One Hindu woman in Kanpur, UP lodged a complaint against her Muslim husband on the charge that he forcibly converted her. As it turned out she was forced to sign the FIR by Hindutva groups and she went to the police station, turned hostile and stated that the aggressive Hindu nationalist groups had forced her to file the complaint. Betwa[Read More…]
The genome of the oppressor lies in the oppressed. Once the oppressed gets the power and privilege he too becomes the oppressor. The bitter experience of oppression and the memory it leaves in the subconscious mind serve as fertile ground for the oppressed to turn oppressor when the equations change. In the absence of reforms and education, the origin of oppression remain[Read More…]
Written by Bharat Dogra and Madhu Dogra Hindi film songs have often played an important role in articulating important social messages and taking them to a very large number of people. This may be a particularly opportune time for recalling those songs which have challenged communal forces in bold and effective ways. In this context perhaps the most popular song[Read More…]
This first May (2021), was also the day of 400th Anniversary of birth of the Ninth Sikh Guru Tegh Bahadurji. Guruji has a very important place in the consolidation of Sikhism; he was also the one who sacrificed his life for the sake of principles. As such Sikhism, the religion founded by Sant Shri Guru Nanak Dev ji has been a[Read More…]
India got independence from British colonial rule on 15th August 1947 after a long struggle which was inclusive and had plural dimensions. Foundation of Indian Constitution is Liberty, Equality, Fraternity and Justice. The values of secularism are deeply ingrained all through and particularly in Articles 14, 19, 22, and 25. It gives us freedom of religion, to practice, preach and[Read More…]
India began as a plural democracy; respect for diversity was the core value. The provisions of safeguards for minorities were in built. These safeguards were formulated by the Constituent Assembly’s committee on Minorities headed by Sardar Patel. Seven decades down the lines where do we stand in matters of security and economic welfare of the religious minorities. Most of the[Read More…]
If the rulers of our troubled country today make a sincere search for solutions in the ideas of Mahatma Gandhi, instead of merely garlanding his statue or photo, one of the most important lessons that they will learn is that of according truly equal respect to all religions. In fact this is a very basic lesson to which rulers of[Read More…]
As per the recent communiqué from Chief Minister of Haryana M.L. Khattar’s, the Government of Haryana has decided to change the name of Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan Hospital in Faridabad to Atal Bihari Vajpayee Hospital. So far we have witnessed the name changes by present ruling dispensation aplenty. Most of these changes involved the changing of names of roads/cities, which[Read More…]
Written by Hemanty Tudu and Vidhyam Introduction Communal harmony has barely been upheld in recent Indian history. It is always one issue or the other that gets attached to religion and then the communal terrorism commences. Kashmir, Ayodhya, mob lynching, elections, these all had their fair share in creating tensions in the name of religion. It is high time we[Read More…]
Indian Constitution gives us the right to practice, preach and propagate our religion. To not to follow any religion is also a matter of right for the individual. Now in our country as we are facing declining GDP, worsening economic situation, rising prices-unemployment-farmers suicides and currently farmer’s agitation, some of our state Governments are more worried about the interfaith marriages[Read More…]
Every country, has its share of minorities, whether linguistic, cultural or ethnic. For nearly all the countries, maintaining and securing their interests is a problem. And, for the biggest democracy in the world with largest spectrum of diversity it becomes a far more complex. In India we established a National Commission for Minorities under the National Commission for Minorities act, 1992. We even created a [Read More…]
India observes communal harmony week from 19th to 25th November. This was started in 1992 by National Foundation for Communal Harmony (NFCH), an autonomous body under Ministry of Home Affairs. The aim of the week is to promote fraternity, maintain peace & communal harmony, and to run a fundraising campaign for children affected by violence. However, majority do not know[Read More…]
Inter-faith harmony is of great importance in all parts of the world, but its importance increases further in a country like India which is home to people of so many religions and sects. Hence those who devote their life to protecting and promoting inter-faith harmony are performing a very important role for unity of our country and the peace and[Read More…]
Co-Written by Sandeep Pandey,Bobby Ramakantand & Kushagra Kumar 48 years old Faisal Khan has invested his entire life to strengthen communal harmony. With the intent to maintain and promote peace and harmony between people and communities he took out countless marches not just within India but also between India and Pakistan. He can recite verses from Ramcharitmanas and from the[Read More…]
Uttar Pradesh police arrested Faisal Khan in Delhi and brought him to Mathura on 2nd November 2020 but so far neither he has been presented in the court nor police-administration is willing to provide any information about him. 48 years old Faisal Khan has invested his entire life to strengthen communal harmony. With the intent to maintain and promote peace[Read More…]
A founding member of Khudai Khidmatgar, Faisal Khan was arrested today (2nd Nov evening) from their communal harmony centre, ‘Sabka Ghar’ in Delhi and taken to Uttar Pradesh, by the UP police. Along with Faisal Khan, three other members of the organization, Chand Mohammed, Alok Ratan, and Nilesh Gupta have been charged u/s 153(A), 295 and 505 of the IPC[Read More…]
Pedestrian pictures weekend screening VOICES FROM THE RUINS: Kandhamal In Search of Justice directed by K P Sasi from 25th September 2020 Friday , 6 PM onwards. Please follow this link to watch the film. https://vimeo.com/461484394 Link will be active from 25th 6pm The link for the webinar – Lessons and Reflections from Kandhamal is given below Synopsis: The state[Read More…]
Desmond Morris’s pithy observations in The Naked Ape may be considered obsolete in our times, when we are busy talking about posthumans and homo-roboticus; but I think, it still contains many nuggets of wisdom. Being a zoologist, he sees quite a lot of parallelisms, between, us naked apes, who at some point in our history, unilaterally proclaimed the shattering of[Read More…]
We hope you remember the diabolic attacks on christians in Kandhamal/Odisha in two consecutive years 2007 & 2008. Barely after eight days after celebration of Independence Day, India witnessed the organized communal attacks on Christians, the biggest in the history of India during the last three centuries, that spread to different parts of Odisha and other states. Over 395 churches[Read More…]
Contrary to present impression that Muslims are separatists due to whom the partition of India took place, the truth is that majority of Muslims contributed to freedom movement and upheld India’s composite culture in equal measure. The partition process, mainly due to British policy of ‘divide and rule’ well assisted by Hindu and Muslim communalists is being hidden from the[Read More…]
