With Delhi Assembly polls scheduled to be held on 8 February, the top leadership of the BJP has sharpened its attack on the Congress and AAP over the anti-CAA protest at Shaheen Bagh.
Union minister Amit Shah, who is leading the BJP's Delhi campaign, challenged CM Arvind Kejriwal to 'go and sit' with the protesters of Shaheen Bagh and 'let Delhi decide'.
While demonstrations in Etawah, Varanasi, Aligarh and Rae Bareli have been forcibly ended by shutting down protest grounds, they continue in Lucknow and Prayagraj.
While global corporations setting up GCCs in India continue to express confidence in availability of skilled AI engineers, the panel argued that India’s real challenge lies elsewhere.
Taylor ‘Fema’ Hiester, commander of USAF F-16 Viper Demo Team, hit out at air show organisers for continuing with the show after Wing Commander Namansh Syal lost his life in the incident.
It is a brilliant, reasonably priced, and mostly homemade aircraft with a stellar safety record; only two crashes in 24 years since its first flight. But its crash is a moment of introspection.
Unless the visible and vociferous themes are limited to patriotism, constitutionalism and national unity, the BJP will find one way or another to exploit these protests to its own advantage.
It’s the Muslim religious people that treat other religious minority people as secondary citizens so it’s obvious that they fell themselves treated so when in Minority. Throughout world Muslims have entered countries asked for rights and fought. You don’t get rights by standing out being Muslim it’s not a qualification, you get rights, respect, love and more by integrating and accepting the culture of land you want to live in. No trolls please, better troll yourself and get the answers.
With CAA protests, musleems are again reminding hendus and others that musleems are still a separate group and can never assimilate as Indians with rest of Indians. You are fighting because musleems of pakistan, bangladesh ae not included in CAA list. Showing again ur true religious inclination at the behest of nation. You just reminded the new generation of Indians about partition and ur separatism. The silent majority is watching and they will reply silently.
This Umar Khalid used to stand in JNU and shout, India tere Tudke Tudke honge. Well let Him first explain TUDKE TUDKE planning.The sooner he Faces the Law better will be for Hindus and Muslims both.
”The only place we are over-represented are in India’s jails.”
Muslims are over-represented in Australian prisons.
Although under France’s strict laicity laws it is illegal to count the country’s prisoners by religious affiliation, experts agree on the accuracy of an estimate figure published in 2015 that revealed of the 67,500 people behind bars in France that year, an estimated 70% were Muslim, despite Muslims comprising only 8% of the general French population. The experts also noted that in some prisons, like those near Paris and Marseille, the percentage of Muslim inmates is even higher.
In the United Kingdom, for instance, the country’s total Muslim population exceeded over 3 million in 2016,though that constituted only around 4.8% of the general UK population. Nevertheless, the proportion of UK prisoners who were Muslims in 2016 was 15%
In 2011, Pew Research Center data estimated that Muslims made up 9% of the 1,598,780 United States inmates in state and federal prisons despite Muslims being only 0.8% of the general U.S. population in the year prior.
Ed has said this was a sponsored protest paid by Pakistani ISI. So much for the protest. As far as being Muslims are concerned, Muslims have identity problems wherever they are specially in non-Muslim countries.
Pretensions of a leftist have long dropped. Pretensions of fighting for “social justice” and “secularism” are soon to go. The real Umar reveals himself – a muslim who advocates for muslims. This is an old story though. Many Jinnahs are emerging out of the CAA protests.
Just a lot of hot air. Shaheen Bagh protests are seriously disrupting the livelihoods of citizens besides blocking public roads, which is unacceptable! They are not agitating against a foreign power occupying the capital Of India, this is a democracy and they should vote in the next election- if they don’t like the policies of this government. Protests are acceptable but not to the extent vital access roads in the Capital are shut down indefinitely. I support their removal using non lethal force, as I do in all cases of protesters blocking the public from going about their daily lives. Agent provocateurs abound in this great land. Spurred on inside their echo chamber they actually imagine they’re changing the Govt Policy on CAA but please keep your ear to the ground and listen closely- the presently silent majority support providing refuge to those who have fled persecution. This is India. You better believe it Mr Khalid.
