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The three humble Muslim entrepreneurs that the prime minister is mightily impressed by.
Opposition parties have been ranting against Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his not so inclusive approach while governing India, and especially excluding the Muslim community when it comes to his vision of ‘Sab Ka Saath, Sab Ka Vikas.’
Rediff.com profiles three Indian Muslims who have found praise and also mention on global platforms by Modi, garnering praise from him on how they are bringing about change in India in spite of all the difficulties they face.
Javed Ahmed Dak
Modi mentioned him in his ‘Maan Ki Baat’ radio programme.
Javed was attacked by militants in Kashmir in 1996 which left him paralysed.
In spite of that Javed did not give up hope and fought back to give meaning to his life.
Javed started a school for special children in his home at Bejibehara in South Kashmir which also happens to be the hometown of Jammu & Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed.
It is 19 years since the militant strike but Javed has not stopped his good work. He continues to work for his school despite his handicap.
Imran Khan
A Sanskrit teacher from Alwar, Rajasthan, suddenly shot into fame one fine day.
Modi in his speech at Wembley, London spoke about the good work that Imran was doing in the development of apps.
Imran has made 52 educational apps which help students.
While speaking about Imran Khan, Modi said, “India is beyond headlines in newspapers and is much more than what you see on television.”
He then went on to name Imran by stating, “In Rajasthan’s Alwar there is a man called Imran Khan. He has made 50 mobile apps and he has dedicated those apps to the students for free.”
Modi then thundered, “My India is in that Imran Khan from Alwar.”
Apparently, Khan had never met Modi but had given a presentation of his works to Human Resources Development Minister Smriti Irani who spotted his talent.
After Modi’s statement, Imran has been offered a job by Rajasthan government in its science and technology department.
Noor Jahan
Last week in his Man Ki Baat programme, Modi spoke about the life of Noor Jahan and mentioned that by sheer determination and hard work she was changing the lives of common people.
Noor Jahan supplies solar lamps to villagers in Beri Dariyawan, Kanpur district, Uttar Pradesh.
She provides solar lamps to villagers for Rs 3.30 or Rs 100 per month. By doing so she provides help to 50 families in the village where government infrastructure is non-existent as electricity has not yet reached them.
Before Noor Jahan started lending out the solar lamps to villagers, she used to work as a daily labourer and used to earn Rs 15.
A chance meeting with an NGO changed her life as she thought she can better her life as well as that of the villagers if she supplies them solar lamps.
After mediapersons flocked to her town following Modi's mention, Noor Jahan now hopes to get more government help.
“The demand for solar lamps is huge because there is no electricity in our villages. Children want to study at night and therefore the demand for solar lamps is increasing,” she said.