Bangalore: Hundreds of calligraphy lovers and art enthusiasts thronged to the Falcon’s Den at the Prestige Falcon Towers here in the city on Saturday on the second day of the three-day multilingual calligraphy exhibition and seminar organized by the Institute of Indo Islamic Art and Culture (IIIAC).

Several renowned calligraphers from across the world who have come to the city to attend the event interacted with the visitors and amazed them with their fine artworks in real time.

The calligraphers penned the names and initials of the visitors as a token of appreciation for their attendance at the event to appreciate the art.

Japanese calligrapher, Yukotakaji was the guest at the workshop on Saturday.

Sarina Ghazaei (Iran), Ali Hasan Al Jad (Bahrain), Mohammed (Delhi), Mohsen Ghareeb (Bahrain), M Efdaluddin Kilic (Turkey), Narjes Noureddin (UAE), Tagalsir Hasan (Sudan), Ibrahim Abdullah Hussein Al-Zayer (Saudi Arabia) Farid Abdul Rahim Al Ali (Kuwait), Sara Abidi (UAE) were among the calligraphers present on the second day of the event along with other Indian artists whose work is also on display at the exhibition.

During the panel discussion that was held in the afternoon session, Efdaluddin Kilic and Mohsen Ghareeb interacted with the audience and shared their knowledge and experience on calligraphy. Efdaluddin Kilic also briefed an introduction and history of calligraphy.

“You need to be patient and dedicated if you ever want to try your hand at calligraphy. Nobody can become a good calligrapher without having dedication and passion towards it.” Efdaluddin said in his address.

He also opined that the calligraphers were respected earlier and their artwork was valued which has now changed. Speaking about copying the style of calligraphers, Efdaluddin said it was not easy to follow someone's style or work as every artist has his/her own way of creating their respective artwork.

He also demonstrated his art in real-time with arrangements being made to show his work on the screen in real-time for the visitors. He concluded his address with encouraging words for the young calligraphers adding that they should not give up and that only practice would help them to perfection.

The last day of the three-day event will be held on Sunday, March 12, at the Falcon's Den of Prestige Falcon Towers at the Brunton Road here in the city. The entry to exhibition and workshop for visitors is free of cost. 

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New Delhi: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday said that four to five lakh “Miya voters” would be removed from the electoral rolls in the state once the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists is carried out. He also made a series of controversial remarks openly targeting the Miya community, a term commonly used in Assam in a derogatory sense to refer to Bengali-speaking Muslims.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of an official programme in Digboi in Tinsukia district, Sarma said it was his responsibility to create difficulties for the Miya community and claimed that both he and the BJP were “directly against Miyas”.

“Four to five lakh Miya votes will have to be deleted in Assam when the SIR happens,” Sarma said, adding that such voters “should ideally not be allowed to vote in Assam, but in Bangladesh”. He asserted that the government was ensuring that they would not be able to vote in the state.

The chief minister was responding to questions about notices issued to thousands of Bengali-speaking Muslims during the claims and objections phase of the ongoing Special Revision (SR) of electoral rolls in Assam. While the Election Commission is conducting SIR exercises in 12 states and Union Territories, Assam is currently undergoing an SR, which is usually meant for routine updates.

Calling the current SR “preliminary”, Sarma said that a full-fledged SIR in Assam would lead to large-scale deletion of Miya voters. He said he was unconcerned about criticism from opposition parties over the issue.

“Let the Congress abuse me as much as they want. My job is to make the Miya people suffer,” Sarma said. He claimed that complaints filed against members of the community were done on his instructions and that he had encouraged BJP workers to keep filing complaints.

“I have told people wherever possible they should fill Form 7 so that they have to run around a little and are troubled,” he said, adding that such actions were meant to send a message that “the Assamese people are still living”.

In remarks that drew further outrage, Sarma urged people to trouble members of the Miya community in everyday life, claiming that “only if they face troubles will they leave Assam”. He also accused the media of sympathising with the community and warned journalists against such coverage.

“So you all should also trouble, and you should not do news that sympathise with them. There will be love jihad in your own house.” He said.

The comments triggered reactions from opposition leaders. Raijor Dal president and MLA Akhil Gogoi said the people of Assam had not elected Sarma to keep one community under constant pressure. Congress leader Aman Wadud accused the chief minister of rendering the Constitution meaningless in the state, saying his remarks showed a complete disregard for constitutional values.

According to the draft electoral rolls published on December 27, Assam currently has 2.51 crore voters. Election officials said 4.78 lakh names were marked as deceased, 5.23 lakh as having shifted, and 53,619 duplicate entries were removed during the revision process. Authorities also claimed that verification had been completed for over 61 lakh households.

On January 25, six opposition parties the Congress, Raijor Dal, Assam Jatiya Parishad, CPI, CPI(M) and CPI(M-L) submitted a memorandum to the state’s chief electoral officer. They alleged widespread legal violations, political interference and selective targeting of genuine voters during the SR exercise, describing it as arbitrary, unlawful and unconstitutional.