Lately when India is undergoing the massive crisis of the Corona epidemic and the offshoots of its mishandling, we have also seen the pandemic being used to demonise a particular community in India. These hate mongers, operating through powerful medium of TV, and widespread social media which also has resorted to Fake news has intensified the Hate against religious minority.[Read More…]

                 People are trapped in history and history is trapped in them. James Baldwin Leaving aside the economic and educational position of Muslim minority in India, the question that needs address here is: Are Muslims safe and secure in contemporary India? The answer to this contentious question is: No! This can be verified by a chain of incidents and[Read More…]

The Ho people are an ethnic group of India. They are an Adivasi people group concentrated in the state of Jharkhand and Odisha, where they constitute around 10.5% of the Scheduled tribes. Most of their population inhabit forests areas of Jharkhand and Bihar. In one such ‘Ho’ village in Jharkhand, around 35 Christian families reside. Over a 100 Christians including[Read More…]

The recent outbreak of coronavirus has already entrenched approximately 74,281 confirmed positive cases, with 2,415 deaths in India. It is not the aggressive virus that is haunting the nation alone, but an artificially inserted strain of communalism within it, that is bedevilling and importuning the Muslim community in India. From initially blaming China as the “creator of coronavirus”, the right-wing[Read More…]

With identity-based politics on surge along with the tinge of Islamophobia, Indian Muslims have lately been under question regarding their identity. Many have been made to believe that there exists a lack of Indianess in their identity. Many Sociologists have described their identity in several different ways. The most accepted definition states that Indian Muslim identity is at the center[Read More…]

Religion has always been a very sensitive yet unavoidable topic in India. It is woven into the very tapestry of the country. An average Indian may have an acquaintance from almost every religious community in the country and may have never considered religious orientation as a condition of their relationships, but somehow, over the years the poison of religious nationalism[Read More…]

The chairman of the Delhi Minorities Commission Dr Zafar ul Islam Khan face sedition charges for one of his tweets. I am not surprised these days how our police is behaving. While those who spread hatred, threat people openly and intimidate them through social media as well as ‘popular media’, screaming loudly on television channels have never been touched. Look[Read More…]

On the 3rd of May 2020, a family living in a village in Jharkhand, India, was forced to go through Ghar Wapsi (a ceremony of reconversion to Hinduism). This family accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior 4 years ago and has been faithfully walking with the Lord ever since. Persecution Relief was informed about the incident by *Pastor[Read More…]

Understanding the ‘Hindu’ fear of Muslims and Christians We have been seeing attacks on Christians and Muslims in India for the last few years. Several Indians are worried about it and fear for the future of democracy in India. People wonder what the logic of all these attacks is. How can nearly 80% of ‘Hindus’ feel threatened by some 13%[Read More…]

 Amidst Covid-19 national lockdown, our country is passing through the most difficult times, perhaps since India’s partition. The current threat of lethal virus (the curve is still not getting completely flatten as expected earlier) has not only pose serious threats in the public health system but has also created huge challenges and crises in the socio-economic realm too. Till now,[Read More…]

Islamophobia as a word came more into vogue after 9/11 2001 twin tower attack. In the aftermath the American media popularised the word “Islamic Terrorism” and for the first time in global history a religion was given association with the political act of terrorism. In India the Hate against minorities had already been prevalent, but with different arguments. It was[Read More…]

The second death anniversary of Justice Rajinder Sachar falls on 20 April 2020. On this solemn occasion as we remember him it is necessary to understand that his concerns about the ever-increasing alienation of Muslims in Indian society were very deep. Apart from being concerned, he also had a keen grasp of this complex problem. He always considered this problem[Read More…]

Before the anti-Citizenship Amendment Act, National Register of Citizens and National Population Register dharna at Ghata Ghar was symbolically withdrawn on 23 March morning, I happened to visit the dharna site on 21 March evening with the purpose of sitting their with my spinning wheel or Charkha in support of the women. Immediately the police arrived and wanted me to[Read More…]

Delhi Violence claimed more than 50 lives. Hindus and Muslims both faced wrath of extremists of both sides. Fuelled by many objectionable statements and gripped under politics of left and right, secular and communal and even patriotic and seditious, this violence brought a clear fact that no hands are sane and every political group and individual seeking opportunity. This has[Read More…]

Chennai March 3, 2020: In wake of discretion of mosques and killing of ‘Imam’ at the recent riots in Delhi, some Muslims in ‘Vaniyambadi,’ a town about 200 km from Chennai, organized a ‘Visit My Masjid’ programme at Masjid-e-Khaderpet on Sunday March 1, 2020. This was done to strengthen inter-faith relations and build a constituency of peace and communal harmony[Read More…]

Religion is the fundamental basis on which Indian civilization was created. The Aryan invasion took place along with it all the oppressed tribes of our own country became more bound to follow them, yet what stood the same for both of them is the belief of a/many superior power/s. The politics of India has been running on the spine of[Read More…]

“ I do not support any political party “ I declared in front of my group of friends last week, all the while trying to make them see sense. Pat came the reply, “ so you are supporting congress. Or worst you support Anti national Kanhaiya kumar. You are an anti national .” “ What rubbish . I do support[Read More…]

I don’t know how many Indian Americans are bigots.  but know a few who have not learned about America and the values it stands for. We have a diamond among us that shines and has become a true Indian-American hero who understands liberty and freedom. I salute Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft. “Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella strongly criticized a new[Read More…]

As we speak, there is currently a massive wave of public resistance within the Indian Republic against the BJP Government’s initiation of the Citizenship Amendment Act and the proposed creation of the National Register of Citizens. Gauhati, in Assam is where the initial pushback began, (and is also where the bloodletting has been the fiercest): spreading on to the Capital,[Read More…]

