Taslima Nasreen removes comment

Woo hoo, saved it so that next time some "Freedom of Expression and Speech" peddler has a fit, I'll be sure to rub this on his/her nose and make them see sense.

Source

Ms Nasreen told TV channels on Friday that she would be dropping some lines from Dwikhondito, her 2003 autobiography.

Leading writers in Bengal have welcomed Ms Nasreen's move.

"It is a clever and a timely move. It is not a surrender to the fundamentalists but a compromise to tackle the present situation where Muslims across the board are feeling upset ," said Abul Bashar.

Shirshendu Mukherjee said Ms Nasreen's move should "assuage ruffled sentiments".

However, noted painter Shuvaprassana said Ms Nasreen had compromised by withdrawing the lines.

"This is a compromise that she has been forced into for the sake of getting refuge. But if she can drop two pages to get refuge in India, she can drop three pages and go back to Bangladesh," he said.

Indian media's missing zeal on Malaysian Indian's protest

A brilliant article by Dasu Krishnamoorty on the Indian media's blind eye to the protests of ethnic Indians in Malaysia. As (self styled) protectors of secularism, our media is mum. Why?

Source

Everyone in India knows Indra Nooyi or Mira Nair. But how many know Basudeo Pande or Jagennath Lachmon? Hardly any. These are all children of indentured labor who were cheated to travel to distant and unknown horizons in South and East Africa, the West Indies, Mauritius, Fiji, Ceylon and a score of exotic islands in the Pacific Ocean to toil and die on plantations of the colonizers. Our governments ritually remember them on Bharatiya Pravasi Diwas. Their apathy to the state of these people is shared by our media too, fresh evidence coming from the blind eye they turned to recent events in Malaysia.

How long ago did you see a news item in the Indian media about these people? We however read about Mike Tyson going to jail for a day or the latest peccadilloes of Paris Hilton or Lindsay Lohan. For our media Indians reside only in the US, UK, Canada and Australia. Neither our media have space nor has our Foreign Office time to see what is happening to ethnic Indians who are the poorest segment of the Malaysian population. Worse, they are disenfranchised. They are stereotyped in Malaysian media as alcoholics and gangsters. Our newspapers are as loathe to posting correspondents in these countries as our journalists are loathe going there except in the company of the prime minister.

In Malaysia, temples are razed to the ground and we learn about it first from the International Herald Tribune. It is not a sudden development that has taken the Indian media by surprise. The plight and persecution of Indians in Malaysia has been there since the country became independent in 1957 and became a religious state. The IHT reported on 23 November arrests of Indian leaders who were planning a mass rally on 25 November before the British High Commission demanding reparations for bringing them to Malaysia as indentured labour. The rally plans were also a response to the demolition by the government of a 100-year old temple, the Malaimel Shri Selva Kaliamman temple. Of this, The Times of India alone carried a Reuters report about rally plans.

Our media hands were too full of how the UPA and West Bengal governments are struggling to ward off charges of minority appeasement following the Taslima episode to pay attention to a community of plantation labour. The only person who was moved to write in the Business Standard about the plight of these indigent people is Sunanda Datta Ray, the country's most respected journalist. Malaysia's Islamization drive included a ban on secular courts from overruling verdicts by Islamic courts in cases where non-Muslims are involved. Datta Ray wrote how Islamization began with the disgraced Anwar Ibrahim mobilized Muslim youth to enforce Islamic values. Hindus and to a lesser extent (since they are richer) the Chinese have since been victims of competitive Islam, said Ray.

Sunday's unprecedented but peaceful demonstration by tens of thousands of ethnic Indians came in defiance of warnings by the government that it would be suppressed ruthlessly. Suppress they did, with the help of teargas, water cannon and pepper spray. Leaders have been charged with sedition, though freed later. Nearly all Indian newspapers reported the rally, courtesy Reuters. Many carried a picture. The only newspaper to make a comment, Hindustan Times, wrote a very effete edit, affectionately describing the Malaysian police action as alleged. But I haven't seen the Indian TV covering it or borrowing clips from the BBC. They perhaps have more important events like the visit of Bachan family to the Dwarakadheesh temple or when and how Tendulkar will overtake Brian Lara.

