Latest news with #Raza
News18
3 hours ago
- Entertainment
- News18
Art camp organised in Mandla to observe SH Razas 9th death anniversary
Mandla (MP), Jul 22 (PTI) From children as young as four to senior artists in their nineties, curious minds and art enthusiasts have come together at the Raza Art Gallery to explore their inner selves and express creativity through paint and clay. Working their imaginations on paper or on umbrellas, and browsing the internet for inspiration, the group of around 300 people across age and gender is observing the 9th death anniversary of modernist master Sayed Haider Raza. Raza, who was born in Mandla, died on July 23 in 2016. The Raza Foundation has organised a multidisciplinary art camp, 'Raza Smriti', to commemorate the artist's lifelong association with art. Shailja Kumari, 33, busy painting flowers on an umbrella, said that it was only some years ago that she heard of 'Raza sahab" and that he was a native of Mandla. 'It is a matter of pride for us that such an international artist was born among us. The only thing I could understand from listening to people is that art can be anything you want it to be, it does not have to look perfect," Kumari told PTI. The mother of two is among the many who have come to attend the art workshop as part of Raza Smriti. The workshop, led by artists Ashish Kacchwaha, Garima Tamrakar, Ashok Sonwani, and Bheekham Prajapati, takes participants on a journey of self discovery through paintings on umbrellas, paper, and flowerpots — artworks that they are encouraged to take home. 'The foundation is trying to create an art culture where we are all invited, all age groups and it's open to all city members. They come and they experience art. Many of them are experiencing art for the first time, so the whole idea is to be so free that you can create anything and we are there to guide them," Tamrakar said. The event, which started on July 19, has also hosted a sculpture camp, where artists are creating art works using scrap material, and a 'Gond Pradhan' art workshop that invited Gond artists of the region to create art. 'Raza, besides being a painter, was also deeply interested in the arts, particularly in poetry, dance and music. So we have structured the whole celebration here with a dual purpose, one is to bring forth items which relate to visual arts, poetry, music and dance and on the other hand, we also want the younger people from this area to get interested," Ashok Vajpeyi, poet and managing trustee of the Raza Foundation, said. At the 'Scrap to Sculpture' camp, artists from Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh have used scrap material from bikes, cars, and construction sites to create artworks that respond to the creative philosophy of Raza. If Narendra Kumar Dewangan's 'Environment Balancer" reflects the continuity of life and finding a balance between nature and human obstructions, Amit Kumar Sinha's works pays tribute to J Swaminathan and Raza. 'My work is a collaboration of J Swaminathan and SH Raza because their name in the art world is known globally, and Swaminathan worked a lot with Gond artists to promote their art. How he took Jangarh Singh Shyam to Bharat Bhavan and then to Japan. Even though Raza spent very little time here, as he was settled in France, still his journey of art in India is internationally renowned," Sinha said. The group of sculptors have used petrol tanks, square pipes, rebars, chain sprockets, chains, gears, spark plugs, and metal sheets to create their works. 'The function of art is gathering up what is also broken down. The things here are broken down and not useful in the conventional sense but they can still be used in creating art, so there is this excitement of imagination getting embodied in material which never had been used for that purpose and was not intended to be used for that purpose," Vajpeyi said. The five-day event also saw poetry readings, discussions, theatre, dance and music performances. On Monday, Odissi dancer Arunima Ghosh and Bharatanatyam exponent Aarohi Munshi presented a collaborative performance based on 'Swasti", one of Raza's last works. The event also saw participation of noted Hindi poets, including Prabhat Ranjan, Joshna Banerjee, Arun Kamal, Ashutosh Dubey, Vyomesh Shukla, Anil Tripathi, Ajit Kumar Rai, Arun Hota, Anil Tripathi, Pawan Karan, and Sangeeta Gundecha. On Wednesday, Suryakant Tripathi Nirala's iconic poem 'Ram Ki Shakti Pooja" will be staged here at RD College, directed by Vyomesh Shukla. PTI MAH MG MG view comments First Published: July 22, 2025, 13:15 IST News agency-feeds Art camp organised in Mandla to observe SH Razas 9th death anniversary Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Sinar Daily