If you want to be an equal citizen of India then first surrender the reservation priority given to you on the basis of religion as minority.
You are portraying Muslims as marginalised!!! Even after so many schemes to give you priority in education, jobs, tax benefits….
Yes you are right now is the time when everyone should be EQUAL.
Very nicely put. For me, Shaheen bag and all that it stands for, is suffragette and civil-rights rolled into one. Not just Muslim brothers but also sisters of all faiths and none are breaking their silence. We are indeed at the cusp of a possibility and women are leading it. In freeing ourselves, we shall also demonstrate the truism that “democracy hinges on the rights of minorities being protected”. The suffragettes used civil disobedience even before the Mahatma and women of India are reclaiming this inheritance even if many are not consciously aware of the historic significance; civil disobedience is a tool apt for a woman and we are going to wield it to reclaim space for ourselves and our brothers.
The protest against CAA are clearly communal and for promoting communal agenda of minorities as they have lost kind” Hand” of Congress on their heads.. It is not spontaneous protest but is per-planned and they were waiting for any issue on which to start their show of strength. If no CAA any other issue would have brought them on roads as most of the protesting minorities are / were feeling let down as their darling Congress was rejected second time in a row by the voters of India. When time and again it has been made clear that no legitimate citizen of India is going to lose its citizen then what is rational of protests. ?? For immigrant every country has its own criteria to allow right to residence,citizenship, work-permits etc, and so has India. These rules are never permanent and have changed , will be changed , depending upon nations requirements and priorities. Most of the protestors are/maybe not anti India, but as their platform is used by some anti-India forces and they are getting lame for this . By misusing their platform anti -Indian elements are being exposed .But whole community stands to lose its image. Who is to /will stop this ? The sane elements of minority community should give thought to it.
Fine column by Professor Ashutosh Varshney in IE. Use of lethal force, especially against women, when the protests are peaceful would be a grave error of judgment.
Umar Khalid has foolishly walked into the BJP trap. He has reduced this to Muslim protests thereby helping the BJP strategy of polarising Delhi elections. Don’t t know if this will help BJP win Delhi elections, but the Congress is going to suffer the worst in the triangular contests. Umar Khalid is a former JNU student. He has discarded his leftist credentials and stuck to his Muslim identity. This is sad as defies his assertion that he is secular.
” … Tahrir Square in Egypt, Taksim Square in Turkey, and Wall Street in New York … ”
One would have thought the author could have chosen better examples. All of the above failed. Tahrir brought in the Muslim Brotherhood, but they were ousted after their supporters were disillusioned.
Taksim, made Erdogan stronger, and the Wall Street protesters were basically sold out by Anonymous working for the FBI .. it remains to be seen if Warren, Sanders, or even AOC have any affect in 2020, almost a decade after the protests ended.
It’s a pity one can’t point to the successful collective action movements; they were funded by external non profits.
The author however is right in one sense. Indian Muslims should self – identify with whomever they choose. This is what freedom is all about.
“We Muslims shall not stop at just safeguarding our citizenship…” A shockingly retrograde line from the columnist. Is Shaheen Bagh about the Muslims, or about ALL INDIANS, especially the poor, who are unable to look after their interests, and not articulate enough to voice their excruciating worries? Is this man a BJP agent or what? What does he mean by this opening line of his article – – that, “We the Muslims don’t care if the Hindus and Sikhs and other Indians are not supporting the protests, we the Muslims are enough? That well might be true, and I wish them good luck, but this is exactly the kind of attitude the BJP would love to see. That, all other communities should step aside, so they can directly pitch their Hindutva brigade against the Muslims. And by the way, who has given this man the authority to speak for, WE MUSLIMS? Has he been elected the latest caliph of the Muslim ummah? Shocking, really.
I want to ask The Print: Do you think all the Muslims in India are opposed to CAA. Do you think, only the Muslims who oppose CAA would be given right to express their views on your portal? If you can give opportunity to Umar Khalid, the best known face of Tukde tukde gang, why don’t you give similar chance to Akhtar, the muslim sanskrit teacher from Bengal, about whom you have a published a story today?
