Pak Tea House » India » Reflections on Jantar Mantar revolution
Reflections on Jantar Mantar revolution
By Jehangir Ali
The Drama
So we had an insouciant, television revolution in Lutyen’s Delhi. How peaceful it was! It took just four days and no bloodshed! No Gaddafis here, no bombing of ‘revolutionaries’, no martyrs, a pure pep talk on corruption and its ‘harmful effects’ and lo, our moment has come, “India has shown on TimesNow tonight that enough is enough! It is a people’s movement and we have won”, thunders a brutally honest Arnab Goswami. A wild dog suddenly starts barking in our street. There were more journalists and onlookers at Jantar Mantar than the actual number of protestors on more than one occasion over the last four days!
The Meeting
I had the pleasure of meeting a “philanthropic” (that is what his visiting card says) on Wednesday night, one Mr P Rajdeep, the ‘official media coordinator’ of Anna Hazare campaign, at Jantar Mantar. Most of the journalists, who covered this ‘campaign’, must know Mr P. He has the same story for everyone; that he owns four Rolls Royce cars and has never travelled on a passenger flight. He also runs “Swabhiman Foundation”, an ‘education and equality foundation’ in Thane, Maharashtra. He has contacts in government too and may help you out, just in case, “I book a chartered plane for myself. Who do you think I am? I haven’t come here for money. I don’t need money, yaar. I want to be a part of the system and change it”. In the same breath, “If you want, I can fix an appointment with any bollywood actress you want. You look very handsome”! Bollywood actresses are now going to bring me revolution. Sure sire. Why not!
Conclusion
India looks reformed on news channels tonight, a society just cleansed of all its ills and ready to lead in the new ‘Indian’ century. Protest marches, candle light sit-ins, signature campaigns on social networks, are all going to do wonders for us. We won’t have to do anything, just agree that corruption is bad, ‘Like’ a Facebook page and ridicule the elected government on the rapacious media That’s it. ‘Our moment’ will come. Cheers. Now what’s wrong with this woman at India gate turning down the offer of a TimesNow bite, “I am sorry but I am here with my family on a picnic,”? Thats defeatist. So what? Can’t you go for a picnic and enjoy a little revolution too! Now why did you take a sudden break, huh Ornab? What a miserable sight!
The Belief
I won’t allow myself to be misled by this farce. The way this ‘revolution’ has been enacted in a corporate media whose members are accused of partisanship and corruption certainly raises doubts in my mind about the people and the character of the movement itself, and it has got nothing to do with Kiran Bedi’s endorsement of Proctor and Gamble’s Ariel detergent powder! From where have these creatures popped out suddenly and seem to be manufacturing consent over this Lok Pal Bill? Does the acts of these crusaders of morality mean that our laws are toothless and the constitution is riddled with flaws visible only to this section of civil society, the supposed custodians of morality!
Voila. Sedition, sedition. It’s a blasphemy to question the character of the elected parliamentarians, an elected government, don’t you know that? We have a set of colonial legislations to prevent such adventures by you radicals, separatists and terrorists who want to break our country. Anna Hazare has earned the mandate of people to question the authority of an elected government. He has been voted on news channels and social networking sites to question the authority of this corrupt government, of a constitution, of a farce called democracy.
Anna Hazare and his supporters including corporate media hoodlums are a fit case for invoking charges of sedition for questioning the authority of a government elected by a people’s mandate, a ballot-box democracy. They should be jailed for perverting the constitution of this country!
Sedition, sedition!
The anti-thesis
Oh please, give me a break. That’s a cynic talking! Let’s not dig too much into these conspiracy theories. A 76-year-old former Indian Army driver has a corrupt government and its babu fiefdom kneeling for mercy and how! Anna’s life should become an inspiration for our younger generation. Let’s look at the brighter side of things to come. LokPal bill is going to end all our miseries. No one will sleep hungry in this country now. No one will be killed for demanding his/her constitutional rights. We will soon be set free. Women will no longer parade naked to protest the rapes by security forces. Teenagers won’t be killed for demanding basic human rights. Farmer suicides and malnutrition death are all going to stop. This LokPal bill is going to change it all. We are soon going to emerge as an impervious utopia. Corruption will finally be a thing of past so that we may focus our energy towards more amusing things like IPL and Poonam Panday, or maybe get busy with our own lives”.
