CHENNAI LEATHER MARKET


V.M. Khaleelur Rahman

There seems to be no change in the Chennai leather market. Exporters of leather and leather products are covering their requirements of different items of goat and sheep skins at almost unchanged prices.

The prevailing prices of tanned goat skins are somewhat as follows:

3/7 sq. ft. ABC suedes Rs.58 and All Suedes upto heel grip Rs.50

3/5 or 4/7 sq. ft. grain selection Run Rs.65, V/IF Rs.55, LIF Rs.45, Lining Rs.39 and Rejection Rs.30

Tanners sometimes sell their “goat lots” (all sizes and selections put together as received from the tannery) at different prices depending on the quality and selections.

4/7 sq. ft. Wet blue sheep skin lots are sold at prices ranging from Rs.55 to 65. It consists of mostly medium and lower selections and a small percentage of higher selections not exceeding 10%.

4/7 sq. ft. Crust sheep skin Run selections are sold at around Rs.80 and Medium and Lower selections at around Rs.55 and 40.

(Above prices are per sq. ft.)

It is generally believed that there is shortage of tanned skins as many small tanners have either stopped or curtailed their productions due to ruling high prices of raw skins in almost all centres in the country. The business concluded by some Chennai based exporters of leather and leather products during the Asia Pacific Leather Fair (APLF) held in March in Hong Kong and Lineapelle leather fair held in April in Bologna is said to be the cause for the leather market remaining firm here and prices not coming down. However it does not mean that any big business was done by all or most of the participants of the above fairs. According to available information the fairs were successful in the sense that they attracted quite a large number of exhibitors and trade visitors and gave them an opportunity to study the market trends and interact freely with the people connected with the leather and leather products industry world over. There were more sellers than buyers and the business concluded was mostly with big and reliable tanners and exporters of leather and leather products.

As far as export business is concerned, tanners and exporters say that they are not able to get prices at workable levels. While the European customers are slow in purchases, Hong Kong and Singapore buyers show interest for 3/5 and 4/6 sq. ft. goat medium grade upper and lining leathers at around US$2.00 and 1.40 per sq. ft. C&F and some business is taking place at around these prices but high quality and high grade upper leathers are not easily salable by all.

Current offers of exporters are at around the following prices:

GOAT LEATHERS

Material Size/sq.ft. Substance Selection Price US$ per sq. ft. C&F

Goat upper leather 3/5 0.6/0.8 mm ABC/D/E 2.40/2.10/1.80

Goat suede leather 3/5 and 4/7 0.6/0.8 mm ABC/D/E 2.10/1.80/1.60

Goat lining leather 3/5 and 4/6 0.5/0.7 mm TR-1/2/3 1.50/1.40/1.30



SHEEP LEATHERS

Material Size/sq.ft. Substance Selection Price US$ per sq.ft. C&F

Sheep suede/cabretta leather 4/7 0.6/0.8 mm ABC/D/E 2.50/2.00/1.50

Sheep Suede/cabretta leather 6/9 0.8/1.00 mm ABC 2.75

Sheep lining leather 3/5 and 4/7 0.5/0.7 mm TR-1/2/3 1.70/1.60/1.50

Tanners say that they are not able to do any big business now but there may be exceptions. Generally speaking only “patchy” business is taking place in the market. Overseas customers are not as enthusiastic as before in concluding contracts. They do business cautiously for the sake of continuity with regular suppliers.

It is learnt that even big manufacturers of leather and leather products find it difficult to import wet blue hides and skins from abroad due to abnormal increase in prices and internal problems in some Arab countries.

It is surprising to market observers and industrialists that despite limited interest shown by overseas customers for leather and leather products, prices of raw hides and skins have not come down in our country as well as abroad. The present market is undoubtedly a tough one.

(Indian Leather, May 2012)

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DR. M.H. JAWAHIRULLAH' S SPEECH IN TAMIL NADU ASSEMBLY ON URDU ACADEMY AND NECESSITY OF A WOMEN'S COLLEGE IN AMBUR

SPEECH OF DR. M. H. JAWAHIRULLAH, MLA  of Manithaneya Makkal Katchi participating in the Tamilnadu Assembly debate on demands for grants for Higher Education stated the following.
(the speech was given in Tamil; here you find the translation of the Tamil Speech in English)

Honourable Speaker,



I also warmly welcome the gesture of the State government to issue 41 government orders to implement the 42 announcements made regarding Higher Education during last year. While appreciating the policy document on Higher education for boldly stating that during the 12 th Five year plan (2012- 2017) that Higher Education would be made available to the entire population I would also like to suggest some measures towards that goal.

