place of his burial. Its total area is 4 hectares. Its construction is so beautiful that it is also called the Taj Mahal of Haryana. The ASI has declared it as a monument of natural importance.

Dargah Chaar Qutab
It is located at Hansi. It has the mazaars of four Sufi Saints-Qutab Sheik Jamaluddin Ahmed, Qutab Maulana, Basohuddin, Sufi, Qutab- ud-din Manavvar and Qutab Nur-ud-din. An Urs is organised every year at this shrine and chadars are brought from Ajmer Sharif and put over the four mazaars.

Pucka Pul Mazaar
The Pucka Pul's Mazaars belong to five saints. It is located at Madhuban near Karnal. The five mazaars belong to Hazrat Ali Ilahi Baksh, Bahadur Khan Durrani, Mohammad Ali, Sabar Singh Bori and Kesar Mai Bori.

Sheeshe Wali Masjid
It is a large mosque, which is located at Rohtak. Its entrance gate is made of marble. The outer facade of the mosque has beautiful ceramic - -tiles. The walls of the major shrine have a length of six feet each. The domes and inner roofs have beautiful paintings on them. Glass pieces have been fixed on the walls of the mosque. But these glass pieces are being destroyed by the vagaries of time and also, due to negligence of authorities.
Three large domes and minarets are in a very poor condition. The lower parts of the two minarets at the front of the mosque have been made from marble. In one part of the mosque, there is a long verandah having 14 pillars. In another part of the mosques two religious priests (maulvis) live along with their families. This mosque has been built on a platform whose height is 8 ft.

Deeni Masjid
It is located at Rohtak. The ancient Mahavira temple is located within its precincts. The legend says that there was a temple at the site of the mosque. During the reign of Aurangzeb, the temple was converted into a mosque. After 1947, the mosque was converted into a temple.
The old statues and figurines of the Hindu gods and goddesses were also found here; these have been displayed in the mosque. The lower part of this building has a beautiful architectural design. Many destroyed or broken statues were also found at this site. Probably, they were destroyed under the orders of emperor Aurangzeb.

Lai Masjid
It is a famous and beautiful mosque of Rohtak. It is located close to Bhiwani bus stand. A businessman, Haji Ashiq Ali, had got it constructed in 1939. The entrance gate of this mosque has been made from carved red stone. The stones installed on the entrance gate have been carved and cut with an artistic precision. These depict the architectural grandeur of the yore.
There are three storeys in this mosque. There are also two verandahs in its main building. Ceramic tiles bearing pleasant designs have been fixed on the pillars of the mosque. At some places inside the mosque, glass pieces have also been fixed. Both minarets of the mosque have 50-step stairs each. Besides, 19 windows have also been made in each one of the minarets.
Three domes of the mosque are in ruins now. However, rest of the mosque is in a good condition. The entire mosque has been constructed on a 10-foot high platform. The Muslims pray here every Friday and take part in the Jummah namaaz with religious fervour.

Mosque of Village Sarai Alawardi
It is located at village Sarai Alawardi in Gurgaon district. It is a very old mosque. It dates back to the reign of Allauddin Khilji (also Khalji). The religious priests (maulavis) of this mosque claim that it has ancient historical linkages.

Qazi Ki Masjid
It is located at village Dujana at a distance of 22 km from Rohtak (on the Jhajjar road). A priest named Qazi Ji had got it constructed nearly 200 years ago. There is also an underground chamber (tahkhana) in this mosque. Qazi Ji was quite popular among the local masses. When one goes towards the underground chamber, one finds the mazaar of Qazi Ji on his right hand side.
People put cloth sheets on this mazaar and pray that their desires be fulfilled. The minarets of this mosque have an approximate height of 50 ft. Circular step stairs have been made in these minarets, just like the stairs of the Qutab Minar (Mehrauli). The entire mosque has been made from white stone. However, it is being neglected by authorities.

Red Mosque of Rewari
This famous historical mosque is located at Rewari (near the old Courts). It was constructed during the reign of Akbar in Circa 1570 AD. Two tombs are also located near this mosque.

Durgah Pir Jamal
It is located at Gohana in Panipat district. The Hindus as well as the Muslims visit this dargah with equal devotion. There is a berry garden in the immediate vicinity of the dargah. The Hindus and Muslims come to this place every Thursday to get their wishes fulfilled.

