The Home Ministry, in a notification, also allowed cardholders parity with Indian nationals in air fares in domestic sectors, entry fees for parks, monuments and museums in India.
In 2020, 44 Tablighis decided not to plead guilty to Delhi Police charges on violating visa conditions & Covid protocols. All of them were acquitted by court.
The four petitioners gave shelter to 12 women Tablighi Jamaat members, who came to India to attend the event at its headquarters in Nizamuddin in March 2020.
Our prolific feature about Pakistan’s fascinating politics, economy, society, culture, cricket, fashion and more — stories beyond the routine headlines.
As a Muslim, I am humbled that the Delhi court exonerated the much-maligned Tablighi Jamaat members, who were accused of intentionally spreading the coronavirus.
Tablighi Jamaat was at the centre of a row in March, with authorities alleging that the participants had defied prohibitory orders and had become human carriers of Covid.
The foreigners were charge-sheeted for attending the event allegedly in violation of visa norms, indulging in missionary activities illegally and violating govt's Covid guidelines.
ThePrint had previously reported that India & Russia are talking about 5 more regiments of the S-400, but no contracts are to be signed during the Russian president's visit.
The India-South Africa series-defining fact is the catastrophic decline of Indian red ball cricket where a visiting team can mock us with the 'grovel' word.
TRUE, THOSE HINDUS RELIGIOUS FESTIVALS OF MASS GATHERING WITHOUT MASK AND VACCINE LEAD TO THE INCREASE IN CASES AND DEATHS. HINDUS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS.
Mandy: But India is the only country which has a problem with Hindutva …
It is time Zainab accept the fact that Muslims were given 1/4 of India as homeland, from which they kicked out indigenous Hindus. It is time for Hindus to tell Muslims If you don’t like Hindutva catch Samjhota Express. and take your pet Hindu secularist monkey with you for your entertainment.
Muslims should realize that they did not favor India by staying in India, they may have done favor to Nehru family to retain the throne. There is no logical reason why Pakistan should have less % of Hindus today than India has of Muslim as it had far more Hindu % wise in 1947.
Let us say you achieve an all-Hindu state. The subject is ‘why is India heading to be the top Covid nation’ ? Is it due to partition, and Moplah ?
Or is it because we have an unruly, unscientific, uneducated religion-crazed and hate-enraged population, a PM who tells lighting diyas and clapping hands is effective , a govt. that runs a fake news cell, with a charlatan as health minister, a Baba who sells an immunity booster as a cure, and a minister who promotes Covid papad ?
Perhaps India would be better off if your type had caught the Samjota Express ! All Sanghis should be sent to Pakistan to fight the dharm yudh they crave for.
Indian people elected BJP and shown middle finger to Hindu secularist monkeys. So take your pick . Accept Hindutva or catch Samjhota Express. India will not miss you guys. Rather Indians will be happy to get rid of wt blankets.
Harry: Your vacuous “response” to Mr Akash above is yet another spectacular display of your intellectual impotence, ignorance and gomutra fuelled crudeness. When confronted by superior logic, facts and Mr Akash’s brilliant use of your own assertions to tie you into knots, you, like a stuck broken record, bray “Samjhauta Express” and “Moplah rebellion”.
Indeed, even your itchy groined, brawn centric BIMARU gaurakshak friends appear to have more brains than you. For, unlike missing links like you, your they seem to realise to have understood the adage:
“Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt”.
Alas Harry, you haven’t understood that and continue to bray, bleat and bark and make an ass of yourself.
And whilst I am not your enemy per se, I cannot but help quoting Napoléon Bonaparte:
“When your enemy is making a mistake, please do not disturb him” !
Kili you & Akash like to be broken record, I don’t. We have discussed this issue hundreds of times. There is nothing new.
You guys believe in Goebbels idea that if tell guy that he is pig hundred times he will start making noise like pig.
Kili I like you & Akash[ if he his Hindu] . The reason is you guys provide validity of Darwin’s theory of evolution, according to which man evolved from monkey, and theory of Atavism, according to which a creature may exhibit it’s pre-evolutionary traits. So you guys are living examples proving validity of these theories.
But seeing so many Hindu secularists in India, I suspect that man evolved from monkey in India not Africa. So we have so many living examples. Africans don’t seem exhibit these pre-evolutionary traits
What will happen if Indian people give up on Hindutva and Modi ? Will India end for you ? Will you commit suicide ?
Good question Mr Akash !
I guess that were Modi to vanish, Harry will throw in his lot with Adityanath or Sadhvi Pragya Thakur or perhaps Tejaswi Surya. There is no shortage of certified clowns, Neanderthals and Nazis in the BJP that give the Hindutva espousing Harrys of India their orgasms.
