Tamil Nadu Muslim Munnetra Kazagham
Tamil Nadu Muslim Munnetra Kazhagam | |
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Leader | J.S. RIFAI |
Secretary-General | P.Abdul Samad |
Founded | 1995 |
Headquarters | MannadiChennai |
Newspaper | Makkal Urimai |
Party flag | |
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Website | |
www | |
Tamil Nadu Muslim Munnetra Kazhagam Tamil: தமிழ்நாடு முஸ்லீம் முன்னேற்றக் கழகம் (Tamil Nadu Muslim Progress Conference) or TMMK is a Muslim non-governmental organization established in the state of Tamil Nadu in India in 1995. The TMMK has described itself in news releases as "a mass based" organization.[1]
Background
The objective of TMMK is to protect the rights of the Muslim community in a democratic manner.[2] TMMK has its branch offices in all the districts of Tamil Nadu and in several villages of the state. It also has its foreign offices in Malaysia, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and other gulf countries has more than 1 lakh members. It was involved in Tsunami relief work[3] and does social services including blood donation camps,[4] eye camps[5] and free ambulance services to poor. It
Rallies and protests
TMMK invites public to hold peaceful protests and demonstrations for demanding rights of Muslims.[6] In February 2005, the TMMK urged the then-Chief Minister Jayalalithaa Jayaram to direct the Wakf Board to send all its communications only in the Tamil language to the administrators of mosques.[7] A March 2007 rally organized by the TMMK in New Delhi drew support from the Association of Indian Muslims (AIM) of America.[8] The TMMK has campaigned for the reservation of seats in educational institutions and the ear-marking of entrepreneurship schemes for Muslims in Tamil Nadu as per the recommendations of the Sachar Committee.[9] The Tamil Nadu Thawheedh Jamaath (TNTJ) has been termed "a breakaway group" of the organization.[10]
Every year TMMK observes anniversary of Babri Masjid demolition in a peaceful manner.[11] These protests draw huge number of people from across the Tamil Nadu state and demand the arrest of 68 perpetrators including Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Balasaheb Thackeray, LK Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi as implicated by Liberhan commission.[12] The organization has also stages many protests for the protection Tamil Nadu fisherman[13] and dalits.
Manithaneya Makkal Katchi
In early 2009, a new political party Manithaneya Makkal Katchi was launched after an amendment to the bylaws.[14][15][16][17] The party contested in the parliamentary election the same year in 4 constituencies and polled 68,346 votes.[18] But in the 2011 Assembly election, MMK allied with AIADMK and won 2 of 3 seats contested.
Views Against Terrorism
TMMK has condemned several acts of terrorism in India and in foreign lands. When the Al-Qaeda released a video related to Indian sub-continent, TMMK condemned it and advised Indian Muslims to ignore such hate messages. The leader of TMMK said “this (message) will only help security agencies in country to further target Muslim youth in case a terrorist act does take place.[19]” In several occasion, TMMK has also condemned Israel for its brutality against Palestinian People.[20] It has also raised voices for UN intervention to stop genocide of Palestinians.[21] Similarly, TMMK has protested the genocide of Tamil people in Sri Lanka.[22]
Criticism
- The TMMK is believed to be controlled by former Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) cadres, who have been implicated in many terrorist acts.[23] The TMMK urged the Union government (the government of India) to lift the ban on SIMI in 2005.[24] University of Haifa political scientist David Bukay lists the TMMK as a "fundamentalist and subversive group."[25] However, Tamil Nadu police believes that TMMK is a moderate organization[2]
- Activists of the TMMK and the Islamist al-Umma have been known to express communalist sentiments against Hindus in riots and protests. They are regarded as part of a covert network of Islamic Fundamentalist political outfits established in the region.[26][27]
- After the 1998 Coimbatore bombings and the communal violence that ensued from it, members of the TMMK were arrested following the banning of the related Jihadist group al-Umma (listed in Extremist Groups) who were directly behind the blasts. Leaders of the Jihad Committee and the TMMK were arrested in a statewide crackdown. Among those arrested were the TMMK president M.H. Jawahirulla and treasurer S.M. Bakkar. Over the next few days, many activists of the TMMK were arrested at Keezhakkarai, Devakottai, Dindigul, Nagapattinam, Thanjavur, Nagercoil, Melapalayam and Udumalpet as a precautionary measure.[23][28]
On December 6, 2003, 450 activists of the TMMK were arrested for attempting stage a protest rally.[29] Similar arrests were made earlier in 2000 where TMMK members were implicated.[30]
References
- ↑ TMMK news release (5 December 2004). "2004: Indian Muslim Statements". The Milli Gazette.
