Communal Harmony

Who are the Muslims and Christians in India: Understanding the ‘Hindu’ fear of Muslims and Christians

Who are the Muslims and Christians in India: 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 attack is. How can nearly 80% of ‘Hindus’ feel threatened by some 13% Muslims and some 2% Christians? Why are[Read More…]

by 24/05/2023 Comments are Disabled Communal Harmony
Scapegoats and Holy Cows:  Crime and Justice Delivery System in the era of Sectarian Nationalism

Scapegoats and Holy Cows:  Crime and Justice Delivery System in the era of Sectarian Nationalism

In the case of Jamia violence of 2019, 11 students were arrested. One of them was Sharjeel Imam, who was student of JNU. The others included likes of Safoora Zargar and Asif Iqbal Tanha. While discharging them Court comments, “police was unable to apprehend “actual perpetrators” and “surely managed to rope them (accused) as scapegoats” in the matter.” Court also[Read More…]

by 15/02/2023 Comments are Disabled Communal Harmony
History, Communal Narratives and Sectarian Politics

History, Communal Narratives and Sectarian Politics

Last few decades have seen the rise of communal politics in India. Similar politics has been dominating Pakistan from a much longer time. This politics draws heavily from history; rather it uses History as the major tool for spreading hate against the ‘other’ community. The target community in Pakistan is Hindus and in India it is Muslims. In these narratives[Read More…]

by 21/10/2022 Comments are Disabled Communal Harmony
Leicester Spells “Communal” Tension For British Society? 

Leicester Spells “Communal” Tension For British Society? 

Who is to be blamed for ongoing tension in Leicester (United Kingdom) between two groups of people? Given that recent history of this country has not witnessed communal tension of this nature on its own soil, one is prompted to raise questions as to who has failed, where? Understandably, the people responsible for participating in violence and trying to promote[Read More…]

by 25/09/2022 Comments are Disabled Communal Harmony
Nafrat chhodo! Bharat jodo! Bharat jodo! The Failed Fraternity Factor: A wake-up call

Nafrat chhodo! Bharat jodo! Bharat jodo! The Failed Fraternity Factor: A wake-up call

On 13 Dec 1946, Jawaharlal Nehru moved an “Objective Resolution” during the Constituent Assembly, which outlined the objectives of the Constitution. These were discussed and later became the constitutional Preamble, assuring to the People, the democratic core values of Justice, Liberty and Equality. Fraternity as a core value, was added by B.R.Ambedkar on 21 February 1948. B.R.Ambedkar urged that the[Read More…]

by 30/07/2022 Comments are Disabled Communal Harmony
Demonising Muslims: How the act is rooted in a cynical reading of Islamic scriptures!

Demonising Muslims: How the act is rooted in a cynical reading of Islamic scriptures!

It’s not always the case that a certain faith, religion or an ideology is misunderstood or misinterpreted exclusively by those who happen to profess a different faith, religion or ideology. The fact is that more often than not, it’s also the committed, diehard followers of a certain strand of faith or ideology upon whom is completely lost the essence of these[Read More…]

by 01/07/2022 Comments are Disabled Communal Harmony
Concerns about peace and harmony within Karnataka

Concerns about peace and harmony within Karnataka

To The Chief Minister of Karnataka Shri Basavaraj Bommai Government of Karnataka Bengaluru Respected Chief Minister, Sub: Concerns about peace and harmony within Karnataka and the urgent need to restore the state to a “sarva janangada shantiya thota” We have been trying to secure an appointment with you through your office for over a month. We wished to present this[Read More…]

by 28/06/2022 Comments are Disabled Communal Harmony
Kabir Jayanti is a day to celebrate inter-faith harmony  

Kabir Jayanti is a day to celebrate inter-faith harmony  

 Kabir Jayanti ( 14 June) is being observed at a time when the message of the great saint for inter-faith harmony is really needed in very troubled times. Such a great saint would like to be remembered on his jayanti not in terms of any ceremonies but in terms of real commitment to his everlasting message of true spirituality, love,[Read More…]

by 14/06/2022 1 comment Communal Harmony
Shrinking Secularism In India

Shrinking Secularism In India

by Jaspreet Kaur & Aarif Rashid Malik In order to understand “secularism” it is essential to understand various terms, like pluralism, liberalism, associated with it and the term as applied in the West and countries like India. “Secularsim” is most commonly defined as the separation of religion from civic affairs and the state, and may be broadened to the need[Read More…]

by 09/06/2022 Comments are Disabled Communal Harmony
The communal flooding: A grave threat to Indian Constitution and Nation

The communal flooding: A grave threat to Indian Constitution and Nation

India had remained an amphitheater of communalism for the last three-four decades. During this time the value of constitutional secularism was doomed to stumble here and there in the corridors of political power. In the eighties and nineties of the 20th century, there was a possibility that the society could be swept away by the flood of communalism at any[Read More…]

by 06/06/2022 Comments are Disabled Communal Harmony
Aligarh (Muslim University) – Legacy of Hindu-Muslim Amity

Aligarh (Muslim University) – Legacy of Hindu-Muslim Amity

Aligarh city in Uttar Pradesh is known for two things – the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) and the lock manufacturing industries. Aligarh is a university town, notable as the seat of AMU, which was founded here as Mohammadan Anglo Oriental College in 1975, initiating the Aligarh Movement. Sir Hamilton Gibb, who was an eminent Scottish Orientalist from England who taught[Read More…]

by 30/04/2022 Comments are Disabled Communal Harmony
Historical trauma, mourning and majoritarianism: Psycho-social explorations

Historical trauma, mourning and majoritarianism: Psycho-social explorations

Mourning is commonly associated with death of a near and dear loved one. Apathy, a turning away from the outer world, lack of interest in activities un-connected with the loved object is states of mind associated with the loss. Social and religious practices provide avenues and space for these emotions and help in coming to terms with the loss after[Read More…]

by 24/04/2022 Comments are Disabled Communal Harmony
Goa must rein in the communal tinderbox

Goa must rein in the communal tinderbox

Goa was in crisis mode on Sunday when Hindu-Muslim clashes occurred in the vicinity of Vasco. A large crowd of Ram Navami processionists marched through Vasco on the occasion of Ram Navami on 10th April. They chose the small and congested streets of the area rather than the broader convenient approved route thus creating disruption. At the conclusion, a small[Read More…]

by 19/04/2022 Comments are Disabled Communal Harmony
There can be no bigger harm to national welfare than disturbing inter-faith harmony

There can be no bigger harm to national welfare than disturbing inter-faith harmony

At a time when inter-faith harmony is being disturbed at several places in the country, it is important to recall a very important lesson of our freedom movement—all the great leaders who got the maximum support and affection of people were those who stood firmly for inter-faith harmony. People generally identified two important streams of the freedom movement—the mainstream Congress[Read More…]

by 19/04/2022 Comments are Disabled Communal Harmony
Vasudhaiva Kutumbkam: Uniting India

Vasudhaiva Kutumbkam: Uniting India

‘Unity in Diversity’ has been a major phrase which I picked up during my school days. Enjoying Ramlila for ten days before Vijayadhami ran parallel to seeing the Tazia processions, to the Jains processions with slogans Vande Viram (Hail Lord Mahavira), the celebrations of dalits on the day when Babasaheb Ambedkar embraced Buddhism, and the celebration of Christmas with college[Read More…]

by 05/01/2022 Comments are Disabled Communal Harmony
On the origin of Indian Identity

On the origin of Indian Identity

In the beginning, it would seem Mankind knew a thing or two about anthropology. Then came religion to manipulate it. The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) has boasted of Hindutva (a concept of Hindu supremacy) as India’s national identity. This would seem convincing to a foreign tourist who visits Taj Mahal, photographs people on the Ganges, sun bathes on Goan beaches,[Read More…]

by 03/11/2021 Comments are Disabled Communal Harmony
Cheraman Juma Masjid in Kodungalloor

Islam Reached India through Arab Traders rather than Invaders

Islam’s diffusion towards India occurred due to Arab Traders rather than Invaders as imagined by the RSS ideologue, Mohan Baghwat in his latest statement. This is substantially substantiated by the building up of the first mosque by these Arabs in Kodungallur (modern Kerala which had nothing in common with what came to be called India after the British arrival) in[Read More…]

by 18/10/2021 Comments are Disabled Communal Harmony
Is Ganga Jamuni Tehjeeb a Hoax?