Justice Markandey Katju, a retired judge at the Supreme Court of India, has launched Ibaadatkahna movement to promote peace in South Asia. Ibaadatkahna, a non-partisan movement, was launched on December 8, 2019 at a unity dinner held at the Chandni Restaurant, Newark CA. The Unity event was attended by people from various faiths.  Justice Markandey Katju was the key note[Read More…]

  The public lecture in the memory of Dr. Asghar Ali Engineer has been organized by the Department of Political Science, Jamia, Millia Islamia in collaboration with the Centre for Study of Society and Secularism (Mumbai) on the theme of “Democracy versus Majoritarianism” on 18th November, 2019 at JMI. The keynote of memorial address was delivered by the eminent left-[Read More…]

Today on the occasions of 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, Jamia Millia Islam has organized a public meeting on the theme of, “Gandhi- his life, work and contribution to society”. On this special occasion, several eminent academicians and renounced Gandhians and social activists have expressed deep solidarity and affections towards Gandhi’s contributions and underlined that in today’s political and[Read More…]

Indians Abroad for Pluralist India (IAPI) has presented a towering filmmaker and a lyricist from India with Life Time Achievement for keeping the flag of secularism high under a right wing Hindu nationalist regime. Gulzar had made the first ever Hindi film on Sikh genocide, and has penned short stories and poems on related topics, often inviting the wrath of[Read More…]

Muharram is first month of the Islamic New Year. This month holds special place for the Muslims all over the world due to killing of Imam Husain in the battle of Karbala (Iraq) on the 10th day of Muharram. Husain was grandson of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and son of Caliph Ali. Muslims mourns the first 10 days of Muharram month[Read More…]

You might cringe when someone makes an idiotic remark about Hinduism and Hindu practices. A majority of Indian Muslims will never make a negative statement about Hindus or Hinduism. Indeed, they will defend it as Hinduism is one of the most misunderstood religions like theirs. They are driven by the wisdom found in the Quran, 6:108 (Itani), “Do not insult[Read More…]

In these days of rising communal tensions, a courageous woman achieved her dream of obtaining ‘No Caste No Religion’ certificate through persistent struggle. This incident is a significant one. Some colleges in West Bengal have also introduced ‘humanity’, ‘agnostic’ , ‘secular’ or ‘non-religious’ in the application forms for online submission for students who are unwilling to disclose their faith. (West[Read More…]

In a heartwarming instance of communal harmony, the Hindu residents of Mari village, in Nalanda district of Bihar have given their heart and soul to take care of an old mosque left abandon by the Muslims in their village. According to media report, in Mari village, due to scourge of unemployment Muslim population has slowly eased themselves out of the[Read More…]

It is well known that Mahatma Gandhi began his meetings with a all faith prayer – reciting portions from various religious texts. Gandhi was a firm believer in the idea of communal harmony. From his childhood as he used to nurse his father, he got an opportunity to listen to his father’s friends, belonging to different religions including Islam and[Read More…]

Today when we tried to hold a Press Conference at the Ram Janki temple in Saryu Kunj, Vasishtha Kund, Ayodhya at 11 am at the venue of the two days meeting on communal harmony on 17-18 August, 2019, which was to be addressed by Professor Ram Puniyani, and which was not allowed to be held, to explain the purpose of[Read More…]

We condemn the house arrest of Advocate Mohammd Shoaib, Sandeep Pandey and other friends on 11th and 16th August, 2019 on the issue of staging one hour candle light demonstration in support of people of Jammu and Kashmir and for preventing Professor Ram Puniyani, Sandeep Panday, Rajeev Yadav, Hafeez Kidwai and others from reaching Ayodhya on 17th August, 2019 for[Read More…]

The Gujarat Prohibition of Transfer of Immovable Property and Provision for Protection of Tenants from Eviction from Premises in Disturbed Areas Act, 1986 (Government would have passed another bill in Lok sabha while you read the names) or in short, Disturbed Areas Act 1986, was meant to arrest the distress sale of assets in the areas frequently affected by communal[Read More…]

The majority-minority cleavages seem to be sharper in democracies than in other systems. Ever since the Al-Qaeda terrorist attacks on the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon on September 11, 2001 (9/11), Muslims all over the world are ‘under siege’. That’s how the Pakistani-American sociologist Akbar Ahmed titled his book Islam Under Siege (2003).  He could see how the tide[Read More…]

The liberation of humanity is dependent on raising above immediate ‘identities’. The identities may be that of caste, class, religion, region, race, gender, ethnicity, language etc. However, it becomes a challenge in a society where differences and unequal relationship based on these factors already exist in society. Those subjected to oppression on the basis of caste, class, religion, region, race,[Read More…]

If you are born in Uttar Pradesh or for that matter, in any other northern state of India, acquaintance to Ram is similar to those of a new-born getting familiar with the outer world. One understands Sita Ram, Siya Ram,Sitapat Ram,Siyavar Ram etc. are the words forRam conjoining his wife Sita, protagonist of a minimum of 300 Ramayanas written so[Read More…]

Hier Wohnte Bernhard Marx JB 1897 Deportiert 20.07.1942 Minsk Ermordet 24.07.1942 ‘Here lived Bernhard Marx Year of Birth 1897 Deported 20.07.1942 Minsk Assassinated 24.07.1942’ It was while walking past a desolate street in Bonn that we stumbled upon some brass plates on which the names of the members of a family were engraved. The name Bernhard, supposedly the head of[Read More…]

A Facebook post by Sreedharan that “my Umma (mother) has honored the summons of Allah, please pray for her soul…if there is heaven, my Umma will surely find a place there,” has caught many eyeballs. It appeared it was a cry of a Hindu child for her Muslim mother. There was definitely curiosity raised through the FB post. In deeper[Read More…]