Mazaar Baba Meeran Nau Bahar
The shrine (mazaar) of Guhla Cheeka Baba Meeran Nau Bahar is nearly 960 year old. A fair is organised here every years. This saint had buried himself live. Devouts must also pay respects to Pir Chetan Shah at his mazaar (which is nearby) before visiting the mazaar of Baba Meeran Nau. The mazaar of Baba Meeran Nau Bahar is located at Kaithal and that of Pir Chetan Shah is located near the bus stand of Kaithal.

Firdaus Khan
The Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi delivering a speech at Times Square: Rahul Gandhi on September 20 addressed Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) in New York as a part of his two-week long visit to the United States. He has repeatedly raised the issue of joblessness during his meetings with experts, business leaders and Congressmen. He addressed the NRIs with the purpose of making them a part of India’s development.

Rahul Gandhi said, I’d like to welcome all the people on the stage and every single one of you in this room. You know, many years ago Sam came to India and he told you the story of Indira Gandhiji listening to his presentation. Sam, I think it was 1982? Yes, 1982. I was 12 years old. In the morning my father told me that there is a presentation and you have to come. I didn’t know what presentation meant, I thought I was going to get a present. Anyway, I went there, and my sister and I were made to sit down at the back of the room quietly. And we sat there for 6 hours. And Sam and my father discussed computers. I didn’t quite understand what a computer was, nobody actually in 1982 really understood what a computer was.To me it looked like a little box with a TV screen on it. And frankly I didn’t like that presentation, as a little kid, I couldn’t stand the fact that I had to sit for 6 hours. And four or 5 years later, I started to see the result of that presentation. There were typewriters in the Prime Ministers Office. And everybody wanted to use a typewriter. And Sam and my father said to everyone in the PMO’s office that everyone has to move to computers. And everybody said, NO, we like our typewriters, we don’t want computers. So in Sam and in my fathers typical style they said fine you can keep your typewriters, what we are going to do is, we are going to replace typewriters with computers for one month, and after one month we will have your typewriters back. They gave them the computers for one month and then after one month they said ok we are bringing your typewriters back and everyone started to fight, NO, we dont want our typewriters back we want the computer.
Ideas take time to travel into India. But, when an idea is good, India understands it very quickly, and uses it and shows the world how it can be used.
I have been talking to Sam and I made a point in the car to him and he said “I hadn’t thought about it”. You are all Non Resident Indians.
The original congress movement was an NRI movement. Mahatma Gandhi was an NRI, Jawaharlal Nehru came back from England, Ambedkar, Azad, Patel, these were all NRIs. Every single one of them went to the outside world, saw the outside world, returned back to India and used some the ideas they got and transformed India. I’ll go even further, the biggest success in India, our friends in BJP said nothing happened, but one of the biggest successes in India, the milk that most of India drinks, it was man called Mr. Kurien, he was an NRI. He came from the United States and he transformed India. Sam is another example. There are thousands of examples that we have not recognised. So before I even get into the depth of my speech, I want to tell you that I went from San Fransisco to Los Angeles to Washington to New York, I addressed people in Berkeley ,in Princeton, and wherever I went, you made me feel poud to be an India.
Everywhere you look in this country, there is an Indian person working for America, working for India, living peacefully and building this country and our country.So I would like to start by telling you, that you are actually the backbone of our country. Some people view India as a geophraphical construct. They view India as a piece of land. I don’t view India as a piece of land. I view India as a set of ideas. So for me, anybody who has the ideas that make up India is an Indian.
We have many religions in our country. We have many different languages in our country. Every single one of them lives happily together, and the reason they have been able to do so are the ideas of the Congress party. Sam Pitroda just said that the Congress is a hundred and thirty years old. Yes, it is true, the Congress organisation is more than a century old. But, the Congress idea in India is thousands of years old. We don’t represent an organisation, we represent a philosophy that is thousands and thousands of years old. I’ll tell you a little but about what this philosophy is. What did Gandhi actually fight for, what was our freedom movement about, what did Mr. Kurien do? What did Sam pitroda do? What do thousands of NRIs do? They stand up for the truth. It doesn’t matter what is standing against them, when they believe in something and they are convinced that is the truth they stand up for it and pay the price for it. That is the Congress idea.