Is Ganga Jamuni Tehjeeb a Hoax?

Vishwa Hindu Parishad General Secretary Milind Parande recently (Sept 2021, TOI) stated that “The very idea of Ganga Jamuni Tehjeeb (term used for confluence of Hindu and Muslim cultures in the country) is irrelevant, what exists is one culture, and the rest can simply merge into it. The Hindu cause has to be prime.” Many notions are being circulated that[Read More…]

by 13/10/2021 Comments are Disabled Communal Harmony
Let’s Get Rid of Communal Myths Falsely Spread as History

Let’s Get Rid of Communal Myths Falsely Spread as History

             As communal harmony has come under stress in recent years due to propagation of myths about excessive faith based hostility in historical times,   it is important to get rid of these myths so that the foundation of social harmony and inter-faith harmony in our country can be strengthened. The long battle between Rana Pratap and Akbar is well[Read More…]

by 06/10/2021 Comments are Disabled Communal Harmony
Fraternity for direction in troubled times: The patriarchy-caste-religion poison

Fraternity for direction in troubled times: The patriarchy-caste-religion poison

Complex society India is a diverse country. It has geo-climatic diversity and people who live in different geo-climatic regions have different ways of living and doing, with different cultures. India has been a socio-cultural entity with a civilizational identity for millennia. At Independence, India was a country of amazing complexity of cultures, languages, customs, religions, ethnicities, and an ancient caste[Read More…]

by 23/08/2021 Comments are Disabled Communal Harmony
Kandhamal Day To Be Observed on 25th August

Kandhamal Day To Be Observed on 25th August

Remembering victims of targeted violence against Christian Adivasis and  Dalits, expressing solidarity with all victims of hate cand violence in India. NSF announces Kandhamal Human Rights awards for Activists and Groups The National Solidarity Forum has instituted two annual awards in honour of  the victims and survivors of the mass violence against Adivasi and Dalit Christians of  Kandhamal and several[Read More…]

by 12/08/2021 Comments are Disabled Communal Harmony
Achieving Hindu Muslim Amity: Challenges Ahead

Achieving Hindu Muslim Amity: Challenges Ahead

Mohan Bhagawat, the Sarsanghchalak of RSS, made the statement about Islam not being in danger in India, that discord does not work and there is a need for Hindu Muslim dialogue to achieve peace in the country. His statement that ‘a person is not a Hindu if he says that Muslims should not live in India…those involved in mob lynching[Read More…]

by 08/08/2021 1 comment Communal Harmony
Religion, Sectarian Nationalism and Interfaith Marriages

Religion, Sectarian Nationalism and Interfaith Marriages

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…]

by 09/07/2021 Comments are Disabled Communal Harmony
Fight against oppression must coexist with a call for humanity

Fight against oppression must coexist with a call for humanity

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…]

by 01/06/2021 Comments are Disabled Communal Harmony
Five Great Film Songs That Challenge Communal Forces

Five Great Film Songs That Challenge Communal Forces

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…]

by 11/05/2021 Comments are Disabled Communal Harmony, Arts/Literature
Guru Tegh Bahadur, Sikhism and Mughals

Guru Tegh Bahadur, Sikhism and Mughals

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…]

by 06/05/2021 Comments are Disabled Communal Harmony
Is Secularism a threat to Traditions of India?

Is Secularism a threat to Traditions of India?

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…]

by 18/03/2021 Comments are Disabled Communal Harmony
Hamid Ansari’s Woes: Plight of Pluralism in India

Hamid Ansari’s Woes: Plight of Pluralism in India

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…]

by 17/02/2021 Comments are Disabled Communal Harmony
For Mahatma Gandhi Equal Respect for All Religions Was One of the Most Essential and Non-Negotiable Aspects of the India He Wanted to Create

For Mahatma Gandhi Equal Respect for All Religions Was One of the Most Essential and Non-Negotiable Aspects of the India He Wanted to Create

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…]

by 02/02/2021 Comments are Disabled Communal Harmony
Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan: Muslims for Composite Indian Nationalism

Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan: Muslims for Composite Indian Nationalism

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…]

by 19/01/2021 Comments are Disabled Communal Harmony
Indian Communalism – A Deep Dive

Indian Communalism – A Deep Dive

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…]

by 24/12/2020 Comments are Disabled Communal Harmony
Choosing My Religion: ‘Freedom of Religion Laws’ to Curb Liberty

Choosing My Religion: ‘Freedom of Religion Laws’ to Curb Liberty

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…]

by 24/12/2020 Comments are Disabled Communal Harmony
Minority Rights Central To India’s Democracy Fiber

Minority Rights Central To India’s Democracy Fiber

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…]

by 24/12/2020 Comments are Disabled Communal Harmony
Do we really practice Communal Harmony?

Do we really practice Communal Harmony?

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…]

by 25/11/2020 Comments are Disabled Communal Harmony
Why Are Activists and Scholars Devoted to Inter-Faith Harmony  Being  Accused of the Opposite

Why Are Activists and Scholars Devoted to Inter-Faith Harmony  Being  Accused of the Opposite

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…]

by 25/11/2020 Comments are Disabled Communal Harmony
Faisal Khan’s commitment to peace and harmony, and his unfortunate arrest

Faisal Khan’s commitment to peace and harmony, and his unfortunate arrest

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…]

by 18/11/2020 Comments are Disabled Communal Harmony
Faisal Khan’s commitment to communal harmony and peace is exemplary: His arrest is sad

Faisal Khan’s commitment to communal harmony and peace is exemplary: His arrest is sad

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…]

by 03/11/2020 Comments are Disabled Communal Harmony
Free Faisal Khan: Take back the malicious and ill motivated FIR!

Free Faisal Khan: Take back the malicious and ill motivated FIR!

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…]

by 03/11/2020 Comments are Disabled Communal Harmony
Film Screening On Kandhamal And Webinar

Film Screening On Kandhamal And Webinar

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…]

by 24/09/2020 Comments are Disabled Communal Harmony
Grooming Chimps and Grovelling Minorities- Is this the Dead-End?

Grooming Chimps and Grovelling Minorities- Is this the Dead-End?

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…]

by 30/08/2020 Comments are Disabled Communal Harmony
National Call of Action to Observe Kandhamal Memorial Day

National Call of Action to Observe Kandhamal Memorial Day

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…]

by 22/08/2020 Comments are Disabled Communal Harmony
India’s Composite Culture and Muslim Stalwarts

India’s Composite Culture and Muslim Stalwarts

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…]

by 06/08/2020 Comments are Disabled Communal Harmony
Hope from the field – Amicable Hindu Muslim Collaboration

Hope from the field – Amicable Hindu Muslim Collaboration

 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…]

by 06/08/2020 Comments are Disabled Communal Harmony
If India is Secular!

If India is Secular!

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…]

by 26/06/2020 Comments are Disabled Communal Harmony
Tamil Nadu Muslim group conducts funeral service of Corona victims

Tamil Nadu Muslim group conducts funeral service of Corona victims

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…]

by 24/06/2020 Comments are Disabled Communal Harmony
Freedom of Religion: Indian Scenario

Freedom of Religion: Indian Scenario

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…]

by 23/06/2020 Comments are Disabled Communal Harmony
Stand in Solidarity with Harsh Mander:  A Tireless Defender of Human Rights

Stand in Solidarity with Harsh Mander:  A Tireless Defender of Human Rights

  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…]

by 19/06/2020 Comments are Disabled Communal Harmony
Can Humanism Survive the Onslaught of Hate? | Ram Puniyani

Can Humanism Survive the Onslaught of Hate? | Ram Puniyani

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…]

by 23/05/2020 Comments are Disabled Communal Harmony
The Burden of Death

The Burden of Death

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…]

by 19/05/2020 Comments are Disabled Communal Harmony
 Harmony During the COVID Days

 Harmony During the COVID Days

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…]

by 18/05/2020 1 comment Communal Harmony
Muslim Minority in Contemporary India

Muslim Minority in Contemporary India

                 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…]

by 16/05/2020 Comments are Disabled Communal Harmony
Christian Community Attacked In Jharkhand, Modesty Of Woman Outraged

Christian Community Attacked In Jharkhand, Modesty Of Woman Outraged

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…]

by 14/05/2020 Comments are Disabled Communal Harmony
Communalism and Coronavirus: India’s New Strain of Virus    

Communalism and Coronavirus: India’s New Strain of Virus    

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…]

by 14/05/2020 Comments are Disabled Communal Harmony
Understanding Muslim identity in pluralist India

Understanding Muslim identity in pluralist India

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…]

by 11/05/2020 Comments are Disabled Communal Harmony
In Odisha’s Malkangiri A Christian Man Almost Lynched, His House Ransacked

In Odisha’s Malkangiri A Christian Man Almost Lynched, His House Ransacked

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…]

by 09/05/2020 Comments are Disabled Communal Harmony
Dr Zafar ul Islam Khan must be protected from all harassment and intimidation

Dr Zafar ul Islam Khan must be protected from all harassment and intimidation

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…]

by 09/05/2020 Comments are Disabled Communal Harmony
Ghar Wapsi in the midst of Covid-19, Jharkhand

Ghar Wapsi in the midst of Covid-19, Jharkhand

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…]

by 08/05/2020 1 comment Communal Harmony
Who are the Muslims and Christians in India?

