ISC Special Report January 2, 2003 Indian Social Club Lady Members Engage in Street Fight as campaign to oust Convenor intensifies
The shallow cultural face of the Indian Social Club was exposed once again when an open late night street fight erupted following severe criticisms and counter criticisms within a hot Managing Committee meeting. As part of an ongoing intense power struggle ,a cold war between two prominent members of the Indian Social Club Malayalam Wing erupted into a virtual street fight in which chappals, sandals and even muscle power were freely used to prove their point and counter points. Depicting an animal instinct, the management committe members went to the extent of engaging in a physical figh in the presence of the convenor and other senior committee member(s)? who did not bother to call the local police or stop the fight. It is a shame to the entire Indian community that such respected members of the management committee engage in physical fight. Involvement of lady members add more shame to the community.
The street fight is seen as part of an intense power struggle within the ISC to replace Kalidasan, the controversial convenor of ISC Malayalam Wing who is allegedly short tempered to" fire"even an innocent lady member for silly reasons. Naturally one of the members, who has reportedly got an eagles eye on the coveted convenors post with the subtle support of a media personality , was at the receiving end of this attack by the husband of another influential lady member. Attacking a lady member is a sensitive matter in any part of the world . However, the parties in question is also at the center of another simmering controversy about showing favouritism to the wife of another committee member in giving her an absolute first prize all by himself! (detailed reports follow). The new committee assumed power by promising to improve transparency, eradicate corruption, favouritism and other evils which affected normal functioning of the association.
A couple was used to increase the club's clout in the local media and to malign the public image of critical journalists. "Adarsh Madhavan of Times of Oman and Keralamonitor were the butt of ridicule in ISC Malayalam Wing general body and committee meetings. Even in private conversations the ISC member took every opportunity to discredit journalists who stood firmly against evil elements," said a member, adding that despite the positive contribution made by the media to expose these issues into lime light, the member took every opportunity to black paint genuine journalists.
The funny side of the story is that the member who was roped in by the management committee to "improve" its public and media relation and neutralise harsh media criticism, especially in the Times of Oman and Keralamonitor.com, has become an embarassment to the new MC. One senior committee member has reportedly resigned his post, demanding the immediate resignation of the convenor. "We have no dispute whatsover and still remain friends. There is no question of physical fights or something," claimed sources close to the committee members. However, KM learns that there was a virtual fight on Monday night in front of a new private office of the club. "The fact that a lady member was slapped with chappals in front of the convenor is a shame. Now they have reached an understanding within the management committee not to disclose this incident to anyone so as to show a brave face," said KM sources.
The controversial manner in which a lady member was "fired" to please a senior Indian embassy official and his wife created a total chaos in the organisation, which was any way working better under the former MC headed by Mr.Namboothiri, Suresh B Nair and Mr.Abraham Mathew. "The lady member who questioned the logic of appointing a not- so-qualified person to judge dance programme, had to be taken back due to strong opposition from members. The firing action was apparently to please Indian embassy officials, with the ulterior motive of getting into the management committee of Indian community schools, says another member prefering anonymity. "It is a shame that people in public positions like social clubs and the media use their clout to get influencial positions and membership in school committees. Instead of exposing the rampant corruption in such institutions, even journalists are taking part in this plot ," said another member.
The Onam celebration extravaganza, which was aired with much fanfare in leading Malayalam channels was also in a mess as senior members were hanging around with hangover of liquor and booz. Many members were ashamed to serve poor standard food to the invited guests. "They spend hundreds of Rials to telecast the Onam celebrations and other programmes. How much money they spend on social causes or humanitarian works," ask one member preferring anonymity. However, it is a fact that the new committee has spend more money on humanitarian casues than its predcessors.Indian Social Club is largely an elite organisation with hardly 200 members as against a total population of more than 3 akh Indians in Oman. The rebel group leaders who used every opportunity to discredit the former management committee members are now showing a brave face. (keralamonitor.com)
Earlier Report -An anonymous letter issued by a dissident group from the Indian Social Club (malayalam wing) is creating headache for many powerful people. While everybody is disowning its parenthood, the 'bastard letter' is reproduced below for starting a debate about the functioning of socio-cultural organisations of the Malayali community in the Gulf. Anybody interested in the debate is welcome to participate by making their positive comments, which will be weblished in keralamonitor.com. What is needed is a healthy debate about the functioning of Indian social clubs in the Gulf and the need for more transparency and accountability. Character assassination is not the objective. Express your view by sending email to keralamonitor@keralamonitor.com Those who wish to express their views without revealing their identity are also welcome.ISC Malayalam Wing News
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