A prominent Jeddah-based social organization, whose specific aim is the welfare of Indians in Saudi Arabia and back home, conducted a highly successful mushaira in Jeddah at the weekend.

For Bazm-e-Ittehad Jeddah (BIJ), this was a special event because the organization is celebrating its 25th anniversary. The mushaira was just one part of the elaborate silver jubilee celebrations.

The center of attraction were the two newly elected members of Maharashtra Assembly, Imtiaz Jaleel from Aurangabad and Waris Yusuf Pathan from Mumbai, both of whom won the elections on Asaduddin Owaisi’s Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) ticket.

Both were honored with the prestigious Salar-e-Millat Award for their community service. The BIJ awards are inspired by the late Sultan Salahuddin Owaisi, who represented the historic south Indian city of Hyderabad in the Indian Parliament for several years. Because of his exemplary leadership, he is popularly referred to as Salar-e-Millat (leader of the community). The constituency is now represented by his eldest son Asaduddin Owaisi, who has emerged as a credible voice of Indian Muslims in recent years.

Jaleel and Pathan were overwhelmed by the huge response from the Indian community in the Kingdom. “Our party’s eyes are firmly set on the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh where we expect to make a huge impact,” said Jaleel to thunderous applause. The UP Assembly goes to the polls sometime next year.

He said the MIM is gaining ground thanks to the honest leadership of the Owaisi brothers. He said his party expects to do well in the forthcoming elections to the Aurangabad Municipal Corporation. “Please continue to pray for us as we continue to notch one electoral milestone after another,” he said.

Pathan said the party has registered quite an impact in the Maharashtra Assembly elections. “Now we expect to do well in Mumbai civic polls,” he said. “We will expand in key states ... Yes, we will go to UP and we will go to Bihar.”

Pathan said the MIM victory has forced its opponents to take notice. “Those parties who would never raise our issues in legislative bodies are now forced to pay attention,” he said. “The ultimate beneficiaries are the underprivileged Muslims and Hindus. This is the result of our proactive politics.”

A beautiful souvenir, by Editor in Chief and BIJ chief patron Dr. Syed Ali Mahmood, was released on the occasion. It chronicles the journey of the BIJ over the last 25 years and includes priceless photographs of events in Jeddah that were graced by the late Sultan Salahuddin Owaisi and current MIM President Asaduddin Owaisi.

The mushaira was a huge hit and went on until 4 a.m. The cynosure of all eyes were the celebrated poets from India — Agha Sarosh, Naeem Akhter Burhanpuri, Anjum Barabankvi, Rabab Rashidi, Syed Alamdar Rizvi, Waheed Pasha Qadri and the able anchor Shafeeq Abidi.

Their couplets charmed the capacity audience and the hall reverberated with highly vocal appreciation. Through their couplets, in refined Urdu, the poets wove a magical world. Many couplets had political overtones and highlighted the dangers that rightwing politics can pose and is posing. Local poets — Dr. Naeem Hamid Ali Al-Hamid, Athar Nafees Abbasi, Naeem Bazidpuri, Muhammad Mujahid Syed, Mahtab Qadr, Nasir Burney Beg, Altaf Shaharyar, Anwer Ansari, Sadeq Kirmani and Abdul Kareem Bibani — drew huge applause with their excellent poetry.

This is the fourth time that the BIJ has held an international mushaira in memory of the late Sultan Salahuddin Owaisi.

BIJ Vice President Mohammed Ubaidur Rehman rightly remarked in his opening address that the BIJ mushaira has attained the same status as that of Salim Jafri’s annual mushaira in Dubai in the 1980s. “Whenever the history of mushaira in Jeddah is written, the BIJ mushaira will find a notable mention,” he said.

Mushaira convener Hasan Bayazid Ather came in for praise for his judicious selection of poets.

BIJ President Ahmeduddin Owaisi congratulated the team behind the success of the event. “This is a result of teamwork,” he said. “And every year the quality of our events have improved.”

The team that won accolades included General Secretary Mohammad Abdul Qayyum, adviser Mirza Mazher Ali Baig, spokesman Mohammad Yousufuddin Amjad, Media Secretary Asrar Siddiqui, Joint Secretary Syed Khaja Viqaruddin, Treasurer Mahmood Balsharaf, Social Media Website Head Azmat A. Emran, Education and Outreach Head Mirza Qudrat N. Baig, Media Watch Head Mohammed Al-Qureshi and executive members Nadeem Abdul Basith, Farooq Ahmed, Obaid Bajhao, Mohammed Ali Nayyar, Mohammed Naseeruddin, Syed Ashfaq Mohiuddin, Mohammad Iftekhar and Mohammed Khaja Muzaffaruddin.

Among the prominent attendees at the event were Urdu News Editor in Chief Tarek Mishkhas, former Hyderabad Mayor Mir Zulfikar Ali and well-known Indian journalist Shams Ahsan Saifi.