Who are the Muslims and Christians in India?

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…]

by 07/05/2020 Comments are Disabled Communal Harmony
How Can We Fight The Threat of Communalism, Casteism and Racism in the Post Covid-19?

How Can We Fight The Threat of Communalism, Casteism and Racism in the Post Covid-19?

 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…]

by 06/05/2020 Comments are Disabled Communal Harmony
Can we put a brake on rampant Islamophobia?

Can we put a brake on rampant Islamophobia?

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…]

by 06/05/2020 Comments are Disabled Communal Harmony
How did the alienation of Muslims stop? : Justice Sachar’s way

How did the alienation of Muslims stop? : Justice Sachar’s way

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…]

by 20/04/2020 Comments are Disabled Communal Harmony
When Muslim Women Became My Saviour

When Muslim Women Became My Saviour

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…]

by 01/04/2020 Comments are Disabled Communal Harmony
Gandhian-Socialist Efforts are key to National Integration: Peace Actions in Delhi Violence Affected Areas

Gandhian-Socialist Efforts are key to National Integration: Peace Actions in Delhi Violence Affected Areas

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…]

by 15/03/2020 Comments are Disabled Communal Harmony
Peace Building Too Little or Too Late?

Peace Building Too Little or Too Late?

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…]

“Visit My Masjid” Programme gets a warm response in Tamil Nadu

“Visit My Masjid” Programme gets a warm response in Tamil Nadu

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…]

by 03/03/2020 Comments are Disabled Communal Harmony
The Rama Of Gandhi

The Rama Of Gandhi

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…]

by 08/02/2020 1 comment Communal Harmony
Exactly where we are Heading ??

Exactly where we are Heading ??

“ 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…]

by 28/01/2020 Comments are Disabled Communal Harmony
 Satya Nadella is a true Indian-American Hero

 Satya Nadella is a true Indian-American Hero

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 17/01/2020 Comments are Disabled Communal Harmony
Defend The Indian Constitution! Defend Diversity, Dialogue, Democracy!

Defend The Indian Constitution! Defend Diversity, Dialogue, Democracy!

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…]

by 26/12/2019 Comments are Disabled Editor's Picks, Communal Harmony
Not The India that Modi Sees

Not The India that Modi Sees

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…]

by 22/12/2019 2 comments Communal Harmony
Justice Markandey Katju launches Ibaadatkhana movement to promote peace in South Asia

Justice Markandey Katju launches Ibaadatkhana movement to promote peace in South Asia

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…]

by 13/12/2019 1 comment Communal Harmony
Democracy, Hindu Majoritarianism and Question of the Socio-economic Rights

Democracy, Hindu Majoritarianism and Question of the Socio-economic Rights

  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…]

by 20/11/2019 Comments are Disabled Communal Harmony
The significance of Gandhi’s idea of ‘Communal Harmony’ in times of cultural intolerance

The significance of Gandhi’s idea of ‘Communal Harmony’ in times of cultural intolerance

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…]

by 02/10/2019 Comments are Disabled Communal Harmony
Hindi as the Uniting Language of India!

Hindi as the Uniting Language of India!

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…]

by 19/09/2019 Comments are Disabled Communal Harmony, India
IAPI presents Gulzar with Life Time Achievement Award for keeping the flag of secularism high

IAPI presents Gulzar with Life Time Achievement Award for keeping the flag of secularism high

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…]

by 17/09/2019 Comments are Disabled Communal Harmony
In Tamil Nadu, Hindus Observe ‘Allah Festival’ on Eve of Muharram

In Tamil Nadu, Hindus Observe ‘Allah Festival’ on Eve of Muharram

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…]

by 14/09/2019 Comments are Disabled Communal Harmony
Derogatory statements about Hinduism

Derogatory statements about Hinduism

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…]

by 13/09/2019 Comments are Disabled Communal Harmony
A step towards secular India

A step towards secular India

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…]

by 08/09/2019 5 comments Communal Harmony
Hindu Villagers Protects Mosque in Bihar

Hindu Villagers Protects Mosque in Bihar

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…]

by 31/08/2019 2 comments Communal Harmony
Gandhi’s Contribution To Communal Harmony

Gandhi’s Contribution To Communal Harmony

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…]

by 22/08/2019 Comments are Disabled Communal Harmony
Press Conference in Ayodhya Banned

Press Conference in Ayodhya Banned

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…]

by 19/08/2019 2 comments Communal Harmony
Now Ram Puniyani Prevented From Going To Ayodhya

Now Ram Puniyani Prevented From Going To Ayodhya

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…]

by 18/08/2019 1 comment Communal Harmony
Disturbed Areas Act in Gujarat: A tool to fuel the communal divide

Disturbed Areas Act in Gujarat: A tool to fuel the communal divide

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…]

by 10/08/2019 Comments are Disabled Communal Harmony
The Growing Phenomenon of Demonising Muslims

The Growing Phenomenon of Demonising Muslims

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…]

by 09/08/2019 Comments are Disabled Communal Harmony
Human Identities and Liberation

Human Identities and Liberation

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…]

by 02/08/2019 Comments are Disabled Communal Harmony
Growing up with (Jai) Siya Ram!

Growing up with (Jai) Siya Ram!

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…]

by 29/07/2019 Comments are Disabled Communal Harmony
Karnataka Artist  S Raghunandana declines  the Sangeet Natak Akademi award

Karnataka Artist  S Raghunandana declines  the Sangeet Natak Akademi award

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…]

by 20/07/2019 Comments are Disabled India, Communal Harmony
Will India Remember Dadri’s Akhlaq, as Germany Recalls Victims of Nazi Barbarism?

Will India Remember Dadri’s Akhlaq, as Germany Recalls Victims of Nazi Barbarism?

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…]

by 18/07/2019 Comments are Disabled Communal Harmony
Hindu Son Cries for Muslim Mother –A Tale of Communal Harmony in India

Hindu Son Cries for Muslim Mother –A Tale of Communal Harmony in India

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…]

by 14/07/2019 Comments are Disabled Communal Harmony
When Will We Hear A Peaceful ‘Ram Ram’ Greeting?

When Will We Hear A Peaceful ‘Ram Ram’ Greeting?

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…]

by 28/06/2019 Comments are Disabled Communal Harmony
100 years old Mosque stands tall in Punjab

100 years old Mosque stands tall in Punjab

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…]

by 15/06/2019 Comments are Disabled Communal Harmony
The Anatomy of Anger and Hatred in India

The Anatomy of Anger and Hatred in India

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…]

by 14/06/2019 Comments are Disabled Communal Harmony
Whither Secularism: Democratic Society and Minority Rights | Ram Puniyani

Whither Secularism: Democratic Society and Minority Rights | Ram Puniyani

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…]

by 10/06/2019 2 comments Communal Harmony
Maharashtra government must protect Dr Ram Puniyani

Maharashtra government must protect Dr Ram Puniyani

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…]

by 08/06/2019 2 comments Communal Harmony
Will Nehru’s Secular India Survive post- 2019 Elections?

Will Nehru’s Secular India Survive post- 2019 Elections?