Co-Written by Supriya Joshi, Vishal Kumar and Sandeep Pandey India is one the most religiously and ethnically diverse nations of the world. It has a syncretic culture and people have learned to live together respecting each other’s beliefs. However, in the recent past, communal politics has been used extensively for mobilizing voters. This has led to extreme communal polarisation and[Read More…]
In practice, India has been neither secular nor socialist. It has always functioned as an upper-caste Hindu state. Arundhati Roy The Constitution of India is based on the premise of secularism and unbiased principles. But the question is: Are these secular principles practiced in true sense of the term in our country at present? The obvious answer that echoes from[Read More…]
Chennai June 24 – A Muslim group in Tamil Nadu is actively involved in conducting proper funeral rites of dead bodies mostly of Corona victims belonging to different faiths. The volunteers of Tamil Nadu Muslim Munnetra Kazhagam (TMMK), a Muslim non-governmental organization have performed the last rights of about 139 dead bodies belonging to different religions commencing from March 25,[Read More…]
India is a plural country with many religions. While the majority religion is Hinduism, Islam and Christianity are the major religious minorities. While Freedom movement accorded them equal status as religions, the communal forces regard these as religions of alien religions. Lately there are various attempts to coopt them in the umbrella of Hinduism. The statements of communal forces are[Read More…]
Just a few days back, the chargesheet was filed by the Delhi police against a well-known Human Right activist and committed Gandhian Harsh Mander along with other activists. The Delhi police alleged that Mander had incited violence (mainly to those people who were protesting against anti-constitutional Act like CAA). As a result, Delhi riots took place in the month of February 2020,[Read More…]
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…]
Chinua Achebe’s ‘There was a country’, a compelling account of Nigerian Civil War and the history of Biafra, not only details, from his perspective, the events that lead to the war and the war itself, but also throws light on various other relevant issues and topics, otherwise subdued and forgotten in the graphs and numerical of the war figures. Achebe[Read More…]
Two recent reports deserve our attention: The first one is the case of a young labourer named Amrit, s/o Ramcharan and his friend Mohammad Yakub was travelling to Basti, UP from Surat, Gujarat. Suddenly Amrit became unconscious. Since the passengers in the truck protested, the boy was dropped on the road side in the middle of the night. Amrit’s friend,[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…]
I see a lot of peace building efforts in North East Delhi which was the hub of the recent riots. If these peace building measures happened before the riots the riots would not have happened! Too late too little! We have to be proactive. We should not wait for something untoward to happen to engage in peace building activities. The[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…]
By Forum for the Defence of the Indian Constitution For several weeks now, the people of India have hit the streets in a historic protest across the countryagainst the Citizenship Amendment Act and the proposed National Register of Citizens – both instruments of imposing fascism on India . Millions, cutting across religious, regional and caste identities have turned out in[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…]
Modi.2 has emerged as a very powerful Government. It has not only the numerical majority; it is also facing a weak and divided opposition. That is one of the reasons for it stream rolling over people’s opinions and imposing the agenda of RSS-BJP of Hindu nationalism in a blatant way. On one side it has brought in a law banning[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…]
Eminent theatre director from Karnataka S Raghunandana on July 17 declined the Sangeet Natak Akademi award for 2018, a day after it was announced, in protest against incidents of “mob lynching in the name of God and religion” and the frequent attempts to stifle dissenting views of public intellectuals and activists. Full Text of S Raghunandana’s statement The Sangeet Natak[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…]
Eid Mubarak! I’m writing this article on the eve of Eid. Two weeks after the Modi 2.0 government was installed in India. When the election results came out on May 23 I was baffled. How come a government which put India through enormous pain through its anti-people policies like Demonetisation which killed over 200 people and destroying small scale industries[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…]
Fr. Manoj Nayak, 44 years old, is one of the main leaders of the Kandhamal Survivors’ Association. After the major communal violence in Kandhamal in 2008, he has been involved in relief, rehabilitation, peace building and assisting the victims and survivors in the justice delivery process. During the Kandhamal violence, his house also was attacked and burnt. His family was[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…]
Ayodhya issue is an explosive mix of history, religion and politics. Can the Ayodhya land dispute mediation panel make any dent in crafting a compromise among the disputing parties is the fundamental question? This method of arbitration has made the case too simple, because if any such compromise has to have reached, it could have been done long ago, and[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…]
As new year draws closer, there is an increase of tensions on caste and communal lines. The Naseeruddin Shah affair has not yet subsided and another instance of repression took place in Mumbai. The dashing dalit leader Chandrasekhar Azad who was invited to address a rally on December 29, wanted to use the opportunity to visit Dr. B. R. Ambedkar[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…]
The jail for life conviction of Delhi Congress leader Sajjan Kumar in 1984 anti-Sikh riot case is too little and too late judgment by the Delhi High Court. The Sikh’s killings occurred a day after Indira Gandhi was assassinated by her Sikh bodyguards October 31, 1984. There were other Congress leaders, besides Sajjan Kumar like HKL Bhagat, Jagdish Tytler and[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…]
Considering recent political developments in India, Canada, which claims to be a human rights leader in the world, should stand up for the Sikhs and recognize the 1984 Sikh massacre as genocide. Thousands of Sikhs were murdered across India during the first week of November 1984 following the assassination of then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards. The innocent[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…]
When the fountainhead of the State’s governance, its chief minister overwhelms the need to hunt cow-killers over ‘cop-killers’, it crystallizes a practice in gross violation and rule of mob anarchy. Dressing the incident as an ‘accident’, that too four years after the incident and relegating a heart to heart with the victim policeman’s family after the end of his political[Read More…]
In one of the worst massacres in the history of India, the world’s so called largest secular democracy, thousands of innocent Sikhs were lynched and burnt alive, while their women were raped during the first week of November, 1984. The Sikh community, which makes up just two percent of the Indian population, was targeted by mobs all across the country[Read More…]