- 1 2 "Navigation News - Frontline". frontline.in.
- ↑ "When helping mattered most - Hindustan Times". Retrieved 2014-12-28.
- ↑ "Blood donation". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 7 January 2013.
- ↑ "Free eye camp held by TN Muslim Munnetra Kazhagam". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 31 July 2011.
- ↑ "Babri Masjid anniversary passes off peacefully at Tiruchi". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 7 December 2012.
- ↑ Staff reporter (20 February 2005). "TMMK demand". The Hindu. Chennai, India.
- ↑ Association of Indian Muslims of America news release (7 March 2007). "American Muslims Support Muslim Welfare Rally at the Indian Parliament". Indian Muslims website based in Jupiter, Florida.
Kaleem Kawaja, president of Association of Indian Muslims (AIM) gave his organization's support to the rally organized by Tamil Nadu Muslim Munnetra Khazgam (TMMK) which seek to uplift the Muslim community in India… AIM demanded that the central and state governments implement specific and properly funded programs to alleviate the extraordinary educational and socioeconomic backwardness of the Muslims of India.
- ↑ United News of India (16 June 2007). "TMMK appeals to Centre, state to stick to reservation". Webindia123.com.
- ↑ Staff reporter (30 August 2006). "Wakf Board takes possession of mosque; tension at Melapalayam". The Hindu. Chennai, India.
- ↑ "TMMK holds peaceful rally in Chennai against Babri Masjid demolition". TwoCircles.net. TwoCircles.net. 7 Dec 2009. Retrieved 2014-11-19.
- ↑ "68 people indicted in Liberhan report". IBN. Nov 24, 2009. Retrieved 2014-11-19.
- ↑ "Fishermen strike enters fourth day". 2011-12-03. Retrieved 19 Nov 2014.
- ↑ "TMMK, MMK leaders call on Jayalalithaa". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 6 August 2010.
- ↑
- ↑
- ↑ "Manithaneya Makkal Katchi wants more than one seat". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 8 March 2009.
- ↑ "MMK polled 68k votes across 4 parliamentary seats" (PDF). eci.nic.in.
- ↑ "Muslim outfits lash out at al-Qaeda video". The Hindu. The Hindu. September 10, 2014. Retrieved 2014-11-19.
- ↑ "TMMK condemns Israel's action". The Hindu. The Hindu. 2014-07-16. Retrieved 2014-11-19.
- ↑ "Parties press for UN intervention to stop genocide of Palestinians". The Hindu. 29 July 2014. Retrieved 2014-11-19.
- ↑ "Tamil Nadu Muslims protest against genocidal Sri Lanka". Tamil News Network. 20 June 2014. Retrieved 19 Nov 2014.
- 1 2 Tamil Nadu: The Rise of Islamist Fundamentalism, by P.G. Rajamohan, South Asia Terrorism Portal
- ↑ Staff reporters (25 September 2007). "Lift ban on SIMI: TMMK". The Hindu. Chennai, India.
- ↑ Bukay, David (2004). Muhammad's Monsters: A Comprehensive Guide to Radical Islam for Western Audiences P177-178. New Leaf Press. ISBN 0-89221-576-3.
Evidence of these processes [preparation for large-scale acts of terror] is mounting throughout India, and is reflected in the number of fundamentalist and subversive groups that exist, and the geographical spread of their activities. The most prominent of these include the Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, the All India Milli Council, All India Jihad Committee, The People's Democratic Party, Muslim United Front, Tamil Nadu Muslim Munnetra Kazagham, National Development Front, Students Islamic Movement of India, among others
- ↑ Indicting the police Frontline Magazine - June 10–23, 2000
- ↑ Beyond Territorial Disputes by Kuldeep Kumar, Deutsche Welle 2007
- ↑ Behind the Coimbatore tragedy, by T. Subramaniyam, Frontline 15 (05) 1998
- ↑ Anniversary ends peacefully The Hindu - December 07, 2003
- ↑ Bandh against attack on mosque The Tribune, Chandigarh - December 12, 2000
External links
- Tamil Nadu Muslim Munnetra Kazagham website (English language version).