In the Government Aided Colleges the teaching and non- teaching vacancies due to retirements, voluntary retirements and death of staff in service have not been filled up for a very long time. Hence I request the Government to fill the teaching and Non-teaching vacancies in Government Aided colleges.

(The Honourable Higher Education Minister intervenes and assures that 3120 teaching post and 1258 non teaching post would be filled)
The post of Assistant Professors of Urdu have not been filled for a very long time and hence I request the Government that posts of Assistant Professors of Urdu should be filled.

(The Honourable Higher Education Minister intervenes and assures that posts of Assistant Professors of Urdu will also be filled.)
The Non Salary Grant has not been sanctioned for Government Aided Colleges for the Past 15 years . I request the Government to sanction the Non salary grant to colleges that have completed Government Audit.

The minority educational institutions established under Article 30 of the Constitution should be provided with Minority Character Certificate without any difficulty.

(The Honourable Higher Education Minister intervened and assured that the procedure would be simplified and the Minority Character Certificate would have to be procured for five years rather than annually.)
I request the Government to implement reservations in Deemed Universities. At this juncture I should point out that when self-financed colleges were introduced in Tamil Nadu the then chief minister Dr. MGR insisted that there should be reservation in Self Finance Colleges which will enable the downtrodden students to get the benefit. Taking this as a role model the Government should introduce reservation for Backward Classes and Scheduled classes in Deemed Universities.

Honourable Chief Minister in 1996 while attending a Ifthar Function at SIET College (now Justice Basheer Ahmed Sayeed College), Chennai made an announcement that Urdu academy would be formed to promote Urdu Language. As a result the Tamil Nadu State Urdu academy was established. But during the previous DMK regime not even a single meeting of Urdu academy was held. I request the Government to sanction an office with a permanent Registrar or Secretary and I also request the Government to sanction a one-time grant of Rs: 1 crore for Urdu Academy.

I request the government to consider establishing a Women's college in Ambur and also repair the dilapidated buildings of the Sethupathy Men's College in Ramanathapuram. I also request that the government should introduce B.A. English, Tamil,B.Sc (Chemistry) and M.A (Tamil) and M.com in Ramnathapuram Government Womens' college.

The Government should take strict action to ensure that Self-Financed Colleges Teaching and Non -Teaching staff are treated according to the Tamil Nadu Government Private Colleges Act 1977.

Moreover, the Government should also ensure that Free Laptops and other student welfare schemes are made available to the students of Self- Financed Colleges .

While I appreciate the novel features introduced by this government to improve the skills of the students I will request that the Government publish study books and resource books in Tamil through Tamil Nadu Text Book Corporation, as 70% of the students have their school education in Tamil Medium Schools and find it difficult to cope with higher education textbooks in English

(English Translation by Prof. D. Abdul Fazal, Department of History, Islamiah College, Vaniyambadi)

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UNION BUDGET 2012-13: NOT COMMON PEOPLE FRIENDLY

UNION BUDGET 2012-13: NOT COMMON PEOPLE FRIENDLY


V.M. Khaleelur Rahman

The Union Budget for 2012-13 presented by the hon’ble finance minister Mr. Pranab Mukherjee on March 17, 2012 has burdened the people with the highest ever indirect taxes to the tune of Rs.45,940 crore by increasing and also widening the scope of service tax and excise & customs duties. The savings to the people in changes made in direct taxes is only Rs.4,500 crore. In other words the budget has given this amount and taken away Rs.41,440 crore.

Many consider this budget as the consequence of the weak UPA government facing multiple political problems and much talked about 2G scam and that no other government would have done better in the present situation as it needs revenue for its developmental projects. However the fact is that there is little for the common people in the budget. The 2% increase in the service tax is a big burden on them. The government should have found some other ways for revenue rather than taxing all including the less income groups.

