Taliban threat to Kabul, Delhi
It is as evident that president Obama has decided to abandon shoring up democracy, modernity and moderate Islam in Afghanistan by striking a deal with the deadly anti-Indian Haqqani group within the Afghan Taliban. For his aim, the US president wants India to persuade Afghan president Hamid Karzai to agree to the deal that was about to be worked out in negotiations with the Taliban directly between the US and the dangerous extremists even as they rain destruction all over that tragic country in a bid to return to power.
If the people and government here have missed the US game plan, the American visitor in New Delhi last Monday reminded them indirectly of it by refusing to answer a question on whether the US-Taliban talks proposed to be held in Qatar would include the Haqqani group.
Fight Islamic fundamentalism
While New Delhi is mired in the fallout of the coal scam and repeated incursions by China deep into the Indian territory, the threat posed by Islamic fundamentalists looms large on the rest of the country.
Ironically, the threat is most pronounced in those parts of India which are under the sway of so-called “secular” parties; and BJP in such places is virtually non-existent. This dubious line-up is headed by the Kashmir Valley, followed by Kerala and West Bengal.
Boston attacks and Islamic jehad
Terror strikes in Bangalore on Wednesday last and a more lethal one in Boston a day earlier, have ironically come when our “secularists” are pleading for mercy for other terrorists in India whose mercy petition has been rejected or who has been convicted for terror-related activities.
At the time of writing, the investigators, both in Boston and Bangalore have not zeroed in on the perpetrators of the bomb blasts. What ,however, would have encouraged a “shell-shocked” American nation is its President’s declaration that the “full weight” of the US justice system will bear down on them. Back home, we would hear pontification about the “resilience of our people” to carry on with their lives in a normal manner in spite of repeated terror attacks.
अमेरिका के सर्वाधिक सुरक्षित शहर बोस्टन में तमाम सुरक्षा व्यवस्था के बावजूद इस्लामी आतंक ने एक बार फिर तांडव मचा ही दिया। इस हमले के दूसरे दिन हमारे देश में बंगलौर के मलेश्वरम में भारतीय जनता पार्टी के कार्यालय के निकट हुए आतंकी हमले में 13 लोग गंभीर रूप से घायल हुए हैं। बोस्टन मैराथन में भाग लेने आए 90 देषों के 28 हजार धावकों के लिए स्वाभाविक तौर पर कड़े सुरक्षा इंतजाम किए गए होंगे, किंतु आतंकी अपने मंसूबे में कामयाब रहे। दोहरे बम विस्फोट में तीन निरपराध मारे गए, जबकि दो सौ लोग गंभीर रूप से घायल हैं।
भारत पर आतंकी हमलों की लंबी सूची है। भारत सहित कई ऐसे देश जो इस्लाम के अनुयायी नहीं हैं, वे सर्वभौम इस्लामी एजेंडे के कारण जिहादियों के निषाने पर हैं। शरीआ का पूर्ण पालन नहीं करने वाले इस्लामी देश भी जिहादियों के कहर से अछूते नहीं हैं। किंतु इस्लामी आतंकवाद को लेकर सेकुलर दलों की जो सोच है, उसके कारण इस्लामी आतंकवाद पर काबू पाना असंभव हो रहा है।
Owaisi is the speaking Kasab
The Akbaruddin Owaisi’s hate speech in Hyderabad and decapitating of an Indian Army jawan at the Indo-Pak border in J&K are the result of a common mindset. Both the actions are borne out of centuries of abhorrence of timeless Catholic and pluralistic culture and traditions of this ancient land.
Akbaruddin in his relentless tirade threatened Hindus, insulted their gods and beliefs. Worse is that his vitriolic statements were endorsed by a huge crowd, running into thousands. The helpful administration and ‘secular’ politicians turned a deaf ear to this case of rabid communalism and most of the players of the media entered into a conspiracy of silence.
Many photographs in newspapers and TV channels of 14- and 16-year-olds aiming bricks or stones at the security forces have filled our minds over the last few days as street violence in the Kashmir Valley escalates. A 14-year-old identified by the police as a regular stone-thrower during protests could not recall to the media why he was pelting stones and what the protests were about. Perhaps he was simply enjoying the fun, as street urchins do, especially when they find an expensive car parked on the village road.
But this was not adolescent fun. As the embattled Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah said, these stone-throwers were trained and stationed to provoke and force the security forces to open fire. The resultant deaths provide enough fuel to provoke more protests and for the security forces to fire in self-defence and ensure law and order.
Jammu and Kashmir: A tale of two flags
The contrast between the agitators in Jammu, holding the Tricolour and shouting "Bharat Mata ki jai," and the separatists in Kashmir Valley, marching across the LoC to Pakistan, with the Pakistani flag, sums up the crisis in a way which will remain in the nation’s consciousness for years to come. The clash is not between two regions, but two value systems. The character of the two groups of agitators is defined by their respective flags: The Tricolour represents the spirit of India — respect for diversity in all its multitudes, be it faith or language; The Pakistani flag denotes an exclusivist character devoid of the right to dissent in all avenues of life.
Madrasas: A two-school theory
The Muslim community in India has rejected the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government’s proposal to have a centralised madrasa board to oversee the education of Muslims through these religious schools.
The government is keen to give official recognition to madrasa education and accept madrasa certificates as equivalent to the secondary board certificates. It is now waiting for a suitable law draft from the community. By giving a veneer of science and general knowledge to the religious education that is imparted to poor Muslim students in these so-called schools, is it possible to get the community to progress?
