How Gulzar Azmi Helped Wrongly Implicated Terror-Accused Fight for Justice Across India https://thewire.in/rights/how-gulzar-azmi-helped-wrongly-implicated-terror-accused-fight-for-justice-across-india
Under Azmi's watch, the Jamiat Ulema-I-Hind transformed from a socio-religious to a legal aid organisation.'= Jamiat Ulema-i-Hind, only a socio-religious organisation until then, soon transformed into a legal aid centre for men across India implicated in terror-related cases. And the man spearheading the legal campaign ever since was Gulzar Azmi, a senior leader at the Jamiat. Azmi was 74 years old at the time.
Jamiat Ulema-i-Hind is a donor-driven organisation and every year during Eid, many people from the community offer zakat (a customary 2.5% of the total income offered to the poor and needy) to the organisation. The organisation, however, did not have a smooth run. In 2014, BJP MLA Ashish Shelar kicked up a storm by urging the Maharashtra government to ban the Jamiat Ulema-i-Hind. Shelar accused Azmi of having links with fugitive gangster Chhota Shakeel. The statement led to furore and eventually Shelar was forced to withdraw his statement.