Bottomline
Why do they call us terrorists then and keep our brothers incarcerated for years without trail in Kashmir when we come out to protest? Oh yes, terrorism and radicalism sound a convenient business in a ‘secular’ country with a Sikh prime minister! Let’s not live in delusions. This popular opinion that you are witnessing on your news channels is a creation of a corporate media milking the debauched government hit by a series of scams that is struggling to prove its relevance every day in a dangerously divided country. Tis a strange whimsy of the mystical civil society who will like to make us believe that we are living in world’s largest democracy. I won’t buy that.
The author is a Delhi based journalist who can be contacted at ali.journalist@gmail.com. Tweets @Gaamuk
Filed under: India · Tags: government, Jantar Mantar, Jehangir Ali, sedition
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[...] Reflections on Jantar Mantar revolution [...]
A muslim like Jahangir Ali must downgrade everything where hindus like Anna Hazare (I am not his fan) are giving the direction. Why does he not do good for himself by migrating to the islamic paradises of Pakistan or Saudia or Iran or Turkey?
As regards Kashmir – it is hindu land snatched by the muslims (=agents and quislings of arabic imperialism and islamic totalitarianism) through violence, deceit or bribery. Islam was not created in Kashmir (it is 100% alien to Kashmir) and the liberation of Kashmir requires Kashmir’s freedom form this totalitarian imperialist arab ideology. Muslims want to avoid facing these basic truths.
Tis a strange whimsy of the mystical civil society who will like to make us believe that we are living in world’s largest democracy. I won’t buy that.
Jehangir mian, no one is asking you to buy anything. There are people who are willing to try things to change the existing system. They are happy that their movement is going somewhere. You can stay where you are and cry for your “brothers” in Kashmir.
Muslims have made Kashmir into a tool for vilifying and hurting hindus by hiding some crucial aspects of history. Muslims want to put the whole of Kashmir under the boot of sunni fascism. When hindus (take steps to) prevent that from happening then the muslims pretend to be innocent victims and accuse the hindus of hindu “imperialism”.
Jehangir Ali//Why do they call us terrorists then and keep our brothers incarcerated for years without trail in Kashmir when we come out to protest? Oh yes, terrorism and radicalism sound a convenient business in a ‘secular’ country with a Sikh prime minister! Let’s not live in delusions//
I think you dont appreciate the spirit of all that happened. Very poor depiction and typical nonsense expected of your style writeups
Incidentally People striking in Kashmir are called terrorists since they refuse to assimilate into the mainstream . They are demanding azadi which doesnot make sense and which strategically doesnot make sense for India to accept. We cannot accept demands of local rascals who threw out all the native Pandits enmasse, Usurped all their wealth by force and skillfully wiped out all the heritage over decades. Thugs deserve severe punishment and exactly will be meted out
With all the negativities, the train called India story chugs on….You should explore what can be emulated in Pakistan from this Hazare experience. I doubt whether you can ever empathise, but nevertheless should be a good try
Gentlemen: This blog has been entertaining and heartbreakng and most puzzling, however, I must really be moving on with my life now. I wish you all well as you “carry on”.
My best to you all,
Lady Guinevere of “The Horse & Hounds”, Ocala
I wonder what Jahangir Ali expects, someone to wave a wand and everything turns OK? He is infected by magical thinking.
Is this guy Jehangir Ali for real?
Anne Hazare went on a hunger strike. He broke no laws. Th GOI could have ignored him if it so wanted. The Govt. relented only because it was afraid that Hazare was a symbol of a public discontent and may cost it dearly in the coming state elections. Isn’t this how a democracy works, the elected few responding to public opinion that is expressed legally, even if dramatically?