 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…]

by 07/06/2019 1 comment Communal Harmony
Eid Mubarak! From Hindu Rashtra

Eid Mubarak! From Hindu Rashtra

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…]

India: Communalism or Islamophobia?

India: Communalism or Islamophobia?

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…]

by 23/05/2019 Comments are Disabled Communal Harmony
A Catholic Priest Whose Father Was Forced To Convert To Hinduism

A Catholic Priest Whose Father Was Forced To Convert To Hinduism

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…]

by 23/04/2019 Comments are Disabled Communal Harmony
Md. Aariz Imam – A Draft Charter of Demands for India’s Muslims

Md. Aariz Imam – A Draft Charter of Demands for India’s Muslims

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…]

by 14/04/2019 Comments are Disabled Communal Harmony
Muslims getting Visible at Punjab’s Landscape

Muslims getting Visible at Punjab’s Landscape

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…]

by 30/03/2019 Comments are Disabled Communal Harmony
Nation Needs Anti-Mob Lynching Law and Manipur Enacted One.

Nation Needs Anti-Mob Lynching Law and Manipur Enacted One.

 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…]

by 24/03/2019 2 comments Communal Harmony
Mahatma and his Mock Assassins Visual Text Analysis

Mahatma and his Mock Assassins Visual Text Analysis

              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…]

by 20/03/2019 Comments are Disabled Communal Harmony
Will Ayodhya Panel Break the Jinx? 

Will Ayodhya Panel Break the Jinx? 

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…]

by 11/03/2019 Comments are Disabled Communal Harmony
Strengthen the idea of Inclusive India to defeat forces trying to destablise us

Strengthen the idea of Inclusive India to defeat forces trying to destablise us

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…]

by 03/03/2019 Comments are Disabled Communal Harmony
Is AMU “anti-national”? Those who say so don’t know its history

Is AMU “anti-national”? Those who say so don’t know its history

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…]

by 19/02/2019 3 comments Communal Harmony
Kaifi Azmi’s relevance in times of communal hatred

Kaifi Azmi’s relevance in times of communal hatred

…. ‘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…]

by 28/01/2019 1 comment Communal Harmony
Twenty Years of a Ghastly Murder

Twenty Years of a Ghastly Murder

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…]

by 23/01/2019 4 comments Communal Harmony
When Mylapore went to Tondiarpet

When Mylapore went to Tondiarpet

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…]

by 15/01/2019 1 comment Communal Harmony
The Agony of Being Naseeruddin Shah 

The Agony of Being Naseeruddin Shah 

  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…]

by 02/01/2019 Comments are Disabled Communal Harmony
Year of caste and communal tensions

Year of caste and communal tensions

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…]

by 30/12/2018 Comments are Disabled Annihilate Caste, Communal Harmony
Morari Bapu A Different Creed

Morari Bapu A Different Creed

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…]

by 28/12/2018 2 comments Communal Harmony
Vakkom Moulavi

Why Vakkom Moulavi Matters Today?

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…]

by 27/12/2018 2 comments Communal Harmony
Whose India, Tagore’s or Golwalkar’s?

Whose India, Tagore’s or Golwalkar’s?

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…]

by 27/12/2018 Comments are Disabled Communal Harmony
Muslims ……The Neo Blacks of Bharath

Muslims ……The Neo Blacks of Bharath

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…]

by 27/12/2018 3 comments Communal Harmony
The Parameters of Cosmopolitan Ethics: Search for ‘Global Ethical order’ in the age of inequality

The Parameters of Cosmopolitan Ethics: Search for ‘Global Ethical order’ in the age of inequality

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…]

by 24/12/2018 1 comment Communal Harmony
Truth Today Is Intolerant: The Comment of Naseeruddin Shah

Truth Today Is Intolerant: The Comment of Naseeruddin Shah

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…]

by 23/12/2018 2 comments Communal Harmony
Hijabi woman stopped from giving UGC NET

Hijabi woman stopped from giving UGC NET

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…]

by 22/12/2018 Comments are Disabled Communal Harmony
Reflection on the 1984 Anti-Sikh Riot in Delhi

Reflection on the 1984 Anti-Sikh Riot in Delhi

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…]

by 19/12/2018 Comments are Disabled Communal Harmony
Calendar dedicated to Jallianwala Bagh massacre centenary released in Canada

Calendar dedicated to Jallianwala Bagh massacre centenary released in Canada

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…]

by 17/12/2018 1 comment Communal Harmony
Canada must not shy away from calling 1984 Sikh massacre a genocide

Canada must not shy away from calling 1984 Sikh massacre a genocide

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…]

by 15/12/2018 2 comments Communal Harmony
From Bombay to Bulandshahr

From Bombay to Bulandshahr

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…]

by 12/12/2018 Comments are Disabled Communal Harmony
Bihar government should constitute judicial inquiry into Sitamarhi riots

Bihar government should constitute judicial inquiry into Sitamarhi riots

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…]

by 11/12/2018 1 comment Communal Harmony
Strokes of Saffron Terror

Strokes of Saffron Terror

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…]

by 09/12/2018 1 comment Communal Harmony
Challenging misinformation about 1984 Sikh massacre with simple facts

Challenging misinformation about 1984 Sikh massacre with simple facts

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…]

by 09/12/2018 1 comment Communal Harmony
“Divided by barriers, United by blood’’: India Can Be United By Blood!

“Divided by barriers, United by blood’’: India Can Be United By Blood!

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…]

Why Does a Play Rile Islamists in Kerala?

Why Does a Play Rile Islamists in Kerala?

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…]

by 05/12/2018 1 comment Communal Harmony
The Fakir Rejects Mandir – Masjid

The Fakir Rejects Mandir – Masjid

“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…]

by 05/12/2018 2 comments Communal Harmony
When an officer on duty is killed by the right wing goons

When an officer on duty is killed by the right wing goons

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…]

by 04/12/2018 1 comment Communal Harmony
Go ahead, rename India itself

Go ahead, rename India itself

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…]

by 24/11/2018 1 comment Communal Harmony
India’s prosperity hinges on Religious Freedom

India’s prosperity hinges on Religious Freedom

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…]

by 19/11/2018 1 comment Communal Harmony
Shanti Nagar rehabilitation  colony

Ten years of Kandhamal anti-Christian violence in Odisha

  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…]

by 07/11/2018 1 comment Communal Harmony
RSS, Nazism and Fascism

RSS, Nazism and Fascism

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…]

by 07/11/2018 2 comments Communal Harmony
How not to pay homage to Maulana Azad

How not to pay homage to Maulana Azad

  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…]

by 07/11/2018 1 comment Communal Harmony
Time to Dump Blasphemy Laws

Time to Dump Blasphemy Laws

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…]

by 05/11/2018 1 comment Communal Harmony
Killing of Mohammad Azeem: Barbarism Normalised?

Killing of Mohammad Azeem: Barbarism Normalised?

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…]

by 27/10/2018 1 comment Communal Harmony
Sow hate, and reap violence

Sow hate, and reap violence

  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…]

by 26/10/2018 Comments are Disabled Communal Harmony
Indian Diaspora and the Subtle Saffron Shades of  Foreign Policy

Indian Diaspora and the Subtle Saffron Shades of  Foreign Policy

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…]

by 22/10/2018 1 comment Communal Harmony
Media Trial in Ayodhya Case Must be Carefully Watched

Media Trial in Ayodhya Case Must be Carefully Watched

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…]

by 19/10/2018 1 comment Communal Harmony
Kailash Satyarthi should be stripped of Nobel peace prize for glorifying Hindu supremacy

Kailash Satyarthi should be stripped of Nobel peace prize for glorifying Hindu supremacy

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…]

by 19/10/2018 8 comments Communal Harmony
What Is It Like To Be A Muslim In India?

What Is It Like To Be A Muslim In India?

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…]

by 19/10/2018 3 comments Communal Harmony
Hindutva Poses the Greatest Threat to Women

Hindutva Poses the Greatest Threat to Women

   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…]

by 12/10/2018 Comments are Disabled Communal Harmony
Gandhi On Community Specific Colleges And Universities

Gandhi On Community Specific Colleges And Universities

           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…]

by 04/10/2018 Comments are Disabled Communal Harmony
Education and the case of Hindu Nationalism

Education and the case of Hindu Nationalism

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…]

by 28/09/2018 Comments are Disabled Communal Harmony
Hindutva’s Poisoned Fruit and the World Hindu Congress

Hindutva’s Poisoned Fruit and the World Hindu Congress

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…]

by 25/09/2018 2 comments Communal Harmony
Mohan Bhagwat’s New Avatar: Is it really a Change of Heart or a New Wicked Strategy?