Dehko, o deewano, yeah kaamnakaro, Ram kanaambadnaamna karo… The plaintive song from the past runs through my head as one reads the news reports of the competitive slogan mongering that rang through the hallowed portals.of.the Parliament ad the fresh lot of MPs were sworn in. It doesn’t augur well for the monsoon session, that MPs are heckled by their colleagues[Read More…]

The 100 years old mosque in village Hedon Bet, Machhiwara Tehsil in Ludhiana still stands tall, despite zero Muslim population in the village. The Mosque that was built in 1920 lies abandoned for want of worshipers. Thanks to village elders the mosque has not been demolished or being encroached upon by the land grabbers. The elders of the village refuse[Read More…]

Dominant social groups need to make the necessary distinction between legitimate anger to set right history and illegitimate hatred to push back history. For, anger is organic while hatred is manufactured. The last five years had witnessed an explosion of anger and hatred that got manifested in protests and street violence. If we are to go by even the first[Read More…]

We are living in times where the social norms, the values of Constitution have been violated times and over again. The increasing atrocities on dalits, the lynchings of minorities in the name of Cow-Beef have changed the social equations in a drastic way during last few years. This in a way is part of the ascendance of a politics of[Read More…]

Dr Ram Puniyani is one of the most prolific authors of our time writing on communalism particular that of the Sangh Parivar variety. At the time, when most of the ‘liberals’ of the ‘khan market’ variety have either surrendered or have become part of the Maharna Pratap society, of ‘new India’, he continue to write with amazing strength and capacity.[Read More…]

 The secular minded academics and civil society have reminded us once again that Nehru’s secular legacy needs to be remembered in a given political context, on the occasion of his 55th death anniversary on 27 May, 2019. It is not wrong to say that Nehru’s ‘National Philosophy’- which broadly emphasis on values and principles like secularism, socialism, scientific educations, inclusive[Read More…]

In his attempts at explaining Islamophobia as a phenomenon unique to the west, Prof Guduvarthy(‘There is Communalism – Not Islamophobia in India, The Wire, 01/05/19) commits a number of erroneous assumptions; namely limiting anti-Muslim violence in India to the domain of the Hindutva forces thereby discounting the structural racism and exclusion of Indian Muslims as evident from the Sachar Committee[Read More…]

Removal of Hindu bias from the constitution evident in Article 1, 25, (a)(b), 48, 341, 343, 351 & in 8 the Schedule, through a constitution amendment bill Providing proportionate representation through an amendment to the constitution and giving it the precedence as basic structure. Providing reservation to Muslims from parliament to gram panchayat, education, services, paramilitary and armed forces, police,[Read More…]

Punjab faced the full fury of the communal violence in 1947 during the Partition of India. The state witnessed an extremely turbulent and traumatic situation in the run up to the independence and Partition of the country. The transfer of power from British to the dominion of India and Pakistan accompanied large scale transfer of population from both sides of[Read More…]

 India is witnessing a national crisis of mob lynching for last few years. The term ‘mob lynching’ was unheard until the national media began reporting the incidents from some part of the country. The politicians turned the issue politically, while the numbers of civil-society organizations and activist blaming the ruling government responsible. The Dalits were lynched because of being born[Read More…]

              A Professor from Madras University was describing the background of Champaran Satyagrah of 1917, at an International Conference on India Vietnam Relations through the Prism of Gandhian and Ho Chi Minh Philosophies at Centre of Southeast Asia and Pacific Studies Sri Venkateshwara University Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh on March 18, 2019. As the learned Professor was speaking why Mahatma Gandhi[Read More…]

In the 46th session of the OIC, external affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj was invited and despite Pakistan protest and boycott, the invitation was not retracted. The speech on ‘pluralism’ by Sushma Swaraj was published and BJP’s ministers were quick to jump that this was a big turn around and successful foreign policy initiative by the Prime Minister. They gave example[Read More…]

Normalcy at the historic Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) is yet to be restored. Like yours, my heart also trembles at the latest bolt of lightning that has struck AMU. Around 14 students, including the former and current office-bearers of AMU Students’ Union, have been booked under sedition charges. In the FIR filed on Wednesday, it is alleged that they had[Read More…]

…. ‘Jagmagate thhe jahan Ram key quadam ke nishan Piyaar kee kahkashan leti thi angdayee jahan Mod nafrat ke usee rah guzar mein ayee Dharam kya unka hae, kya zaat hae, yeh janta kaun? Ghar na jalta tau unhe raat mein pehchanta kaun , Ghar jalane ko mera, log jo ghar me ayee , Shakahari hae mere dost tumhara khanjar[Read More…]

It is exactly 20 years today when India witnessed a ghastly crime against humanity. The barbaric face of the religious hatred was witnessed in Manoharpur village of Keonjhar district of Odisha where an Australian Chrisitian Missionary Graham Stains along with his two children, Phillip, 10 and Timothy, 6 were brutally burnt to death when they were sleeping in their vehicle.[Read More…]

An early morning walk in a poorer working-class neighborhood in North Chennai “Let’s throw caste and religious hatred into the Boghi fire and celebrate Pongal together as Tamilians to attain Equality!” I was part of a group-walk this morning (13/1/2019) in Tondiarpet in North Chennai, thanks to theChennai Photowalk Team(https://chennaiphotowalk.wordpress.com) and the ongoing Chennai Kalai Theru Vizha(Chennai Arts Street Festival).I[Read More…]

  The storm of abuse and sheer vitriol that greeted Naseeruddin Shah’s lament over the alarming state of the nation only proves his point. The actor wasn’t even referring to the routine attacks and abuse that India’s Muslims have been facing on a daily basis since the country ushered in the good times under the current order.  His comment that[Read More…]

A saint is one who can give some inner peace by his/her voice. This will happen only when s(he) will talk about love and harmony. Morari Bapu is one saint who has been conveying the message of love, peace, harmony, fraternity, etc. Today when a number of saffron clad figures with aggressive posture, spewing venom, fanning hatred to polarise voters[Read More…]