Those comparing Hazare to the Kasmiri or Naxalites understand neither the constitution or democracy.
Jehangir Ali certainly appears to have a large and clean heart, he is just a little cynical is all.
Sorry to say this BUT It must be said
Well I have read many blogs and I find Indian Muslims to be MORE sceptical about Anna Hazare than other Indians .
Do Indian Muslims want Indian Hindus to come out and protest for Indian Muslims’s socio economic problems
It wont HAPPEN
Because in India the socio economic AGENDA for the country will always be set by Hindus
For Hindus, The Muslim socio economic problems are their own creation and they will have to LIFT themselves up with their own efforts.
Of course Govt of India MUST and will provide thousands of crores in financial aid which will be pocketed by Muslim elite
Kuch to Log Kahenge
G logon Ka Kaam Hai Kahena
Chodo Bekaar Ki Baaton Mei
Kanhi Beet Na Jaye Pragati Ki Raina
..
Kuch toh Reet Jagat Ki AiSi Hai
Har Ek Ache Ki Jeeti Jagati Mout Hui
Anna, Tu Kon Hai Tera Naam Hai Kya
Devi Sita Bhee Yahan Badnaam Hui
Anna, TumKo Jo Taane Dete Hai
Tum To Khoye Ho In Seva Mei
Janata Janardan Ki for Common Good
Humne Unko Bhee Chup-Chup Ke
Aate Dekha Tumhare Aandolan Mei
The article gives a wrong impression on positions taken by Indian Muslims. The religious symbolism around Anna Hazare’s campaign should have been kept to a minimum or none at all. Or they could have used all symbolisms on an equal footing. That however has not stopped young Indian Muslims from supporting the anti-corruption campaign itself. I know too many Muslims who have supported it whole-heartedly. Read below a poem dedicated to Anna Hazare by a prominent Indian Muslim.
Corruption!
By Dr. Mustafa Kamal Sherwani
Dear Mr.Anna Hazare!
You may have indefinite fast, you may die,
But nobody will be ready to hear your cry;
At my feet, the mightiest of politicians lie,
With them, I am having an unbreakable tie.
You are risking your life at this stage,
All will call you a villain, and not a sage;
For you, it is not wise to incur my rage,
I feel pity on you at this advanced age.
Law-making bodies are my breeding-ground,
From there, I come down with a strong sound;
In the veins of the majority, my love is found,
On you, from every corner, people will pound.
You may be senile, but must not be a fool,
You are, no doubt, angry, but keep your cool;
Your admirers are using you as an easy tool,
You will disappear if you dip into my pool.
I have become an adjective of India’s name,
With untiring efforts, I achieved this fame;
On my shining career, you are putting a blame,
You, an outworn species! Have some shame!
I admonish you to follow the modern trend,
The Gandhian times have come to an end;
I have a firm resolve, which none can bend,
Lastly, you will be left alone, with no friend.
[Dr. Mustafa Kamal Sherwani is Chairman, All India Muslim Forum, Sherwani Nagar, Sitapur Road, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh.]
EDITED….Unfortunately pseudo-secular, anti-hindu, anti-brahmin and quisling parties like Congress, janata dals, communists, muslim leaguers, dravidian racists etc. have disappointed these muslims. The infamous Shah Bano case is an example of this.
From my perspective, all that has happened is that a toothless Lok Pal bill that has failed to get past the Lok Sabha many times previously is now replaced by another proposal – that has to pass the Lok Sabha and that has to be made operational. Of course not. It is only a small step forward in a long journey. A previous notable step was the freedom of information act. Another previous notable step was the independent Election Commission. These have improved things in some areas. Does any one step make things all milk and honey? Only a manic depressive type personality type comes up with the two extremes of elation and cynicism in J. Ali’s article.
Oye viva Hindu dallay …..
Teri maan ki ch-oo-t mari. Teri seeta mata ki g-aa-nd mein muslay ka l-und aur seeta maat ki gaand phat gayee.