Mohan Bhagwat’s New Avatar: Is it really a Change of Heart or a New Wicked Strategy?

                 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…]

by 24/09/2018 Comments are Disabled Communal Harmony
When the Devil quotes the Scriptures..

When the Devil quotes the Scriptures..

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…]

Need to Combat Emerging Global Sectarianism

Need to Combat Emerging Global Sectarianism

  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…]

by 20/09/2018 1 comment Communal Harmony
A Madrasa That Promises Both Heaven And Earth

A Madrasa That Promises Both Heaven And Earth

  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…]

by 19/09/2018 2 comments Communal Harmony
IAPI honours journalist who exposed the mysterious death of Justice Loya

IAPI honours journalist who exposed the mysterious death of Justice Loya

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…]

by 19/09/2018 1 comment Communal Harmony
Fake Saviors of Hinduism:  World Hindu Congress in Chicago

Fake Saviors of Hinduism:  World Hindu Congress in Chicago

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…]

by 17/09/2018 1 comment Communal Harmony
IAPI deplores the action of Indian diplomat at Malyalee Samajam event in Canada

IAPI deplores the action of Indian diplomat at Malyalee Samajam event in Canada

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…]

by 17/09/2018 Comments are Disabled Communal Harmony
I am a Hindu and I love Muslims and Christians

I am a Hindu and I love Muslims and Christians

  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…]

Indian diplomat stops IAPI cofounder from speaking at Malayali Samajam event

Indian diplomat stops IAPI cofounder from speaking at Malayali Samajam event

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…]

by 09/09/2018 1 comment Communal Harmony
Kandhamal Never Again – Photo Essay

Kandhamal Never Again – Photo Essay

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…]

by 06/09/2018 Comments are Disabled Communal Harmony
Kandhamal: Justice and remembrance

Kandhamal: Justice and remembrance

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…]

by 25/08/2018 1 comment Communal Harmony
Kandhamal: Never Again

Kandhamal: Never Again

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…]

by 22/08/2018 1 comment Communal Harmony
Hindutva terrorism on the Prowl in India

Hindutva terrorism on the Prowl in India

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…]

by 12/08/2018 1 comment Communal Harmony
Whitewashing India’s Religious Freedom

Whitewashing India’s Religious Freedom

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…]

by 10/08/2018 1 comment Communal Harmony
Change the language

Change the language

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…]

by 07/08/2018 2 comments Communal Harmony
Why Does RSS-BJP Not Like These Hindu Monks?

Why Does RSS-BJP Not Like These Hindu Monks?

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…]

by 23/07/2018 3 comments Communal Harmony
Rally against attack on Agnivesh held in Canada

Rally against attack on Agnivesh held in Canada

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…]

by 23/07/2018 1 comment Communal Harmony
Rethinking India: Need for thinking Indians

Rethinking India: Need for thinking Indians

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…]

by 18/07/2018 2 comments Communal Harmony
Eminent social activist Swami Agnivesh assaulted by BJP’s youth wing in Jharkhand

Eminent social activist Swami Agnivesh assaulted by BJP’s youth wing in Jharkhand

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…]

“Selfless Patriot” : Whether the Real Shyama Prasad Mukherjee would ever Stand Up ?

“Selfless Patriot” : Whether the Real Shyama Prasad Mukherjee would ever Stand Up ?

 “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…]

by 09/07/2018 Comments are Disabled Communal Harmony
Tale  of  two  portraits   –  a la  Dorian  Gray

Tale  of  two  portraits   –  a la  Dorian  Gray

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…]

by 07/07/2018 Comments are Disabled Communal Harmony
Violence Against Christians Rise In India

Violence Against Christians Rise In India

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…]

by 04/07/2018 Comments are Disabled Communal Harmony
SFI Student Activist Stabbed To Death Inside The Hostel Allegedly by Popular Front Activists In Kerala

SFI Student Activist Stabbed To Death Inside The Hostel Allegedly by Popular Front Activists In Kerala

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…]

Emergency, Indira Gandhi And RSS

Emergency, Indira Gandhi And RSS

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…]

by 29/06/2018 1 comment Communal Harmony
RSS, Mukherjee and the Mohan Bhagwat speech

RSS, Mukherjee and the Mohan Bhagwat speech

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…]

by 10/06/2018 2 comments Communal Harmony
Muslims end their daily fast to observe Iftar on first day of Ramzaan at Jama Masjid in Sector 20 of Chandigarh on Friday, June 19 2015. Express photo by Sumit Malhotra

Ramadan  – An occasion of unity

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…]

by 10/06/2018 1 comment Communal Harmony
Sangh Parivar Goons Attack Christian Missionaries In Kerala

Sangh Parivar Goons Attack Christian Missionaries In Kerala

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…]

Churches in India accused of conspiring with the Vatican to destabilize Modi’s government

Churches in India accused of conspiring with the Vatican to destabilize Modi’s government

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…]

by 08/06/2018 1 comment Communal Harmony
What Pranab Mukherjee Should Tell RSS Cadres

What Pranab Mukherjee Should Tell RSS Cadres

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…]

by 02/06/2018 1 comment Communal Harmony
Police Officer Who Saved A Muslim Boy From Being Lynched Facing Death Threats And Has Gone Underground

Police Officer Who Saved A Muslim Boy From Being Lynched Facing Death Threats And Has Gone Underground

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…]

Sikh cop save the life of Muslim boy from a violent mob

Sikh cop save the life of Muslim boy from a violent mob

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…]

by 26/05/2018 1 comment Communal Harmony
Required Introspection by the Top Congress Leadership

Required Introspection by the Top Congress Leadership

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…]

by 22/05/2018 1 comment Communal Harmony
Modi Pacheesa – Bhakti Mantra

Modi Pacheesa – Bhakti Mantra

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…]

by 21/05/2018 1 comment Communal Harmony
Defend AMU and its identity to protect constitutional democracy in India

Defend AMU and its identity to protect constitutional democracy in India

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…]

by 08/05/2018 2 comments Communal Harmony
 Whipping Controversy over Jinnah’s Portrait 

 Whipping Controversy over Jinnah’s Portrait 

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…]

by 08/05/2018 1 comment Communal Harmony
Stirring the Communal Cauldron!

Stirring the Communal Cauldron!

(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…]

by 03/05/2018 Comments are Disabled Communal Harmony
Confessions Of An RSS Pracharak

Confessions Of An RSS Pracharak

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…]

by 30/04/2018 1 comment Communal Harmony
The Indian Muslim Burden

The Indian Muslim Burden

        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…]

by 12/04/2018 3 comments Communal Harmony
Waves of Extremism in North Eastern States in India Against Christians

Waves of Extremism in North Eastern States in India Against Christians

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…]

by 05/04/2018 1 comment Communal Harmony
Rama Navami Clashes & Rise of Hindu Militancy

Rama Navami Clashes & Rise of Hindu Militancy

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…]

by 02/04/2018 2 comments Communal Harmony
Bihar Communal Violence and the 2019 Elections

Bihar Communal Violence and the 2019 Elections

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…]

by 30/03/2018 Comments are Disabled Communal Harmony
Demolition of Maulana Azad’s Statue – An assault on Secular and Progressive Values

Demolition of Maulana Azad’s Statue – An assault on Secular and Progressive Values

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…]

by 30/03/2018 2 comments Communal Harmony
Hadiya’s Love Jihad v/s Propaganda of Love Jihad

Hadiya’s Love Jihad v/s Propaganda of Love Jihad

  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…]

by 20/03/2018 Comments are Disabled Communal Harmony
Image Courtesy: Deccan Chronicle

The Art of Coercion !