Problems of Engaging Modernity and the Muslim Reform Movement in Kerala…. This article is written in commemoration of the 145th anniversary (28 December) of Vakkom Moulavi who played a major role in reforming the Muslim community in Kerala. Even as Kerala has been in the midst of resuscitating the ‘cultural capital’ of the early 20th century ‘renaissance’ (a term widely used[Read More…]

India is presently going through a struggle between the ideologies of these two ideologues and one is not sure which one will ultimately prevail! Three years back one wrote an article titled, “Tagore’s or Golwalkar’s India?” The massive campaign of the Hindutva parties to usher in Hindu Rashtra posed a question as to which India will prevail, the spiritual India[Read More…]

So, we have veteran actor Naseeruddin Shah in the news again. No, it’s not in connection with any of his movie projects or even his personal life. He is in the news because he wronged the “right” with his ‘intolerant’ utterings on intolerance . Aamir khan had walked down the road , Shahrukh too did so and even Naseer had[Read More…]

Recently under the aegis of Institute of Social Sciences(established in 1985), a new 7thchapter has been opened namely, Centre For Ethics, Politics & Global Affairs, headed by the Prof. Ashok Acharya, a prominent political theorist at the Department of Political Science, University of Delhi. The inaugural event took place on 19th December 2018, which included public lectures by two eminent[Read More…]

On a fresh autumn morning, I was going by an auto rickshaw to my college to give a brief summary or lecture on what really tension means for a biology student. It was the year 2016, when for the very first time I was introduced to the word “Intolerance” as a word which I should be scared about since it[Read More…]

A Jamia Millia Islamia MBA student was stopped from giving UGC NET exam in December 2018 in a school in Rohini, Delhi, after she refused to take off her hijab while giving the exam. A similar incident was noted in Goa as well. This took place outside the NET examination centre where she agreed to be checked completely. Who gave[Read More…]

Indians Abroad for Pluralist India (IAPI), in partnership with Radical Desi and People’s Voice, released a calendar dedicated to 100 years of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, on Sunday, December 16 in Delta, BC. Scores of people were killed on April 13, 1919, when troops opened fire in British India on peaceful demonstrators who had assembled at Jallianwala Public Park in[Read More…]

Hindutva has emerged as the clear and present danger to Hinduism and silence is not an option for the sane majority Aijaz Zaka Syed So this is how the cookie crumbles. Who would have thought India would find itself at this dangerous crossroads so early in its democratic journey after all those historic sacrifices offered by the founding fathers for[Read More…]

The Socialist Party demands from the Bihar government that a judicial inquiry should be constituted into the communal riots took place on the occasion of Durga Puja on 20th October, 2018 in Sitamarhi, Bihar. The party believes that incidents such as burning of an elderly person Zainul Ansari in the public before the eyes of the administration are not possible[Read More…]

The play features a young Muslim girl who is in constant debate with her father, a muezzin in a local mosque. With aspirations to touch the sky, this young girl questions many notions of Islam regarding the supposed inequality between men and women. She questions why women are supposed to eat half as much as men. After being chastised by[Read More…]

“Peace is not something you wish for; it’s you make, something you do, something you are, and something you give away.” The simple plan of anarchy over Ayodhaya is just not what India deserves after the culmination of intellectuals. From the time of Independence to the present Hindutva throbbing nation, both the Muslims and Hindus should learn something which is[Read More…]

Can you change the past by changing the present? Would Hinduising Faizabad, Allahabad, Ahmedabad, Aurangabad, Hyderabad and so many other great Indian cities help wipe out the country’s rich Islamic past? After all, every inch of the land carries the unmistakable imprint of the rich Muslim contribution to the great Indian civilization. Ironically, this ire against India’s former rulers pointedly[Read More…]

The Indian-Americans have a moral duty to prevent India from being labeled as a “Country of Particular Concern” by the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF). If India were to be ascribed with such a label, it would hinder the flow of foreign direct investments and subsequent reversal of economic prosperity achieved in the last twenty years. This[Read More…]

It is often said that RSS follows Hitler and/or Mussolini. To what extend it is true? Hitler or Mussolini are persons. RSS is not a single person like them. It is a collective, an organisation or more aptly it represents a caste. Hitler and Mussolini were not representing the ‘Nation’ as envisaged by the RSS. They represented the state. According[Read More…]

Mera azm itna bulund hae, Parae sholon se dar nahin. Mujhe dar hae tu atish e gul se hae, Ye kahin chaman ko jala na dein (my confidence in self is strong, I’m unafraid of foreign flames I’m scared those sparks may ignite, that in the blossom’s bosom lay ) — Shakeel Badayuni’s couplet which was very dear to Salman Taseer who was assassinated by[Read More…]

The incidents of lynching, killing and abusing the opponents particularly of the Muslims in India have become a norm and the country seems to be either satisfied with justifying things or calling these events as aberrations. Every time such incidents happen and some of us shed our tears and go to the families. Some do fact findings, others go and[Read More…]

  We have all been taught that love begets love. That might not be always true as many of us have learnt at great emotional costs. Is that true of hatred too? Does hatred sometimes beget love, or tolerance or benign indifference?  I wonder going by the events that have taken place across the country with the accession to power[Read More…]

Diasporas have existed since time immemorial. However they have never been so influential, as they are in contemporary times. Their political weight has increased importantly throughout the twentieth century. Historically, there have been numerous examples of American Jewish groups encouraging rightwing extremism in Israel, Tamil tigers in London and Malaysia supporting the Tamil liberation movement, Kurd in Netherlands or the[Read More…]

The Ayodhya case is now ready for hearing by the Supreme Court from October 29, 2018. This is happening after a hiatus of almost eight years when the legal proceedings was last heard with a shoddy judgment pronounced by the  Lucknow bench of Allahabad High Court in 2010. This time when the uninterrupted hearing is going to happen, it’s for[Read More…]

