Bengaluru: “The fear and inferiority complex which had captivated us into its manacle has finally been broken down and we have started to feel as if we are free from its clutches. Today we feel as if we would now stand up for our rights and fight for our privileges. We are the citizens of this country and will always be. May a thousand times we be stopped from counting ourselves among the mainstream, but now we have surpassed all the obstacles which cross our path.” These were the thoughts of the national president of Association for Protection of Civil Rights (APCR) and the renowned advocate of Mumbai High Court, Advocate Yusuf Machala. He was presiding over the legal awareness workshop which was held in Bengaluru by APCR Karnataka Chapter. Presenting a couplet from the poem of a renowned poet Mr. Allama Iqbal Ghulami me na kaam aati hain taqdeeren na tadbeeren....jo ho zauqe yaqeen paida to cut jati hain zanjeeren…(‘Neither swords nor plans are of any avail in slavery. Chains are cast away when the joy of Faith is born!’…), Mr. Machala with extreme determination said that after a successful workshop, he would hope that we would be always ready to fight for our rights in all circumstances then onwards and would put fourth our efforts to achieve the fundamental rights provided by our constitution. He threw light on the four ideals of our constitution; namely, justice, equality, liberty and fraternity. ‘We will continue our fight for justice, equality and liberty, but fighting for fraternity is not in our reach. The fraternity should be developed among citizens; the path of fraternity is not in fighting, but mutual understanding and tolerance. He called upon all the sects of the nation to work whole heartedly towards attaining unity in integrity.
More than three hundred active members of APCR from every district across the Karnataka state, including president and secretary of every district took part in the workshop. The workshop mainly put light on the important legal aspects needed mainly some difficult situations. During a question answer session, a few members told the representatives how the police enigmatize certain innocent people, how the government agencies illegally kidnap innocent youth only to impose unwanted cases on them and how the government officials arrest the youth without the legal notices and questioned what would be the best way to carry out retaliatory proceedings against such cases. The experts answered all the detailed queries regarding such cases in the workshop.
The program began with the recitation of the verses of Holy Quran by Ameen Ehsaan. The welcome speech was given by the APCR president of Karnataka state, Mr. Saaduddin M Saleh. The national president Advocate Yusuf Machala presented details on the aims of establishment of APCR, its responsibilities and the way how it works. The national coordinator of APCR and a renowned advocate of Azamgadh, Mr. Abubakar Sabaq gave a detailed talk on ‘Criminal justice system in India’ and presented the audience with his valuable thoughts.
The second session began soon after the lunch, where additional advocate general, government of Karnataka Mr. AS Ponanna put light on fundamental rights and duties of the citizens. The former IGP and former KPSC member of Karnataka, Mr. DN Munni Krishna (IPS) put light on the duties of police and civil rights functionaries and called special attention to improve the human rights in Karnataka.
The active member of APCR from Gulbarga Mr. Shaikh Shafi Ahmed and Uttara Kannada district secretary of APCR from Bhatkal Qamruddin Mashaikh were felicitated on the occasion for the recognition of their services.
Finally, the APCR secretary of Karnataka Advocate Muhammed Niyaz S presented the vote of thanks and the workshop came to an end by 5pm in the evening. Various responsible personalities of executive committee of APCR were present on the dais on the occasion.