7 hours ago
- Politics
- Sinar Daily
Without papers: Ghost lives of millions of Pakistanis
In the South Asian nation of more than 240 million people, parents generally wait until a child begins school at the age of five to obtain a birth certificate, which is required for enrolment in most parts of Pakistan. 22 Jul 2025 11:04am In this photograph taken on June 19, 2025, Maryam Suleman (L) and her son Ahmed Raza, residents of Lyari work in kitchen in their house in Karachi, both not registered with National Database and Registration Authority. - (Photo by Rizwan Tabassum / AFP) KARACHI - Ahmed Raza is invisible in the eyes of his government, unable to study or work because, like millions of other Pakistanis, he lacks identification papers. In the South Asian nation of more than 240 million people, parents generally wait until a child begins school at the age of five to obtain a birth certificate, which is required for enrolment in most parts of Pakistan. Raza slipped through the cracks until the end of elementary school, but when his middle school requested documentation, his mother had no choice but to withdraw him. "If I go looking for work, they ask for my ID card. Without it, they refuse to hire me," said the 19-year-old in the megacity of Karachi, the southern economic capital. He has already been arrested twice for failing to present identification cards when stopped by police at checkpoints. In this photograph taken on May 15, 2025, teacher Nazia Hussain (L) holds her child whilst teaching a class at a government school at Rajanpur district in southwestern Punjab province. - (Photo by Shahid Saeed Mirza / AFP) Raza's mother Maryam Suleman, who is also unregistered, said she "didn't understand the importance of having identity documents". "I had no idea I would face such difficulties later in life for not being registered," the 55-year-old widow told AFP from the single room she and Raza share. Pakistan launched biometric identification cards in 2000 and registration is increasingly required in all aspects of formal life, especially in cities. In 2021, the National Database and Registration Authority estimated that around 45 million people were not registered. They have declined to release updated figures or reply to AFP despites repeated requests. To register, Raza needs his mother's or uncle's documents -- an expensive and complex process at their age, often requiring a doctor, lawyer or a newspaper notice. The paperwork, he says, costs up to $165 -- a month and a half's income for the two of them, who earn a living doing housework and odd jobs in a grocery shop. Locals whisper that registration often requires bribes, and some suggest the black market offers a last resort. "Our lives could have been different if we had our identity cards," Raza said. - 'No time or money' - In remote Punjab villages like Rajanpur, UNICEF is trying to prevent people from falling into the same fate as Raza. They conduct door-to-door registration campaigns, warning parents that undocumented children face higher risks of child labour and forced marriage. Currently, 58 per cent of children under five have no birth certificate, according to government figures. Registration fees depend on the province, ranging from free, $0.70 to $7 -- still a burden for many Pakistanis, about 45 per cent of whom live in poverty. "Our men have no time or money to go to the council and miss a day's work," said Nazia Hussain, mother of two unregistered children. The "slow process" often requires multiple trips and there is "no means of transport for a single woman," she said. In this photograph taken on May 15, 2025, UNICEF Child Protection Officer Zahida Manzoor (L) speaks with Muhammad Azhar (R) Assistant Director of Municipal Committee in Rajanpur district in southwestern Punjab province. Ahmed Raza is invisible in the eyes of his government, unable to study or work because, like millions of other Pakistanis, he lacks identification papers. In the South Asian nation of more than 240 million people, parents generally wait until a child begins school at the age of five to obtain a birth certificate, which is required for enrolment in most parts of Pakistan. (Photo by Shahid Saeed MIRZA / AFP) / To go with 'Pakistan-Children-Social-Census', REPORTAGE Saba, from the same village, is determined to register her three children, starting with convincing her in-laws of its value. "We don't want our children's future to be like our past. If children go to school, the future will be brighter," said Saba, who goes by just one name. Campaigns in the village have resulted in an increase of birth registration rates from 6.1 percent in 2018 to 17.7 per cent in 