Education, Economic Empowerment Emphasised

Lonavala, (Maharashtra): The two-day convention of the Association of the Muslim professionals that attracted 90 participants from  across the country emphasized educational empowerment and economic upliftment of the Muslims. In his keynote address, Dr. M. M.  Ansari, former Information Commissioner, Central Information Commission and presently the Government of India appointed  interlocutor on Jammu and Kashmir, said Muslim need to address two basic problems i.e., poverty and illiteracy. He said the focus  should be on education through effective utilization of Government Plans for the underprivileged. He said that we need to have a pool  of trained skilled workers and there needs to be a paradigm shiftof societal change through intensive implementation of technology. He  also asked the youth to develop respect for the Constitution. The convention took place on June 16 and 17 at Balwan Village Resort.  Mr. P. A. Inamdar, leading educationist and businessman from Pune, said India offered immense opportunities to people without any prejudice against caste, colour and religion merely because of its democratic set-up. He said in autocratic countries, the wealth  gets  concentrated in a few hands. Inamdar said focus should be on employment-oriented courses like the ones in Industrial Training  Institutes (ITIs) in order to make them employable. Regarding the underprivileged, he said that Focus should be on Employment  oriented courses (like ITI) for students so that even if they are unable to continue further studies, they are still employable. He said  that there is no shortage of traditional skills in the community but the need is for enhancing their managerial skills to move up the  economic chain. Religious scholar from Panta Mohammad Wali Rahmani, pioneer of the ‘Rahmani Super- 30’ guidance and training for budding IIT aspirants, said political empowerment through identification and analysis of Governmental policies and plans was crucial.  He said academicians should not merely impart coaching to students but also identify budding geniuses and nurture them. According  to Syed Najeebur Rahman, who heads the PR and communication wing of the AMP, the organization concentrates on educational  empowerment and economic upliftment of the community and provides a platform for sharing knowledge, skills, experience and intellect for the overall development of the community. Its career-fests in Mumbai had witnessed huge draw in recent years. Talking to  Islamic Voice over phone, he said AMP keeps away from religion and politics and has members from all sects and communities among Muslims. The organization has 50 chapters across the country and a membership of 18,000 persons. He said the AMP has been taking up research and studies on issues afflicting the community and has been engaging the youth in study of policies and trends. The  convention honored Irfan Shaikh from Mumbai for his research work with Award for Excellence. Abrar Sayed was presented with  AMP Face of the Year Award for the 2012. President Aamir Idrisi, President of the AMP welcomed the participants at the convention.