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…]

by 12/03/2018 1 comment Communal Harmony
 Shanker Shambhu Qawwal, The Epitome of Indian Plurality

 Shanker Shambhu Qawwal, The Epitome of Indian Plurality

  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…]

by 24/02/2018 1 comment Communal Harmony
Interfaith Marriages And Human Progress

Interfaith Marriages And Human Progress

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…]

by 24/02/2018 Comments are Disabled Communal Harmony
Time to ‘Militarise Hindus, Hinduise Nation’

Time to ‘Militarise Hindus, Hinduise Nation’

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…]

by 18/02/2018 2 comments Communal Harmony
UP Dy CM Intimidates State Officers Who Expressed Opinion Against Communalism

UP Dy CM Intimidates State Officers Who Expressed Opinion Against Communalism

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…]

by 09/02/2018 Comments are Disabled Communal Harmony
Violence In Kasganj Result Of Saffron Conspiracy!

Violence In Kasganj Result Of Saffron Conspiracy!

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…]

by 03/02/2018 4 comments Communal Harmony
Wife and mother of lynched Nasirul Haque

Bengal’s Worthy And Unworthy Victims Of Hate Crimes

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…]

by 02/02/2018 2 comments Communal Harmony
Of Dawah And Beyond

Of Dawah And Beyond

  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…]

by 02/02/2018 6 comments Communal Harmony
‘Banal Nationalism’ And RSS

‘Banal Nationalism’ And RSS

‘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…]

by 01/02/2018 1 comment Communal Harmony
Why Muslims Need A Fair Media

Why Muslims Need A Fair Media

   (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…]

by 25/01/2018 Comments are Disabled Communal Harmony
Nehru, Ambedkar And Challenge  Of Majoritarianism

Nehru, Ambedkar And Challenge  Of Majoritarianism

  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…]

by 22/01/2018 Comments are Disabled Communal Harmony
History Of The World: A Chaddi Retelling

History Of The World: A Chaddi Retelling

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…]

by 10/01/2018 Comments are Disabled Communal Harmony
The Madrasa Myth

The Madrasa Myth

  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…]

by 06/01/2018 1 comment Communal Harmony
A Classroom Analysis Of Gujarat Assembly Election via The Polity Book

A Classroom Analysis Of Gujarat Assembly Election via The Polity Book

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…]

by 01/01/2018 1 comment Communal Harmony
The Sufi Path To Bliss

The Sufi Path To Bliss

  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…]

by 31/12/2017 2 comments Communal Harmony
Christianity’s Social Message Of Love Conquers All Still Remain Most Powerful

Christianity’s Social Message Of Love Conquers All Still Remain Most Powerful

  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…]

by 31/12/2017 2 comments Communal Harmony
RSS Promoting Clash Of Civilizations

RSS Promoting Clash Of Civilizations

  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…]

by 30/12/2017 3 comments Communal Harmony
Domination Of The Other Is Inbuilt In The Ideology Of Majoritarianism

Domination Of The Other Is Inbuilt In The Ideology Of Majoritarianism

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…]

In Search Of An Icon

In Search Of An Icon

  “… 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…]

by 21/12/2017 Comments are Disabled Communal Harmony
Heroes And Sheroes Of Plural India: Shanta Gandhi

Heroes And Sheroes Of Plural India: Shanta Gandhi

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…]

by 20/12/2017 Comments are Disabled Communal Harmony
Dr.John Dayal Honoured For His Life Time Contributions For The Minorities

Dr.John Dayal Honoured For His Life Time Contributions For The Minorities

  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…]

by 20/12/2017 4 comments Communal Harmony
BJP Telangana MLA Raja Singh Being Investigated In Karnataka Under Section 153A of IPC

BJP Telangana MLA Raja Singh Being Investigated In Karnataka Under Section 153A of IPC

  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…]

by 19/12/2017 Comments are Disabled Communal Harmony
A Fearful Xmas For Christians In India

A Fearful Xmas For Christians In India

“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…]

by 18/12/2017 3 comments Communal Harmony
Indian Nation-State Becomes A Prison House For Minorities

Indian Nation-State Becomes A Prison House For Minorities

  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…]

by 17/12/2017 1 comment Communal Harmony
Need for More Public Interest Litigation and Charging of Politicians for Hate Crimes

Need for More Public Interest Litigation and Charging of Politicians for Hate Crimes

 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…]

by 14/12/2017 1 comment Communal Harmony
Rally For Babri Episode Held In Canada

Rally For Babri Episode Held In Canada

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…]

by 10/12/2017 1 comment Communal Harmony
A screengrab of Shambhulal Regar, the main accused in the case. The victim Afrazul (inset) was hacked and burnt alive in Rajasthan allegedly over an affair. Photo Credit/The Indian Express

Burning To Death India’s Unity And Integrity

  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…]

by 08/12/2017 1 comment Communal Harmony
The Farewell Sermon Of Prophet Muhammad

The Farewell Sermon Of Prophet Muhammad

(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…]

by 01/12/2017 1 comment Communal Harmony
Hadiya’s Plight In A Nation Of Snake-Oil Sellers

Hadiya’s Plight In A Nation Of Snake-Oil Sellers

  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…]

by 30/11/2017 1 comment Communal Harmony
Barbarism Is Back With A Bang

Barbarism Is Back With A Bang

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…]

by 28/11/2017 Comments are Disabled Communal Harmony
Kandhamal

Kandhamal

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.

by 16/11/2017 1 comment Communal Harmony
A Cursory Look At The Government, Religion And Reason In Contemporary Times

A Cursory Look At The Government, Religion And Reason In Contemporary Times

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…]

by 14/11/2017 Comments are Disabled Communal Harmony
Why India Alarmed At US Funding Of NGOs Promoting Religious Freedom?

Why India Alarmed At US Funding Of NGOs Promoting Religious Freedom?

  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…]

Babari Masjid Dispute – But Is It?

Babari Masjid Dispute – But Is It?

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…]

by 29/10/2017 Comments are Disabled Communal Harmony
Muslim Woes Just Being Recorded By A PM High Committee Isn’t Enough. Here’s Why

Muslim Woes Just Being Recorded By A PM High Committee Isn’t Enough. Here’s Why

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…]

by 23/10/2017 1 comment Communal Harmony
Ideological Murders And Political Suicide

Ideological Murders And Political Suicide

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…]

by 19/10/2017 Comments are Disabled Communal Harmony
Retired School Principal Honoured For Keeping The Story Of A Muslim Freedom Fighter Alive

Retired School Principal Honoured For Keeping The Story Of A Muslim Freedom Fighter Alive

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…]

by 13/10/2017 1 comment Communal Harmony
Conversation On Attacks On Religious Minorities In India Held On Kandhmal Day

Conversation On Attacks On Religious Minorities In India Held On Kandhmal Day

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…]

by 26/08/2017 1 comment Communal Harmony
How Historians Poisoned India’s Tolerant Legacy

How Historians Poisoned India’s Tolerant Legacy

  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…]

by 23/08/2017 1 comment Communal Harmony
Rana Ayyub Denied Opportunity To Speak At The Gurdwara That Hosted Modi

Rana Ayyub Denied Opportunity To Speak At The Gurdwara That Hosted Modi

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…]

by 23/08/2017 1 comment Communal Harmony
Political Position Beyond Social Identities

Political Position Beyond Social Identities

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…]

by 22/08/2017 1 comment Communal Harmony
The Dilemma Of A Muslim In India

The Dilemma Of A Muslim In India

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…]

by 19/08/2017 2 comments Communal Harmony
Observe Kandhamal Day On August 25, 2017

Observe Kandhamal Day On August 25, 2017

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…]

by 15/08/2017 4 comments Communal Harmony
Rana Ayyub Honoured In Canada

Rana Ayyub Honoured In Canada

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…]

by 13/08/2017 4 comments Communal Harmony
People Come Together Against Growing Communalism In Jharkhand

People Come Together Against Growing Communalism In Jharkhand

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…]

by 10/08/2017 1 comment Communal Harmony
Baba Ramdev Launches ‘Security’ Business: Should We Be Worried?

Baba Ramdev Launches ‘Security’ Business: Should We Be Worried?

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…]

by 15/07/2017 9 comments Communal Harmony, India
Protest Against Mob Lynchings And The Role Of Civil Society In Breaking The Silence

Protest Against Mob Lynchings And The Role Of Civil Society In Breaking The Silence

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…]

by 12/07/2017 1 comment Communal Harmony
“India United By Blood! Share It, Don’t Spill It” Campaign Springs Up Across India

“India United By Blood! Share It, Don’t Spill It” Campaign Springs Up Across India

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…]

Hindutva And Cow: Love For Cow or Hatred For “Others”?