The UPA government did not seem to know the happenings in Malaysia until Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Karunanidhi wrote a letter to Prime Minister Manomhan Singh on Wednesday, expressing deep concern at the treatment meted out to Malaysian ethnic Indian community. Karunanidhi himself was ignorant of the events till activists of Hindu Munnani, a Tamil Nadu based religious and cultural organization, staged a protest demonstration in Chennai.

The police in Kaula Lumpur detained over 240 ethnic Indians. Malaysia's Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi warned he may invoke a security law sanctioning indefinite detention without trial to curb street demonstrations. Datta Ray said, 'Though the (Malaysian) constitution's Article 3(1) says "other religions may be practiced in peace and harmony," Article 121(1A) subordinates the judicial system to Islamic courts. The implementation of Article 121(1A) is the last straw. Every so often a Hindu family is plunged into despair with the mullahs claiming that the father or mother converted to Islam, possibly when dying. There is no redress against their ex parte verdict as was highlighted with the forced burial of a 36-year-old Tamil Hindu soldier and mountaineer, M Moorthy, as a Muslim, over the protests of his Hindu wife.'

Malaysian news agency Bernama quoted Badawi as saying that the Internal Security Act, which permits detention without trial, is a preventive measure to preserve peace and order. 'Many Malaysians, both Hindus and non-Hindus, are in protest mode with increasing signs of lack of proper respect for all religions in the country and especially after the insensitive and sacrilegious demolition of the temple,' said opposition leader Lim Kit Siang.

Neither the Government of India nor any political party raised its voice. A 40-member Malaysian delegation is now in Delhi. Nobody from the media cared to ask them about what's happening to Indians in their country. Datta Ray pointed out how Singapore's Lee Kuan Yew speaks for the Chinese minority in Malaysia and lamented, 'No one does for Indians.' Is it because they are children of indentured labour? Compare this to Hillary Clinton's appeal to her government to ask the Saudi administration to be fair to a 19-year-old rape victim sentenced by a shariat court to 200 lashes and six months in jail. The US government spoke to the Saudi prince who was in the States to attend a Middle Peace summit.

Our media and foreign office make us believe that there are minorities only in India and not elsewhere. Our secularism is so pristine that Indian minorities in Muslim countries are not its concern. Are they children of a lesser God? Our embassies and consulates come to life only when a minister from India is visiting. People of Indian origin are not their concern. Indian media in the US are full of stories about the arrogance, indifference and inertia of our embassy and consulate officials.

Has our government protested to Kaula Lumpur? Can any newspaper send its reporter? Or, do they send reporters only to Cannes to cover film festivals or Frankfurt to cover a book fair? Hindustan Times edit does not even ask the government to protest and demand that the Malaysian delegation now in the capital be asked to convey our displeasure to their government. I hope our secular policies do not come in the way of doing so. But what is the Hindu doing when the majority of Malaysian Indians are Tamils?

Parliament is as silent as everyone else.

***end***
What is the response of the speaker of Lok Sabha when few politicians raised this issue in the Indian parliament?

We are a very responsible democracy. We don’t discuss … any other country in such a manner," Chatterjee said,

Zimmi Somnath Chatterjee ji forgets the Muhammad Cartoon frenzy where Prime Minister ManMohan Singh conveyed his outrage to the Danish Government. Why two standards, Mr. Speaker? Weren't we a responsible democracy at that time? What has changed since then?

This one's for keeps

Intl community should condemn Pak emergency

We unequivocally condemn the imposition of emergency in Pakistan by General Musharraf, along with the promulgation of the provisional constitution order, suspension of fundamental rights, muzzling of the press, and violence against lawyers, human rights activists, journalists, feminists, artists, trade unionists and other civil society members. We condemn the arrest of the regime’s critics and demand their unconditional release. Musharraf claims to be saving Pakistan from suicide, primarily through ‘religious militancy’. Yet, armed militias are being allowed to overrun Swat. The Shariah has been imposed, Pakistani flags on government buildings replaced by religious ones, and the frontier constabulary in Daroshkhela town disarmed and disbanded by the militants. These are grim portents with roots in the US backed militarymullah alliance of the 1980s. Musharraf has chosen to wage war against Pakistan’s liberals instead of combating fundamentalist militants. We express our support and solidarity with Pakistani civil society in its twin struggle against Musharraf’s tyrannical rule and religious fundamentalism. We demand the immediate lifting of the emergency and hope the international community will support the people of Pakistan in their hour of need and help its transition to genuine democracy.
Kamla Bhasin, Praful Bidwai, Amrita Chhachhi, Sonia Jabbar, Ritu Menon, VIA EMAIL

