B.A.Mohidin, architect of education revolution among Muslims in Coastal Karnataka
A visionary leader who did not get his due
Bajpe Abdul Khadar Mohidin (BA Mohidin) was born in a most economically backward family in Pejawar, a village near Bajpe on June 5, 1938. He grew up as an ordinary man and became famous through his hard work, commitment and visionary leadership. The political field might have lost a talented leader if he had not entered politics. BA Mohidin, who was also popular in the education and social spheres, has been recognized as the leading leader of the Coastal Karnataka's Muslim community as well.
BA Mohdin, who has the credit of being the first Muslim district incharge minister of DK district, will remain immortal in the state politics. The senior politician, who grew up without a stigma being in politics, brought the educational revolution among the Muslim community in the coastal region.
Mohidin, who found his sisters uneducated, pulled up socks to provide education to Muslim girls. Hence, to serve this purpose, he planned to use Madrasa building which was not in use in the daytime. Though the religious heads opposed this idea initially, he successfully convinced them and started the first school at a madrasa in his hometown Bajpe.
Until then, people had not begun preferring English medium schools for their children yet. Mohidin, who had understood the significance of English education, encouraged to start English medium schools along with saving Kannada medium schools. As a result, Muslims opened English medium schools in Katipalla, Krishnapura, Surinje, Jokatte, Baikampady and other areas of Bajpe. Following which the MEIF (Federation of Muslim Educational Institutions) has come up. Today if a large number of Muslims in the coastal Karnataka, especially Muslim girls, are getting the education; a large number of Muslim educational institutions have come up, then it is only because of the Mohidin Saheb's efforts.
It is the greatness of Mohidin that in his five-decade-long political career, he won love and trust of all parties and political leaders despite changing parties for specific reasons. After getting elected as an MLA from the Bantwal assembly constituency in 1978, he stood with Devaraja Arasu when Congress was getting divided in 1980. After the death of Devaraj Arasu, he again joined with Indira, but the Congress rejected him while giving the ticket in 1983. At this point, Janata Party strengthened BA Mohidin. Then he got the responsibilities of party's state general secretary, MLC and later became the district incharge minister.
BA Mohidin remained neutral when the Janata Party split in 1999. BA Mohidin, who joined the Congress in 2002, remained loyal to the party till his last breath. However, he was a human lover who did not lose friendship with the leaders of Janata Party or Janata Dal.
visionary , efficient administrator
As the Minister, the inclusion of areas around Surathkal to Mangalore city Corporation, extension of ADB project to Ullal, bridge construction to Patrame of Belthangady, water supply from Thumbe dam to Mangaluru, subsidy to small industries, establishment of Government Tool Room Training Center, pay scale to professors, permission for three medical colleges in Mangaluru, and other most important works done by BA Mohidin.
BA Mohdin was the district incharge minister when the 1998-99 Surathkal communal riots occurred. He, being an innocent secular man, had played a vital role in controlling the riots. Following which, then Chief Minister JH Patil had appreciated BA Mohidin.
Without ever going after power, utilising whatever opportunity he had, without hurting anybody, keeping his hands and mouth clean from corruption; BA Mohidin brought an educational revolution in the Muslim community in coastal Karnataka. BA Mohidin, who believed that the Muslim community could not improve without education, encouraged Muslim entrepreneurs and interested youths to build educational institutions. As a result, today thousands of Muslim girls from the community have been able to achieve remarkable achievement in the academic field.
Mohidin, who also played the leading role in the Beary movement, worked hard for the establishment of Beary Sahitya Academy. BA Mohdin, who always guided young people, did not hurt anyone. With a smiling face, he had developed a friendly relation with all.
Visionary leader did not get his due
The demise of senior political leader, education lover, ambassador of educational revolution among Muslims BA Mohidin is a great loss to the state. Mohidin had all the ingenuity, proficiency and experience required to handle even the chief ministerial post. However, he lacked a few qualities that have become most necessary to become successful in today’s political era, such as lobbying, hypocrisy, falsehood etc. Perhaps for this reason, even after securing all the qualifications he failed to get the deserving positions. But as long as he was in the politics, he did not compromise with the values he believed.
The work ‘Nannolagina Mathu’, in which he has shared memories of his life, will be released on 20th of this month. Mohammed Kulai and BA Mohammed Ali have authored it.
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Strict security measures in place in Mumbai for Messi's events at 2 venues Dec 14, say police
Mumbai (PTI): In view of Argentine superstar footballer Lionel Messi's visit to Mumbai on Sunday, the city police are implementing stringent security measures, like not allowing water bottles, metals, coins inside the stadiums and setting up watchtowers to keep an eye on the crowd, officials said.
The police also said taking extra care to avoid any stampede-like situation and to prevent recurrence of the chaotic situation that unfolded in Kolkata during Messi's visit on Saturday as thousands of fans protested inside the Salt Lake stadium here after failing to catch a clear glimpse of the football icon despite paying hefty sums for tickets.
Messi is expected to be present at the Cricket Club of India (Brabourne Stadium) in Mumbai on Sunday for a Padel GOAT Cup event followed by attending a celebrity football match. He is expected to proceed to the Wankhede Stadium for the GOAT India Tour main event around 5 pm.
"In view of Lionel Messi's visit to Mumbai, the police are geared up and have put in place a high level of security arrangements in and around the stadiums located in south Mumbai. Considering the chaos that prevailed in Kolkata and the security breach, we have deployed World Cup-level security arrangements at Brabourne and Wankhede stadiums," an official said.
Expecting heavy crowd near the stadiums during Messi's visit, the city police force has deployed more than 2,000 of its personnel near and around both the venues, he said.
As the Mumbai police have the experience of security 'bandobast' during the victory parade of ICC World Cup-winning Indian team and World Cup final match at the Wankhede Stadium, in which over one lakh cricket fans had gathered, we are prepared to handle a large crowd of fans, he said.
"We are trying to avoid the errors that occurred in the past," the official said.
There is no place to sneak inside the stadiums in Mumbai like the Kolkata stadium, according to him.
The police are also asking the organisers to provide all the required facilities to the fans inside the stadium, so that there will be no chaos, he said, adding the spectators have purchased tickets in the range of Rs 5,000 to 25,000. After paying so much of amount, any spectator expects proper services, while enjoying the event, he said.
The police are expecting 33,000 spectators at the Wankhede Stadium and over 4,000 at Brabourne Stadium. Besides this, more than 30,000 people are expected outside and around the stadiums just to have a glimpse of the football sensation, he said.
The organisers responsible for Messi's India visit recently came to Mumbai to discuss security arrangements. During the meeting, the Mumbai police asked them not to take the event lightly, according to the official.
After those requirements were fulfilled, the final security deployment was chalked out, he said.
Police has the standard procedure of the security arrangements inside the Wankhede Stadium, where people are barred from taking water bottles, metals objects, coins. Police are setting up watch towers near the stadiums and there will be traffic diversions, so that there is maximum space available to stand, according to the official.
Police are also appealing to the spectators to use public transport service for commuting and avoid personal vehicles to reach south Mumbai.
To avoid any stampede-like situation, police are also taking precautionary measures and will stop the fans some distance ahead of the stadium and public announcement systems will be used to guide the crowd. Barricades will be placed at various places to manage the crowd.
In case the crowd swells up beyond expectation, the police will divert people to other grounds and preparations in this regard underway, he said.
Additional police force has been deployed in south Mumbai to tackle any kind of situation, he said.