The Nobel Peace Prize committee should immediately intervene and strip a children’s rights activist of the prize given to him in 2014. Kailash Satyarthi not only attended the annual event of Hindu supremacist group Rashtriya Swayam Sewak Sangh (RSS) at its headquarters in Nagpur, India, but went to the extent of praising the organization. He even suggested that the RSS[Read More…]

Do not show the face of Islam to others; instead show your face as the follower of true Islam representing character, knowledge, tolerance and piety ― Sir Syed Ahmed Khan (17 October 1817 – 27 March 1898) An educated, secular and liberal Indian Muslim  is in a bind; he is torn between finding the right balance between loyalty to his faith and[Read More…]

   India is today standing on a precipice, staring at the grave danger of plunging into an ideology that threatens every single citizen. It threatens not just the minorities and the Hindu-oppressed lower castes but the majority of its citizens, the women. Both the ideology and the many pronouncements of  leaders of RSS and its many affiliates, confirm that women[Read More…]

           Mahatma Gandhi dealt with problem of communalism in variety of ways. Throughout his life, he worked for communal harmony among communities of diverse social and cultural backgrounds. Though, the years following Hindu-Muslim riots in 1940s posed a greater challenge for Gandhi and Indian leadership. The challenge was to address the communal sentiment and to bring[Read More…]

  Like people of all regions and religions, a large number of Hindus have been migrating to all the parts of World. The reason behind this is better pastures and better living standards in those places. In most of the parts of the World one can see a substantial number of Hindus/people of Indian origin. The concentration of these émigrés[Read More…]

  The South Indian city of Bidar -the northernmost part of Karnataka, 145 km from Hyderabad-is a placid habitation where Hindus and Muslims peaceably coexist to the eternal rhythms of sowing and harvest. It is barely known beyond the subcontinent. But in recent years, it has built a great reputation in the field of education. It is drawing students from[Read More…]

Members of Indians Abroad for Pluralist India honoured Niranjan Takle – a courageous journalist who exposed the mysterious death of Justice B.H. Loya – in Delta on Monday, September 17. Takle was in Vancouver on the invitation of South Asian Network for Secularism and Democracy. He was presented with a medal by IAPI members, including its President Parshotam Dosanjh, Outreach[Read More…]

The members of Indians Abroad for Pluralist India (IAPI) unanimously condemned the action of an Indian diplomat at Malyalee Samajam event in Delta on Saturday, September 8. The IAPI team had gone to the event to show their solidarity with the people of Kerala, where massive floods have left close to 500 people dead. IAPI had raised $1,375 to help[Read More…]

  As an Indian citizen, progressive or liberal call what you may, I feel alarmed at the atmosphere of hatred that has caught the nation by its throat. As a woman, feminist undoubtedly, I am full of foreboding at what the women of this country will face if the Hindutva followers get another term in office. As a true-blooded Hyderabadi,[Read More…]

The ugly face of Hindutva terrorism has once again come to limelight with the arrest of three persons in Maharashtra for conspiring to carry out “terror activities” in several of places of the state. According to Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), it has recovered 22 items from the accused home in Pune. These include; 20 crude bombs, two gelatine sheets, a note[Read More…]

India has an impeccable history of welcoming the stranger and giving refuge to the oppressed, rejected and the evicted. She has welcomed Jews, Christians, Zoroastrians and the Baha’is. Indeed the very first mosque built outside of Arabia was in India by a Hindu King in the state of Malabar. The Tibetan Buddhist refugees found a home in India; the Ahmadiyya[Read More…]

The one who controls the language, controls the debate. Today Indian Muslims are in a peculiar situation where they are damned if they do and damned if they don’t. and interestingly it is all a product of language. ‘Secularism’,which was the refuge, not only of Muslims but all those who believe in our Constitution and in the freedom and dignity[Read More…]

When the constitution makers were drafting the constitution of India they did not include the word Secular into the preamble, however, the nature of the constitution has always been completely secular. The idea of India is varied from Pakistan, and the very reason that Greater India had to settle for a partition, was because different pockets of the nation could[Read More…]

 “It has been said with good reason that the Jana Sangh resulted from a combination of a partyless leader, Syama Prasad Mookerjee, and a leaderless party, the RSS”. (The Jana Sangh: A Biography of an Indian Political Party, by Craig Baxter p. 54) 1. In Search of the “Selfless Patriot” Untimely deaths of political leaders – whose career is just[Read More…]

In   Oscar  Wilde’s  famous  story,  the  hero  Dorian  Graypledged  his  soul,on  the  condition  that   the  painted  portrait  of  his  as  a  handsome  youth  must go  through  the  ageing process  on  the  canvas-in  exchange   of  his   right  to  enjoy  eternal  youth in  real  life.It was  a  wishful  deal  betweentwo  traditional  forms  –  art  as  fixed  imageon  the  one  hand ,  and [Read More…]

As if, there is a predetermined notion, 20 incidents of violence against Christians have taken place consistently every month since January till end May 2018. June reports are still being studied. UCF Helpline, launched in January 2015, has recorded 101 incidents of violence against Christians across India in first 5 months of 2018. The year 2018 began with 21 incidents[Read More…]

I do not hold any brief for Indira Gandhi as far her decision to impose emergency is concerned. There is no doubt that emergency period will be recorded as a black chapter in the democratic history of the country. But certainly I have every reason to differ with Arun Jaitely when he compares Indira Gandhi with Hitler. Hitler perhaps was[Read More…]

The month of Ramadan is not only a time of revelry and festivity but also occasion to show brotherhood among people of various communities and religions.  One may see the people expressing ‘ Mah-e-Ramzan Mubarak’ on streets ( Greetings on the occasion of the month of Ramzan) irrespective of religion hugging their Muslim brothers and sisters and holding ‘Iftar’ parties.[Read More…]