I had lots of conversations in my trip. I met lot of people from the administration, I met people from both democratic and republican parties, I met many friends, NRI friends.And I must tell you, I was very surprised because before I could even tell them what I was feeling, before I could even tell them what I was worried about, they told me exactly the same thing. And the single biggest thing most people told me, What has happened to the tolerance that used to prevail in India?
What has happened to the harmony in India?
There are a couple of challenges that India is facing.
The single biggest challenge and I’ll give it to you in numbers. 30,000 youngsters come into the job market every single day. Today, only 450 of them are getting a job. I’m not even talking about the unemployed.
This is the biggest challenge in front of our country. And, this challenge is going to be addressed by building a unified approach by bringing people together.
We discuss everything in India.There’s a divisive politics in India but the real challenge facing India is that 30,000 youngsters looking for a job and only 450 getting a job. You can imagine as this process continues what the result will be. India simply cannot give its youngsters a vision if it is unable to give them a job. The Congress party has a vision to solve this problem. And I will tell you little bit about this vision. Currently, the entire focus is on 50 or 60 really large companies. We believe that if you are to create millions and millions of jobs in India, it has to be done by empowering small and medium businesses and entrepreneurs.
Second, I’ll give you another number, 40% of India’s vegetables rot. Agriculture can simply not be ignored. There are people from Punjab here, you will understand exactly what I am saying.
Agriculture is a strategic asset. We need to build agriculture, we need to develop a cold chain, we need to put food processing units close to farms, and we need to empower Indian agriculture. We need to empower our farmers.
Healthcare is going to transform. And I said this in my speech in Berkeley, today all the information in healthcare is in the doctors memories tomorrow all that information is going to be in computers. India has the world’s second largestpopulation. We do very large number of surgeries, heart surgeries, eye surgeries, we have a great understanding of how to do these things. There is a huge opportunity for India in healthcare and we can become the healthcare centre of the world but we have to plan for it today. And I am not talking about simply health tourism, I’m talking about about constructing whereby in the future large parts of medical processes are acrid out in our country.
I can give you a similar vision for the IITs. I went to Berkeley, I was in Princeton yesterday. US universities are networks, knowledge networks. Information travels within them, they are connected to businesses, they are connected to economy. Our IITs are tremendous institutions but they are not networks. If we connect our IITs to our industries and businesses across the world, they will start to compete with the best businesses in the world. these are things that can be done. I, want to go back to the beginning of my speech- You need to get involved. You have tremendous knowledge, You have tremendous understanding, you work in different fields. I invite you to come and work with the congress party and discuss the vision going forward. We want to take your help. Sam Pitroda single handedlytransformed the telecom industry. We don’t want one Sam Pitroda. We wantatleast 10-15 Sam Pitrodas to transform India, Because there’s a lot of work to be done in India.
The last thing I’d like to say to you, India has always shown the world how to live in harmony. For thousands of years India has had a reputation of peace and harmony. This is being challenged. There are forces in our country that are dividing the country and it is very dangerous for the country and it ruins our reputation abroad.
Many, many people in the Democratic party and the Republican party asked me what is going on in your country? We always believed that your country worked together, we always believed your country was peaceful. What is going on in your country?
And that is something we have to fight. India’s reputation in the world is very important. The world is transforming and people are looking towards us. China is rising, we have a relationship with the Unites States . Many countries in a violent world are looking to India and saying maybe, India has the answer to the 21st century. Maybe India has the answer for peaceful coexistence in the 21st century. So, we cannot afford to lose our most powerful asset. Our most important asset is that 1.3 billion people lived happily, non-violently, peacefully and the world respected us for that . This is something that as Congress people every single one of us has to defend. India is a country that belongs to all its people. Doesn’t matter who they are I can see my Sikh brothers, people from different states. India does not belong to any ONE of you. India belongs to this entire room and India belongs to every single one of us and that is what the Congress party is. Again, I’d like to thank you very much and I’ve told Sam, whenever you want me to come to theUnites States, whenever you want me to come anywhere, just call me, MEIN HAAZIR HO JAUNGA. And final thing, I told Sam today, he said about the photographs and I have learnt something, Sam hamarein yahan individual photographs chalti hain, so next time we will give a decent amount of time so that we can have selfies or photographs together. Thank you very much, All the best!