Ph-uddi deya pathron ko poojnay wale g-aandu – teray raam ki bhi gaa-nd maari – b-eh-en ch-od – mussalmanon ki haram aulad. 1000 saal chu-dwanay ke baad bhi aur loray mangta hai.
Bhei bara hi g-aandu hai haram zada.
Hinduism is a mythology and not a religion – go sleep with your mandirs where you have s-ex with your sisters as well. most of you b-ast-ards are products of your sisters had by muslas.
Madar chod hindu – akh thoo
Simple questions:
Do Anna’s actions and expressions raise consciousness?
Do they bring together people?
Do they make people act on what really matters? Instead of frivolous “Munni Badnaam Hui with front and back cleavages or alien meaningless bakbak!”
Jehangir ji, difference between your Kashmiri brothers and these protesters is that they don’t throw stones at securitymen outnumbered 1:1000. Gandhians take blow smiling and never harm anyone.
I am sick and tired of this selective angst. Talk about anything, climate change for example, and there is always a foaming-at-mouth idiot asking, “what about Kashmir and Palestine and Kosovo and Khilafat, blah, blah..?”
The whole fucking country is going down the toilet and this rascal comes up with this nonsensical argument. Hey all of you doubting Thomases and rabid “liberals” who lose no time in blasting someone only because he sung “Ram dhun”, do us a favor. Go and do something concrete, for gods sake, instead of churning out such outlandhish theories from the comfort of your home. Forget about Anna and his “ludicrous” followers. If you cannot support a guy merely because he is singing a religious hymn or Vande Mataram, it only shows your own fucking bigotry. It’s like someone saying that I will not join MLK’s million march merely because he carried a Bible. I am just disgusted by these random parrots. Talk about missing the wood for the trees.
@NC:
“The religious symbolism around Anna Hazare’s campaign should have been kept to a minimum or none at all….”
Agree with your sentiments but still can’t help questioning the above.
Why?
AH is not a government functionary; he is not a tax exempt NGO. He is a private citizen, leading a private awareness campaign. As a citizen of a free country he is under no obligation to display (or not display) any secular symbols.
Even if he or his followers choose to perform a havan or an Ashwamedhya yagjna to highlights his concerns, it is no one’s business unless it is felt to be a public nuisance.
It is certainly not a public nuisance whether any of his followers insist on displaying religious symbolism or even inhaling into one nostril and out of the other.
I think many people (who I am surprised include Hayyers Saab) don’t understand the concept of political activism (that is all what this is) in a democracy.
Even if this was a form of civil disobedience, (which it is not; he broke no laws) it would still be a legitimate form of protest based on the social contract theory.
I personally think that AH has ruffled a lot of feathers among the established power elite in the country; because they feel threqatened by the activism of a common citizen.
Good for him. I fasted a day too.
Who edited Viva’s post?
He made a point that many Indian Muslims expect liberals, leftists, and Hindus to help create a safe space for them to reject Islam and escape from its clutches.
Liberals, leftists, and Hindus have so far not provided this security to their fellow countrymen. This must be taken up on an urgent basis so rational discussions can take place.
Jahangir Ali,
if you want to do something useful in life, go to all the Kashmiri Pandits who were ethnically cleansed from Kashmir and try and help them out!
Kashmiri Wahhabis don’t have much sympathy left in India. You have to start earning it again!
Raj
http://tribune.com.pk/story/138089/a-civilisation-of-narcissists/
So blaming individuals is rather useless – as effective as treating terrorism as a problem of individual terrorists.
Quote:
Eli …..here he only wants to paraphrase Hirschman’s theses
* Perversity is claiming that any purposive action to improve something only exacerbates the condition one wishes to remedy
* Futility is holding that attempts at transformation will be unavailing and will simply fail to make a dent
* Jeopardy argues that the cost of the proposed change is too high and endangers some previous valued accomplishment.
As every bunny knows these are the standard operating procedures of rejection, but as Hirschman himself writes, fans of progress have to be vigilant not to fall into symmetric traps. What is amazing is how these three theses clearly identify rejection.
http://rabett.blogspot.com/2011/04/rhetoric-of-rejection.html
—
I see J.A. in at least two of these – futility, most certainly, and perversity the other.
