Citizens of India may be angry with the Tablighi Jamaat, but let’s not forget at least one member of the Jamaat had put India on the global sporting scene with distinction.
India’s celebrated athletics coach late Mohammad Ilyas Babar was a staunch supporter of the Tablighi Jamaat. He also spotted, trained and took Padma Shri Olympian Sriram Singh to dizzying heights. Sriram won a gold medal in 800 metres in two successive Asian Games and finished a creditable seventh in the Montreal Olympic Games in 1976.
Not many would know that Babar was a commerce graduate and champion athlete of the Osmania University in Hyderabad. But after he passed out from the National Institute of Sports in Patiala with the first batch of NIS coaches in 1961, he made Delhi his base.
Rajputana Rifles in Delhi hired Babar as the athletics coach, where he spotted Sriram Singh in 1967. And the rest, as they say, is history.
Also read: Tablighi Jamaat will have to change its ways in post-Covid world order
Babar at the Markaz
Whenever Babar was not on the tracks with Sriram and other top Indian athletes, he would be at Delhi’s Nizamuddin. He would teach underprivileged children at the Markaz and spend hours at the teashop then run by a man called Sami.
As a young runner, I was also under Babar’s tutelage. But he never ever discussed his religious views with us. In fact, it was Sami who told us that Babar Sahib used to teach at the Markaz.
Babar was a fakir in the sense that he never sought wealth. On the contrary, he spent whatever he had on Sriram and other athletes, even at the cost of his own three children.
Also read: RSS says Tablighi Jamaat conduct not reflection on all Muslims, they’re aiding govt in fight
Going to the Olympics
During the Olympic games, we asked him to go to Montreal to be with Sriram for the greatest race of his life. But he made up his mind to go only after Sriram Singh ran a brilliant race in heats on 23 July 1976.
Through the good efforts of then foreign secretary Jagat Mehta, we got a passport for Babar in a few hours and he was on board a flight to Montreal on 24 July. He saw Sriram’s final race on 25 July and was back at Nizamuddin by the evening of 27 July. In Montreal too, he stayed two nights in a masjid.
Babar never missed a namaz. When Sriram was training on the lawns at Rajpath, Babar would spread his janamaz and offer prayers under a jamun tree.
In the current coronavirus context, it feels sad that everyone at Nizamuddin or anywhere else with similar religious leanings is being painted with a brush of hatred. But before we do that, let us think of Babar and thousands of others who served the community with distinction.
The author is a sports columnist and senior freelance journalist. Views are personal.
Your eulogizing of a coward’s treachery because he did some service in sports ages ago and he didn’t talk much about Isla then to you is as amusing as news item of portal.Hiding like a coward preaching nonsense to gullible to jahils is ignorable to you, not for any sensible and unbiased person of any religion or faith.
#TablighiJamat members were founders of Harkat-ul-Mujahideen,which hijacked AI flight in 99.
Some 9/11 Al-Qaeda suspects detained by US had stayed in Nizamuddin Markaz.
Jamaat was involved in burning of 59 Hindu Karsevaks in Godhra.
TJ recruits youths for terror training in Pak.
1926से जमात का वजूद है।यह इस्लामी तंजीम भारत में ही पैदा हुई।जो भारतीय हिन्दू मुस्लमान हो गये हैं उन्हें घर वापसी से रोकने के लिए इस तंजीम का जन्म हुआ।
80%हिंदुओं वाले हिंदुस्तान में यह पले बड़े और आज शायद 126से भी ज्यादा मुल्कों में यह फैले हुए है।
किसी ने इन्हें आज तक नहीं रोका टोका।जो करना है करो, संविधान और हिंदुत्व पूरी आजादी देता है।
लेकिन यह अपनी ज़हालत को अपनी और हमारी मौत का सामान बनाये हुएं हैं।हर एक जमाती सुसाइड बंब बना घूम रहा है।उनका लीडर साथ उल्टी बातें बोल रहा है।
जो मरना ही चाहे सौ बार मरे।इनकी तो जिंदगी ही मौत के बाद शुरू होती है। लेकिन जल्दी से ताकि कम से कम संक्रमण हो पाये।
See It is politics sattva guna ,rajoguna ,tamoguna can be in the same man
Yes we respect Mr Ilyas Babar…. He was a true human being. Markez doesn’t stand with terrorist group .Mr Ilyas used to go there to educate unprivelleged kids .Bt now the purpose of markez has been turn upside down. They want to creat hevoc.