India is going through a phase of unparalleled hatred to one another according to their religion, caste, culture, linguistic affiliation etc. It need not be that way. We are all human beings with common origins. It’s history that divided us. We can break these human made barriers if we accept that we are one family. Hundreds of thousands of Indians[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…]
Uttar Pradesh Police inspector Subodh Kumar Singh was killed by a mob in Bulandshahar. The cowardly killings and its videos were viral from yesterday evening. The mob, it is alleged, was protesting against cow slaughter, that was ‘said to have’ happened in the area. Such hearsay have become part of the mob culture and justification of the goons masquerading as[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…]
I remember those days when the former prime minister of India late Atal Bihari Vajpayee had suggested for a national debate on conversion though our constitution, even then pointing that the practice of religion is a fundamental right. This was when, he was on an official visit to Dang, Gujarat on 10th January, 1999. Here,religious violence were taking place[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…]
On November 11, 1888 Abul Kalam, better known as Maulana Azad, was born in Mecca and two years later his father came to Calcutta to consult a surgeon. Since then his family never went back and stayed in India. It is here that Maulana Azad was educated in traditional knowledge. He never went to any university and did not[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…]
The RSS has set about rebranding itself with the recent lectures given by Mohan Bhagwat. With the constitution, secularism, Hindutva and other such aspects being discussed, vis-à-vis RSS’s policies and thoughts towards them, the RSS seems to be undergoing a tectonic shift in its ideologies. The threat of normalising the RSS and it tenants however, appear to be minimal. Already,[Read More…]
In early September 2018, I spent four days in the Chicago, Illinois region in order to protest the World Hindu Congress (WHC). Here’s why. On September 6, I participated in a panel at the University of Chicago which formed to “Stop Hindu Fascism.” On September 7, I was honored to be invited to join a delegation which visited U.S. Congressman[Read More…]
The two statements (1) Reservation should stay(2) If Muslims are unwanted, there is no Hinduvta made by the RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat at three –day lecture series, Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi carries a lot of social and political meaning. For a moment, let us presume that Mohan Bhagwat and his lethal, corrosive and[Read More…]
Something is cooking in the RSS. Certainly, it is fishy (apologies to fish). Otherwise, why this turnabout? Why this change of heart? Out of nowhere.Even the Hindutva spokespeople have become civilized suddenly, giving up their abrasive, aggressive, intolerant rant as has been evident in the English language TV news channels. They are using more reasonable language, have toned down voices,[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 World Hindu Congress held a conference in Chicago in the first week of September 2018, and it was attended by about 3000 Hindus from around the world. Unfortunately, many speakers fouled, here is an accounting of the two who are divisive and sowed the seeds of ill-will between Indian communities. Every faith group holds similar conferences, as Americans, we[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 members of Indians Abroad for Pluralist India (IAPI) walked out in protest from the Malayali Samajam event in Delta on Saturday, September 8 after its cofounder Gurpreet Singh was stopped from speaking at the behest of an Indian diplomat in Vancouver. The IAPI delegates, including Singh, Parshotam Dosanjh, Navtej Johal, Rakesh Kumar and Amrit Diwana had gone there to[Read More…]
Communal genocide in Kandhamal in Odisha, which happened in 2008. Barely after eight days after celebration of Independence day, India witnessed the biggest organized communal attack against the Christians in the last few centuries. This year is is the tenth anniversary of Kandhamal violence. During this brutal invasion on the Christian community, around 393 churches and worship places which belonged[Read More…]
We hope you remember the grave communal genocide in Kandhamal in Odisha, which happened in 2008. Barely after eight days after celebration of Independence day, India witnessed the biggest organized communal attack against the Christians in the last few centuries. Since 2009, people of Kandhamal and outside have been organizing 25th August as Kandhamal Day each year. This year on[Read More…]
It’s been ten years since the sheltered calmness of the plateaus of Kandhamal witnessed one of the bloodiest episodes of communal violence unleashed on Christian minorities in India; since Dalits and Tribals found themselves under siege from mobs led by Hindutva fanatics. Dismembered limbs, axed bodies, rape, arson, razed churches, loot and terror plagued the district for months while the[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…]
86 years old Swami Gyan Swaroop Sanand sat on an indefinite fast in Haridwar on 22 June, 2018 to demand making a law on conservation of river Ganga. Nobody came to see him from the Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvnation. He was admitted to All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Haridwar but continued his fast there[Read More…]
South Asian activists came together to raise voice against the recent attack on Swami Agnivesh in India by Hindu extremists at Holland Park in Surrey on Sunday evening. Organized by the Indians Abroad for Pluralist India (IAPI), the rally was attended by people from diverse backgrounds. The speakers unanimously condemned the attack on Agnivesh and expressed their solidarity with the[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…]
Eminent social activist Swami Agnivesh was assaulted by BJP’s youth wing workers in Jharkhand’s Pakur area today. The video of the assault that took place in broad daylight has gone viral. Agnivesh was there to attend an event in a hotel. The moment he came out of the hotel, he was attacked. The assaulters were reportedly upset with Agnivesh’s recent[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…]
A Student Federation of India (SFI) activist and a student of Maharaja’s College Ernakulam, Abhimanyu (20) was stabbed to death allegedly by Campus Front-Popular Front activists today morning. Another student of the college Arjun (19) got seriously injured in the attack. He was taken for a surgery at a private hospital. He’s in critical condition. Another student, Vineeth, also was[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 recent visit of Pranab Mukherjee to RSS headquarter had attracted a lot of attention among political circles. Even before the visit, concerns were raised over the acceptance of invitation as well as the potential content of the speech that might be delivered. Contrary to the fears, the speech of Mukherjee only tried to emphasise Gandhian-Nehruvian concept of Nationalism. It[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…]
A Aligarh Muslim University is in the news. It was always in the news since pre partition days. Many felt it was responsible for creating a leadership which demanded separate state of Pakistan but broadly India’s secular elite too felt uncomfortable with Muslims speaking for themselves. This was true about the Dalits too but post 1980s, a phenomena called Kanshiram[Read More…]