Read @Gaamuk’s tweets. Seems to me what’s bugging him is the mere possibility, no matter how improbable, that a five-day Anna Hazare fast may have accomplished more in advancing a civil society, than all the violence his pals in “Maqbooza Kashmir” have accomplished in a generation.
@ Akg and bade mian, spot on.
I am a doctor from India living in UK. No other movement in the last 20 years moved us so much as this Anna Hazare movement. In the last 10 years, the scams in India have involved theft of billions of dollars. Otherwise in the past, we used to snigger at Pakistan for all its ills lol, but now we hide our face.
So here comes a selfless Gandhian, starts a hunger fast not knowing if even 1% of India will support it and is astounded that 90% does. And instead of feeling pride at this brilliant coming together of Indians across all divides, this author does a hatchet job of it.
He is not alone. Mayank Shekhar did it too in Hindustan times- http://blogs.hindustantimes.com/fad-for-thought/2011/04/06/hazare-khwaishein-aisi/#respond
I reproduce here my exact riposte to Mayank above-
“”At least he is doing something mister author, while you and I, with expensive educations and fat salaries behind us, just punch keys on a computer and hope mera bharat mahaan ho jayega, ek world cup jeet kar”"
Fellow Pak brothers, follow this guy Anna Hazare and pray that you get even 1 such guy in your country.
Best wishes all, Dr Mishra, Yorkshire
to progressive right
You see how difficult communication with the quislings of islam is. They will edit anything that does not suit their “glories”. They like flattery. They don’t realize that the flatterer is the worst enemy. Once you have this quisling mentality deep in you, every crtiticism of their ideology is resented. Pakistan has become a nuisance (even unto itself) because of this attitude inculcated over 60 years (Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s Pakistan or Lahore Resolution Pakistan) and 1200 years (Muhammad bin Kasim’s Pakistan).
Whether an ideology or religion is fascistic or not can be easily judged on the basis of how they treat or threaten those who leave or wish to leave this ideology or religion. This should be an eye-opener for intelligent, decent and honest human beings in Pakistan. May be it’s too late now to open the eyes.
viva
I am a well-wisher of Pakistan. I fully-believe that Pakistan has as many intelligent, good-hearted, well-intentioned, freedom-loving, peaceful, honest, and creative people as any other place on earth. As such, they have a right to make a nation just as they please.
But equally strongly, I now also think that Pakistan has really fallen into the grip of some very wrong ideas that are without doubt inherently destructive and come from a place of evil, not good. These ideas must be forcefully exposed, opposed and challenged before they hurt innocent Pakistanis who just want to lead decent lives, and others, more than they already have.
Ultimately, it is Pakistani liberals themselves who must take up this challenge; and very many of them have genuinely, honestly, dedicated their lives to meeting the challenge. Yet, against the enormous power of those seductive, destructive ideas whirling around them, the degrees of freedom available to these liberals may be shrinking.
———–
What’s true for Pakistani people is true for Indian people too. Indians can’t afford to make a Hindu version of Pakistan either. That means opposing not only people who equate Anna Hazare with Taliban but also those who would like to implement vengeful, specifically anti-Muslim measures.
It’s a fine balance.
Best.
Any one who goes for a hunger strike on a public or private place should be arrested for attempted suicide right away. The Indian government did not follow the long standing Law regarding attempted suicide, there is no way the Indian government can enforce any law against corruption. This was all a major BS and some Indians have bought it, hook, line, sinker, and the whole boat….
to rehmat
What right do you or any law or lawmaker or god or religion have to criminalize or humiliate a person who wants to end his life if he finds it indignifying, impossible, oppressed, painful, humiliated?
If a holy book or religion criminalizes or forbids suicide then it is admitting its own inadequacy (like communists building a wall to prevent people from running away from their socialist “paradises”).