They have committed a cruel crime…
the freaking right wingers missing the point. yes it was a mistake by the tablighis. they should not have organized the gathering in these times. the government too is at fault for giving permission and visas. but the fact remains that many tablighis are not very worldly wise people as their main focus is the other world, the akhira, in Arabic. most of them don’t have modern education. Muslims will be the most affected as the infected tablighis would be interacting mostly with their community. why would they deliberately infect their own community members? the whole episode was a result of ignorance and obscurantism. it’s for this reason they should be banned like they are banned in several countries. of course petty journalists like Sudhir will make it a communal issue for favours from Modi. this is a godsent for bjp after the citizenship bill, shaheenbagh etc.
Thankyou for this very informative article. It was a mistake by the markaz people. Nobody wants to die . These people are innocent. The majority must acknowledge that the minority are part of them. Thanks for this article.
IT Might not be their mistake to attend but definitively their mistake to not come out and cooperate with the doctors and health workers. In Some instances they even beat the workers who came to help them. They harassed the nurses by roaming nude. They are still helping the foreigners by hiding their whereabouts. They invited foreigners for religious preachings which is not permitted on visiting visas. Kindly don’t play your religious card to divert as usual on any topic. Those who did no cooperate should strictly be punished and they should not be allowed to avail any benefits of the governments such as ration ,free govt hospital services , reservation for education and jobs etc.
Jamaat people’s can not walk nude or harm someone knowingly.
These are baseless allegations on them.
Try to find yourself truely and you will get the answer.
what do you mean “can not”. So the media reporting is fools. Mr. Ghayour Khan. we cant wake up a guy who is acting as if sleeping. You are one of them. This tells the truth that whatever might be the case you would support it because the culprits are from your religion.
1 . Roaming Nude (https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/tablighi-jamaat-patients-making-vulgar-signs-roaming-nude-inside-hospital-ghaziabad-cmo-tells-police-1662659-2020-04-02)
2. Spitting On DOctors (https://theprint.in/india/tablighi-attendees-creating-trouble-at-hospitals-delhi-govt-asks-for-more-police-vigil/394068/)
3.Throwing Urine bottles (https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/coronavirus-tablighi-jamaat-urine-filled-bottles-thrown-at-delhi-flats-holding-mosque-event-attendee-2208012)
4 Misbehaving (https://news.abplive.com/videos/news/india-maulana-supports-tablighi-jamaat-attendees-who-misbehaved-in-quarantine-1193495)
I checked with my facts now it is your time to wake up and know the truth. And also come out of the illusion that your religion’s persons will not do anything wrong because they are from your religion. Get Well Soon.
True. If they are so disciplined, why did they stone when healthcare workers went to check them in Madhya Pradesh village. It was recorded in video (which is also not fake) and one of the doctors got hurt and admitted was also not fake. It is not about Tabliqui. It is about mindset of anti-establishment. Anything the establishment says, we do not want to follow, because we feel that we want our own law. Let us accept the fact and move on. We should not communalist and few people mistake should not be painted as community mistake. And people in the same community also should raise their voice, rather remaining silent spectators or defending them.
Who is minority? Tablighis do not belong to minorities. How come a community with 30% population can be treated as minority. There is a necessarily to amend Constitution in this regard.
Wow !! What a piece of shit article !!
Publishers are anti Hindhus
Before pointing finger at-
1) RSS, remember how they saved lives of people during various natural calamities
2) Modi, remember how many pending issues he has put to rest
3) Amit Shah, remember how firmly he has managed to take control of the Kashmir situation
… List can go on. Some people will get butt hurt, right?
Tabliqi jammat has done a crime by first, not accepting their mistake and secondly, trying to hide its members. These people deserves contempt and well as deserve punishment for being superstitious, negligent misbehaving with the medical staff and violating the administrative guidelines.
We respect Mr Babar. But it must not be taken that anyone one who follow his religion got the license to spread the virus. Dear The Print what you want to prove. It would have been better if you say it was mistake ask the followers to come out and help in cintainment of virus. Instead people either suppprting tabligh fellows or defending them. What they have done and still some of thwm doing is crime against humanity.
To save humanity from a disaster is far better a deed than coaching some athletes.
Before I think this print media is good and they sources are good and real news journalists, but they completely fail in this Nizamuddin case ,
I request you editor please visit personally to markaz meet the scholars there and if you Muslims spend 3 days , then write what ever you want in or against nuzamuddin markaz , but before this not
Hence at present I am regular reader of the print news ,but now I stop this too
The way you start column its ridicules.