RSS, Sangh Parivar goons attacked a Christian pastor and his associates in Kodungallur, Kerala. They were distributing pamphlets in houses. RSS goons prevented them from distributing the pamphlets and forced them to tear up the pamphlets. Pastor Roy Thomas was even physically attacked. They were shooting the whole incident on mobile phone and posted it on social media. In the[Read More…]

Right-wing Hindu nationalist organization, The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) has accused the Indian churches of  conspiring with the Vatican to destabilize Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government. The Hindutva organization’s accusation came after the Archbishop of Goa and Daman, Father Filipe Neri Ferrao, wrote a letter to churches saying the Constitution is in danger. In May, Archbishop of Delhi Anil Couto had said in a[Read More…]

Dialogue is an essential part of democratic process. But what do you do when people wanting to usurp democracy through democratic means want to have dialogue with those believing in secular democratic Constitution of India? We are witnessing strong views being articulated for and against Pranab Mukherjee’s agreeing to be the chief guest at RSS cadre program. On one side[Read More…]

Police officer Gagan Deep Singh, who had saved a young Muslim boy from being lynched by a Hindutva mob, is facing death threats and has gone underground. His family members are also facing death threats from local RSS and BJP leaders. The reason: he defended “indecent behaviour”. The police inspector in Ramnagar, Uttarakhand shot to fame after saving a Muslim[Read More…]

Recently a video is making round on social media where a Sikh police officer saved a Muslim boy from the violent mob in Uttarakhand. In the video, the officer Gangandeep Singh made an entry like a bollywood hero and saved the Muslim guy, who was allegedly found with the Hindu girl in a temple. The video shows the Muslim boy[Read More…]

The Congress is the mother of all communal politics in India starting and supporting from the very Khilafat Movement, origin of RSS, further division of India and actively involved within all communal riots against Muslims after independence without putting perpetrators to Justice by their Government of the day but unfortunately, the Congress top leadership (Shrimati Sonia Gandhi) has announced recently[Read More…]

ॐ Murderer of Democracy in India (MODI) नमोः नमः ॐ Manipulator of Democratic Institutions (MODI) नमोः नमः ॐ Mouthpiece of Derogatory Idiots (MODI) नमोः नमः ॐ Manager of Despotic Ideology (MODI) नमोः नमः ॐ Mover of Divisive Ideology (MODI) नमोः नमः ॐ Maniac of Disproportionate Irrationality (MODI) नमोः नमः ॐ Manu-smriti observer (for) Oppressive India (MODI) नमोः नमः ॐ Mahatma[Read More…]

(After getting rebuffed in various other programs, the trend seems to be to stir the Communal Cauldron once again for the next Parliament Election!) The horrendous episode in Kathua is allegedly having some hidden objectives. It has been given out by some that the conspiracy, kidnapping, rape and murder of the eight year old Bakerwal girl was to drive away[Read More…]

Book: Cellars of the Inferno: Confessions of an RSS Pracharak Publisher: Chintha Publications Author: Sudheesh Minni Pages: 122 RSS has been critiqued for long for its divisive and fascist ideology. Its role in spreading hatred, communal violence, killings – arson and loot, blasts has been pointed out by critics. However, the attempt of RSS to project itself as a cultural[Read More…]

        When the judges of the highest forum to seek justice come out in public to exhort fair treatment and delivery of justice, you fear that even the hallowed walls of courts are not immune to ideology and malignance. When democratic process is impeded through horse-trading and browbeating public leaders while flouting public mandate like in Goa,[Read More…]

When Indian constitution was drafted by Amedkar, his visionary mind understood the importance of placing specific emphasis on the religious freedom as India shelters for dozens of religions and faiths with its vast cultural homogeneity. The religious freedom of Indian constitution has been verified by Article 25 and secularism in Indian constitution is predominant factor which is accepted by the[Read More…]

Rama Navmi is a Hindu festival that celebrates the birthday of Lord Rama. The festival is a part of the Hindu calendar that typically occurs in the months of March or April every year. The festival is an occasion for moral reflection for many Hindus. Traditionally, a Vashnavite’s, day is marked by reading of Ramayana and other stories of Lord[Read More…]

The ‘Ram’ of worship and devotion signified by ‘Ram Ram’ gives way to Ram of hatred depicted by ‘Jai Shri Ram’ on Rama Navami. Depicting just a trailer of ‘Acche Din’, it shows the direction of the real movie of ‘New India’. The raw material of festivals of religious nature gets converted into finished manufactured products of communal violence. Ram[Read More…]

We strongly condemn the demolition of the statue of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad at Kakinara in North 24 Pargana (West Bengal) on 27 Mar 2018 by the Bharatiya Janata Party cadres as reported by media including the Citizens Bureau. Maulana Azad was a renowned freedom fighter, India’s first Union Education Minister and one of the founders of Jamia Millia Islamia,[Read More…]

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar is in the news again. (Of course, once again for entirely wrong reasons) A few days back while talking to a news channel he had shared the dark prophecy that India could become Syria if the mandir issue was not resolved soon. “If the court rules against a temple, there will be bloodshed. Do you think the Hindu majority will[Read More…]

  Two snapshots of visual communication haunt me all the time. One is of the lynch mobs calling themselves as neo patriots and other the You Tube Videos of two Brahmin saints who were sunk deep into Islamic music and epitomised the syncretic cultural tradition of India. The first need no explanation as they are staple diet in the Indian[Read More…]

One of the means of measuring human progress is the declining influence of social identities in building human relationships. A society can only reach higher levels of progress only if it is able to break itself from the identities defined in terms of caste, religion, race, nationality, ethnicity, region etc. Unfortunately, in the 21st century for all the technological progress[Read More…]