2024, according to UNICEF. This will improve the futures of an entire generation, believes Zahida Manzoor, child protection officer at UNICEF, dispatched to the village. "If the state doesn't know that a child exists, it can't provide basic services," she said. "If a child does not have an identity, it means the state has not recognised their existence. The state is not planning for the services that the child will need after birth." In this photograph taken on June 15, 2025, Muhammad Haris (C), teaches his children and nephews in their home at Shaikh Mal Khel village, in Landi Kotal town in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province. - (Photo by Abdul Majeed / AFP) Muhammad Haris and his brothers, who have few interactions with the formal state in their border village in the mountainous province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, have not registered any of their eight children. "The government asks for documents for the pilgrimage visa to Mecca," a journey typically made after saving for a lifetime, he told AFP. For him, this is the only reason worthy of registration. - Sameer Mandhro, Shazia Bhatti and Juliette Mansour / AFP More Like This
Int'l Business Times
8 hours ago
- Politics
- Int'l Business Times
Without Papers: Ghost Lives Of Millions Of Pakistanis
Ahmed Raza is invisible in the eyes of his government, unable to study or work because, like millions of other Pakistanis, he lacks identification papers. In the South Asian nation of more than 240 million people, parents generally wait until a child begins school at the age of five to obtain a birth certificate, which is required for enrolment in most parts of Pakistan. Raza slipped through the cracks until the end of elementary school, but when his middle school requested documentation, his mother had no choice but to withdraw him. "If I go looking for work, they ask for my ID card. Without it, they refuse to hire me," said the 19-year-old in the megacity of Karachi, the southern economic capital. He has already been arrested twice for failing to present identification cards when stopped by police at checkpoints. Raza's mother Maryam Suleman, who is also unregistered, said she "didn't understand the importance of having identity documents". "I had no idea I would face such difficulties later in life for not being registered," the 55-year-old widow told AFP from the single room she and Raza share. Pakistan launched biometric identification cards in 2000 and registration is increasingly required in all aspects of formal life, especially in cities. In 2021, the National Database and Registration Authority estimated that around 45 million people were not registered. They have declined to release updated figures or reply to AFP despites repeated requests. To register, Raza needs his mother's or uncle's documents -- an expensive and complex process at their age, often requiring a doctor, lawyer or a newspaper notice. The paperwork, he says, costs up to $165 -- a month and a half's income for the two of them, who earn a living doing housework and odd jobs in a grocery shop. Locals whisper that registration often requires bribes, and some suggest the black market offers a last resort. "Our lives could have been different if we had our identity cards," Raza said. In remote Punjab villages like Rajanpur, UNICEF is trying to prevent people from falling into the same fate as Raza. They conduct door-to-door registration campaigns, warning parents that undocumented children face higher risks of child labour and forced marriage. Currently, 58 percent of children under five have no birth certificate, according to government figures. Registration fees depend on the province, ranging from free, $0.70 to $7 -- still a burden for many Pakistanis, about 45 percent of whom live in poverty. "Our men have no time or money to go to the council and miss a day's work," said Nazia Hussain, mother of two unregistered children. The "slow process" often requires multiple trips and there is "no means of transport for a single woman," she said. Saba, from the same village, is determined to register her three children, starting with convincing her in-laws of its value. "We don't want our children's future to be like our past. If children go to school, the future will be brighter," said Saba, who goes by just one name. Campaigns in the village have resulted in an increase of birth registration rates from 6.1 percent in 2018 to 17.7 percent in 2024, according to UNICEF. This will improve the futures of an entire generation, believes Zahida Manzoor, child protection officer at UNICEF, dispatched to the village. "If the state doesn't know that a child exists, it can't provide basic services," she