Firdaus Khan
The Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi delivering a speech at Institute of International Studies at UC Berkeley, California on Monday. He touched all major aspects of contemporary Indian politics, right from defending questions on dynasty politics to raising questions over the BJP government’s demonetisation drive. He said that he was “absolutely ready” to take up an executive responsibility if the Congress party asked him to do so.
Rahul Gandhi said, Today happens to be the 11th of September. So I would like to start by paying homage to all the people who died on this day and all the people who lost their loved ones.
We stand with them today in their memory.
As a politician, we get to go to different places and listen to many different people. And I am going to start today by telling you a little story. Many years ago, you remember that there was a huge Tsunami, it came to India. And it hit the Andaman and Nicobar islands. And one of the things that we were doing at that time was trying to send aid to the Andaman Nicobar islands and I was looking at a list of people who had died and there are many communities who live in the Andaman Nicobar islands. And I noticed in the list that there were absolutely no tribal people who have died. So I asked some of the people there. I said, "Listen how does it happen?" I said, "There are many many people who have died. There are lots of tribals living in Andaman Nicobar but I don't see a single tribal person who has died in the Tsunami. What happened?"

So then, one of the people there told me, you know Mr. Gandhi when the Tsunami comes, the sea goes out. And when the sea goes out, huge numbers of fish are left stranded. And he said, the tribals, they know when a tsunami goes out and when a tsunami comes in, whereas the non-tribals did not know this. And when the Tsunami came, the sea went out.

All the non-tribals ran to get the fish and all the tribals ran into the hills. And some of the tribals told the non-tribals, don't go there. You are going to get killed. They didn't listen. They ran into the sea. And that's why no tribals died.

And as a liberal today, that's exactly how I feel. Everybody knows that something has gone very wrong in the system. And the right-wing politicians are saying go there and pick up the fish. And people are sort of looking at the simple answers. They are looking at the simple answers but, you are not going to get results from these simple answers.

And this is one of the reasons I have come here. This is a tremendous institution but this institution believes in a liberal ideology, it believes in discussions, it believes in listening to people, it believes in conversations. And, you have a tremendous history and I respect that history. As you, Mr. Chibber said, my great grandfather came here and gave a speech. So, I would like to thank you very much for inviting me here. I am going to speak for about 15-20 minutes and then we are going to have a conversation. You can ask me all the questions you would like.

India is a massive country. It is also one of the world's most complex countries. Every time you think you have understood India, she will reveal something new to you. In fact, I would venture to say anyone who thinks he understands India is a fool. According to most western academics and intelligence agencies in the middle of the last century, India was supposed to fail. We are 29 states covering every religion in the world. We have 17 official languages and hundreds of different dialects and a terrain that runs from the Himalayas all the way to the deserts. Most of these experts didn't expect India to survive. Thye predicted it would fall apart, torn to pieces by its own diversity and contradictions. And yet somehow, as Indira Gandhi said, when asked whether India leans left or right, India came out standing straight and tall.

The idea of non-violence or ahimsa, as we call it in India, is what allows this huge mass of people to rise up together. Uniting India's religion, castes and languages would simply be impossible without it. It is this idea that Mahatma Gandhi fashioned into a powerful but beautiful political weapon.

The common conception in the west is that people have ideas. You all say I have an idea. But there is an alternative way of looking at the world. The counter intuitive notion that instead of people having ideas that ideas have people. So, instead, if I have an idea, an idea has me. This notion is the basis of ahimsa or non-violence as taught by Gandhi. If one accepts the notion that ideas capture people, then the only possible response to a person infected by a bad idea, any person, is love and compassion. The only action you can take against him is to try and rid him of the bad idea and replace it with a good one. Using violence against a person who is infected by a bad idea actually results in the idea spreading more aggressively, multiplying among the people who care for him and love him. This non-violent philosophy in action has travelled far beyond India.

Non-violence is not inaction, says Cesar Chavez, it is not discussion. It is not for the timid and weak. Non-violence is hard work. It is this very idea, this beautiful struggle, that is viciously under attack in India today. But it is also the only idea on which humanity can survive the connectivity of the 21st century and come out unscathed stronger.

The road travelled by India since independence is difficult and filled with formidable obstacles. Our partition was the bloodiest migration in recorded history. At independence, most of our 400 million people were hungry. Yet the achievements of India have been significant. Increasing literacy, expanding healthcare and raising life expectancy, all within a generation. Achieving self-sufficiency in food grains, averting famine, pushing huge advantage in science and technology, even being a front runner in computer technology.

