Barkha Dutt writes a fine piece in Hindustan Times on the recent assault of Taslima Nasreen titled . She writes:
As far as I’m concerned, Qureshi or Akbaruddin Owaisi (the Hyderabad MLA who led the attack on Taslima) are no different from Praveen Togadia or Bal Thackeray. All of them represent the dangerous politics of intolerance and bigotry. The fact that some of them have popular support doesn’t give them legitimacy; it makes them even more frightening and insidious. And to treat them differently is to embolden intolerance on either side.
I Agree. I have long argued that intolerance has no color. Or we can argue that intolerance can have any shade. Green, saffron and red. Intolerance begets intolerance. People like Qureshi and Owaisi feed on the hatred preached by Togadia and Thackeray and vice-versa.
Dutt also argues in favor of a public debate on whether Indian government should grant (or reject) asylum to Nasreen. As far as I am concerned, GOI should make this decision based on principles. Policy, may be. But certainly domestic political compulsions shouldn’t be a factor in this case. For too long we have let the mob sit onto judgement on the fate of individuals. It has to stop. Now.All the Indian Muslims (Hyderabadis included) I have talked to have expressed deep sense of regret at this incidence. I also wrote about this in .
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
barkha dutt is right, such silly leaders are not leaders in the true sense of the word. a leader is supposed to lead, have a vision… and what is their vision for the 84% of musilms living in abject poverty in india? merry illiteracy? aint, ignorance is bliss… what about making money… oh come on we muslims have a place in paradis, this world is a breif soujourn and a hungry stomach is good fuelwood!! what about taking care of cleanliness in muslim mohallas,which is paramount in islam, what the hell does it matter, we know its all because of the ‘others’. when they hell are we going to stop blaming others and take responsiblity for ourselves?? instead of wasting time like attacking a woman writer’s person. its shameful!!!
Gulnaz:
Welcome to the blog. Agree with a lot of what you have said.
Well.. i have something to say. If someone wants to be instantly famous… write an insulting article / book / or make a movie or make a drawing against Prophet Mohammed. International Fame Guaranteed in 24 hours.
How to handle this channel of hatred… One way is to “ignore” it all… and say… well… ignorance is the best revenge… But it would need an intellect of a higher stage to reach that conclusion.
Unfortunately, in India… its people are still “masses”… and the essence of Indian Culture is based on “Mob-Violence”. I say this with pain in my heart… and sadness. This is no name calling. Please remember that those who participated in Gujarat pogrom 2002… were educated boys and men… They were lettered.. but they were still killers. How can you rape, kill and burn in the name of “Asmita”… i.e. your HONOUR. It means, when you kill the “OTHER”., you bring HONOUR to your home. It is that mindset that is India’s curse.
Secularism wont work in India. Pundit Nehru had laid foundations for it., but his daughter Indira Gandhi (and Sanjay Gandhi.. who was totally a RSS mind)., destroyed Nehru’s legacy. RSS/BJP and COngress will not rest, until they turn it all into another Afghanistan… with Hindu Taliban destroying India’s beauty and turning it into a rubble.