History reveals itself. Sometimes, it is a bad happening that works as catalysts in bringing out some important historical facts to the fore that otherwise remain concealed under the veil of political prejudices, expediencies of power politics or the vote bank politics. What has been happening in the Aligarh Muslim University during the week is sad and bad. Nonetheless, the[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…]
SatyamevaJayate – “Truth alone Triumphs.” She Stood Tall Against All – Hadiya My Hero! International Women’s Day 2018 brought the best present that Hadiya deserved. Perfect time to celebrate inspiring women who have shown the nerves of steel to the ever-discriminatory patriarchal world we live in. So, my heartiest congratulations to Hadiya and credit to the Supreme Court for[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…]
Would it be possible to imagine that leader of any organisation openly declaring that her/his people/activists have the ability to prepare an “army” in three days , can be deployed on the front within three days, questions the ability of the security forces for quick operations, and does not face any legal hassles ? A lesser mortal would have been[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…]
From Tilhara (Bihar, 1942) to riots during India’s partition in 1947-1948, and then from the riots in independent India’s Jamshedpur, Rourkela, Bhagalpur, Bhiwandi, Delhi, Meerut and Ahmadabad to the demolition of Babri Masjid, and then from the riots in Mumbai, Surat, and Bhopal to the 2002 Gujarat massacre, nothing at all has changed in the nature of atrocities and riots,[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…]
‘Banal Nationalism’ (Michael Billing’s phrase) means plain daily nationalism. It ‘covers the ideological habits which enable the established nations of the west to be reproduced’. These habits ‘are not removed from everyday life,’ ‘but very much ingrained in them might tactically be used to describe nationalism in non-western countries, particularly India.’ It is usually nurtured together with love for parents,[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…]
The silhouette of the large mosque, brick-like but for a bulbous dome, looks blurry in the downpour past the minarets as the imposing wide red brick gates, herald you into the hallowed precincts of an institution—one of the most influential institutions in the world that frames Islamic discourse in the subcontinent. The occasional rain is heavy, lending a sparkle to the green paddies[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…]
“… A Hero of Our Time, gentlemen, is in fact a portrait, but not of an individual; it is the aggregate of the vices of our whole generation in their fullest expression.” ‘(From Foreword to Á Hero of Our Time, Lermontov’ quoted in Albert Camus novel ‘The Fall’) Shambhu Lal Raigar is a new hero of our times. It[Read More…]
Before writing anything about Shanta Gandhi, I want to honestly admit something. Up until about a couple of years back, I was completely unaware of the existence of anyone by this name. As luck would have it, I enrolled into an MA course in Education and as a part of my field research therein, I came across what is known[Read More…]
Dr.John Dayal was honoured for his life time contributions for the cause of minorities in India. He was conferred the honour by Sj. Ramesh Chandra Majhi, minister for ST/SC Development, OBC & Minority Welfare, Government of Odisha on behalf of Odisha Minority Alliance, Bhubaneswar at the IDCOL Auditorium, Bhubaneswar. The function was organized on the occasion of International Minority[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…]
Why is there a gag order on Yogi Adityanath’s hate speech trial in Allahabad? What is the public interest in covering up these crimes? The hate speeches by Yogi Adityanath were the precursor to extra judicial killings by the Uttar Pradesh Government once he became Chief Minister. Police encounter killings were not only threatened but carried out. In his speech[Read More…]
Braving cold weather, dedicated South Asian activists gathered at the Holland Park in Surrey on Saturday to hold rally in commemoration of the 25 years of the demolition of Babri Mosque. On December 6, 1992 the Hindu extremists had razed the ancient Muslim shrine at the behest of the right wing Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) which currently governs India. The[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…]
India’s apex court has – thankfully – put an interim break to the brouhaha over the much-publicized Hadiya conversion-and-marriage case. Whatever will be the final verdict in this case to be pronounced by the Supreme Court, there is one section, the key benefactor, that is rejoicing with a perverse pleasure from the rooftop. It is the Sangh Parivar, for[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…]
And when the dark clouds moved
In a sky that I could not reach
I took a shot
Of a sun
That has never risen.
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…]
In the drama called India we are about to open a new scene. Actually, a new episode of an old story – the so-called Babari Masjid dispute. The attempt by the spin doctors is to make it sound like the usual, ‘We Hindus are being reasonable, peaceful, non-violent and accommodative as usual. You Muslims really must get your act together[Read More…]
What Led To The Monumental Sachar Committee Report Of 2006? Setting The Context After a lull of about a decade on the Justice Rajindar Sachar Committee Report on Muslim backwardness, sections of the media have finally brought the report again to limelight for debate and action. This is a good development. One example of this is the write-up “Shelved &[Read More…]
In 2013 Narendra Dhabolkar, who was fighting to get the Anti-Superstition law passed in Maharashtra and led a campaign for rationalism, and against blind faith all his life, was killed. This was followed by the killings of Govind Pansare and MM Kalburgi in 2015. And this year, Gauri Lankesh. All of them have reputation for being fiercely opposed to caste[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…]
While activists across India observed August 25 as Kandhmal Day in commemoration of the victims of anti Christian pogrom in 2008, a conversation was held at the University of British Columbia (UBC) on growing attacks on religious minorities under Modi government. Held at the CK Choi Building in UBC, the conversation was between visiting journalist from India Rana Ayyub and[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…]
The visiting journalist from India Rana Ayyub has been denied an opportunity to address the congregation at the Ross Street Sikh temple in Vancouver, Canada. Ayyub has published Gujarat Files, a book based on her undercover investigation of the complicity of the government in anti Muslim pogrom of Gujarat in 2002 and the killings of the Muslim men in staged[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…]
70 years of freedom have passed. It is time for us to reflect on what it meant people of India – Dalits, Adivasis, minorities and other marginalised sections. Do we really have the moral strength to face another Kandhamal massacre in India? If not, it is too important that we remember and observe Kandhamal Day on August 25, 2017 and[Read More…]
