Bihar Anjuman (BA) Riyadh chapter recently organized a felicitation ceremony to appreciate collective efforts exerted by various organizations to provide relief to the flood victims in the north Indian states of Bihar and Assam. Addressing a gathering of the prominent members of the Indian community, BA Riyadh chapter President Seraj Akram called upon all NRI organizations to unify their efforts for community welfare, particularly in the field of education. The program started with the recitation of a few verses from the Glorious Qur'an by Imtiyaz Ahmed Nadvi. While underlining the remarkable achievements made by BA since its inception, Akram said, "To make our efforts more effective and efficient, there is need to form a parent body of all organizations to improve coordination among them for achieving better results in terms of community uplift. This will also help optimize the use of resources, avoid duplication of efforts, explore new opportunities and develop resources for fund collection. "We at BA mainly focus on educational development of Muslim community of Bihar and Jharkhand. It is the responsibility of the privileged NRIs to pay back to the community the way it has immensely contributed in shaping our career and life. We aim to create awareness among the Muslim community about various schemes run by the government for their benefit." Elaborating on the achievements made by BA in the field of education, Azhar Hussain made a comprehensive presentation about its scholarship program, its mechanism and how it is going to shape a career path for the financially weak Muslims in India. "It is a matter of pride for BA Riyadh chapter that our entity sponsors 50 out of 150 students in a scholarship program being committed by BA Global," he said. Biswas General Secretary Akhtarul Islam Siddiqui emphasized the need to come out with a mechanism on how to make best use of government schemes in the event of a natural disaster. "Our social backwardness cannot be eradicated without formulating our own political leadership," he added. Referring to the verse of Qur'an "You will not attain true goodness until you give of what you love," veteran NRI Salim Zubaidi said Islam teachers its followers to compete against one another to extend help to those in need. "It must never be forgotten that self-sacrifice performed with true sincerity is most valued in the sight of our Lord and a marvelous opportunity for Muslims who seek to attain the infinite blessings of Paradise," he added. Speaking on the occasion, Salahuddin Manzari highlighted the importance of setting goals for students and establishing a career guidance center to provide right direction to them to select suitable career paths. Senior journalist Ghazanfar Ali Khan, who was the chief guest at the event, stressed that Muslims should have their own independent media house and appealed to the community to come forward to establish a news channel with the aim of presenting a true picture of the Muslim community in India. Representatives of organizations who participated in flood relief were felicitated. They included AHSAS, BISWAS, HERA Educational and Welfare Trust, Malick Welfare Trust, Nadwa Alumni Association, JMI Alumni Association, Indian Welfare and Cultural Organization and Bihar Anjuman. The program was conducted by Abed Husain and Syed Munir Ahmed proposed the vote of thanks.