When Mr. Rajiv Gandhi and my dear friend Sam Pitroda who is sitting here spoke about bringing the computers to India, there were voices that ridiculed them. In fact, a leader of the BJP who became PM later asked a question: what does India need computers for? Why do we need computers, imagine that. When India built the IITs, the entire world including many in India were highly critical of the idea that a poor country should waste money on such technical institutions. They reacted to us with scepticism, wondering why a country like ours would need such institutions. Today these IITs and other higher educational institutions in India play a central role in Silicon Valley in the global progress of technology. And yet look at us today. We are rightly proud, we have done that and more lifting hundreds of millions of people out of poverty. For everything everyone says about India, there is no democratic country in human history, and I repeat that there is no democratic country in human history that has raised as many people out of poverty as India has. It is never being done. And we have not done it with violence, we have not done it by killing people, we have done it peacefully together.

For the first time in our history, India, if it is steered correctly and faithfully, have the opportunity to wipe out poverty. If India is able to lift another 350 million people out of poverty by 2030, it would be an achievement that the human race can be proud of. Doing this would require us to grow by more than over 8 percent in the next 13 years. India has done it before and can do it again. But it is imperative that India sustain a high growth rate for an uninterrupted period of 10-15 years in order to do so. At the heart of this powerful engine which India has built with its blood, sweat and bare hands since 1947 are jobs and economic growth. No amount of growth is enough for India if it's not accompanied by the creation of jobs. It doesn't matter how fast you grow. If you are not creating jobs, you are not actually solving the problem. So, the central challenge of India is jobs. Roughly 12 million young people, 12 million, enter the Indian job market every year. Nearly 90% of them have a high school education or less. India is a democratic country and unlike China, it has to create jobs in a democratic environment. India does not have and nor does it want China's coercive instruments. We cannot follow their model if massive factories are controlled by fear. Jobs in India are going to come instead from small and medium scale industries. India needs to turn a colossal number of small and medium businesses into international companies. Currently, all the attention in India is paid to the top 100 companies. Everything is geared towards them. Banking systems are monopolised by them, the doors of government are always open to them and laws are shaped by them. Meanwhile, entrepreneurs running small and medium businesses struggle to get bank loans. They have no protection and no support. Yet these small and medium businesses are the bedrock of India and the world's innovation. Big businesses can easily manage the unpredictability of India. They are protected by their deep, deep pockets and connections. But the real innovative strength of India lies with the millions of small firms and young entrepreneurs that run them. And they are relying on us to build the financial, communication and political infrastructure that would allow them to turn their skills into global businesses.

Healthcare in the 21st century is being revolutionised. Today, a doctor examines you, analyses your data and tells you what is wrong with you. All this is based on his memory. When he retires, that information is lost. Tomorrow, all the medical data is going to be digitised and accessible on computers. Two factors will determine competitiveness in healthcare. First, the type and volume of different medical processes and procedures that are taking place in a country and second, the genetic diversity of your population. India's size will give it huge advantages. The sheer fact that India performs millions of cataract operations or heart surgeries a year, for example, means we are going to be the best at doing them. But much more important in scale will be India's rich genetic diversity. Thousands of years of cross culturalism means that India has the world's most genetically diverse population. If medical processes are going to be based on DNA, then India's diversity is going to be a huge global asset. So, if you are looking at the medical processes in the 21st century, by far, the best opportunities for groundbreaking research and innovation will be in India. It is imperative that we start thinking about these systems now while addressing the critical concerns of privacy and ownership before they arise. Done properly, this can transform India's healthcare system and while at the same time, help the world beyond our borders.

India has triggered a massive process of human transformation. The nature of India's transformation has now reached a stage where it's moment is so powerful that its failure is no longer an option. Our success impacts the world, but should our country fail, it will shake the entire world. What India is trying to do is to connect 1.3 billion people to the global economy with minimum disruption possible in a peaceful and compassionate way. But don't be confused. If this process breaks down, the potential for violence is massive.

I have given you the positives. But before I end, I need to tell you what can go dangerously wrong. Our strength so far has been that we have done all this peacefully. What can destroy our momentum is the opposite energy. Hatred anger and violence and the politics of polarisation which has raised its ugly head in India today. Violence and hatred distract people from the task at hand. Liberal journalists being shot, people being lynched because they are Dalits, Muslims killed on suspicion of eating beef, this is new in India and damages India very badly. The politics of hate divides and polarises India making millions of people feel that they have no future in their own country. In today's connected world, this is extremely dangerous. It isolates people and makes them vulnerable to radical ideas.