No Anna Hazare (or the like) can thrive or succeed in Pakistan because of Pakistan’s totalitarian religion exported/enforced from Arabia.
to progressive right
Pakistan was created through deceit, falsifications in history-writing, slander against everything hindu, bootlicking of arab and turkish invaders and then, as a last resort, through violence and threats of violence (=bloodshed if you don’t give Pakistan). Pakistan exterminated hindus on its territory. Pakistan embodies arab and turkish imperialism and racial and ethnic hegemony on indian/hindu lands and peoples. And all these lies, threats and ill-passions must be kept up to keep up Pakistan. Pakistan is a typical quisling state and society. There is no escape from that for the pakistanis. Wishing Pakistan well sounds nice “aman-like” and pious, but the (internal) fate of Pakistan will be like that of Bhutto. This is not my wish but their own karma results. I am not pining for a visa to Pakistan, so I can be honest. Had islam not come to the indian subcontinent things would have done better. We would have had less religion-based god-centered fascism, bloodshed and quislingism. Don’t flatter pakistanis. It’s no good deed to flatter. Their problem is that no one is telling them the bitter truth about their imported religion. If you practise soft flattery then you will only sink them further. Every grand-good thing that the founders of Pakistan said or conceived about Pakistan and its religion has turned out to be a blatant lie.
viva
April 12, 2011 at 6:16 am
Committing Suicide is illegal in India. Are you saying India follows the Quranic laws too? Shame on you…..
to rehmat
Jain, hindu, buddhist etc. philosophy allows various forms of ending one’s own life. Suicide (or attempt thereof) as a criminal offence was introduced during british times. It is not originally indian. West Asiatic religions have criminalized suicides in order to let their sadist god-concepts terrorize humans into slavery by all means. The british too were under the influence of one such religion for a long time (are now less so).
The creator-god (one god among many) is a sadist who created mankind to satisfy his sadism. The west asiatic religions worship this sadist god and insist on making humans slaves of his sadism.
As I wrote earlier the communists surrounded their people with barbed wires so that they cannot escape the socialist “paradises”. The west asiatic gods forbid suicide not because they love human beings or care about them. This arab religion has turned to be an excellent instrument of their sadism.
Rah Mat,
Tumhara Mat if you had cast and also had made others to cast their Mat with good conscience, Mahatma AnnaJi would not need to fast. Baki your bukbuk is anglophied conventy gibberish and not a Mat (opinion) after good contemplation. Manata Hun Tum Accha Angrezi Phekte Ho!
“The Indian government did not follow the long standing Law regarding attempted suicide, there is no way the Indian government can enforce any law against corruption. ”
Lal Bahaddur Shastri took the responsibility for a Railway accident and resigned on the next day. If the leadership walks the talk and the book then subordinates will follow.
“Cut & Paste” constitution with alien verbiage has made government a distant entity from the people of dharavi and zumri tallaya. Government needs organically grow from the soil and constitution need to reflect this growth.
I still remember how a dear humble friend from a village after becoming IAS changed. He was so cocky and also expressed, “we are the rulers of the land and we need to keep distance from the public.” It seems he had become an alien creatures in 1.5 years by the book we call Indian constitution. There is something wrong in the constitution just as there is lot of dirt in the Abrahamic books. Indian constitution is also Abrahamic book!
Anna’s andolan will lead to throwing away this divisive book and also all other enslaving Abrahamic books!
Direct democracy and people controlled transparent bureaucracy is technologically and socially possible. Imagine district collector and administrators living among the people in dharavi & gadh chiroli. Imagine people voting on the performance of the district collector every year which decides his salary increment and promotion. This will create the new mindset where the wealth is the good image in people’s mind, Seva/service is worship… true participatory governance.
Mythbuster
Anna Hazare is within his rights as a private citizen to conduct his campaign any way he pleases. If people perform a havan or an Ashwamedhya yagjna while protesting against corruption, they have the rights to do so given by the Indian Constitution. I am just saying that corruption is an issue too universal and too important to keep it confined within one group even if it is the majority group. People are just too fed up with government and corporate corruption and the issue itself is far too emotional to require any other religious embellishments. The campaign certainly does not need any distraction of being accused to be exclusive to only community. All Indians must come forward to see it through the Parliament and that is why it should be communally neutral either by keeping equal distance from all symbolisms or by using all of them. This is just my personal opinion but otherwise I have supported the campaign.