Courageous author and journalist Rana Ayyub – who exposed the involvement of the Indian officials in the systematic killings of Muslims was honoured by Radical Desi in Surrey on Saturday. She was presented with Courage in Journalism Award at a well attended event held at Dr. Ambedkar room in the Surrey Central Library. Those who presented her the award included[Read More…]
A broad coalition of citizens and organisations came together today under the banner of Sajha Kadam to discuss the menace of growing communalism in Jharkhand and possible responses to it. The threat of communalism, evident in recent lynching incidents, was seen in the context of other threats to the right to life, including attempts to dilute people’s rights to land,[Read More…]
Yoga guru Baba Ramdev has launched a private security firm “Parakram Suraksha Private Ltd’. The aim of the company ensuring security and developing military instinct. According to Acharya Balakrishna, CEO of Ramdev’s Patanjali, “Security is a very important issue either for a man or a woman. Our aim is to prepare individuals for self and country’s security and for this[Read More…]
A fifteen-year old boy was lynched to death in a train by a mob, when he was returning home with his relatives, on the evening of Thursday, 22nd June after doing his Eid shopping in Delhi. The mob threw his body at Asaoti railway station near Faridabad. The boy’s name was Junaid Khan. There have been more than a dozen[Read More…]
Our call for #An Hour For Communal Harmony has got wonderful response from around the country. As our first event, blood and organ donation camps will be held in major cities/towns in India in the first week of August. New Delhi, Kolkotta, Mumbai, Chennai, Pune, Trivandurm, Kochi, Calicut have come on board. The slogan of the campaign is “India United[Read More…]
There have been several brutal lynchings of Muslims and beatings of dalits on the issue of Holy cow. Mohammad Akhlaq in Dadri, Pehlu Khan in Mewat being just two of the cases from the long list. In these cases some pretext is cooked up to beat the cow traders or those consuming meat or beef. The incidence of Una shows that[Read More…]
This is an excerpt from Gandhi’s prayer discourse of July 25, 1947, from the Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi, Volume 88, as published online by the Gandhi Heritage Portal. Rajendra Babu tells me that he has received some 50,000 postcards, between 25,000 and 30,000 letters and many thousands of telegrams demanding a ban on cow-slaughter. I spoke to you about[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…]
Yoga was seen practicing by almost everybody on the International Yoga Day. The body language of many of them unequivocally expressed the fact that they don’t practice it daily. I have never practiced Yoga and I don’t intend to practice it ever. It may be or it must be good for the body. But, what the present day India[Read More…]
On 6th of April, 2017, a day after Ramnavmi celebrations, the evening bulletins of electronic media broke the news of communal tension in the municipal town of Bhadrak, which has a sizeable Muslim population. The next day, the print media carried the news. The trigger for the violence was stated to be some derogatory texts about Ram and Sita that[Read More…]
Riot took place on the next day of “Ramanabami” celebration on April 6 and 7, which the District Administration failed to prevent. Had the administration taken immediate steps and promulgation of Section 144 be strictly observed on 6th April and then also on 7th April such incidents could have been avoided. Religious processions that cause kind of communal tension should[Read More…]
A recent article published in the Countercurrents.org by Lalita Ramdas titled ‘Service Brats, Identity and Nationalism’ raised some crucial issues through the comments by honorable serving/retired army personnel. It is felt that a wider dissemination and debate is necessary into this aspect,since it raises the fundamental issue of whether a citizen of India, Lalita Ramdas, wife of Admiral L.[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…]
(The Hindutva wave of violence during the elections and after is not really against Muslims and for the safety of the cows. It is an excuse to administer what Karl Marx called the “Opium of the people” to the millions of poor Indians!) The ultimate goal of every religion is to explain the purpose of human existence to make it[Read More…]
Odisha followed by Madhya Pradesh enacted the so called Freedom of Religion Acts for the first time in India. State of Chattishgarh was carved out of Madhya Pradesh which inherited the same law. Recently media reported of a series of Ghar Wapsi and attacks on Christians led by Dinesh Kashyap, a BJP MP from Jagdalpur, Chattishgarh. I joined a fact[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…]
Hindu Rashtra is the goal of Hindu nationalist politics, which is also called as Hindutva. In contrast to Hinduism, Hindutva is a politics in the name of Hinduism with Brahmanism as the core of the same. In a nutshell Hindutva is a politics based on Brahmanical values of caste and gender hierarchy. The concept of Hindutva-Hindu nation is a modern[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…]
After the long wait, the Supreme Court Chief Justice J.S. Khehar opined that long pending dispute of Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid should be settled out of court. (March 2017) He even offered to mediate himself in the matter. Uniformly most of the spokesperson from RSS Combine welcomed the move, while large number of Muslims and other elements have been surprised[Read More…]
In the recent past, one has witnessed violence being increasingly inflicted by actors such as Gau Rakshaks, Anti Romeo squads and Hindu Yuva Vahini. Violence by Hindu senas, Ram senas, Bajrang dal was always there. These are extra-constitutional actors aiming to impose a culture through usage of physical violence. Under the current National regime and State regimes in BJP ruled[Read More…]
India is a mosaic of great cultures. Not now. The culture which we inherited from our founding fathers and martyrs who wanted to preserve the greatness would be ashamed to see India today. India today which is digital, India which is nuclear and India one of the fastest growing economies of the world is now also the land of[Read More…]
‘If you are black or you are brown or you are gay or you are lesbian or you are Trans or you are Introvert , Anyone that is treating you unkindly , It’s only because they are afraid or they have been taught to be afraid of how important you are. Because being different means you make a difference. so[Read More…]
One Pehlu Khan from Haryana came to the cattle fair in Jaipur to purchase a buffalo. He was a dairy farmer. In the fair he was impressed by high milk yielding Cow and bought that instead of his plan of buying a buffalo. On way back in Alwar ‘Go Rakshak’ (Protectors of Cow) attacked his group and mercilessly beat[Read More…]
Bankim Chandra Chatterjee or Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, who is considered as the father of Hindu Rashtra, has written three novels all in the last ten years of his life: Anandmath, Debi Choudhurani and Sitaram. All of them can be justly described as anti-Muslim. B.C.C played an important role in reducing Indian nationalism to Hindu nationalism, which is anti-Muslim to the[Read More…]
Three people, including a minor, was arrested on 5th of April for cooking beef. The news is not from the state of Uttar Pradesh or Chhattisgarh, where eating or possessing cattle meat is prohibited. Sadly, It is a news from the North Eastern part of India and to be precise, it is from Jorhat district of Assam. “They bought beef[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.