The IT exemption limit for taxpayers raised from Rs.1,80,000 to Rs.2 lakh which means a saving of Rs.2000 is considered negligible and it is felt that it should have been at least Rs. 3 lakh in the present situation when prices of essential commodities have gone up considerably.

In the new income tax slab, the tax rates are as follows:

Income between Rs.200,001 to Rs.500,000 – 10%, between Rs.500,001 to Rs.10,00,000 – 20% and above Rs.10,00,001 – 30%

The 30% tax bracket now at Rs.10 lakh and tax exemption on interest up to Rs.10,000 on savings bank account are of course beneficial to the high income groups. Other benefits for taxpayers include a) The Rajiv Gandhi Equity Savings Scheme which seeks to encourage the flow of savings in financial institutions and improve the depth of capital market. It has a lock-in period of three years. It will allow for income tax deduction of 50% to new retail investors who invest up to Rs.50,000 directly in equities and whose income is less than Rs.10 lakh b) availability of tax benefit to senior citizens at 60 instead of 65 years and c) a deduction of Rs.5,000 for preventive check-up expenses allowed within health insurance benefit.

But as regards the Rajiv Gandhi scheme, some people question why investors should be lured to invest in highly risky equity investments with attractive tax concessions.

However the budget has taken away the benefit of additional deduction for infra bonds of Rs.20,000 and the IT officers are empowered to reopen assessments pertaining to foreign assets for up to 16 years instead of the present 6 years.

While consumers can be happy now that the limit for payment of service tax on apartment maintenance has been raised from Rs.3,000 to Rs.5,000 per month, silver jewellery exempted from excise duty, duty free baggage allowance at airports increased from Rs.10,000 to Rs.35,000 and excise duty on branded readymade garments reduced from 4.6% to 3.7%, enhancement in service tax from 10.3% to 12.36%, raise in excise duty on cars of 1500cc and above to 27%, increase in basic customs duty from 60% to 75% on imported SUVs worth over $40,000 (3000 cc or more for petrol, 2500cc or more for diesel) and 100% increase in customs duty on high purity gold in various forms are their losses in the present budget.

As far as investors are concerned, reduction of securities transaction tax on delivery based deals to 0.1% and more options for investing in tax free bonds (NHAI and Hudco) are their gains. Here again they have lost much as TDS has been made mandatory for sale of immovable property of over Rs.50 lakh in urban areas and Rs.20 lakh in rural areas, 1% tax collection at source by seller for any sale in cash valued over Rs.2 lakh of jewellery, bullion etc., TDS for interest from debentures if amount exceeds Rs.5,000 and no tax sops for only 10% instead of 20% for new insurance policies with annual premium over 10% of sum assured excluding loyalty bonus.

The advantages for businessmen are: withholding tax on interest on ECBs reduced from 20% to 5% for power, airlines, roads etc. for 3 years, a year’s extension for exemption under Section 80IA for power firms, also for lower tax on overseas dividend and small service provider exemption increased from Rs.10 lakh to 50 lakh and their disadvantages are: alternate minimum tax now on partnerships, sole proprietorships too, all foreign assets must be declared, penalty up to 90% on undisclosed income found during search and I.T. Act amended retrospectively to tax “offshore M&A deals” involving transfer of assets in India.

The finance minster has also announced that Credit Guarantee Fund is to be set up to reduce the risk of banks. It is reported that it may make the banks reduce the rate of interest on educational loans.

There is appreciation for the financial sector reform measures in the budget like permitting qualified foreign investors access to bonds market and steps to be taken to make IPOs easily available to retail investors in small towns. But there is little for hard working farmers and women. In short the present budget is pro higher income groups and not common people friendly.

(VMK in Indian Leather, April 2012)

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ISLAMIA COLLEGE VANIYAMBADI

A BRIEF HISTORY OF ISLAMIAH COLLEGE VANIYAMBADI


By V.M. Khaleelur Rahman

Islamia College, Vaniyambadi was the first college established by Muslims in Tamil Nadu. A brief history is as under:

It is on record that the Muslims of Vaniyambadi established the Vaniyambadi Muslim Educational Society (VMES) in 1901 and Islamiah Elementary School in 1903 inspired by the message of Sir Syed Ahmed Khan. The school developed well and became popular by the great efforts of Janab T. Hajee Badruddin saheb, Janab Malang Hayath Batcha saheb, Janab T. Ameenuddin saheb and Janab Malag Ahmed Batcha saheb and the full fludged Islamiah High School came into existence in 1912.