Some background on these lugubrious luminaries and Modi successors:
– Adityanath is the visionary who enjoined his Hindu Yuva Vahini nutters to dig out the corpses of Muslim women and rape them;
– Sadhvi Pragya Thakur is the Godse worshipping BJP MP who claims that her stroking a cow in a clockwise direction cured her of her cancer. Her oncologist had to go public and debunk this crazy woman’s claims;
– Tejaswi Surya is the BJP MP and premature ejaculator par excellence who claims to be some sort of an expert on the orgasms of Arab women. His antics invoked the ire of some of the rulers of UAE
In any case, Harry is not exactly going to face a shortage of duly elected saffron thugs to support. Hindutva and Prophet Modi might make the BIMARU electorate starve but vote they will for their own tormentors. Alas, mass radicalisation in India is done and dusted.
Harry, the gentleman who swallows the RSS gospel lock, stock and barrel and hates Muslims and certainly the likes of you and I will continue to live to hate another day. He will get a new Führer to channelise his hate. And as long as Harry can hate Musimn, he would not mind starving.
Harry: Like many a Hindutvadi and RSS lathiwala, you rail against the Partition of India and wish that it had never happened, cf. your rant:
“.. accept the fact that Muslims were given 1/4 of India as homeland ..”
But how the hell do you square your dislike of the Partition with your unvarnished hatred of Islam and Muslims who live in India ?
India today has a Muslim population of 172million Muslims out of a total population of roughly 1200 millions (1.2 billions). The Muslim population is roughly 14% of India’s total population.
If you now add the 216 million Muslims of Pakistan and the 163 million Muslim of Bangladesh, you would thus have roughly 551 million Muslims in a total Akhand Bharath population of roughly 1.6 billions. In other words, the Muslim proportion of the population would be a whopping 34%.
So tell me Harry: Would you like to increase the proportion of Muslims in India and to get ¼ of the territory you claim they were given ? After all, you have consistently demonstrated that you hate the 14% Muslims who are already in the country. So why would you increase the number of Muslims ?
See the absurdity of your Hindutva ideology Harry ?
But how the hell do you square your dislike of the Partition with your unvarnished hatred of Islam and Muslims who live in India ?
I think like westerners, not third worldites.
Britain, France etc. accepted giving away Sudetenland to Hitler’s Germany. But once Hitler refused to abide by the agreement west not only gave back Sudetenland to Czechoslovakia but also allowed Germans, except those who fought Nazism, to be kicked out of Sudetenland. They also allowed Poland to kick out Germans from Silesia and East Prussia. Muslim case in India is similar to Nazi Germans. Muslims league’s powerbase was UP, Bihar, Bengal, Gujarat etc. but not Punjab or Frontier province. So Basically Pakistan movement was movement of Indian Muslims, not Pakistani Muslims.
So logically India should have kicked out Muslims, except from Princely states in North, once Pakistan started kicking out Hindus, This how logical westerners would have done in theory called assure mutual destruction. Nehru with his monkeylike third world thinking was to dumb too to understand such concept. instead that jack ass recruited Muslim league members & supporters, who decided to stay in India, into Congress.
If India had Master Tara Singh as PM, those bloodbath of Hindu & Sikhs would have stopped.
Good reminder from Zainab Sikandar, and a very valid one. India is having a second wave, it is going to be massive, and it is going to sink the economy hopelessly. The second wave is caused by political rallies, cricket matches in Modi stadium, and it has to be said the Kumbh mela. Do we see the Indian media shouting that Hindus are doing a dharm yudh against MY country ?
It is well known that unlike other countries, India’s media just saw Covid in Feb. 2020 as another opportunity to bash Muslims. The Markaz congregation had started before the Covid lockdown. The Nizammudin police station is next to Markaz, they could have warned them. Instead, much of the Indian media led by Arnob Goswami, Rahul Kanwal etc. used it to attack Muslims, saying these people were attacking MY country. If you harass people, they would be afraid to do testing. Dr. Aarti Mirchandani spread fake videos saying the Tablighis were spitting to spread corona and advising medical institutions from treating Muslims. She was the head of a medical institution, and a doctgor swears the Hippocratic oath to treat all. The govt. silently endorsed such behaviour. It finally got out of hand when bhakths listening to this propaganda started sending ‘hate Muslim’ messages from Arab countries. They were caught and deported from UAE and Kuwait for using flouting social media regulations in those countries. Only then Modi send a weak warning to Indians to desist, and Jaishankar was sent to GCC when it became clear they will take more action.
Contrast the handling of Covid by the govt. of Kerala with the Hindutva infested states. That state was professional, so much so the BBC interviewed their Health Minister Shailaja Teacher and asked what she can teach the UK.