Mr Jahangir Ali
Your anger is understandable but as a journalist you should have written this article when your mind was more at peace. Then you would have made better logical arguments.
You must be knowing that to serve people with honesty, first requirement is ones own contentment. Apna pet bhara hona bahut zaroori hai. A person who has to worry about his/her next meal neither has time nor convenience to indulge in this luxury of protests. In any case it does not affect him much as far as his own perception is concerned. So, it is good that rich people got together to support a self-less man who used non-violent means to cleanse the society. It is a long battle but someone got out of complacency and took initiative. You must be knowing that Ambedkar did what he did when he achieved a stature in his life.
Kashmir is a different case. while those who are demanding whatever they want have the right to do so but sedition is not accepted/welcomed/promoted by the people of this country as such. However, many Indians will certainly support release of misled youth arrested for stone throwing. But you must also accept that stone throwing is not that great idea to get public support.
Rehmat is angry because Anna Hazare chose to fight the evil Hindu government with just fasting. He is angry that Anna did not indulge in the Islamic way of Jihad using suicide bombers, fatwas, ak47 and what not. He wants more people for demonstration because he used to idea of mobs throwing stones and creating arson. Unfortuantely we don’t have so many madarassa educated mullahs that can gather crowds at any time and pass fatwas. Rehmat is lucky that he is in India, otherwise he would be wajib-ul-qatal by now and dead before the next Friday prayers. You should really change your name to Jehmat because your little peanut brain can’t take the burden of facts.
These comments here are a good indicator of how communal Indians are and how gleefully oblivious they are of the fact!
to dheeraj
Indians have suffered aggressions and defeats, plunders and rapes, allah-centered fascism and arabic hegemony etc. at the hands of arabs, turks, pathans etc. Even those select muslim quilings who tried to live peacefully with hindus in India became their victims. When the pathan Ahmad Shah Abdali invaded, plundered and raped India the muslim ruler of Delhi sent a letter to the brahmin PM of Pune to come and protect him!!! And the Pune brahmin sent troops to protect him over a distance of 1400 km. But unfortunately the marathas lost the Panipat battle (January 1761 AD) because the muslims (whom he had come to protect!) backstabbed him or ditched him.
Many such incidences have caused hindus/indians to become more and more communal. The more the hindus come to know about islam and its tricks, lies, aggressions, treacheries, racisms, fascisms and plunders the more communal they will (have to) become. So long the hindus were ignorant, naive and foolish and did not know the reality about islam and its evils, dangers and aggressive ambitions they made a gleeful-silly face towards the muslims. That glee will vanish in future.
So you too should rethink your holier-than-thou remarks after getting rid of your ignorance and foolishness in this matter. If hindus continue to be friendly-naive towards the agents and quislings of islam then the hindus will be exterminated (as has already happened in the islamic paradise of Pakistan).
VIVA
You are the BEST .Simply great and fantastic
Dont worry mate .The Muslims have done so many sins against Hindus in the past and the continuos hostility of pakistan will ensure that even secular hindus will be forced to become hardliners
And the present young generation might be materialistic and may not care for hard facts of past and present but I believe that as they grow older especially as they come close to age of 30 the truth will be self evident
to pankaj
Islamic history-writing stands under the compulsion to glorify islam and muslims. Dishonesty is thus its hallmark. The population in Pakistan suffers under this. We have to keep telling them that what they learn in Pakistan (and in other islam-based societies) about islam and its “glorious” history is a lot of humbug cooked in hogwash.
You are really a rotten fascist lot!
viva
My statement that Pakistani people are just as good or as bad as people found anywhere else was not meant to flatter. It reflected my fundamental worldview. Were I a religious man, that would be a core religious belief.