After the long wait, the Supreme Court Chief Justice J.S. Khehar opined that long pending dispute of Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid should be settled out of court. (March 2017) He even offered to mediate himself in the matter. Uniformly most of the spokesperson from RSS Combine welcomed the move, while large number of Muslims and other elements have been surprised as the[Read More…]
Violence is the bane of Indian society and a manifest agenda of communal forces, which thrive on divisive politics and polarization. This is part of their political agenda. While Hindu-Muslim violence during British period had a particular beginning and characteristics, the same violence became anti-Muslim violence after Independence. The major brunt of communal violence has been borne by Muslim community[Read More…]
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…]
The suggestion of chief Justice of India to even act as a mediator in pending Babri Masjid demolition case, showed his concern but was a little odd considering that it has come at the instance of an inter meddler, and without parties involved being before the Court – that is why it caused amongst the parties a certain concern. In[Read More…]
Note: Imaginary debate with opponents is a thought process adopted since ages by thinkers such as Sankara, Madhvacharya and many others to demolish prativada (counter arguments). This samvada (debate) also follows this technique. The characters are fictitious, but the arguments are real. The Chief Pracharak had a brain wave, while pondering about how to make the Indian universities fall in[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…]
One Kamal didi ( she signs as Kamal didi too) of the Rashtriya Mahila Gau Rakshak Mandal was trying to catch stray cows with the help of the nagar nigam to take them to the Gau shalas, when Qasim a cleaner boy from Rabbani Hotel came to throw garbage in an empty plot near the dustbin on Kanti Chandra road.[Read More…]
“DEENDAYAL UPADHYAYA is to the BJP [BharatiyaJanata Party] what Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was to Congress” opined R. Balashankar, former editor of the RashtriyaSwayamsewakSangh’s (RSS) organ Organiser and now a member of the BJP’s central committee, on Prasikhshan Maha Abhiyan (The Indian Express,; September 24, 2016). Cows inhale, exhale oxygen, says Rajasthan education minister VasudevDevnani (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/jaipur/cows-inhale-exhale-oxygen-says-rajasthan-education-minister-vasudev-devnani/articleshow/56612529.cms) Rajaram (name changed)[Read More…]
I The biases and misconceptions about conversions and population growth have been used by communal forces to divide the society. This became apparent once again when Minister of state of Home, Kiren Rijuju tweeted that that Hindu population is decreasing in the country as Hindus don’t convert and that minorities in India are flourishing unlike in the neighbouring countries. Threat[Read More…]
Salim Khan, a Muslim driver was burnt alive after a message was passed on the police wireless that a Muslim driver was coming that way. On the night of February 28, when people were attacked in Vatwa, all they could see was heads and more heads. Swords were being waved in the air, shots were fired by privately owned guns.[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…]
Communal violence is not new in India. This has existed all along. Despite India adopting the word ‘Secular’ in its constitution, religious tolerance yet remains a dream. Individuals, communal organisations, political parties have in some form or the other played a role in perpetrating communal violence all along. Adoption of ‘Secularism’ has not resulted in a communal free behaviour among[Read More…]
Indian freedom struggle is comprised of innumerable set of actions but the most unique and important among them remains contribution of Indian revolutionaries, were handful of youth who kept a clear vision for universal brotherhood and equality. The independence they stood for was of economic, social and political nature. Organizations like Naujawan Bharat Sabha (NBS), Hindustan Socialist Republican Association (HSRA)[Read More…]
7 in the series JatiIndia: A Flag of Atrocities Caste, Present and Future For more than a quarter century, journalist/activist Teesta Setalvad has worked tirelessly to ensure that India’s Constitution serves the people. Her most well-known work involved exposing, through her group Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP), the atrocities committed by Hindutva extremists in Gujarat in 2002. As part[Read More…]
I’m not a hot off the shelf book reader. Most of the books I read are suggestions from my friends or found during my reading or research. When Teesta Setalvad’s memoir “Foot Soldier of the Constitution” appeared I simply could not resist. Her indomitable spirit in spite all the wild allegations, smearing of reputation, false cases, public humiliation, personal attacks[Read More…]
Today’s Times of India has reported that CBI has filed criminal charges against the well known human rights activist Teesta Setalvad and her husband Javed Anand. As per the statement of Teesta, refuting all claims of violation of FCRA norms by the CBI, the financial support she has received is after the deduction of TDS. And even if any mistake[Read More…]
Malyalam movie actor Alancier Lay Lopez’s one man act at the bus stand premises of Kasaragod is being equated with the Meryl Streep moments at the golden globe award venue- where the much reputed charismatic actress takes a dig at the United State’s president elect Donald Trump for his disrespectful imitation of a journalist at the time of his presidential[Read More…]
Malayalam actor Alancier Ley Lopez made a unique plea for communal harmony in a one man protest show in Kasarkod, Kerala. He staged the show to express his protest against BJP-RSS’s vicious targetting of Malayalam filmmaker Kamal. BJP state general secretary had ordered Kamal to leave the country, just because he happens to be a Muslim. At about 4.30 PM[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…]
Haider Ali and Tipu Sultan were indeed the great rulers of Southern India. They perform their best efforts for the expansion, consolidation and development of the state of Mysore. Haider Ali played a pivotal role in the expansion of the Mysore State while Tipu Sultan thoroughly modernized the state. Haider Ali was a great warrior, while Tipu Sultan was a[Read More…]
He is one and half year older than Independence of our country. Independence had also brought partition of India. He is from other side of divided India. Of course, he and his family have lots of stories to tell about partition but these never turned into stories of ‘hate for other community’. At last, he became messenger of Aman i.e.[Read More…]
Report of a fact-finding team which visited Central University of Haryana, Mahendergarh on 20th October 2016 . Team members: Anirban Kar, Deepak Gupta, Jitender Dhankhar, Sachin N, Sameeksha Khandelwal and Saroj Giri On 21st September 2016, students and teachers of English and Foreign Languages department at Central University of Haryana (CUH), Mahendergarh, performed a play based on Mahasweta Devi’s short[Read More…]
In the aftermath of Allahabad High Court judgement that nullified her election as a MP from Raebareli and in the midst of on growing students’ unrest, also known as Bihar or JP movement, Mrs Indira Gandhi imposed emergency on 25th June 1975 under . Fundamental rights were suspended; political opponents and dissenting intellectuals were jailed, press censored. The pervasive[Read More…]