His Excellency Lord Pentland, the then Governor of Madras Province laid the foundation stone for Islamiah College as per resolution passed by the VMES and with large hearted donations from the Muslim philanthropists the college came into existence in 1919 and got recognition in 1921. The building in which the college is functioning today was inaugurated by Nawab C. Abdul Hakeem saheb who gave a munificent donation of Rs.50,000 to the Society.

The Muslims of Vaniyambadi were instrumental in making the Muslims of Tamil Nadu realise the importance of modern education. Thank Allah there are many science and arts and engineering colleges established and run by the Muslims of Tamil Nadu. Of course what is conspicuous by absence is a medical college established and run by Muslims here. There is an urgent need for the community to ponder over it and do the needful at the earliest. It is noteworthy that in the other three Southern States – Kerala, Karnataka and Andhra – Muslims have established Medical colleges.

Now Islamiah College is a full fledged high grade science and arts college offering many undergraduate and post graduates courses in many disciplines. It has also been recognized as a research institution for Ph.D in commerce, physics, chemistry and mathematics. It is now affiliated to the Thiruvalluvar University.

The college has well-ventilated spacious lecture halls, well equipped laboratories, library with excellent books, Dr. Allama Mohammed Iqbal Auditorium, two storey Malang Endowment Hostel etc. and it was accredited by NAAC with ‘A’ grade.

The College has been providing higher education to the people of all castes and communities without any discrimination whatsoever right from its inception.

(writer’s e-mail id: vmk1234@yahoo.com)

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A RELOOK AT THE SHAH BANO CASE LEST WE FORGET IT

A RELOOK AT THE SHAH BANO CASE LEST WE FORGET IT


By V.M. Khaleelur Rahman

The Supreme Court judgment, delivered on April 23, 1985, in the Shah Bano Begum case, created an unprecedented controversy in 1985 and 1986 in our country. Indian Muslims protested strongly, en masse, against it by holding rallies, meetings and processions throughout the country and expressing their views in the press. In spite of a detailed debate on this issue and passing of the historic “Muslim women (protection of rights on divorce) Act 1986”, some politicians, writers and even people connected with the judiciary, mostly non-Muslims, continue to ask even today, why the Muslims opposed the Supreme Court judgment in the Shah Bano case and criticise them. Most of the people consider it as the handiwork of Muslim clerics.

I would like to place some well known facts here for reference as this judgment will continue to be referred to in the press, if not for anything, at least for the sake of denigrating the Muslim community here and so we must remember what actually happened in the case and thereafter.

Shah Bano was married to an advocate Mohammed Ahmed Khan with a maher of Rs.3000/- They had three sons and two daughters. It seems that they lived together for about 43 years, of course with incompatibilities. She was an uneducated woman. The Rs.3000 maher fixed (which may be equivalent to quite a large amount now) and other informations indicate that they hailed from middle class families. In 1975 Shah Bano was sent out of the house. It is not clear if she occupied the house again or lived in another house of her husband or in her own house as after the judgment when the controversy erupted, a Hindu lady tenant living in the house where Shah Bano lived complained to the police and some political leaders that she was harassed by Shah Bano and her son for paying rent to Ahmed Khan who was her Land Lord.

Shah Bano filed a petition in the judicial first class magistrate’s Court at Indore under Section 125 of the Criminal Procedure Code for a maintenance of Rs.500/- per month. The pity is that under this over-adored or over-praised Section the maximum amount allowable for maintenance is only Rs.500/- The judicial proceedings were dragged on for long. Meanwhile Ahmed Khan divorced her on November 6, 1978.

Let the critics of the Muslim Personal Law note that after three years of the filing of the petition by Shah Bano, the Magistrate ordered Ahmed Khan under Section 125 Cr. P.C. to pay a monthly maintenance of a “princely sum” of Rs.25/- in 1979. Even a “panchayet” or some mediators would have done justice to her in a far more better manner. Then Shah Bano appealed to the Madhya Pradesh High Court and got it increased to Rs.179.20. Ahmed Khan approached the Supreme Court but this amount was upheld there with a judgment which hurt the feelings of the Muslim community.