What distinguishes Pakistan, in my view, is the usual rise there of some very wrong ideas and of institutions that feed off those ideas, and work to reinforce them.
You can take any group of people anywhere on earth, add the very same mix of mutually supportive ideas and institutions, remove the countervailing forces as they have been removed in Pakistan, and the results would be the same.
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In my view, this way of thinking offers a host of advantages. The most important, perhaps – it helps all of us caution against ourselves surrendering to the same kind of ideas and arguments – because ideas have no boundaries. They are everywhere, and any one individual or any group may fall for them. Sometimes, we do.
Best.
Jahangir Ali has reearned the right to Pakistani citizenship he lost in 47. I say, send the man free ticket on train to Lahore.
progressive right
I have always exposed the ideology/religion that has brought Pakistan into this sorry state. Whether Pakistanis are good or bad was never part of any of my arguments.
I’m not sure what’s the point of this article.
1. The Jantar Mantar satyagraha was to create a “political will” to draft and pass an “Ombudsman bill”. It’s just like any other protests common in everyday India demanding for various reformed laws, be it labour laws or pension laws or FDI laws or environment laws. In fact Anna Hazare never expected this to spread beyond some 20-30 people sitting with him. He would continue his fast with or without the media attention. Calling it a “drama” is unwarranted.
2. Media just created a chicken-egg situation. TV channels first observed that this protest was gaining some traction in other parts of India, so they put some hype into it. Then this initial media hype triggered more protests across India and media again poured more fuel to it. The process continued like a wild fire and in the end the media houses cashed in on enough like any good capitalist institute would. Given the same situation even western media would do the same. All in all, media made this protest a success. The purpose of free media was served. The way the author is hatching conspiracy theories against media is quite funny.
3. This Ombudsman concept isn’t a new thing. All developed western countries have Ombudsman institutions aimed at various things including corruption and have been extremely successful. In fact, the supreme court of India itself is an Ombudsman institution. This Lokpal will be just like supreme court, but much more decentralised and solely aimed at corruption. If the author is skeptic about it, it’s not anyone’s problem.
Throughout the article the author shows his frustrations regarding Kashmir situation. One wonders what a geo-political issue has anything to do with a protest demanding for a reformed domestic law. Also, the author couldn’t be more wrong regarding sedition. Sedition law in India applies only to those who question the “sovereignty” of the country, not government or constitution. Again, many developed countries have similar sedition laws. A simple google search helps.
I hope Zabiullah Khan is really an indian with a muslim name. It is rare that an indian with a muslim name rises to defend India.
Intelligent and wise kashmiris (even with muslim names) are thankful that hindus have sacrificed their lives to prevent Kashmir form falling into the hands of the sunni fascists instigated and assisted by Pakistan since October 1947.
Secular red and green brigade has already objected to AH’s use of Indian kuffar symbols to bring upon the change .lets hope the old man keep the ancient Indian fighting spirit alive even without the use of these symbols rooted in soil and soul of India.
@viva
I take it, by defending India, you meant defending India online. My opinion on this:
1. For discussions about national matters, most Indian Muslims tend to go online by initials. It’s not because of fear but the chances of rational arguments are quite low if full Muslim names are put. There will be random accusations against Muslims or Islam derailing the whole discussion. In fact, Muslims all over the world tend to do the same on western forums/blogs/newspapers.
2. Gross generalisation, but as far as I’ve observed, region matters. Muslims from South India are very liberal and keep to themselves, whereas Muslims from Delhi-Lucknow region act a bit like Pakistanis. They tend to see conspiracy theories in everything and play victim card as much as possible.
We made a big mistake in 1947, and we will have to pay for that mistake one way or the other. We should have certainly paid heed to what BR Ambedekar and Patel had said about population transfer.
Muslims are an ungrateful bunch of people, they expect others to take care of their whims and fancies when they are a minority and when in a majority they will come down on you like a bunch of hornets.
@Danda, for someone who follows a paedophile and a rapist for a prophet, such big words don’t look good, or have you been riding the Buraq lately?
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