Finally, listening to India is very important. She will give you all the answers that you seek. India's institutions have over 70 years have built a profound understanding of our country. We have experts in every single field. Ignoring India's tremendous institutional knowledge and taking ad hoc decisions is reckless and dangerous. Decisions like Demonetisation which removed 86% of cash from circulation overnight and was carried out unilaterally without asking the Chief Economic Advisor, the Cabinet or even Parliament imposes a devastating cost in India.

Currently, we are not producing enough jobs. 30,000 new youngsters are joining the job market every single day and yet the Govt is only creating 500 jobs a day. And this doesn't include the massive pool of already unemployed youngsters. The decline in economic growth today is worrying and it's leading to an upsurge of anger in the country. The Govt's economic policies, Demonetisation and hastily applied GST have caused tremendous damage. Millions of small businesses were simply wiped out as a result of Demonetisation. Farmers and manual labourers who use cash were hit extremely hard. Agriculture is in deep distress and farmer suicides have sky rocketed across the country. Demonetisation, a completely self-inflicted wound caused approximately 2%loss in India's GDP. India cannot afford to grow and create jobs at the current rate. If we continue at the current rate, if India cannot give the millions of people entering the job market employment, anger will increase and it has the potential to derail what is being built so far. That will be catastrophic for India and the world beyond it.

It is siginficant that, In 1949, India’s first prime minister and Gandhi’s grandfather Jawaharlal Nehru had delivered a speech at the university. Leaders from Congress party praised Gandhi’s speech for its candour and eloquence.

A Canadian author will become the first Muslim-born woman to lead a mixed-gender British congregation through Friday prayers tomorrow in a highly controversial move that will attempt to spark a debate about the role of female leadership within Islam.

Raheel Raza, a rights activist and Toronto-based author, has been asked to lead prayers and deliver the khutbah at a small prayer session in Oxford.

She has been invited by Dr Taj Hargey, a self-described imam who preaches an ultra-liberal interpretation of Islam which includes, among other things, that men and women should be allowed to pray together and that female imams should lead mixed congregations in prayer.

Three of the four mainstream schools of Sunni Islam allow women to lead exclusively female congregations for prayer, but the overwhelming majority of Muslim jurists are opposed to the notion of their presiding over mixed congregations outside the home.

Raza, 60, is part of a small but growing group of Muslim feminists who have tried to challenge the mindset that has traditionally excluded women from leadership roles within the mosque. They argue that nowhere in the Koran are female imams expressly forbidden. Instead scholars rely on the hadiths (the words and sayings of the Prophet Mohamed) to exclude women – although Muslim feminists and some progressive scholars argue that even these are not clear enough to say with confidence that women are altogether banned.

Ms Raza received death threats after leading a mixed-gender prayer congregation in Toronto five years ago.

"It was a very profound experience," Ms Raza said yesterday in a telephone conversation from her home in Toronto. "It's not about taking the job of an imam. It's about reminding the Muslim community that 50 per cent of its adherents are women who are equal to men. Women are equally observant, practising Muslims who deserve to be heard."

Ms Raza's appearance in Oxford is a repeat of a similar prayer session in 2008 which was led by Amina Wadud, an American-born convert and Muslim feminist. But this is the first time a Muslim-born woman will lead a mixed prayer service in Britain.

Ms Wadud's prayers were attended by a small congregation of less than 40 who were heckled on their way in to prayers by protesters, largely by fully veiled Muslim women. Once inside the prayer hall, meanwhile, they were comprehensively outnumbered by journalists.

But Dr Hargey, a divisive figure within British Islam who runs the Muslim Educational Centre of Oxford, said his congregation had since grown and attracted new followers.

"For Friday prayers we now receive about 100 people, twice that for Eid prayers and important occasions," he said. "I am expecting about 200 people to attend this Friday's prayers."

In recent years there has been a growing demand from Muslim women to be included and represented at their mosques. Earlier this week Faith Matters, a conflict resolution think-tank funded by the Government and private benefactors, released a list of 100 women-friendly mosques. The number of female Muslim scholars, meanwhile, often referred to as imamahs, are also on the rise.

Ms Raza, who is due to fly into Britain this morning, said she was aware that she would be preaching to the converted tomorrow. "But it's about opening one heart, one mind at a time," she added.

Courtesy www.independent.co.uk