I fully endorse what Syed is Saying and this is a Fashion for The We Indians Brigade Just hitchhike on somebody’s opinion. I am shocked if print is printing Bull then What is Shekar doing in this Company. Please have the Decency to visit and meet people and then decide. Thankgod KHUMBA MELA was not there I shudder to think what would have happened we possibly called Our Army.
Jai Shree Ram Jai Shree Krsna
Viruses like covid 19 will come and go. But who will save us from the communal virus which is ever present and deadlier. Just look at the comments.
I think the article is mixing two completely separate issues. While the contribution of an institution or individual to nation building is always worth appreciation, it is not an excuse to wrong at other front. Nobody is angry with Tabligi what it’s members and it does practice, people are angry with the stand it took during this crisis. Tellng people not to fear corona as it won’t affect them, so continue flocking to -mosques, meeting, eating together when system is expecting support from one and all. Then hiding here and there, knowing well that it night cause unprecedented spread of the menace. Even after system requested to come out help it to fight , they spread through out the country. Result everybody knows. While we were close to controlling this pandemic, things are derailed_ mostly due to Tabligi. That’s why country is angry, not due to what it’s members do.
Weak defences. Hapless ‘The Print.’. Shame shame . Can you survive this term of Modi with such butter finger counters?
Seeing the comments, I am wondering how biased media has currupted the minds of our educated masses. By the way, Dronacharya awardee, Ilyas Babar’s trainees included illustrious Jagmal Singh, BV Satyanarayana, BS Barua, Sriram Singh, Tarlok Singh, Charles Borromeo, Bagicha Singh, Harlal Singh, Ram Narayan Singh and Geeta Zutshi besides others. Two of his trainees got Padma Sri and five got Arjuna awards. Simultaneously he got the Dronacharya Award in 1994.
I can totally see that we Indians are broken into pieces.
We have no fuckin right to speak or judge anyone. Hindus against the Muslims. Muslims against the Hindus. Is this how everyone want their countries to be?! I just don’t know. I see Sudhir in zee news directly slamming all Muslims as Human grenades carrying virus. He’s asking the non-Muslims to stay always from all these Muslims. Am like have you all lost it?! The virus fuckin sees no religion. If one Muslim has got it. Yes he is gonna spread it across. I agree. Why don’t we people see him as just another human. India is obviously a country with insanely uneducated people. It’s obviously difficult to make them understand how contagious these viruses are. Maybe these Tablighi people were a lot religiously orthodox just as any mother Hindus or Christians and were completely careless about the infection. They were just unaware. It was anyone’s motive to spread virus. Why don’t anyone see that side of it. Why do just stand by what the media shows us. Why don’t you do some fact checks. Have we gone insane either. Yeah. The rate of spreading has speeded up cuz of Tablighi yes. But why don’t we see as if it’s just another humans who has infected himself due to ignorance. Why is the main stream media spreading hate against a religion?! Aren’t we all humans before being a Hindu or Muslim or Christian or whatever. Save humanity. Practice hygiene. Saying Go corona is of no use. Clapping hands might encourage the doctors and health care workers but not the people who are hungry at this moment of time. Holding lights or diyas. Sorry modiji yeah it of course gives you a sense of brightness within you. But think of the kinds who are starving.
CORRECTED VERSION
I am stunned by the irrational logic of this author! This is irresponsible journalism at its worst. The logic portrayed in the article presents, in my opinion, a mental health question of the journalist in question. I am the last to support censuring of the free press but after reading this trash, I would happily vote for it. So, because of good sportsmanship and performance we should forgive the dangerous and totally irresponsible behaviour by this group? You are effectively saying that what this group has consciously and willingly decided to do should be forgiven because of the sports record of one single member of this group! Your logic defies belief. Those who took part in this gathering, very clearly and willingly and consciously, have clearly demonstrated the their TOTAL disregard not only for the rule of law but for other members in our society, they are deliberately and naively playing Russian roulette with our lives. When Erich Kästner created the words:
” guilty are not only those who commit the crime, but also all those who do not hinder it from happening”
It clearly demonstrate that this author is just as guilty of irresponsible and selfish behaviour as all those who is so willingly and consciously participated in this insanely dangerous gathering. It also again demonstrates how dangerous stupid selfish people can be to society. In my view, such people have not earned the right to vote or to live in a democratic society.
Very well written. This publication, I don’t feel like mentioning its name, is a waste paper bin. It is useless and has bankruptcy of thought and diseased min. You are right – freedom of expression has limits. There were and are many from the community who have and are selflessly contributing to the nation. Stupid journalist
Such a pathetic article. The Print publishes the most disgusting articles.