Immediately after the Supreme Court judgment Maulana Asad Madani visited Tamil Nadu. A meeting was held in Vaniyambadi. He delivered his religious discourse in his inimitable style in sweet Urdu. He referred to the age-old relations of the Jamiat-ul-ulema-e-Hind and the Congress leaders, particularly during the freedom struggle of our country. He drew the attention of the people to the sacrifices made by eminent Ulema during the freedom fight and the support extended by them to Mahatma Gandhiji. It was a very inspiring speech in a highly nationalistic manner.

After the speech, an advocate of Madras High Court Mr. Mohammed Ghouse asked him what he thought of the Supreme Court judgment in the Shah Bano case. His reply was surprising to the audience there. He said that “Court kay faisalon say kya hota hai?” Wazeer-e-Azam Janab Rajiv Gandhi nay vada kya hai aur yaqeen dilaya hai ki woh Muslim Personal Law may mudakhilat naheen karayngay” ( What happens from Court judgments? Prime Minister Mr. Rajiv Gandhi has assured us that there will be no interference in the Muslim Personal Law) Then he proceeded on to other questions put to him by a few persons there.

The fact was that the then Rajya Sabha member Maulana Asad Madani and other ulema of his ilk were actually unaware of what had happened in the apex court. It was something different that he started opposing it after sometime in line with others,

It was not any Maulana or a religious leader who was responsible for the controversy, actually a right one which brought so many things before the people on the Shah Bano judgment. As far as I know, it was none other than Mr. A.G. Noorani who first came out with a thought provoking and well discussed article, published not in any religious periodical but in a popular women’s fortnightly “Femina” under the caption “Excuse me, my Lords”. He strongly criticized the manner in which the judgment was delivered, insulting Islam and re-interpreting Islamic laws without any necessity. He further opined that the judgment flouted the intent of the legislature, brushed aside the precedent and administered its gratuitous advice on a uniform civil code.

Indian Muslims are at least as human as any other religious people. All, whatever their religion or faith, are first human beings created in the same manner by God. No person on the basis of his colour, creed, nationality or any other such thing can be superior to any other person. The differences we see among the people are for the sake of identification only. The person who is dearer to God is the one whose character is good. This is what Islam teaches. How can all the Muslims together think of doing any injustice to anybody or approve any injustice?

The tone and tenor of the Supreme Court judgment irritated the Muslims most. It made them feel alien in their own country and directly and indirectly insulted their religion and national identity so much that they actually revolted against it. The minority Muslim community finding itself in a dilemma over the outbursts of remarks made by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Mr. Y.V. Chandrachud sought a suitable remedy by a democratic process. They did not indulge in any hooliganism in blatant violations of the rule of law or the Constitution as was done on December 6, 1992 when the historic Babri Masjid was “martyred” in the presence of the entire world in a brutal manner. They as law abiding citizens of this country knocked at the door of Parliament for justice. They were right and hence got justice in the manner they wanted.

Indian Muslims, no doubt, felt that the divorce of Shah Bano of Indore by her advocate husband in her old age was unfortunate as divorce, according to Prophet Mohammed (sal-am) was “permissible only as a last resort” and that “kingdom of God trembles when it is pronounced”. In the holy Quran and traditions of the Prophet there are many guide-lines for this undesirable act. There are also no two opinions about the “triple divorce” on one sitting being a practice of the days of ignorance (ayyamul jahiliyya). The holy Quran has given in clear terms the method and a system for honourable separation of the couple if unfortunately it becomes inevitable.

Islamic scholars always preach about the undesirability of divorce. Perhaps because of their attempts divorce like polygamy is less prevalent among Muslims. But unfortunately it seems to be on the increase now. It is time for the community to gear up its preaching machinery and make people realise that compromises and adjustments are necessary for a happy married life.