Source

Useful idiots (Kamla Bhasin, Praful Bidwai, Amrita Chhachhi, Sonia Jabbar, Ritu Menon) want jihadi Musharraf to wage war against fundamentalist militants. On the other hand, these pests are against Indian Army doing the same. Why the double standards?

Vice principal of Hyderabad college criticizes Islam; protests, stone-throwing ensue

'Seculars' and peddlers of freedom of expression termites, come out of the woodwork. Not one secular dumbkopf will touch Mr Reddy with a barge pole since he criticised islam. Had Mr Reddy railed against Hindu beliefs and a similar protests taken place, NGO's would have supported him apart from the usual termites crawling out and mouthing platitudes.

Hyderabad: There was unrest in the streets of Hyderabad on Wednesday after a college teacher allegedly made anti-Islamic remarks.

The students of Narayana College protested against the remarks made by their Vice Principal, Naresh Reddy.

“The Vice principal said that Islam is useless also that 25 per cent of Islam is useless. He spoke against Islam. He cannot say anything religious. This is the second time he has said this,” says a student, Narayana College, Shahabuddin.

Police say Reddy made the comments while pulling up two students for coming late to college after offering namaz.

The angry students reacted by pelting stones at the college And local Islamic groups were quick to step in support of the students.

“Their job is to teach, why are they speaking against Islam. We do not compromise with people who speak against Islam,” says MIM leader, Afsar Khan.

The protestors even forced shopkeepers in the area to down shutters. A battalion of the Rapid Action Force had to be deployed and normalcy was restored only after the college management suspended vice principal Reddy.

This is the second incident when a teacher has landed in trouble for making alleged remarks on Islam.

The government has chosen to maintain a stoic silence at least till the festive season is over, but what is troubling is the ease with which students are agitated and choose to go on a rampage.

They seem to be the ones calling the shots in classrooms.

Let the aussie convicts whine, Way to go SreeSanth!

Hello, myself

Exuberant and emotional, Sree Santh is a true Aquarian. Eccentric at times and downright unbelievable on most occasions. Born on Feb. 6, 1983 to Savitri Devi, an officer in the state treasury department and Shanthakumaran Nair, Sree Santh is the younger brother to Deepu. Sree Santh came to the limelight in the 2006 England series and especially after the boogie-woogie he did after hitting South Africa’s Andre Nel for a six. A regular in the match referee’s office for his incessant appealing and theatrics on the field, Sree Santh has carved quite a reputation for himself. Not surprising because the psychology-studying university student has confessed himself to be quite an attention seeker. "I used to do all the silly things to be in the limelight."

A Michael Jackson fan, Sree Santh was a champion break dancer, attaining national recognition in the eighth grade. The showman traits have come to the surface often, either in the form of blonde highlights or jiggling hips.

God-fearing and fish-eating

Comfortable with English, Tamil, Malayalam and Hindi, Sree Santh is an avid reader and is a huge fan of Steve Waugh but for all his book-knowledge, the Kochi-pacer is also a blind follower when it comes to numerology and faith. A devout Malayali Hindu, Sree Santh is very religious and visits many temples in Kochi. His favourite shrine is the Sri Krishna Temple in Guruvayur. He always asks his mother to light a lamp in the puja room every time he plays a match and to keep it burning till the end of the match.

He once skipped five Ranji Trophy games but travelled with the side on the pretext that he was training to regain his fitness. But rumours had it that an astrologer convinced him to take a break from competition to preserve his longevity in the sport, which Sree Santh categorically denied. There are innumerable variations to his name though he’s disposed towards using Sree Santh nowadays. An able footballer and quite a wizard with the hockey stick, Sree Santh, when younger wanted to be a leg-spinner since Anil Kumble was his favourite player. A typical coastal-man, Sree Santh can’t live without his rice and fish curry but it’s his favourite breakfast dish kadala and puttu that gets the 24-year-old out of bed every morning.