On Monday the 31st of October 2016 the Madhya Pradesh police assassinated eight alleged associates of the Students’ Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) after an alleged escape from prison near Bhopal. This was not coincidentally a day when the Prime Minister Narendra Modi was hyping Hindu nationalism on Diwali, the Hindu festival that celebrates the return of the mythic god[Read More…]
The events in Kandhamal in 2008 shook the entire country. The large number of tribal and Dalit Christians in this remote district of the then Orissa (now Odisha) state were subjected to months, even years of displacement, dispossession , death for a few and ‘forced conversion’ for those who remained, by the saffron forces which termed it ‘ghar wapsi’ or[Read More…]
Okay! So, you are laughing. Good! I love to make people happy and after all we all have our right to fantasize. The question I asked myself was, ‘If I were to be invited to advise the AIMPLB (All India Muslim Personal Law Board ) at this rather heated moment, what would I say?’ Key word? IF. Please don’t get[Read More…]
Lalita Ramdas writes on the renewed vilification of Teesta Setalvad and her husband Javed Anand. Prof. Apoorvanand’s article follows this intro: Too many things on my mind – not least of all the wide and growing gap between those PLUs – [people like us] – who we realise are not really like us at all – maybe they never were![Read More…]
On 19 and 20 October 2016 the Supreme Court held its first two days of hearings to review the Hindutva Judgement that had been pending for 20 years. The next hearing is on October 25. In the two days of discussions to kick off a process that according to Supreme Court Advocate Rana Raj K Singh may last up to[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…]
#SaveHinduismFromHalfPants was a campaign Countercurrents.org ran in October 2015 in association with CPI (Mohammad Rafi) . Now that the RSS changed their uniform from half pants to full Khaki trousers, let’s hope that RSS will change their half baked Hindutva ideology to a fulsome understanding of Humanity! #FromHindutvaToHumanism
We need to remind ourselves that a unique Ramlila, is being staged since 1972, at Bakshi Ka Talab, about 20 km from Lucknow, where lead characters like Rama, Lakshman and Hanuman are played by Muslim youths, a clear departure in a region known for communal flare-ups. This four-day Ram Lila starts on the day of Dusshera day, and has also been adapted into a Radio play, ‘Us Gaon ki Ram Lila’, by Lucknow All India Radio, which won the Communal Harmony Award in 2000
A year has passed since Mohammad Akhlaq, a Muslim ironsmith, was brutally killed in Dadri’s Bishara village by a mob of cow vigilantes in front of his family for allegedly having stored and consumed beef. Notwithstanding the widespread national and international condemnation there seems to be no let up in violence by Cow vigilantes. In the latest incident on September[Read More…]
I read Seema Mustafa’s evocative and heart wrenching piece with sadness and a deep deep sense of foreboding. And what follows is a stream of conscience set of thought and emotions which kept coming almost endlessly. I have not had the heart to pick up the phone and wish any of our friends and family Eid Mubarak this Eid. And[Read More…]
Portraying Onam as Vamana Jayanthi is just another step by Sangh Parivar forces to bring all festivals into the hindutva fold which is essential to project the idea of hindu rashtra, a homogeneous culture of Hindi-Hindu-Hindutva.
The latest statistics put out by the National Crime Record Bureau gives the Haryana state of India a dubious distinction. It stands second in the number of complaints lodged with the police, second only to Uttar Pradesh. That the population, in general, views police as the last resort in cases of injustice, puts the statistics in perspective. Haryana, the state[Read More…]
For Muslims now, 15 years since 9/11, ‘it seems more people are more openly hateful’ (Penn Live) Muslim Americans still struggle with hate crimes, 15 years after 9/11 (AOL) 15 years after 9/11, unwelcome spotlight returns to Islam (USA Today) Muslims are still under attack for their beliefs 15 years after 9/11 (Desert News) These headlines best reflect the dilemma[Read More…]
India’s beef ban politics has taken a turn for the bizarre with Haryana police have started collecting samples of Biryani sold in Mewat district, the states only Muslim dominated district. The biryani checks are taking place days ahead of Eid festival. The biryani checks have taken many by surprise asking whether the police should be focusing on other crimes in[Read More…]
Archbishop Raphael Cheenath who played pivotal role in bringing justice to the Kandhamal pogrom victims was remembered in a function in Delhi. Archbishop Emeritus Raphael Cheenath of Kandhamal passed away in Mumbai on 14th August 2016 after a brave struggle against cancer. He was 81. The Archbishop played major role in the people’s struggle for justice after the August 2008[Read More…]
Kandhamal Nyaya Shanti O Sadvabana Samaj , an organisation of Survivors of Kandhamal violence observed 8th Kandhamal Day at Balliguda on 27th August with participation of about 15000 people. On this occasion a peace rally marched from mini-stadium Balliguda to Sub-Collector office and gathered in PWD square to observe the Day. Viswa Hindu Parishat attempted to stop the march at some places. Yet, it did not deter people to hold the march peacefully.
Today is the 8th anniversary of Kandhamal pogrom. When we look back on one of the worst communal violence against Christian communities in the history of modern India, what lessons can be learnt? In 2015 August, I was in Kandhamal on the 7th anniversary of the Kandhamal pogrom. When I marched with a sea of people through the streets of[Read More…]
Today is 8th anniversary of Kandhamal pogrom, one of the worst communal violences against Christians in India. On this occasion we are publishing an interview with renowned film maker K.P Sasi who has completed a documentary on the pogrom “Voices from the Ruins: Kandhamal in Search of Justice” Voices from the Ruins: Kandhamal in Search of Justice, the latest documentary[Read More…]
“In these four years, I also saw with, some disquiet, forces of divisiveness and intolerance trying to raise their ugly head. Attacks on weaker sections that militate against our national ethos are aberrations that need to be dealt with firmly. The collective wisdom of our society and our polity gives me confidence that such forces will remain marginalized, and India’s[Read More…]
What is called as Uniform Civil Code (UCC) is as such dealing with the personal laws (marriage, divorce, maintenance, custody and inheritance). Our criminal and civil laws are same for all the religious communities but our personal laws have been related and linked to religion. So there are separate laws for Hindus, Muslims and Christians. Ironically Jain, Buddhists and Sikhs[Read More…]
We know the violence against the Dalits, Muslims, aadivasis and Christians is on the rise and it need to be resisted fully. That law and order agencies are not doing their duties as prescribed to them under the constitution of India. Now we have the ‘Sawan ka mahina’ and thousands of ‘Kanwad yatris’ have occupied the national high way from[Read More…]