Hi Print Editors:
Not finding enough articles to publish during the lockdown?
Pathetic piece of writing.
No quality control.
Yes same thing with media not finding anything to survive and they started targeting Muslims to run their show
Ayo ajiahdi..they may have gotten virus not on purpose…but spitting on doctors… misbehaving with female nurses.. throwing stones…shitting in hospital corridors… This is on purpose…hiding covid19 positive foreign nationals without reporting to police…this is why the Muslim are Human Grenades.. understood right u fucker? They behave like this BECAUSE OF ISLAM…BECAUSE 5 TIMES NAMAZ WILL CURE VIRUS AND KAAFIRS SHOULD DIE BY LICKING NOTES AND FRUITS AND SPITTING ON THEM … Hence..Muslims are the doing virus jihad..got it?
Should we also remember which community demanded for the creation of Pakistan but refused to move there and instead want special privileges in India. Should we also remember the slogan of Bharat Tere tukde honge which is still recited and desired by some in a particular community. Should we also remember that during the shah bano case era there was a community which said that Shariat is above any law of the land. Should we also remember about the hate for the kaffirs which is openly taught in madarssas .
Before praising Tablighi, remember Lord Vishnu for he created the Universe.Does this article even make any sense? It is this exact kind of white washing which needs to stop. A mistake has been made, accept it, go into quarantine or encourage those hiding to go into quarantine and seek medical support. But no, seeking brownie points in the name of religion or a Jamaat is more important! Reprehensible!
Comic,, we had a tabhligi who was a coach in bygone era so don’t accuse tabhkig,, I think this qualifies as a joke at the best,, responsible media shd desist from jokers in these testing times
what non sense is this?
does his past good deeds give him a right to spread virus?
Does this article pass as journalism? I hope that The Print did not pay him. Let the Tablighi Jamaat do it.
Oh, please! The Print has lost it, it seems. Another one down the drain. Shekhar Gupta, where are you?
Oh my good lord… really.
This author has lost it.
People are questioning the intent, actions of tabligis.
Case in point
Congregating in thousands when infected
Knowingly put other individuals/community at risk of infection
Defying law and order applicable to aam jaanta
Defy lockdown as Islam would be in danger
Spit on medical professional do that it can spread to them
Sell fruits n vegetable with spit on it intentionally
Take clothes off and roam naked in front of female staff
Refuse quarantine and continue praying together in defiance
Beat up and scare away medical staff
Beat up police
But remember a Muslim coach who was Tablighi, in 1976 took Indian sports to great height so don’t question the current Tablighi.
Remember Mughals gave us muglai food, biryani so don’t question their plunder, loot, mayhem, massacre, jaziya, conversion.
The author wins Nobel peace prize for this article alone.
Question TJ of course, and book them for murder. And it should also then extend to temples authoritues MP CM and supporters, Manju Tiwari for firing in support of diya campaign, BJP MLA from Hyderabad for organising Mashal rally with 60 members, and Parliament which was in session till 23 March. The author is just sharing his thoughts. What is your problem. Collectively we all are responsible.
What cr@p are you talking. Comparing the parliament session with an illegal congregation. As they say hatred towards makes people lose common sense. Perfect for you. Srip communicating through the posterior end of your alimentary canal.
When 1000s are involved in criminal activity, 1 exception is not enough. Don’t fool the Hindus.
What kind of logic is this? Just because one person with certain beliefs did good many years ago, are we supposed to ignore the harmful actions of so many irresponsible people now. How are the two connected. Just because they follow the same cult. So the author puts criminals and do-gooders in the same bracket because they have similar religious beliefs. Immature write up.
What nonsense. I think govt. Should ban THE PRINT first. How is corona virus related to indias position in olympics?
Likewise we even cursed kanika kapoor for being irresponsible.. she also enteratined us.
Are you freaking kidding! A couple of Asiad golds vs a huge contributor to an already fatal pandemic!!!!
So, they acquired license to kill because of one coach in the 70s? How about an article eulogizing Osama bin Laden?
How’s this relevant…too much of political correctness…get real man…its a crime to call a spade a spade…liberals…intellectuals…non sense
We need to be able to separate issues in public discussions like this. The late Mohammad Ilyas Babar’s contribution is laudable, but that should not take away from the fact that the group’s actions resulting in the spread of covid19 were atrocious. We should be able to appreciate one and denounce the other.