There are different countries in the world, where people belonging to Christianity, Islam, Hinduism and other faiths live. The laws of every country differ from those of any other country, to whichever religion it may belong. The same laws are not in force even in those countries where religion is just the same one. It is just the question of how a religious group or people or any other group want them. It is actually a democratic and fundamental right of people who have laws of their choice. If anybody thinks that only a common civil code should be in force or be made applicable to all in a country like India where different religious people live in considerable numbers, it is a wrong notion, detrimental to national interests and also integrity. Things like Sati, child marriage, caste outrages, etc. are of course in a different category for which sanction cannot be given on religious or customary grounds. In the same way the dowry system among Muslims which is responsible for many evils should be discouraged in all possible ways.

If law alone can rectify the society and if there is any example of any people eradicating evils in any country only by enacting laws in a particular way, one can consider it. But the facts are different. Various laws, totally different in nature, have been helpful to the people in the world. Sometimes laws have been ineffective also as in our own country, the laws on matters like dowry, polygamy, family planning, etc. could not bring the desired results and are considered to be failures. One is not in a position to say with confidence what laws should be enacted in a multi-lingual, multi-racial and multi-religious country like India.

There is the dire necessity of giving every religious community a feeling of “at home” in our country, which is possible only by following the well chalked out philosophy of unity in diversity. Any attempt for “uniformity” in laws relating to personal affairs of different religious communities can be rightly considered as an attempt of interference in their personal laws and denial of the fundamental rights guaranteed in the Constitution. What is more important is national unity and integrity, and not necessarily the uniformity. Let the Indian garden be more beautiful with its colourful flowers of different attractive shades. Actually Indian strength is in its composite culture. That is why the great founding fathers of our Constitution have drafted it in a manner agreeable to all. If any changes are necessary in any personal law, they should come from within that community in accordance with its traditional and religious ethos.

The great pious Islamic scholars and highly respected personality Maulana Abul Hasan Ali Nadwai, the supremo of the Muslim Personal Law Board and other members of the Board were responsible for representing the Muslim community to the late Prime Minister Mr. Rajiv Gandhi and getting the Muslim Women (protection of rights on divorce) Act 1986 passed in Parliament.

When the Muslim Women Act was passed in Parliament, the Maulana made it clear that there should be no victory processions or any other such sort of jubilation.

Many legal experts including an unorthodox and liberal minded senior advocate of Madras High Court Mr. Habeebullah Badsha have appreciated the Act. Mr. Badsha says: “though the Supreme Court judgment was supposed to have been a boon for Muslim women, the majority of the Muslim women criticized it. As a result of this unexpected unity and sentiments of outrage expressed by Muslims, the Parliament passed the Muslim Women (protection of rights on divorce) Act. There was an uproar against this Act and the government was criticized for having yielded to the so called fundamentalists among the Muslims. Time has however proved that the Act has proved more beneficial to Muslim women than Section 125 of the Criminal Procedure Code, because Courts have been awarding heavy amounts of compensation to divorced Muslim women. This relief is not available under Section 125 of the Cr. P.C.”

Tamil Nadu Muslims also joined the national mainstream in extending their support, not blindly but based on reason and rationality, to the Muslim Personal Law Board. Many meetings and seminars were held and great Islamic scholars and eminent legal experts like Dr. Tahir Mahmood were invited to address them.

The Tamil Nadu Muslim Graduates Association was in the forefront in ascertaining the Muslim points of view on the subject. A seminar organized by it on “The Rights of Muslim Women” was well attended and highly successful. The papers presented mostly by Muslim women in different walks of life highlighted the undeniable fact that Islam provides enough safe-guards for women.

Mrs. Muthahirunnisa was in the lime light. Not only she took part in various gatherings, but also brought out a book, of course, after sometime, on the importance of Islam.

When the Muslim delegation under the leadership of Maulana Nadwi sahib approached Mr. Rajiv Gandhi and apprised him of the feelings of the Indian Muslims who constitute at least 15% of the Indian population with a rich national and religious heritage, spread among different linguistic and cultural groups, contributing for the betterment of our country in every field of activity and expressed what actually had happened in the Supreme Court and what they wanted as a remedy, he was convinced, he was convinced because of his unbiased thinking capacity and promised to do justice to the Muslim community. He fulfilled his promised like an honest and forthright gentleman, which he definitely was.

