Author: Manoj Nair
Publication: Mid-Day
Date: November 23, 2004
URL: http://web.mid-day.com/news/city/2004/november/97657.htm
The family of former sheriff Fakhruddin
T Khorakiwala was threatened with ex- communication from the spiritual
head, the Syedna, of their close-knit Bohra Muslim community.
The threat was issued following
an informal chat between Khorakiwala and the reformist leader Asgar Ali
Engineer at an Iftaar function hosted at the American Consulate, Breach
Candy, on November 3.
The Khorakiwalas own the retail
chain Akbarallys and pharma company Wockhardt.
Though the issue has reportedly
been 'settled' after the distressed Khorakiwalas appealed for reconciliation
with the angry leader, the two lakh-strong Bohra community in the city
is agog with reports that the family was declared a social outcast. Khorakiwala
is the chancellor of Jamia Milia Islamia University in Delhi.
Khorakiwala was not available for
comment. Hunaid Khorakiwala, his grandson, eluded a remark on the issue
as well. "It is over. We have settled the matter. Everything is calm now.
We will be in trouble if we raise the issue again," he said.
"The reports about a social boycott
are a propaganda by the reformists," said an official from the public relations
department of the Syedna's office in Badri Mahal on D N Road, the headquarters
from where the trust runs its vast network of educational and social institutions.
Engineer, who leads the reformist
group in the community, was awarded the 'Right Livelihood Award' this year.
The award is often referred as the 'alternate Nobel Prize'.
Engineer said that they sat at the
same table to break the day's fast. "We did not speak about the reformist
movement or the Bohra community at all. Since he is the chancellor of Jamia
Milia, we spoke about the work at the university," said Engineer.
Soon after the Iftaar, officials
from the Syedna's office are reported to have issued the diktat of 'baraat'
on Khorakiwala. 'Baraat', or social boycott, is a sensitive issue within
the community.
In 1979, a retired judge, N P Nathwani,
conducted a non-official inquiry - Nathwani Commission - into reports about
harassment of community members through such diktats.
The commission was critical about
'baraat' and 'misaaq' (the oath of unquestioning obedience to the Syedna
that every Bohra is required to take when he or she becomes a major).
A refusal to recite the 'misaaq'
invited 'baraat'. It suggested a legislation to curb what is called a violation
of human rights.
Though the report was submitted
to the government and a bill proposed in the state Assembly, the recommendations
were ignored.
