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Category Archives: India
A film on the contribution of Indian Muslims
A film produced by the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India. part 1: Part 2: Part 3:
In praise of paan
dekhna ai “Zauq” honge aaj phir laakhoN ke khooN phir jamaaya us ne laal-e-lab pe laakha paan kaa — Zauq Paan is almost as old as India itself. Ameer Khusro in his book “ijaaz-e-khusravi” gives some qualities of paan. 1. … Continue reading
Women In Islam
Sadia Dehlvi’s interview on ETV Urdu Continue reading
Who am I?
I was born and brought up in and around Patna. And hence, the earliest encounters I had was with people living in this ancient land. It is, like any other city in India, an immensely diverse place. The resolution of … Continue reading
Posted in Culture & Heritage, India, Islam, Society
7 Comments
March but silently
How many times? How many times they will repeat the same drill? Bomb blasts, pick up Muslims, media rushes in to declare them as “masterminds”, kill a few in “encounters” or they will die a “custodial death.” When police, media, … Continue reading
Closer Look: Osama Bin Laden
By Kashif-ul-Huda, TwoCircles.net, Whosoever killeth a human being for other than manslaughter or corruption in the earth, it shall be as if he had killed all mankind, and whoso saveth the life of one, it shall be as if he … Continue reading
Celebrating Bihar’s Birth: Will It Help Remove The Tag Of Bihari?
No amount of parade and celebration on July 14, the 1789 French Revolution day, can perhaps remove the expression ‘French leave’ from the English dictionary (or filer à l’anglaise, that is, ‘English leave’ from the French vocabulary). Similarly no grand function and musical programmes on the occasion of Bihar Diwas on March 22 can perhaps prevent senior students in the campuses outside the state from poking fun at their juniors from Bihar. They may still be addressed as Harries in their hostels in Delhi and West Uttar Pradesh. It was in 2010 that the Nitish Kumar government celebrated this occasion for the first time. Many people would argue that it took 98 years for the state to realize that this is something to observe. They would attribute this to the lack of Bihari sub-nationalism, which has kept the state backward. The slur ‘Bihari’ started causing discomfort to many educated Biharis, both Hindus and Muslims. Even if Bihar gets developed the slur Bihari would not lose its meaning. Continue reading
India In 2011: Some Highlights
By the end of 2010, with a population of over 1210.2 million, India alone accounted for 17.5% of the world population, whereas China accounted for roughly 19.5% of the world population. The population of India is almost equal to the combined population of U.S.A., Indonesia, Brazil, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Japan put together (1214.3 million)!Pondering deeply into the facts, one can see a quite alarming sign that there has been a steep decline in child sex ratio. In the 0-6 years age group, the population comprises of 52.24% male children as opposed to 47.76% female children. The utterly distressful fact is that there are only 914 girls for every 1000 boys in the age group of 0-6 years. This figure is the lowest in recent Indian history. Except for only 7 states, rest everywhere there has been a noticeable decline in the child sex ratio. The reasons for such a low sex ratio range from illegal abortion of female child, to female feticide, to female infanticide. Thanks to the desire for male child. Continue reading
What Makes Mr. Advani Sad?
Mr. L.K. Advani, once again, describes December 6, 1992 as a saddest day of his life, not because Babri Masjid was pulled down on that day, but this day damaged the credibility of his party. Mr. Advani is not apologetic over demolition of Babri Masjid. He is not apologetic over putting blot on India. He is not apologetic over the death of thousands of Indian citizens because of his Rath Yatra and the seed of hatred he sowed between Hindus and Muslims. He is not apologetic over Gujarat genocide of 2002. He is not apologetic over damaging thousand years of communal harmony. He is not apologetic over damaging of Indian economies following brutal attack on minority communities across India. He thinks giving reservation to Muslims or allowing them to open their schools and institutions is not in the interest of the country, while he forgets Muslims’ progress is also India’s development. Continue reading
Is Bhoomi Puja by state a Secular Act?
It is a common sight to see the statues, photos and symbols of Hindu Gods and Goddesses in different Government owned public places like police station and other buildings. We have stopped thinking whether it is right. It is a common observation that most of the time Hindu rituals are performed while the construction of state projects, buildings etc are undertaken. The politicians are competing with each other to seek the divine blessing through different well advertised visits, the inaugural ceremonies of state sponsored buildings have the Brahmin priest supervising laying of the foundation stone and undertaking a bhoomi puja (Worship of Earth) and doing his best to get the approval of the supernatural powers though the chanting of Mantras. Such an act of worship violates the basic principles of the Indian Constitution, which is secular and lays the boundaries between the state and the religion. Continue reading