I normally write a short reflection during Christmas. My reflection this year is on Christmas in the aftermath of the Orissa violence… A Christmas Wish – dedicated to all the people of Kandhamal, Orissa, especially to the 8000+ people still living in relief camps, and to all those who live under the shadow of violence, … Continue reading
The decision by the Vice Chancellor (VC) of Jamia Millia University to offer legal aid to its students accused of indulging in terrorist acts in laudable. Governments are under pressure to show quick results, and any suspect is presumed to be guilty if the case pertains to so-called ‘terror’. In this atmosphere, every care must … Continue reading
Reporting on the Malegaon blasts investigations, the media is full of reports about “Hindu terror groups”. (NDTV, Oct 26, 2008). Once again we are falling into the trap of linking an entire religion with groups who propagate violence and terror. The perpetrators of the violence claim to be indulging in the violent crimes for the … Continue reading
I got this picture as a email forward. Liked the spirit of this message. Posting it here for all to see.
It is not very difficult to stoke the flame of communalism in the country. The ground work has been surely and steadily laid over the years and is bearing fruit now. The job of a fundamentalist or an extremist or a fanatic is very easy these days, be it a Christian, or a Hindu or … Continue reading
During recent discussions with a friend, I found him implying the oft-repeated notion that all those who were caught in recent times for “terrorist” activities were Muslims. I had dealt with a similar issue in an earlier posting (Stop communalising terror!) While the police promptly come up with some Muslim group’s name for involvement in … Continue reading
Now ‘Marginalisation of Muslims’ in NCERT textbook, screamed the headline (Indian Express web edition, May 28, 2008). The news item was about how the topic ‘Marginalisation of Muslims’ was included in NCERT textbook. If one failed to consider the single quotes, the sentence could be easily misconstrued. Anyway, the article spoke about how the NCERT … Continue reading
Tehelka has called it the truth about Gujarat 2002 in the words of the men who did it. And what is ‘it’? It refers to how: – a pregnant woman’s womb was indeed pierced with a sword and the foetus wrenched out. – Muslims hiding in a gutter in the hope that they would survive … Continue reading
In this age of 24 hour television news channels, it is quite common to hear reporters quote unconfirmed reports and half-truths, especially when the situation is just developing. In the mad scramble to be the first one reporting the “story”, the causality figures are exaggerated, the cause of the incident speculated upon and the incident … Continue reading