Hindutva And Cow: Love For Cow or Hatred For “Others”?

  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…]

by 07/07/2017 1 comment Communal Harmony
Gandhiji Said, No Law Can Be Made To Ban Cow-Slaughter

Gandhiji Said, No Law Can Be Made To Ban Cow-Slaughter

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…]

by 06/07/2017 1 comment Communal Harmony
Ahem! Pardon Me, May I Say Something?

Ahem! Pardon Me, May I Say Something?

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…]

by 01/07/2017 2 comments Communal Harmony
Open Letter From An Indian Muslim

Open Letter From An Indian Muslim

  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…]

by 25/06/2017 1 comment Communal Harmony
Yoga For The Body Without Yoga For The Mind

Yoga For The Body Without Yoga For The Mind

  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…]

by 23/06/2017 3 comments Communal Harmony
Weeping Salandi -A PUCL Report On Communal Violence In Bhadrak, Odisha

Weeping Salandi -A PUCL Report On Communal Violence In Bhadrak, Odisha

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…]

by 17/06/2017 1 comment Communal Harmony
Bhadrak Communal Riot, 2017: A Fact Finding Report To The Nation

Bhadrak Communal Riot, 2017: A Fact Finding Report To The Nation

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…]

by 13/06/2017 1 comment Communal Harmony
State Sponsored Terrorism Against Sikhs In November 1984 & The Role Of Peace Warriors:Lessons For The Indian Army

State Sponsored Terrorism Against Sikhs In November 1984 & The Role Of Peace Warriors:Lessons For The Indian Army

  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…]

by 11/06/2017 2 comments Communal Harmony
The Story of The Devil Called Muslim

The Story of The Devil Called Muslim

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…]

by 05/06/2017 3 comments Communal Harmony
Hindutva: The “Opium” Of The People!

Hindutva: The “Opium” Of The People!

(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…]

by 18/05/2017 1 comment Communal Harmony
The Conquest of Chattisgarh: Unearthing Sangh Ascendancy In The State

The Conquest of Chattisgarh: Unearthing Sangh Ascendancy In The State

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…]

by 10/05/2017 1 comment Communal Harmony
Threat To Muslim Identity: Perception And Reality

Threat To Muslim Identity: Perception And Reality

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…]

by 09/05/2017 2 comments Communal Harmony
Hindu Rashtra: Is It Good For Hindus?

Hindu Rashtra: Is It Good For Hindus?

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…]

by 09/05/2017 3 comments Communal Harmony
Communal Politics In India Is primarily Due To Absence Of Land Reforms; Absence Of Process Of Secularization And Failure To Reduce The Hold Of Clergy: Dr Ram Puniyani

Communal Politics In India Is primarily Due To Absence Of Land Reforms; Absence Of Process Of Secularization And Failure To Reduce The Hold Of Clergy: Dr Ram Puniyani

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…]

by 09/05/2017 2 comments Communal Harmony
The Conspiracy Behind Babri Demolition

The Conspiracy Behind Babri Demolition

  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…]

by 24/04/2017 1 comment Communal Harmony
Non State Actors And Moral Policing

Non State Actors And Moral Policing

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…]

by 22/04/2017 2 comments Communal Harmony
Political Economy of Cow-Mentality in India

Political Economy of Cow-Mentality in India

  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…]

by 21/04/2017 3 comments Communal Harmony
Minorities And Dissenters Under Intimidation And Deep Stress In South Asia:  The lynching of  Mashal Khan

Minorities And Dissenters Under Intimidation And Deep Stress In South Asia:  The lynching of  Mashal Khan

  ‘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…]

Holy Cow: One More lynching

Holy Cow: One More lynching

  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…]

by 13/04/2017 1 comment Communal Harmony
Bankim’s ‘Bharat’ -Pro-British, Anti-Muslim And Pro-Brahminical

Bankim’s ‘Bharat’ -Pro-British, Anti-Muslim And Pro-Brahminical

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…]

The Politicization Of Cow In North East India

The Politicization Of Cow In North East India

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…]

by 08/04/2017 1 comment Communal Harmony
Pehlu Khans In A Soulless India

Pehlu Khans In A Soulless India

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.

by 08/04/2017 2 comments Communal Harmony
Babri Masjid Ramjanmbhoomi Dispute: Need For Justice

Babri Masjid Ramjanmbhoomi Dispute: Need For Justice

  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…]

by 08/04/2017 1 comment Communal Harmony
Kandhamal: Introspection Of Initiative For Justice

Kandhamal: Introspection Of Initiative For Justice

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…]

Indian Muslims: Looking Ahead

Indian Muslims: Looking Ahead

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…]

by 04/04/2017 8 comments Communal Harmony
I Am An ‘Indian Muslim’!

I Am An ‘Indian Muslim’!

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…]

by 03/04/2017 1 comment Communal Harmony
Ayodhya Case Should Be Decided By The Supreme Court, No Scope For Mutual Settlement: Justice Sachar

Ayodhya Case Should Be Decided By The Supreme Court, No Scope For Mutual Settlement: Justice Sachar

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…]

Hindutva:  An Imaginary Interaction

Hindutva:  An Imaginary Interaction

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…]

by 29/03/2017 1 comment Communal Harmony
Hindutva And The Idea of ‘Humanity’

Hindutva And The Idea of ‘Humanity’

“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…]

by 22/03/2017 2 comments Communal Harmony
A Hotelier Attacked In The Name Of Beef In Jaipur

A Hotelier Attacked In The Name Of Beef In Jaipur

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…]

by 20/03/2017 1 comment Communal Harmony
Deendayal in Government Schools: Neglecting Education, Indoctrinating Exclusion

Deendayal in Government Schools: Neglecting Education, Indoctrinating Exclusion

  “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…]

by 13/03/2017 1 comment Communal Harmony
Communalising Population Growth: Understanding Demographic Data

Communalising Population Growth: Understanding Demographic Data

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…]

by 02/03/2017 1 comment Communal Harmony, India
Fifteen Years After The 2002 Gujarat Pogrom,The Fight For Accountability And Justice Continues

Fifteen Years After The 2002 Gujarat Pogrom,The Fight For Accountability And Justice Continues

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…]

by 01/03/2017 2 comments Communal Harmony
“Building a Hindu Nation”: A Study On The Assertion Of The Hindutva Politics Through Physical Space

“Building a Hindu Nation”: A Study On The Assertion Of The Hindutva Politics Through Physical Space

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…]

by 28/02/2017 3 comments Communal Harmony
‘Hindu’: Religion or Nationality?

‘Hindu’: Religion or Nationality?

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…]

by 24/02/2017 2 comments Communal Harmony
Gujarat Violence And Struggle For Justice

Gujarat Violence And Struggle For Justice

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…]

by 22/02/2017 1 comment Book Review, Communal Harmony
Beware Of Alt-Facts: What’s Bhagat Singh Got To Do With Valentine’s Day?

Beware Of Alt-Facts: What’s Bhagat Singh Got To Do With Valentine’s Day?

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…]

by 10/02/2017 4 comments Communal Harmony
The Indomitable Teesta Under Attack….Again

The Indomitable Teesta Under Attack….Again

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…]

Teesta Setalvad: Foot Soldier Of The Indian Constitution

Teesta Setalvad: Foot Soldier Of The Indian Constitution

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…]

Criminal Case Against Teesta Setalvad And Javed Anand Is Political Vindictiveness

Criminal Case Against Teesta Setalvad And Javed Anand Is Political Vindictiveness

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…]

by 04/02/2017 1 comment Communal Harmony
Alancier’s Meryl Streep Moment In An Age Of Shameful Silence

Alancier’s Meryl Streep Moment In An Age Of Shameful Silence

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…]

by 16/01/2017 2 comments Communal Harmony
“The Love For Your Underwear Is Not Patriotism”: Malayalam Actor Alancier’s Plea For Communal Harmony

“The Love For Your Underwear Is Not Patriotism”: Malayalam Actor Alancier’s Plea For Communal Harmony

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…]

by 12/01/2017 1 comment Communal Harmony
The Beard Question: Religious Duty or Discipline?

The Beard Question: Religious Duty or Discipline?

