Panchayat in Kerala bans ‘Sir’ and ‘Madam’ in its office
Palakkad, Sep 2: Don't get amused if officials of a local village panchayat here are seen politely persuading visitors to call them by their name or designation instead of usual salutations like 'sir' or 'madam'.
Scripting history, the Mathur village panchayat in this north Kerala district has banned the colonial honorifics like 'sir' and 'madam' in its office premises with an aim to bridge the barrier between common people, people's representatives and civic body officials and thus build a bond of love and trust between each other.
With this, Mathur has become the first civic body in the country to ban the usage of salutations like this, setting a unique reformation model for other civic bodies.
A recent meeting of the panchayat council had unanimously taken the historic decision and started implementing the new rule.
Setting aside political difference, the seven CPI(M) nominees and one BJP member of the 16-member Congress-ruled village panchayat had backed the resolution moved in this regard earlier this week.
P R Prasad, vice president of the Mathur Panchayat, said the core objective of the move is to bridge the gap between commoners, who visit the panchayat offices with their needs, and people's representatives and officials.
"Cutting across politics, everyone in our panchayat is particular about creating a friendly and warm atmosphere in the office. All of us had a feeling that the salutations like sir or madam used to create a gap between us and people approaching us with their issues," he told PTI.
The panchayat members also felt that these honorifics were remnants of the colonial past.
"In a democracy, people are the masters and people's representatives and officials are there to serve them. They do not need to request us to do anything for them but they can demand service as it is their right," he said.
After banning the salutations, the civic body displayed a notice outside the office telling people that if they are denied any service for not using the honorifics, they can lodge a complaint directly to the panchayat president or secretary.
Every official of the panchayat would place a board on their tables displaying their names. They also requested the Official Language Department to provide them alternative words for "Sir" and "Madam".
So far, those people, who feel any discomfort in addressing elderly officials by their names, can call them using friendly terms like ''chettan' (elder brother) or 'chechi' (elder sister) in Malayalam, he said.
The Mathur Panchayat authorities also decided to bring out "avakasha pathrika" (rights certificate) in the place of the present 'apeksha form' (application form) to ensure the supremacy of the citizen in a democracy.
'Apeksha" means 'request' in local parlance.
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Karnataka Muslim Convention to be held in Bengaluru on May 16
Muslim organisations to release report on Congress govt’s three-year performance
Bengaluru: Major Muslim organisations and federations in Karnataka have decided to organise a large public convention titled ‘Karnataka Muslim Convention’ at Town Hall in Bengaluru on May 16. During the convention, a comprehensive report reviewing the three-year performance of the Congress government under the theme “What did the Congress government promise? What did it do? What next?” will be released.
According to a statement issued on Friday, no politicians will be invited to the convention. The report will be submitted to the government and all MLAs after the event.
The convention is being held at a time when the Congress government is nearing the completion of three years in office on May 20. Muslim organisations have expressed dissatisfaction, alleging that despite extending strong support to the Congress in bringing it to power, the community is being neglected.
The Convention is being organised at time when there are concerns over inadequate political representation for Muslims, alleged neglect of community demands, and the suspension of senior Muslim leaders who had worked for the party for decades.
The organisers said the convention aims to raise questions on what the Congress government has delivered so far and what further steps are expected from the government.
The decision to hold the convention was taken during a meeting held on May 6 at A J International Hotel in Shivajinagar, Bengaluru. Representatives of major Muslim organisations, associations, ulema bodies, federations, and members of the ad hoc committee of Karnataka Rajya Muslim Okkoota attended the meeting.
More than 75 representatives and delegates, including senior ulemas, jamaat leaders, lawyers, retired officials, journalists and members of the KRMO ad hoc committee, participated in the discussions.
Members of the KRMO ad hoc committee’s report preparation team and experts from different sectors presented a detailed report on the Congress government’s three-year performance. The report examined promises made to Muslims on ten major issues, the extent to which they were fulfilled, pending promises, alleged discrimination in representation, and the demands now being placed before the government.
The report covered issues such as the hijab ban, reservation cancellation, hate speech and hate crimes, budget allocation, political representation, waqf matters, the anti-cow slaughter law, anti-conversion law, scholarships and educational grants.
Participants offered suggestions and recommendations on various points, and necessary corrections to the report were accepted after detailed discussions.
The meeting also reportedly expressed strong dissatisfaction over the manner in which the Congress government has treated the Muslim community. Participants are said to have opined that if the government and the Congress party continue in the same manner, the community should keep its political options open.
It was later decided that the report would be officially released at the large public convention on May 16 under the title “Karnataka Muslim Convention – What did the Congress government promise? What did it do? What next?”
The organisers appealed to people from all districts of the state to participate in large numbers and send a strong message to the government and the Congress party through the convention.
They also decided that all organisations, jamaats and associations should work towards ensuring participation from every district in Karnataka.
The statement reiterated that no politicians would be invited to the May 16 convention and that the report on the Congress government’s three-year performance would be submitted to the Chief Minister, Deputy Chief Minister, ministers and MLAs after the event.
