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?
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'.
Stop the Killing in Gaza - An Open Letter to World Leaders
Ahrar Ahmed, Milia Ali, Shaheen Ali, Quamrul Haider, Javed Helali, Anisur Rahman and Shah Jahan, on behalf of the members of the Bangladesh Friendship Club
Misery in the Fraudulent 'Holy Land
The old story of human despair due to the Muslim-Jew conflict continues in the so-called holy land. In the last few weeks more than 800 Palestinians and dozens of Israelis have been killed by the two fighting parties (1). The tolls on both sides include innocent children, who are neither fighters nor hate-mongers nor policy makers by any means.
Should Britain consider banning burqa and niqab?
The European Court of Human Rights at Strasbourg upheld the French government's ban on wearing burqa or niqab in its ruling on 1 July 2014. A French Law on religious headgear banned wearing burqa or niqab in public in 2010. The European Court ruling states that the law does not breach Muslim women's Human Rights and consequently there is no reason why the ban should not be upheld. This is a landmark ruling and it could prompt other European and Western countries to consider banning such attires without the risk of legal challenges.
India's Feudal Rapists (Op-ed from International New York Times, June 4 2014)
India's Feudal Rapists By AMANA FONTANELLA-KHANJUNE 4, 2014
Hefajat & Government - Tom & Jerry in New Version
Probably, we are the only nation in the world who has to fight every day to find out our country. No, it doesn't mean that we lost our country geographically every day, but there is a far distance between the Bangladesh in our mind and in front of our eyes. 'Bangladesh' is a name of glorious history, a deep rooted cultural phenomena and obviously a name of interaction between various ethnic groups. The common people of Bangladesh never believe in any kind of anarchy. Though they are religious, but as far as I can find their visions throughout their statements in various references and oral interviews, they never relay on any fundamental forces. So, it's a big question now, how these fundamentalist groups make their uprising in our state. The straight answer is 'with the fresh aid of existing political forces'. If we look at the history of growing fundamentalism in Bangladesh after the liberation period, we find the state machine as a key force to make this happen. After the brutal assassination of the father of the nation, state directly played the role to build up the fundamentalist forces. This role of state is still in the van. As a reason, unfortunately, Bangladesh in the dream of secular forces is just like a stage play; there is no reflection in the present ruling or administration.
ARUNDHATI ROY - THE GODDESS OF SMALL MINDS
Suzanna Arundhati Roy (writer of "The God of Small Things" which was published in 1997) labels India as a "Hindu Corporate State". She criticizes Modi and RSS whenever she gets a chance. She markets 'Babri Mosque' and 'Gujarat riot' as symbols of her secular intellectuality. She bypasses 'Godhara incident' with great vagueness; but speaks about second by second details of Gujarat riot. She does not speak of Kasab and cries for Afzal Guru. She does not remember Mumbai serial blasts. She has not heard of 'Indian Mujahidin'. She is pathologically silent about the hijack of Air India plane to Kandhahar.
The Irresponsible Talks of the 'Image of the Government/Country
I am actually very frustrated about Bangladesh. It bothers me too much when I see newspaper headlines like 'Abductions, killings to tarnish govt's image: ministers.'