People’s Alliance for Democracy and Secularism (PADS) condemns remarks made by the UP Dy CM Mr KC Maurya against District Magistrate of Bareilly as pure intimidation and a brazen effort to browbeat officers who express their opinion against communalism.In an FB post put up after the recent Kasganj communal violence the officer Mr Raghvendra Vikram Singh had questioned the increasing[Read More…]

In a way, middle-aged Afrazul Khan of Maldah’s Syedpur, a migrant laborer from West Bengal was lucky to be killed by a Hindutva- induced fanatic in Rajasthan on 6 December last year than his three co-religionists in their early twenties who were battered to death by some Hindu villagers at Chopra in neighboring North Dinajpur six months earlier. Khan and[Read More…]

  According to Collins Dictionary Dawah means , ´the practice or policy of conveying the message of Islam to non-Muslims”.Quran reading.com an online school registered in the state of Maryland USA, limits Dawah to “religious matters only like oneness of God, reading the Holy Quran in Arabic,  Hazrat Muhammad (PBUH) being the last Prophet, believing in prophets and day of judgment, offering Salah etc. rather it is[Read More…]

   (And if your goal be truth, Is this the right road— Europe’s faults all glossed, and all Islam’s held to so strict an audit?) -Sir Muhammad Iqbal Too often in the news, Islam is only associated with terrorism and extremism. An uninformed viewer may think: How could anyone in their right minds find inspiration and solace from such a[Read More…]

  The spectacle of what is called religion, or at any rate organised religion, in India and elsewhere, has filled me with horror and I have frequently condemned it and wished to make a clean sweep of it. Almost always it seemed to stand for blind belief and reaction, dogma and bigotry, superstition, exploitation and the preservation of vested interests.[Read More…]

In the beginning there was a huge Man named Brahma. He was huge and immortal. Then the Gods who have always been there cut him into four pieces. From the wise Head came the wise Brahmin, from the strong Hands came the strong Kshatriyas, from the big sweaty torso & belly came the Vaishya mass of agile traders & from[Read More…]

There is multi-dimensional, post-election analysis of the high voltage Gujarat Assembly Election at the end of 2017. Some analyst identified it as one man show like ‘Modi Magic’; few others indentified Congress’s moral victory, urban-rural electoral division or the consequences of agrarian crisis. Every political Pandit has his own rationality or assumption based on certain variables. While teaching social studies[Read More…]

  What a relief to be empty! Then God can live your life -Rumi In the chaos that prevails around us, there is a growing feeling of desolation and misery. The pace of modern times has upset the rhythm of life and the music is slowly ebbing out. Living in a harsh world we have developed cynicism and hatred. Our[Read More…]

  I never got the luxury of studying in the schools owned by the Christians but learnt a few things about them when my daughter got the opportunity to study there.  Most of these schools are purely commercial and catering to the middle class upper castes. The children will learn values of different faiths in these schools and even if[Read More…]

  This article is in response to Ashok Swain’s column titled ‘Why does Hindu Diaspora in developed multicultural Countries hate Minorities back Home in India’ published in ‘Outlook’ of 20th December 2017. The essence of Swain’s article is to probe the mindset & behavior of Hindus working & earning abroad in multicultural & secular countries while targeting their fellow citizens[Read More…]

In the modern democratic societies, the emergence of majoritarianism, as political ideology is a organised well thought of response of the social, religious, ethnic and racial majorities to the new progressive, democratic, secular and political philosophies/ideologies which have posed serious challenge. Afraid of losing the social and cultural monopoly, the majority invents socio-religious rituals, festivals, customs and traditions as tools[Read More…]

  Yesterday 15 December 2017 ANI reported that police in Kalaburagi, Karnataka, India have filed an FIR against Telangana BJP MLA Raja Singh for inciting communal hatred. An FIR has been registered against Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Telanagana MLA Raja Singh, a leader of the militant Hinfu outfit Ram Sene, one of the Sangh Parivar organisations. The leadership position is[Read More…]

“Mamta and Anita, Dalit sisters of Iroli Gurjar village in Mathura district of Uttar Pradesh wait in the district courts for their kin, and a Pastor, to be released on bail. The Pastor and five others were beaten up on 4th December when a mob entered Mamta’s house where a prayer was in progress, and stopped the prayers for the[Read More…]

  At the outset, we must confront a bitter fact that it was a ‘transfer of power’ in 1947 which Indian rulers celebrated as ‘Freedom’ and ‘Independence’. If we use a terse coinage, it was a ‘systematic transfer of power’ between the colonial elite (Britisher) and the post-colonial elite (Congress). That is why, the pre-1947 imperial state has been continuing[Read More…]

  A man was burnt to death in Rajasthan on December 6th when we were moaning and remembering the 25th year of the assault on our constitution.  Afrazul Khan (47) was brutally hacked to death in Rajsamund, Rajasthan and his ‘story’ was shown life and now available everywhere on social media. His fault was that he was a poor Muslim[Read More…]

(Birth anniversary of Prophet Muhammad-2nd December 2017) As you read these lines, 1.6 billion Muslims across the world, from Morocco to Jakarta, will be paying homage to the Prophet Muhammad on his birthday. This day, 1,428 years ago, Prophet Muhammad delivered the historic Last Sermon (khutabat al-wida) on the parched terrain of Mount of Mercy (Jabal ar-Rahmah) in the Uranah[Read More…]

The UP CM Adityanath says criminals will be killed, that no power in the world can stop building of a temple at Ayodhya even though there is an established judicial process to try and sentence criminals and the Ram temple issue is sub-judice. Aadhar is being forced down the throats of citizens despite SC orders to the contrary. The RSS[Read More…]

Civilised society, in India, is failing in all counts and working hard to prove that all that is so far, even it is quite minimal, acquired as positive civilisational characters such as humanism, universalism and rationalism, in actuality, are meaningless. For todays religiously indoctrinated, being religious and ritualistic is what is being civilised; rest is all peripheral and non-essential. What[Read More…]