Fine column. A country of India’s potential and promise needs to make a better accommodation with its largest minority. What has happened in recent times is unsustainable. Not a template for creating a revised social and economic order where 200 million people become fearful, insecure, second class citizens. It is good that that project is being countered peacefully, constitutionally, with self confidence by the people who would be most affected by it. Absent a wise, mature response, things could veer off into troubled territory.
Better late than never. This protest should continue
Unless the visible and vociferous themes are limited to patriotism, constitutionalism and national unity, the BJP will find one way or another to exploit these protests to its own advantage.
It’s the Muslim religious people that treat other religious minority people as secondary citizens so it’s obvious that they fell themselves treated so when in Minority. Throughout world Muslims have entered countries asked for rights and fought. You don’t get rights by standing out being Muslim it’s not a qualification, you get rights, respect, love and more by integrating and accepting the culture of land you want to live in. No trolls please, better troll yourself and get the answers.
loved this line: ” armed police who loom like dementors” – how cool is khalid!
With CAA protests, musleems are again reminding hendus and others that musleems are still a separate group and can never assimilate as Indians with rest of Indians. You are fighting because musleems of pakistan, bangladesh ae not included in CAA list. Showing again ur true religious inclination at the behest of nation. You just reminded the new generation of Indians about partition and ur separatism. The silent majority is watching and they will reply silently.
This Umar Khalid used to stand in JNU and shout, India tere Tudke Tudke honge. Well let Him first explain TUDKE TUDKE planning.The sooner he Faces the Law better will be for Hindus and Muslims both.
”The only place we are over-represented are in India’s jails.”
Muslims are over-represented in Australian prisons.
Although under France’s strict laicity laws it is illegal to count the country’s prisoners by religious affiliation, experts agree on the accuracy of an estimate figure published in 2015 that revealed of the 67,500 people behind bars in France that year, an estimated 70% were Muslim, despite Muslims comprising only 8% of the general French population. The experts also noted that in some prisons, like those near Paris and Marseille, the percentage of Muslim inmates is even higher.
In the United Kingdom, for instance, the country’s total Muslim population exceeded over 3 million in 2016,though that constituted only around 4.8% of the general UK population. Nevertheless, the proportion of UK prisoners who were Muslims in 2016 was 15%
In 2011, Pew Research Center data estimated that Muslims made up 9% of the 1,598,780 United States inmates in state and federal prisons despite Muslims being only 0.8% of the general U.S. population in the year prior.
The author and his fellow community members are helping the cause of BJP. If this goe son till the next election, BJP will get at least 350 seats.
Ed has said this was a sponsored protest paid by Pakistani ISI. So much for the protest. As far as being Muslims are concerned, Muslims have identity problems wherever they are specially in non-Muslim countries.
Pretensions of a leftist have long dropped. Pretensions of fighting for “social justice” and “secularism” are soon to go. The real Umar reveals himself – a muslim who advocates for muslims. This is an old story though. Many Jinnahs are emerging out of the CAA protests.
Just a lot of hot air. Shaheen Bagh protests are seriously disrupting the livelihoods of citizens besides blocking public roads, which is unacceptable! They are not agitating against a foreign power occupying the capital Of India, this is a democracy and they should vote in the next election- if they don’t like the policies of this government. Protests are acceptable but not to the extent vital access roads in the Capital are shut down indefinitely. I support their removal using non lethal force, as I do in all cases of protesters blocking the public from going about their daily lives. Agent provocateurs abound in this great land. Spurred on inside their echo chamber they actually imagine they’re changing the Govt Policy on CAA but please keep your ear to the ground and listen closely- the presently silent majority support providing refuge to those who have fled persecution. This is India. You better believe it Mr Khalid.
If you are Indian welcome, if you are follower of green virus than move to the country on West with green flag representing that green virus
Dreaming of a jasmine revolution..
If you want to be an equal citizen of India then first surrender the reservation priority given to you on the basis of religion as minority.
You are portraying Muslims as marginalised!!! Even after so many schemes to give you priority in education, jobs, tax benefits….
Yes you are right now is the time when everyone should be EQUAL.
