THE GEETA" AND VIOLENCE
In an obscure corner of Russia, a local court banned "Geeta" (the famous Hindu Religious Book) last year for being a book which describes and promotes violence. The members of RSS and similar Hindu organizations in India became vocal with protests against that court verdict. But as the said court was far away, Indian Hindu bigots could not engage in violent activities on that issue. Obviously, many Hindus felt hurt for labeling Geeta as a book of violence.
AFETR THE MASSACRE
Following the tragic massacre of school children in Pakistan on 16.12.2014, the establishment is showing knee jerk reactions. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has labeled the untimely death of students as his personal loss and strongly spoke for withdrawing moratorium on death sentence and pressed for capital punishment of 55 terrorists whose hanging was withheld earlier. Even the Army Chief of Pakistan has urged for summary execution of 3000 terrorists in next 48 hours. Meanwhile two terrorists in death row have been hanged and Pakistani Army has intensified its military action in restive tribal stronghold of TTP. All sane persons would understand the frustration, sadness, anger and reactive state of mind of both civilian and Army chiefs of Pakistan. The country's soul has been shaken by the brutal attack perpetuated in the name of Jihad by the TTP terrorists on the softest possible target, i.e. school children.
THE LAPTOP JIHADI
Mehdi Masroor Biswas, the young Bengali Muslim 'laptop Jihadi' from Kolkata was arrested in Bangalore (India) a couple of days back. Mehdi was working in an MNC there. He comes from a middle class family and has a bachelor degree in electronics. Mekhail Biswas, father of Mehdi, quite reasonably, doubted that it could be a case of 'mistaken identity'. The same reaction we observed from the father of Bangladeshi (Jatrabari, Dhaka) student in US who was arrested as potential terrorist last year. A father cannot think anything bad about his son. No father will first like to accept the fact that his son has advanced stage of 'cancer'. The denial comes naturally. All sensible persons will empathize with Mekhail. But reality is too bitter.
Hear it? Indian secularism is both enduring & audible
As the debate continues to swirl around secularism, albeit with ebbing intensity, but still provoking a loose nerve or two, an intriguing question demands an answer. Is India secular because Gandhi was secular, or was Gandhi secular because India is secular? What precisely do we mean by secularism?
ENIMIES AND FRIENDS FROM WITHIN
I saw a few photographs from UK in electronic medium recently where UK Muslims (apparently non-white) were shouting with banner and placards displaying slogans for imposing Shariah in UK and whole world.
SAD STORY OF WEST BENGAL BENGALIS
I wrote some weeks back in this blog that Mamata Banerjee, Chief Minister of West Bengal has fallen in a tight corner situation due to involvement of her party members in the notorious 'Saradha scam'. The Indian central investigating agency CBI has already arrested some of her senior party members. Very recently Mamata made a visit to Delhi ostensibly to attend the 125th birth anniversary function of Jawaharlal Nehru. She attended the function for an hour or so and met BJP leaders like Rajnath Singh (Home Minister), Arun Jaitley (Finance Minister) and L K Advani in her 2 days stay in Delhi. No prize for telling what for did she meet all those BJP leaders.
KABIR SUMAN - NEITHER LIKE KABIR NOR HAS A SU MAN
Anybody can change his religion. It is his personal matter. But Kabir Suman's assertive Muslimness after conversion to Islam has become possible as Hinduism does not have any concept of 'apostasy' and Hindu people around him in Kolkata are not sufficiently narrow minded to poke in to his personal religious affiliation and try to kill him for converting to Islam. Why a self and Islam boasting Muslim like Kabir Suman is not following Sunna with Hena coloured long beard, skull cap, pant above ankle joint and a full Arabic name like 'Something bin-something'?
HINDU MUSLIM BHAI BHAI
Islamists may feel elated that in Dar-al-harb called India, there is a small patch of virtual Waziristan where sort of Sharia is in practice in term of not allowing female students of Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) to enter its 'Maulana Azad Library' which has been declared 'only for male students'.
WILL BANGLADESH SEE, THINK, TALK & DO BEYOND ISLAM?
Bangladesh was not born on the basis of Islam like Pakistan. 'Islam' was not the primary or secondary driving force for the creation of Bangladesh. After more than two decades of linguistic, cultural, socio-economic and political repression by fellow Muslims of West Pakistan, the East Pakistanis understood the futility of Islam as basis for Pakistani nationhood. Bangladesh was born as a secular democratic country.
TINDERBOX - THE PAST AND FUTURE OF PAKISTAN
M J Akbar, the well known Indian journalist, has written a book entitled, "Tinderbox – the past and future of Pakistan". It is a scholarly exposition of Pakistan's yesterday which gives hints for its tomorrow. Though no new information is available in the book, except some details about Pakistani terrorist groups and killing of Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad, it compels one to revisit and recapitulate the known facts in present context.