Superstaaarr

Being the attention seeker that he is, Sree Santh has had his brush with the entertainment industry, when he penned a song ‘Jago India’ which was sung by his brother-in-law and renowned playback singer Madhu Balakrishnan for an album ‘Desh’. Even film-makers are queuing up outside his house. The pacer was offered a movie alongside Malayalam megastar Mamooty. The quickie has not yet consented to the project, which would see him play a cricketer, much to the delight of his fans.
Sreesanth, spice of India

News from Indian Jihad's Ground Zero

Fatwa against Jammu and Kashmir's Chief Minister

Kashmir's Grand Mufti Mufti Bashir-ud-Din, Saturday asked Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad to undertake penance for his recent utterances asking people to adopt Gandhian philosophy for worldly success.

In an edict (Fatwa) issued by him, the Grand Mufti said that in case "he does not undergo penance for his utterance, his act would be considered as anti-Islam."

The chief minister had, while addressing a gathering of school and college students on Gandhi Jayanti, reportedly said while "Islam secures the world hereafter, adoption of Gandhian philosophy was the route to success in this world."

The Grand Mufti, while asking the chief minister to clarify his position on the matter, said, "Gandhi was relevant to his community but for the Muslims Prophet Mohammad was the only leader to be followed."

"The best path for every Muslim to follow for betterment in both this world and the world hereafter is the path shown by the Holy Prophet. The chief minister must clarify his recent statement in which he told people to follow the Gandhian path. He must also seek penance for his assertions," the Grand Mufti said.

Muslim students demonstrate against Kaaba-shaped bar in New York

Students in Northern Kashmir today held demonstrations to decry a bar built in the shape of the holy Kaaba in New York.

Hundreds of students of the local Degree College took out a protest march through the streets of Baramulla town, chanting anti-American and pro-Islam slogans.

The students said that building a wine-shop or a bar like the Kaaba amounted to the desecration of the holy sites of Islam. "Muslims all over the world should protest at this," they said.

They demanded that the US should apologise to the Muslim world over the Kaaba replica, and close down the bar immediately.

Why it has taken them so long to notice since it was in 2006 this news was first reported?

Pakistan eats dust, India wins

Knock knock.
Who's there?
Misbah.
Misbah who?
Misbah 5 runs.

(just in case, you don't get the last line - read - Miss by 5 runs)

Dalit woman tied naked to tree

AMRITSAR: A 55-year-old Dalit woman was tortured, stripped and tied to a tree in Ram Duali village of Punjab because her nephew eloped with a girl from the same community. The police have arrested four persons for allegedly committing the crime on Saturday. Sawinder Kaur, the victim, is undergoing treatment at civil hospital police said.

Narrating the nightmare, Sawinder Kaur said she was dragged out of her home by members of the girl's family, who thrashed her, tore her clothes and threw hot sawdust on her. She was then stripped and tied to a tree.

Amritsar (rural) SSP Iqbal Singh said police arrested Shingara Singh, Amarjit Kaur, Gurmit Singh and a former sarpanch, Rattan Singh. According to Sawinder Kaur, her nephew Satnam Singh eloped with Shingara Singh's daughter Charanjit Kaur. Shingara Singh, who didn't approve of the marriage, lodged a complaint against Sawinder Kaur, her son Babbu and daughter-in-law Balwinder Kaur.

Times of India

Read this story without the Dalit word. Does it make any difference to the article?

Pilgrims as hooligans. But what's the agenda??