said. "If a child does not have an identity, it means the state has not recognised their existence. The state is not planning for the services that the child will need after birth." Muhammad Haris and his brothers, who have few interactions with the formal state in their border village in the mountainous province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, have not registered any of their eight children. "The government asks for documents for the pilgrimage visa to Mecca," a journey typically made after saving for a lifetime, he told AFP. For him, this is the only reason worthy of registration. Undocumented children in Pakistan face higher risks of child labour and forced marriage AFP Maryam Suleman (L) and her son Ahmed Raza are both invisible in Pakistan, without identification papers AFP Registration fees are a burden for many Pakistanis, about 45 percent of whom live in poverty AFP UNICEF conduct door-to-door registration campaigns, warning parents of the risks undocumented children face AFP Pakistan launched biometric ID cards in 2000 and registration is increasingly required in all areas of formal life AFP
France 24
8 hours ago
- General
- France 24
Without papers: Ghost lives of millions of Pakistanis
In the South Asian nation of more than 240 million people, parents generally wait until a child begins school at the age of five to obtain a birth certificate, which is required for enrolment in most parts of Pakistan. Raza slipped through the cracks until the end of elementary school, but when his middle school requested documentation, his mother had no choice but to withdraw him. "If I go looking for work, they ask for my ID card. Without it, they refuse to hire me," said the 19-year-old in the megacity of Karachi, the southern economic capital. He has already been arrested twice for failing to present identification cards when stopped by police at checkpoints. Raza's mother Maryam Suleman, who is also unregistered, said she "didn't understand the importance of having identity documents". "I had no idea I would face such difficulties later in life for not being registered," the 55-year-old widow told AFP from the single room she and Raza share. Pakistan launched biometric identification cards in 2000 and registration is increasingly required in all aspects of formal life, especially in cities. In 2021, the National Database and Registration Authority estimated that around 45 million people were not registered. They have declined to release updated figures or reply to AFP despites repeated requests. To register, Raza needs his mother's or uncle's documents -- an expensive and complex process at their age, often requiring a doctor, lawyer or a newspaper notice. The paperwork, he says, costs up to $165 -- a month and a half's income for the two of them, who earn a living doing housework and odd jobs in a grocery shop. Locals whisper that registration often requires bribes, and some suggest the black market offers a last resort. "Our lives could have been different if we had our identity cards," Raza said. 'No time or money' In remote Punjab villages like Rajanpur, UNICEF is trying to prevent people from falling into the same fate as Raza. They conduct door-to-door registration campaigns, warning parents that undocumented children face higher risks of child labour and forced marriage. Currently, 58 percent of children under five have no birth certificate, according to government figures. Registration fees depend on the province, ranging from free, $0.70 to $7 -- still a burden for many Pakistanis, about 45 percent of whom live in poverty. "Our men have no time or money to go to the council and miss a day's work," said Nazia Hussain, mother of two unregistered children. The "slow process" often requires multiple trips and there is "no means of transport for a single woman," she said. Saba, from the same village, is determined to register her three children, starting with convincing her in-laws of its value. "We don't want our children's future to be like our past. If children go to school, the future will be brighter," said Saba, who goes by just one name. Campaigns in the village have resulted in an increase of birth registration rates from 6.1 percent in 2018 to 17.7 percent in 2024, according to UNICEF. This will improve the futures of an entire generation, believes Zahida Manzoor, child protection officer at UNICEF, dispatched to the village. "If the state doesn't know that a child exists, it can't provide basic services," she said. "If a child does not have an identity, it means the state has not recognised their existence. The state is not planning for the services that the child will need after birth." Muhammad Haris and his brothers, who have few interactions with the formal state in their border village in the mountainous province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, have not registered any of their eight children. "The government asks for documents for the pilgrimage visa to Mecca," a journey typically made after saving for a lifetime, he told AFP. For him, this is the only reason worthy of registration. © 2025 AFP