Very nicely put. For me, Shaheen bag and all that it stands for, is suffragette and civil-rights rolled into one. Not just Muslim brothers but also sisters of all faiths and none are breaking their silence. We are indeed at the cusp of a possibility and women are leading it. In freeing ourselves, we shall also demonstrate the truism that “democracy hinges on the rights of minorities being protected”. The suffragettes used civil disobedience even before the Mahatma and women of India are reclaiming this inheritance even if many are not consciously aware of the historic significance; civil disobedience is a tool apt for a woman and we are going to wield it to reclaim space for ourselves and our brothers.
The protest against CAA are clearly communal and for promoting communal agenda of minorities as they have lost kind” Hand” of Congress on their heads.. It is not spontaneous protest but is per-planned and they were waiting for any issue on which to start their show of strength. If no CAA any other issue would have brought them on roads as most of the protesting minorities are / were feeling let down as their darling Congress was rejected second time in a row by the voters of India. When time and again it has been made clear that no legitimate citizen of India is going to lose its citizen then what is rational of protests. ?? For immigrant every country has its own criteria to allow right to residence,citizenship, work-permits etc, and so has India. These rules are never permanent and have changed , will be changed , depending upon nations requirements and priorities. Most of the protestors are/maybe not anti India, but as their platform is used by some anti-India forces and they are getting lame for this . By misusing their platform anti -Indian elements are being exposed .But whole community stands to lose its image. Who is to /will stop this ? The sane elements of minority community should give thought to it.
superbly written
Fine column by Professor Ashutosh Varshney in IE. Use of lethal force, especially against women, when the protests are peaceful would be a grave error of judgment.
Umar Khalid has foolishly walked into the BJP trap. He has reduced this to Muslim protests thereby helping the BJP strategy of polarising Delhi elections. Don’t t know if this will help BJP win Delhi elections, but the Congress is going to suffer the worst in the triangular contests. Umar Khalid is a former JNU student. He has discarded his leftist credentials and stuck to his Muslim identity. This is sad as defies his assertion that he is secular.
Wish u all the luck…
” … Tahrir Square in Egypt, Taksim Square in Turkey, and Wall Street in New York … ”
One would have thought the author could have chosen better examples. All of the above failed. Tahrir brought in the Muslim Brotherhood, but they were ousted after their supporters were disillusioned.
Taksim, made Erdogan stronger, and the Wall Street protesters were basically sold out by Anonymous working for the FBI .. it remains to be seen if Warren, Sanders, or even AOC have any affect in 2020, almost a decade after the protests ended.
It’s a pity one can’t point to the successful collective action movements; they were funded by external non profits.
The author however is right in one sense. Indian Muslims should self – identify with whomever they choose. This is what freedom is all about.
“We Muslims shall not stop at just safeguarding our citizenship…” A shockingly retrograde line from the columnist. Is Shaheen Bagh about the Muslims, or about ALL INDIANS, especially the poor, who are unable to look after their interests, and not articulate enough to voice their excruciating worries? Is this man a BJP agent or what? What does he mean by this opening line of his article – – that, “We the Muslims don’t care if the Hindus and Sikhs and other Indians are not supporting the protests, we the Muslims are enough? That well might be true, and I wish them good luck, but this is exactly the kind of attitude the BJP would love to see. That, all other communities should step aside, so they can directly pitch their Hindutva brigade against the Muslims. And by the way, who has given this man the authority to speak for, WE MUSLIMS? Has he been elected the latest caliph of the Muslim ummah? Shocking, really.
I want to ask The Print: Do you think all the Muslims in India are opposed to CAA. Do you think, only the Muslims who oppose CAA would be given right to express their views on your portal? If you can give opportunity to Umar Khalid, the best known face of Tukde tukde gang, why don’t you give similar chance to Akhtar, the muslim sanskrit teacher from Bengal, about whom you have a published a story today?
Fine column. A country of India’s potential and promise needs to make a better accommodation with its largest minority. What has happened in recent times is unsustainable. Not a template for creating a revised social and economic order where 200 million people become fearful, insecure, second class citizens. It is good that that project is being countered peacefully, constitutionally, with self confidence by the people who would be most affected by it. Absent a wise, mature response, things could veer off into troubled territory.