[...]The increased militancy of these kavadiyas is akin to that of the Ram bhakts who pulled the Babri masjid down and participated in Godhra-type carnages. Most kavadiyas are young men. Is it not surprising that increasingly large numbers of such men are able to take almost a month off from whatever productive activity they pursue? Most of them are likely to be unemployed rural and semi-urban youth. {What! No mention of muslims resorting to violence in Agra after Shaab e baraat? Worried about what might happen in the future but overlook the present and the past? The argument given by many mohammedan apologists is that unemployment turns them into terrorists and it is possible for these kanwariyas too can turn into self exploding missiles. Why doesn't our 'secular' government reserve more jobs for these folks knowing what can happen in the future a la mohammedans?}

The holiness of the task to be undertaken allows them to obtain the permission of parents and provides them with an opportunity to create a sense of self-worth. However, the lack of any real piety turns this exercise into a kind of militant flaunting of religious identity. The likelihood of its being exploited by Bajrang Dal type of communal armies aimed at other religious minorities cannot be discounted. {And how do you measure the piety or lack of piety? Any hard data or fore-knowledge which I am clueless about? Ramzaan and mohammedan festivals too have been exploited in the past (present and future too) in India by muslim fundamentalists to fan communal hatred, why not mention those too(being secular only)?}

In towns of north India, the traditional patrons of mass religion, of Ramlilas and other religious functions, have been the trader class and more recently politicians. They are also the sponsors of large-scale feasting of kavadiyas. Most kavadiyas seem to be OBC or Dalit men. For many such youngsters, the path towards upward acceptance into mainstream upper caste Hinduism has been through association with one or the other of the central deities of classical Hinduism, Shiva and Hanuman. {Pray, tell me how this upward aceeptance work?The author being a Sikh(practising or not, who knows), she might not know that Hindus (upper,lower, middle, left, right and center castes) can worship any gods and if I pray to Goddess Durga, will this 'demote' me in the caste hierarchy since She (Goddess Durga) is not among the central deities of 'classical' Hinduism as given by the author? Where do Brahma and Vishnu (Bajrang Bali Hanuman is the 11th Rudra avataar of Shiva) fit in this 'classical' Hinduism? I am curious to know what other forms of Hinduism exist apart from 'Classical' one? Must say, it is quite entertaining to read such authors.}

The patron saint of akhadas and body builders is Hanuman; that of the trishul-wielders is often Shiva, the destroyer. There is great scope for exploiting such followers for religious vendettas apart from the nuisance they pose through violating civic space and facilities. We should rethink our patronage of kavadiyas before we face violence of an uncontrollable sort. {Here is the agenda: Unity of Hindus is bad. But to the dismay of the author, opposite is happening, so raise red herrings like great scope of blah blah, equate Kanwariya's with Babri demolishers and even go to the extent of re-inventing Hinduism. Why don't we ban Haj if the author fears such a scenario since muslim hajjis are known to have turned jihadi after the so-called pilgrimage to Sowdi Arabia. Ms. Kaur won't touch muslims since they might just explode in her face and criticizing mohammedan, even jihadi, activities might get you the label of fundamentalist, communal etc. What next, don't go on pilgrimage to Vaishno Devi, Amarnath or Tirupati? Another gem here, patron saint of trishul wielders is often Shiva. How often? Because Goddess Durga too carries a trishul.}

(Ravinder Kaur, The writer teaches at the department of humanities and social sciences, IIT, Delhi.)

Times of India
Maybe memsahib should take advantage of being in an IIT and get herself enrolled in beginner mathematics classes, some logical sense might take root. Also, please practice 'secularism' to the hilt and also mention the mohammedan pilgrim violence in Agra.

One can sense desperation in these lying articles and they are not fooling anybody. Desperation will get louder and shriller from these failed social 'engineers' but in the end, Satyamev Jayate.

Taslima attacked, Muslim 'moderates' respond

Muslim leaders in India condemn attack on Taslima and in the same breath, call for an end to free speech. Shabash!

Delhi Minorities Commission chairperson Kamal Farooqui said the incident was condemnable, specially as three MLAs were involved in it.

But, he said, the government should also ensure that Nasreen is not allowed to do or write anything which hurts the sentiments of Muslims.

"The government should immediately cancel her visa and make her go out of the country," he said, adding, "she should realise that this is not Bangladesh or Pakistan, but India where the sentiments of all communities are respected."

Link

But not the sentiments of Taslima Nasreen and those who support and agree with her. And not the sentiments of those who believe that Islamic blasphemy law does not and should never supersede common modern laws based on the principles of free inquiry and free speech. These are the closet jihadi's amongst us, these scumbags are known as 'moderate muslims'. Well, I don't see a difference in the view of this moderate and a jihadi?