Time of India
a day ago
- Business
- Time of India
Nigerian who came to India on medical visa in 2013 among six arrested for fake lottery and gift scam
Six men, including two Nigerian nationals, have been arrested in Delhi for allegedly running an online scam involving fake lottery wins and gift parcels. The accused posed as foreign women online, lured victims by promising gifts, and then extorted money through fake calls from people pretending to be airport officials, a TOI report stated. Scam involved posing as foreign women and fake airport calls Police said the fraudsters contacted people on social media, pretending to be foreign nationals who had sent expensive gifts. Victims were then called by individuals posing as airport officials, claiming that parcels had been held up and demanding money for customs clearance. In another method, the accused informed people they had won lotteries and asked them to pay a fee to claim the winnings. To appear genuine, they used UK-based phone numbers and fake identities. Explore courses from Top Institutes in Select a Course Category Others PGDM Data Analytics Management Cybersecurity Project Management Operations Management Degree Finance Data Science Leadership Data Science CXO Design Thinking MCA MBA Healthcare healthcare others Digital Marketing Technology Public Policy Artificial Intelligence Product Management Skills you'll gain: Duration: 9 months IIM Lucknow SEPO - IIML CHRO India Starts on undefined Get Details Skills you'll gain: Duration: 28 Weeks MICA CERT-MICA SBMPR Async India Starts on undefined Get Details Skills you'll gain: Duration: 7 Months S P Jain Institute of Management and Research CERT-SPJIMR Exec Cert Prog in AI for Biz India Starts on undefined Get Details Skills you'll gain: Duration: 16 Weeks Indian School of Business CERT-ISB Transforming HR with Analytics & AI India Starts on undefined Get Details Six accused nabbed from multiple locations across Delhi The accused have been identified as Shedrack Onainor (29), Vikas (25), Shahid Raza (45), Shahrukh Khan (23), Rakesh (22), and Sunday John (40). Raza was first arrested from West Delhi, and information provided by him led police to Khanpur in South Delhi, where Onainor was apprehended. Later, other members of the racket, including another Nigerian national, John, were also arrested. Police said Raza is the father-in-law of Shahrukh Khan. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Up to 70% off | Libas Purple Days Sale Libas Undo Nigerians stayed in India illegally to operate scam Onainor came to India in 2013 on a medical visa, which expired in 2018. He remained in the country illegally and, along with other Nigerians, executed the scam targeting Indian citizens. Police said he collected money with the help of Raza and Khan, who provided bank accounts and ATM cards for handling the transactions. "Raza, uneducated and previously employed in Saudi Arabia, joined the racket around 7–8 years ago for a 15% commission. With his son-in-law Shahrukh, he collected ATM cards and withdrew cash for Nigerian handlers. Khan joined 6–7 years ago. He used UPI IDs to transfer defrauded funds," Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Vikram Singh said. Live Events Fake accounts created using forged Aadhaar and SIM cards According to police, Vikas opened several bank accounts using fake addresses in Delhi and handed over ATM cards and SIM cards to his brother Rakesh, who forwarded them to Raza and Khan. Vikas received 3% of every transaction. Rakesh, who helped forge Aadhaar details, was paid a 2% commission for his role. John arrived on a business visa in 2023, which expired in 2024. He continued to stay in India illegally and collected defrauded funds across Delhi and NCR. Police said the money was later split with other Nigerian conspirators. 18–20 fake accounts created to route fraud money "Onainor, along with associates, led the fraud by luring victims online. Once victims transferred funds, Shedrack coordinated with Indian handlers for the collection and distribution of cash. Rakesh and his brother Vikas opened 18–20 fake bank accounts in Vikas's name. They altered Aadhaar addresses to Delhi, obtained SIMs, and used forged documents. An associate helped update Aadhaar without verification," police said.
