WILL YOU CARE TO RESPOND PLEASE?
Vadodara and Ahmedabad (India) recently faced two tragic incidences of immense social implications. These incidences may be isolated in nature but give insights in to the prevailing social milieu.
Bangalee Muslims – by Washiqur Babu
Bangalee Muslims are all simple and straight people. They are not communal (the commonly used word for "religious-sectarian" in the Indian subcontinent), do not care for fundamentalism, and are not religiously blind. Whatever (bad) things happen (to them), they happen due to the American conspiracies or the British divide-and-rule policy. They (the Americans and the British) do all these things by luring the straight and simple Bangalee Muslims. Bangalee Muslims are as simple as the babies. They have no fault, nor do they have much virtue. They cannot differentiate between good and bad.
Does Islam Need Reforming?
The world of Islam is in a state of turmoil. Radicalised Muslims and their misdemeanours are rarely out of media spotlight these days and rightly so. From the earth shattering event of 9/11 in New York in 2001 and the London Underground bombing in 2005 to al-Qaeda activities in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria and in many other places; the atrocities of the so-called Islamic State (IS) in beheading countless innocent people in Syria and Iraq; Boko Haram's kidnapping and killing of school children in Nigeria, killing of Charlie Hebdo employees in France; killing of 23 tourists in the Bardo museum in Tunis by the IS affiliate groups and many, many more atrocities; all point to the grim reality that there is something fundamentally wrong with these radicalised Muslims and their monstrous mentality. These people are just not in harmony with the modern times and they fail to uphold human values.
A Note of Salute to Avijit Roy
Yesterday, when my wife was reading news from Bangladesh on the internet, she told me that she was reading about the murder of Avijit Roy in Dhaka. I exclaimed to her, "our Avijit?", got on to internet immediately, and started reading the news myself. I felt like I was having a nightmare, did not want to believe the news to be true.
A Depraved State
Having observed unremitting political schism, egregious falsification and unbridled corruption by politicians of all shades of colour in Bangladesh for nearly four and half decades, time is now ripe to speak out loud and clear and point out the root cause of national malaise. This is not the country which once inspired and galvanised people of all strands of life to rise up against the repressive, brutal hegemony of Pakistan. People demanded democratic rights, cultural freedom, freedom of expression, and above all a free, fair and honest society where everybody irrespective of creed, colour and religion would live in peace and harmony. What they have got now is exactly the opposite of their demands. But probably people themselves have fundamentally changed and now demanding something else which was not what the country was created for.
Saraswati Puja at Bangladesh Parliament – It is Progress Indeed
{Postscript from the Author (January 27, 2015): It is a great disappointment that in spite of the initial consent by the Prime Minister and approval by the Speaker, there was actually no Saraswati Puja at the Bangladesh Parliament. I am not sure why the big leaders' approvals were not implemented. But there is no doubt that this reneging pleases and supports the Islamic/Muslim hate-mongers of Bangladesh.}
Save Sundarbans - UNESCO World Heritage Site - from destruction
An Open Letter to the Government of Bangladesh – The Survival of Sundarbans Rainforest, a UNESCO World Heritage Site
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?
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'.
The Truth Behind Reza Aslan's 'Brilliant' Take Down on Bill Maher
Moderator's note: Reza Aslan is a media celebrity and an Islamic apologist, who obviously feels threatened by the growing Atheist movement in the US and worldwide. One of his recent tweets he wrote, 'I've written about Muslims, Jews, Xtians, Buddhists, Hindus, Atheists. I've never received more venomous threats than I do from Atheists'(see here).