We frequently come across remarks made by some people criticizing the Muslim Women’s Act 1986 and asking why monthly maintenance is opposed by Muslims. One wonders how can a rational divorced woman demand or accept any “pittance” (maintenance) from her former husband who has already divorced her, particularly when one of the humiliating conditions for giving maintenance is that a divorcee who receives maintenance from her former husband is expected to go to bed with him if he so desires. This is something, to say the least, most undesirable and cannot be tolerated by any respectable woman. It is also against Islamic norms and perhaps against any other religious or social codes.

It is also note-worthy that Shah Bano appealed to the Supreme Court that the verdict be withdrawn because it amounted to interference in the Muslim personal law. There is also reason to believe that the “kanyadan” system of marriage among Hindus is responsible for the thinking that monthly maintenance should be given to the divorced woman by her former husband. In the Muslim society even after marriage a girl’s relations with her parents and other relatives are not severed but remains intact as it was before her marriage.

Islam undoubtedly provides enough safe-guards for all including women who enjoy an exalted status in Islam. Only Islam has given an enviable social and dignified position and rights to women.

My question to all those who still harp on the importance of the Shah Bano judgment and consider the Muslim Women Act as a setback to Muslim women even though it has paid rich dividends is: What was it that Shah Bano got from Section 125 Cr. P.C. after a long legal battle of about 10 years and what is it that a Muslim divorcee cannot get under the provisions of the Muslim Women Act 1986?

We Muslims strongly believe that Islam is the solution for all ills of the society.

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INDIA INTERNATIONAL LEATHER FAIR (IILF) 2012

INDIA INTERNATIONAL LEATHER FAIR (IILF) 2012
V.M. Khaleelur Rahman

The 27th India International Leather Fair 2012 held from 31st January to 3rd February 2012 in Chennai in which 425 exhibitors including 136 from 23 overseas countries participated was highly successful. It was inaugurated by Mr. S.S. Palanimanickam, Hon’ble Minister of State for Finance in a glittering function presided over by Ms. Rita Menon, IAS, Chairperson and Managing Director, India Trade Promotion Orgnisation (ITPO) in the evening on Tuesday, 31st January 2012 and Export Excellence Awards 2010-11 initiated by Council for Leather Exports (CLE) were distributed to various winners. Mr. M. Rafeeque Ahmed, Chairman, CLE, Mr. Neeraj Kumar Gupta, Executive Director, ITPO and Mr. R.K. Jalan, Vice-Chairman, CLE were among those present on the dais. Mr. Neeraj Kumar welcomed the gathering and spoke about the importance of the fair. The hon’ble minister complimented the leather industry for its impressive growth and the ITPO and other support organizations for making this fair a grand one. He also assured the industry of continued support from the Government.

Mr. M. Rafeeque Ahmed, Chairman, CLE appreciated and thanked the ITPO for the significant growth of the IILF and lauded the leather industry for going in the right direction and having done well in the areas of Product Design, Environmental Management, Training of Workforce etc. and expected an export achievement of US$ 4.72 billion.

Ms. Rita Menon, Chairperson, ITPO said that the IILF was an excellent event which demonstrated India’s achievements in the field of leather and leather products and complimented ITPO, CLE, CSIR and CLRI for setting up “Versatality” – the THEME pavilion at IILF 2012 showcasing Indian capabilities in Design and Fashion forecasting. According to her the fair has grown over the years both in terms of number of participants and visitors and that it is recognized as one of the important leather promotion events of India.

The IILF presented a wide range of leather and leather products such as shoes, shoe components, garments, goods, chemicals, machinery etc. and provided a good opportunity for the people connected with the leather industry to understand the current trends in the world leather industry and make arrangements for their requirements. It was highly successful with quite of a large number of exhibitors from home and abroad. But some regular overseas suppliers of raw and wet blue hides and skins were conspicuous by their absence this time. Perhaps they had nothing to offer in these items which are in short supply now not only in our country but also abroad. Even some Arab countries have stopped supplies of these items because of their internal problems. There is no possibility of importing these items even from Pakistan and Bangladesh.

Some participants I talked to had all praise for the organizers for the excellent conduct of the fair but felt that there is need for further improvements. Their suggestions run as follows:

The Council for Leather Exports (CLE) would do well to arrange for more delegations of potential buyers from importing countries of leather and leather products to visit the IILF in order to provide an opportunity to Indian exporters to develop business contacts with them and increase their export and details of such buyers should be given in a separate booklet for the benefit of the exporters.