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…]

by 19/12/2016 7 comments Communal Harmony
Tribute To Mahatma Tipu Sultan

Tribute To Mahatma Tipu Sultan

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…]

What Do We Know About Ram Puniyani And His Aman Katha

What Do We Know About Ram Puniyani And His Aman Katha

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…]

by 10/11/2016 1 comment Communal Harmony
Dopdi In Mahendergarh: Encountering Saffron Terror In The Academia

Dopdi In Mahendergarh: Encountering Saffron Terror In The Academia

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…]

by 08/11/2016 1 comment Communal Harmony
Interlinkages Between Communalism And The Political Underworld

Interlinkages Between Communalism And The Political Underworld

  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…]

by 06/11/2016 1 comment Book Review, Communal Harmony
Fascism In India

Fascism In India

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…]

by 05/11/2016 1 comment Communal Harmony
“Who Killed Swamy Laxmananda?” 

“Who Killed Swamy Laxmananda?” 

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…]

If I Advised The AIMPLB

If I Advised The AIMPLB

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…]

by 27/10/2016 2 comments Communal Harmony
The Surgical Strikes On Teesta Setalvad Continue With The Bari Report

The Surgical Strikes On Teesta Setalvad Continue With The Bari Report

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…]

by 25/10/2016 1 comment Communal Harmony
BJP Manifesto May Be Reviewed, Hindu Nationalist Parties Might Be Banned Again

BJP Manifesto May Be Reviewed, Hindu Nationalist Parties Might Be Banned Again

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…]

by 22/10/2016 2 comments Communal Harmony
Promoting Enmity On Grounds Of Religion Is A Corrupt Practice

Promoting Enmity On Grounds Of Religion Is A Corrupt Practice

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…]

by 18/10/2016 1 comment Communal Harmony
From #SaveHinduismFromHalfPants To #HindutvaToHumanism

From #SaveHinduismFromHalfPants To #HindutvaToHumanism

#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

by 13/10/2016 1 comment Communal Harmony
A Unique Ramlila

A Unique Ramlila

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

by 10/10/2016 1 comment Communal Harmony
Decoding Violent Cow Vigilantism

Decoding Violent Cow Vigilantism

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…]

by 06/10/2016 2 comments Communal Harmony
I Will NOT Remain Silent…

I Will NOT Remain Silent…

 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…]

by 16/09/2016 8 comments Communal Harmony
Brahmanization Of The Onam Festival

Brahmanization Of The Onam Festival

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.

Police Sniffing In Kitchens While Rapists Roam The Streets

Police Sniffing In Kitchens While Rapists Roam The Streets

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…]

American Muslims 15 Years After 9/11/2001

American Muslims 15 Years After 9/11/2001

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…]

by 11/09/2016 1 comment Communal Harmony
Now, Haryana Cops Ask “What’s In Your Biryani?”

Now, Haryana Cops Ask “What’s In Your Biryani?”

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…]

by 10/09/2016 1 comment Communal Harmony
Archbishop Raphael Cheenath, Champion Of Kandhamal Victims, Remembered

Archbishop Raphael Cheenath, Champion Of Kandhamal Victims, Remembered

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…]

by 29/08/2016 1 comment Communal Harmony
Kandhamal Day Observed For Peace, Justice And Communal Harmony

Kandhamal Day Observed For Peace, Justice And Communal Harmony

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.

by 28/08/2016 1 comment Communal Harmony
Lessons From Kandhamal

Lessons From Kandhamal

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…]

by 25/08/2016 Comments are Disabled Communal Harmony
Scorched Visions Of Kandhamal

Scorched Visions Of Kandhamal

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…]

by 25/08/2016 1 comment Communal Harmony
BJP, Dalits, And The ‘Cow Politics.’

BJP, Dalits, And The ‘Cow Politics.’

“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…]

by 23/08/2016 2 comments Communal Harmony
 Uniform Civil Code: Why And How?

 Uniform Civil Code: Why And How?

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…]

by 04/08/2016 Comments are Disabled Communal Harmony
 Unity With Ideological Clarity Is The Only Way To Defeat Hegemonists

 Unity With Ideological Clarity Is The Only Way To Defeat Hegemonists

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…]

by 03/08/2016 Comments are Disabled Communal Harmony
Nationalists or Notionalists: Nationalism And Hindu Right Wing In India

Nationalists or Notionalists: Nationalism And Hindu Right Wing In India

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…]

by 01/08/2016 1 comment Communal Harmony
Book On Kandhamal ‘A Wake-Up Call For The Nation’

Book On Kandhamal ‘A Wake-Up Call For The Nation’

 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…]

by 26/07/2016 3 comments Communal Harmony
K.P Sasi’s “Voices From The Ruins” Depicts The Naked Reality Of Kandhamal: V.S Achuthanandan

K.P Sasi’s “Voices From The Ruins” Depicts The Naked Reality Of Kandhamal: V.S Achuthanandan

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…]

by 22/07/2016 Comments are Disabled Communal Harmony
 ‘Voices From The Ruins Of Kandhamal’ And Why I Cried After Watching The Film

 ‘Voices From The Ruins Of Kandhamal’ And Why I Cried After Watching The Film

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…]

My Encounter With Dr. Zakir Naik

My Encounter With Dr. Zakir Naik

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…]

by 15/07/2016 3 comments Communal Harmony
Did Ashoka’s Embracing Buddhism, Promoting  Ahimsa Weaken India?

Did Ashoka’s Embracing Buddhism, Promoting  Ahimsa Weaken India?

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…]

by 10/07/2016 2 comments Communal Harmony
A Deeper Malaise:  The Targeting Of Dr Zakir Naik

A Deeper Malaise:  The Targeting Of Dr Zakir Naik

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…]

by 10/07/2016 3 comments Communal Harmony
Zakir Naik Controversy And Anti-Muslim Bigotry

Zakir Naik Controversy And Anti-Muslim Bigotry

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…]

by 10/07/2016 5 comments Communal Harmony
Should RSS Volunteers Be Permitted To Join Government Services?

Should RSS Volunteers Be Permitted To Join Government Services?

  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…]

by 06/07/2016 2 comments Communal Harmony
Triple Talaq: Touchstone Method Of Constitution Is Supreme

Triple Talaq: Touchstone Method Of Constitution Is Supreme

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…]

by 30/06/2016 Comments are Disabled Communal Harmony

Ayodhya or Saket : The politics of Ram Temple

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.

by 26/06/2016 Comments are Disabled Communal Harmony, Video
Using Ambedkar Against Dalits

Using Ambedkar Against Dalits

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…]

BP Mahesh Guru’s Arrest Widely Condemned

BP Mahesh Guru’s Arrest Widely Condemned

  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…]

by 23/06/2016 2 comments Communal Harmony
Support Teesta Setalvad: Donate To Sabrang Trust 

Support Teesta Setalvad: Donate To Sabrang Trust 

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.

by 23/06/2016 2 comments Communal Harmony, Editor's Picks
Gulbarg Society Carnage: Who Cast The First Stone?

Gulbarg Society Carnage: Who Cast The First Stone?

  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…]

by 22/06/2016 Comments are Disabled Communal Harmony
Muzaffarnagar +Dadri + Kairana=Love Jihad+Beef+”Hindu” Exodus=Hard Communalism=Votes

Muzaffarnagar +Dadri + Kairana=Love Jihad+Beef+”Hindu” Exodus=Hard Communalism=Votes

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…]

by 18/06/2016 Comments are Disabled Communal Harmony
Electorally Holy Cow

Electorally Holy Cow

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…]

by 18/06/2016 Comments are Disabled Communal Harmony
Two Years Of Modi Sarkar- Broken Promises: Sectarian Agenda

Two Years Of Modi Sarkar- Broken Promises: Sectarian Agenda

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…]

by 18/06/2016 Comments are Disabled Communal Harmony
Fact-Finding Report On The Alleged Exodus Of Hindus From Kairana

Fact-Finding Report On The Alleged Exodus Of Hindus From Kairana

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…]

by 18/06/2016 Comments are Disabled Communal Harmony
Modi Government’s Witch Hunt Of Teesta Setalvad Enters New Phase: Sabrang Trust’s Registration Cancelled

Modi Government’s Witch Hunt Of Teesta Setalvad Enters New Phase: Sabrang Trust’s Registration Cancelled

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…]

by 17/06/2016 Comments are Disabled Communal Harmony, Human Rights, India