Nationalism by itself may not be a bad word depending on who defines it. Though it may not be the highest form of progressive political identity, it still has progressive, liberal and plural content to it. For the right wing in India, it remains a single nation. Nationalism for it has little to do with the values that emerged from[Read More…]
Investigative book ‘Who killed Swami Laxmanananda?’ authored by senior journalist Anto Akkara, came in for wide acclaim at its release in Bangalore on July 23 with eminent jurist and former Advocate-General of Karnataka Ravivarma Kumar describing it as a ‘wake up call for the nation’. “The content of the book has grave implications for Indian democracy,’ remarked Kumar while releasing[Read More…]
Speech given by V.S Achuthanandan, former Chief Minister of Kerala, inaugurating K.P Sasi’s documentary “Voices From The Ruins, Kandhamal In Search Of Justice” in Trivandrum, Kerala on 19th July, 2016 K.P Sasi’s documentary “Voices From The Ruins, Kandhamal In Search Of Justice” raises some burning questions about the social reality of the present times. This documentary brings to us the[Read More…]
Kandhamal is not a new subject to me. Countercurrents.org had published an article on 2nd November 2003 by Angana Chatterjee “Orissa: A Gujarat In The making”. It was five years before the worst communal violence against Christians in modern India happened in Kandhamal in 2008 in which 93 people were killed, over 350 churches and worship places which belonged to[Read More…]
November 2002. It was an unusual audience at the Music Academy in Chennai, drawn there by an unusually eloquent speaker. The giant hoardings in the city calling attention to a ‘Communal Harmony Meet’ had drawn my attention too, having just returned from Gujarat after listening to painful personal stories from the victims of the ‘riots.’ I had dropped everything else[Read More…]
Past is used by communal politics for their present political agenda. In India on one hand we have the use of medieval history where the Muslim Kings are presented as ‘aggressors due to whom Hindu society had to suffer’, on the other now we are witnessing the distortion of ancient history being marshaled to undermine Buddhism vis a vis Brahmanism.[Read More…]
Zakir Naik Quotes from the Quran, He Quotes from the Vedas, He Quotes from the Upanishads, from the Puranas, He Quotes from the Bible, Torah, Guru Granth Sahib etc etc. ie He Quotes from almost all Religious scriptures. His debates include ‘Similarities between Islam and Hinduism’, ‘between Islam and Bible’ and so on –He has a fantastic memory and can[Read More…]
This time Eid celebrations, for me, were hollow, void and barren, not because that I could not make it to my home on eid, but more so because of the fact that the preceding month; the holy month of Ramzan, has witnessed series of tragic/unholy attacks from Orlando, Istanbul to Dhaka and Masjid-e-nabwi in Medina. These traumatizing terrorist attacks have[Read More…]
An old controversy resurfaced lately. After the alleged denial of government jobs to candidates linked to the RSS, Minister of State in the PMO, Jitendra Singh, said last week that “the central government has not issued any such order (prohibiting government staff from joining RSS activities) recently”, and “if any old order exists, we will review it.” (16 June,[Read More…]
Today Supreme Court of India has stated that triple talaq will be tested on the touchstone of the constitution. The message is clear that constitution is supreme law of the land and anything whatsoever be its nature or form will have to follow the provisions of the constitution. This is the fundamental basis of the rule of the law. If[Read More…]
A documentary by Vidya Bhushan Rawat on the Ayodhya issue and how it affected the communal harmony of India. It is being republished in the context of resurgent Hindutva programme in India which catapulted Narendra Modi as the Prime Minister of India. This documentary is all the more significant in the context of the coming assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh.
In 2014 Narendra Modi rode a massive campaign promising Acche Din for the people of our country. After suffering for 2 years from the witch-hunting of the minorities, murders of Dalits and fund cuts for marginalized students, the country has realized that the rule by the Sangh led government is not going to have any favorable impact on their lives.[Read More…]
A journalism professor accused of making insulting Prime Minister Narendra Modi and union minister Smriti Irani has been jailed for insulting Lord Rama. Professor BP Mahesh Guru, who teaches at the Mysore University, was arrested on June 17 when he appeared before a Mysore court in connection with a case registered against him for allegedly insulting the Hindu god[Read More…]
As a concerned and responsible citizen of India, we not only stand in solidarity with Teesta and others at the Sabrang Trust but we would also like to donate so that the various activities undertaken by the Trust runs smoothly. We would also like to appeal the fellow citizens. The NRIs who still retain their Indian passports can donate as well.
Communal violence is the big bane of Indian society. While on one hand the innocents are killed the guilty mostly get away without any punishment. The rate of prosecution of riot cases is very low. Even where punishments are meted out the big fish are let off while the foot soldiers get punished. Apart from these observations what is[Read More…]
Just before the 2014 Lok Sabha elections Muzaffarnagar erupted in violence in which nearly 80 Muslims died, and thousands fled their villages. Now with the 2017 Assembly elections due in Uttar Pradesh, the BJP seems to have activated its machinery yet again. BJP MP Hukum Singh from Kairana claimed that hundreds of Hindu families are being forced to leave Kairana,[Read More…]
For many of us, beef has become ‘news’ of unpleasant sort. There is now a forensic report after eight month from a lab in Mathura which claims that the meat found inside the lynched man, Mohammad Akhlaq’s home at Dadri “belonged to beef or a cow progeny”. It is in contrast with an earlier report by the Greater Noida Veterinary[Read More…]
The performance of the Modi Government during last two years has to be seen in the light of the promises made in the electoral campaign and on the barometer of values of Indian Constitution of pluralism and diversity. Acche din had become a buzzword, black money being retrieved and being deposited in everybody’s bank account was looked forward to and[Read More…]
A team of journalists and activists, deputed by The Milli Gazette, on 14 June 2016 visited the town of Kairana in Western Uttar Pradesh’s Shamli district which is in the national news due to the claim by the local BJP member of Parliament Hukum Singh that 346 Hindu families have been forced to flee Kairana town due to threats from[Read More…]
The Narendra Modi led Indian government cancelled on Thursday the registration of Sabrang Trust run by social activist Teesta Setalvad and her husband Javed Anand. Teesta and her NGOs are on the forefront of civil society campaign against the Gujarat pogrom of 2002, in which over 1000 muslims were massacred. She was active in bringing to justice many Sangh Parivar[Read More…]
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Dear Authors and Readers of Countercurrents, You may all know Sheshu Babu an author for CC for long time. Most of our old authors may have received at least one thoughtful comment from him. In the early days, he used to read all CC articles and post a thoughtful comment for each article. Then one day, another CC author Emily[Read More…]