There should be a separate Cell in the CLE to solve problems of imports and exports.

The leather industry is growing fast but the electricity “power cut” is a big hurdle in its way. Small units are particularly the worst sufferers. The different trade associations in the State should join together and do the needful to protect the interest of the industry.

The leather industry will be happy to know that the ITPO has decided to make the IILF event in Chennai by-annual as the demand for participation by Indian and overseas exhibitors is very much on the increase. It will be welcomed by all as it is expected to pave way for frequent trade meetings and collaborations among Indian and overseas traders and industrialists. No doubt the ITPO is well on the forward march.

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INDIA INTERNATIONAL LEATHER FAIR (IILF) 2012

INDIA INTERNATIONAL LEATHER FAIR (IILF) 2012


V.M. Khaleelur Rahman

The 27th India International Leather Fair 2012 held from 31st January to 3rd February 2012 in Chennai in which 425 exhibitors including 136 from 23 overseas countries participated was highly successful. It was inaugurated by Mr. S.S. Palanimanickam, Hon’ble Minister of State for Finance in a glittering function presided over by Ms. Rita Menon, IAS, Chairperson and Managing Director, India Trade Promotion Orgnisation (ITPO) in the evening on Tuesday, 31st January 2012 and Export Excellence Awards 2010-11 initiated by Council for Leather Exports (CLE) were distributed to various winners. Mr. M. Rafeeque Ahmed, Chairman, CLE, Mr. Neeraj Kumar Gupta, Executive Director, ITPO and Mr. R.K. Jalan, Vice-Chairman, CLE were among those present on the dais. Mr. Neeraj Kumar welcomed the gathering and spoke about the importance of the fair. The hon’ble minister complimented the leather industry for its impressive growth and the ITPO and other support organizations for making this fair a grand one. He also assured the industry of continued support from the Government.

Mr. M. Rafeeque Ahmed, Chairman, CLE appreciated and thanked the ITPO for the significant growth of the IILF and lauded the leather industry for going in the right direction and having done well in the areas of Product Design, Environmental Management, Training of Workforce etc. and expected an export achievement of US$ 4.72 billion.

Ms. Rita Menon, Chairperson, ITPO said that the IILF was an excellent event which demonstrated India’s achievements in the field of leather and leather products and complimented ITPO, CLE, CSIR and CLRI for setting up “Versatality” – the THEME pavilion at IILF 2012 showcasing Indian capabilities in Design and Fashion forecasting. According to her the fair has grown over the years both in terms of number of participants and visitors and that it is recognized as one of the important leather promotion events of India.

The IILF presented a wide range of leather and leather products such as shoes, shoe components, garments, goods, chemicals, machinery etc. and provided a good opportunity for the people connected with the leather industry to understand the current trends in the world leather industry and make arrangements for their requirements. It was highly successful with quite of a large number of exhibitors from home and abroad. But some regular overseas suppliers of raw and wet blue hides and skins were conspicuous by their absence this time. Perhaps they had nothing to offer in these items which are in short supply now not only in our country but also abroad. Even some Arab countries have stopped supplies of these items because of their internal problems. There is no possibility of importing these items even from Pakistan and Bangladesh.

Some participants I talked to had all praise for the organizers for the excellent conduct of the fair but felt that there is need for further improvements. Their suggestions run as follows:

The Council for Leather Exports (CLE) would do well to arrange for more delegations of potential buyers from importing countries of leather and leather products to visit the IILF in order to provide an opportunity to Indian exporters to develop business contacts with them and increase their export and details of such buyers should be given in a separate booklet for the benefit of the exporters.

There should be a separate Cell in the CLE to solve problems of imports and exports.

The leather industry is growing fast but the electricity “power cut” is a big hurdle in its way. Small units are particularly the worst sufferers. The different trade associations in the State should join together and do the needful to protect the interest of the industry.

The leather industry will be happy to know that the ITPO has decided to make the IILF event in Chennai by-annual as the demand for participation by Indian and overseas exhibitors is very much on the increase. It will be welcomed by all as it is expected to pave way for frequent trade meetings and collaborations among Indian and overseas traders and industrialists. No doubt the ITPO is well on the forward march.

(Indian Leather, March 2012)

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