  The Indian government on Thursday said it has sought details about the US announcement to provide nearly USD 500,000 to NGOs to promote religious freedom in India. The US has announced it wants to “increase societal tolerance” and reduce “religiously-motivated violence” and discrimination in India with the nearly $500,000 grant to NGOs in the country. The state department had[Read More…]

The Vancouver-based Indians Abroad for Pluralist India (IAPI) honoured Sarwan Singh Aujla, a retired school principal from Punjab and an author for keeping the story of Rehamt Ali Wajidke alive. Wajidke was a member of the Ghadar Party that was formed in North America in 1913 by the Indian immigrants to fight back against British occupation of their home country[Read More…]

  The most effective way to destroy people is to deny and obliterate their own understanding of their history.” –George Orwell Too much of the thinking about Muslim rulers is now being shaped along predictable, clichéd lines. This is true of all shades of opinion, perception and scholarship. There is evidence from a number of established scholarly discourses that the[Read More…]

To the believers in reactionary ideologies, one’s position in life or social identity based on social background in life is the primary determinant of one’s political beliefs. This is true to some extent, but beliefs in more progressive ideologies or political beliefs can enable one to break away from this pattern is a reality. It has to do with a[Read More…]

The increasing tendency towards seeing people in terms of one dominant ‘identity’ (‘this is your duty as an American’, ‘you must commit these acts as a Muslim’, or ‘as a Chinese you should give priority to this national engagement’) is not only an imposition of an external and arbitrary priority, but also the denial of an important liberty of a[Read More…]

We are living in a country that appears to have gone mad. All sane voices are being silenced. All insanity is being given free reign. Since fascists don’t read history it has no lessons for them. For it is too easy to see what happened every single time to those who went down this road of self-annihilation…they were very successful.[Read More…]

  I am appalled as to why a war has been declared on me? From television studios to the national highways to the lanes and by-lanes, lynch mobs are out to sniff life out of me. They want me dead for being anti-national, anti-animal, anti-cow, anti-India, pro-Pakistan and an ISIS-inspired Muslim zealot. Come what may, new India won’t tolerate ‘special[Read More…]

Mumbai  is known as the most cosmopolitan of the Indian cities. Muslims have a huge presence  here. Generations of Muslims have lived here. The following is an example of some school children living  in such a cosmopolitan Mumbai or its suburbs. But this instance can also be said to be representational. The picture may be a bit different in Andheri,[Read More…]

While growing up I learned that a sense of Muslim identity in me is not only a source of pride and joy, but also of great strengths, warmth and confidence. I did not find any conflict in my Muslim identity and being patriotic towards my own country. But gradually, I felt betrayed when I realised that my sense of belonging[Read More…]

Dr Ram Puniyani has been one of the foremost voices against communalism and has been active in promoting communal amity and national integration through various engagements at the grassroots. A regular commentator on the important socio-political issues, Dr Ram Puniyani has written as well as edited many books on communalism and for secular polity in India. In this detailed conversations[Read More…]

These communal incidents are becoming a commonplace and the religious fervor of the people who commit them are proud to be a participant of this mad race to fulfill their brutal agendas. With the streets getting bloodier and darker, turning a blind eye to such incidents could mean an end the delicate social fabric of love and mutual harmony of our country and converting minorities to mere statues and puppets divorced from their own religious ideologies.

If you want to be successful, you must respect one rule: never lie to yourself.            ~ Paulo Coelho UP elections are over and the results are out. They are surprising for some of us who have become used to living our lives in slumber. But for those who had their eyes open, the result in UP was neither unexpected[Read More…]

The Indian Constitution opens up as, “WE, THE PEOPLE OF INDIA, having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a SOVEREIGN, SOCIALIST, SECULAR, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC and to secure to all its citizens: JUSTICE, social, economic and political; LIBERTY of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship; EQUALITY of status and of opportunity; and to promote among them all FRATERNITY assuring the dignity[Read More…]

“Hindutva rashtra ki sanchetna hai. Is par prahaar mahapralay ko aamantran hai”. This is a statement that figures on the front page of the official website of the new Chief Minister of UP, Yogi Adityanath. I will attempt to unravel and decipher this statement in order to understand its meaning and import better. The first thing that is clear from[Read More…]

A huge uproar sprang over social media after the new station between Jogeshwari and Goregaon, two suburban stations of Mumbai, was named Ram Mandir, popularly known as Oshiwara. The progressive and liberal forces smashed the reactionary decision of the BPJ led Maharashtra Government for its decision to name the platform as Ram Mandir as it was a representation of not[Read More…]

Debate around the words Hindu, Hinduism, Hindutva is not new. Recently the assertion by Mohan Bhagwat, the Sarsanghchalk (Supreme Dictator) of RSS that ‘everyone living in India is Hindu’ and that Muslims might be Muslim by religion but they are Hindus by nationality’, is yet another interpretation of Word Hindu. He said that this is Hindustan so all those living[Read More…]

It is very interesting to note the judgement regarding the Muslim IAF officer who claimed that keeping a beard is his religious obligation. The Indian Express reported that the ruling given was, “Emphasising the need to “maintain discipline” in the Indian Air Force (IAF), the Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that Muslim personnel cannot keep beards by citing religious grounds.” http://indianexpress.com/article/india/air-force-personnel-cant-sport-beard-rules-supreme-court-as-it-junks-muslim-mans-plea-4427848/ Being[Read More…]

Today Tuesday 18 October 2016 a seven-judge Constitution bench of the Supreme Court of Chief Justice TS Thakur and justices MB Lokur, SA Bobde, AK Goel, UU Lalit, DY Chandrachud and L Nageswara Rao will be constituted to examine the scope of inquiry to be conducted when charges of corrupt practices under Section 123 (3-A) of the Representation of the[Read More…]