Please watch the video of the interview Rahul Kanwal (himself a propagator of propaganda on ‘corona jihad’) with Israeli writer and historian Yuval Harrari. There, Harrari denounces the targeting of minorities, blaming them for Covid. Watch Rahul Kanwal’s face fall !
See the video ‘Yuval Noah Harari In Conversation With Rahul Kanwal (go to around 44 mins).’
See also the article in Business Standard ‘India’s Covid crisis stems from arrogance, hyper-nationalism, incompetence’. Here is a passage : ‘What went wrong? As is typical in India, official arrogance, hyper-nationalism, populism and an ample dose of bureaucratic incompetence have combined to create a crisis. The state has left India vulnerable to a second Covid-19 wave, multiple new mutations and the threat of repeated, livelihood-destroying lockdowns.’
Hence, Zainab Sikandar, you have sent an important and valuable reminder, at the right time. It is entirely appropriate. The Indian govt. has committed mistake after mistake. They allowed Covid to be used to bash Muslims initially in a show of fake Hindu nationalism; then they announced a lockdown with 4 h notice causing misery to ‘migrants’ (are they not part of MY country ?). They promoted unscientific concepts like hand clapping, lighting lamps, Covid Pappad, gobar, immunity boosters from Baba Ramdev as cures. Then they started exporting vaccine to compete with China and were boasting about it.
And now we have a situation out of control. The majority community was made to feel it is only the minority that spreads and is susceptible to Covid, so the majority has no responsibility. India has displaced Brazil, and will overtake US where the vaccination programme is under way. India is running out of vaccine. The Hindu reported that India informed the WHO that India exported more vaccine than it used.
Wow! All the commenters yelling and screaming at Zainab and The Print cannot seem to offer a halfway logical response to why the Kumbh Mela is a good idea during the pandemic. And then they complain of bias. Hypocrites!
Hats off to Zainab Sikander for this daring logical article explaining the atrocities to which the minorities are being subjected to by the fascist rulers these days. Brands like Pakistani,Khalistani,Jihadi,maoists,Urban Naxals etc.are in their daily language now . Hard earned social fabric of the country has been torn out by these fascists;minorities at the receiving end.
Kudos to Zainab Sikandar for this logical article explaining the step-motherly treatment being meted out to minorities in this country. The hard earned social fabric of the nation has been torn out by the fascist rulers. Hindutva agenda of the RSS being implemented through BJP is really a matter of concern for the minorities.Brands like Pakistani,Khalistani,Jihadis,Tabligis,Urban Naxals,Maoists are in their daily language.There is an atmosphere of chaos all over.
The Hindutvadis believe the dharma teaches to persecute dalits and non-Hindus. The doctrine of karma teaches that there will be payback, may be even in this life. The second wave is led by the kumbhis and will put India number one in the world with Covid.
no hindu dharma doesnt teach to persecute dalits and non hindus, just persecute muslims
Hindu Militant: You seem to be proud to declare yourself as a promoter of hate. You think India can survive as a country based on hatred ? You don’t think Sikhs have taken notice of rabid, mad Hindutva Neanderthals like you ?
” You don’t think Sikhs have taken notice of rabid, mad Hindutva Neanderthals like you ?”
Sikh knows the only alternative is Pakistan, where Sikhs were wipe out or Congressmen, Hindu Secularists, who killed them in thousands.
So barring Khlistanis, Sikhs safely living in Canada or England, who want local Indian Sikhs to become proverbial guinea pig for their dreams no Sikh living in India really cares. for your secularism. Therefore Akali dal was with BJP. Like Poles Sikhs have also become wiser.
Mr Tirath Singh Rawat, the Chief Minister of Uttarkhan pontificated:
“No one would face restrictions as the faith in God will overcome the fear of Covid-19.”
Within 10 to 15 years when BELIEVERS reach a critical mass of 40 percent of the population.
Then JIHADI BEGUM will no longer be spewing venom on non believers but will indulge in taking her HATRED on road.
Unless MODI government is able to control POPULATION of all religious community to ensure that demographic changes don’t murder Democracy within 2 decades of uncontrollable population growth as is evident in Assam and West BENGAL . INDIA doesn’t have a future as a nation with scientific outlook.
Thousands of Zainab have come and gone. Thousand more will come and go. (be it whosoever govt). No one can change the ground reality. MUSLIMS ARE CONSIDERED SECONG CLASS LOWELY CITIZENS. NO ONE OTHER THAN THEMSELVELS WANT TO VISIT AREAS WHERE THEY RESIDE. BELEIVE IT OR NOT, BUT THIS IS THE ACTUAL REALITY
You are comparing two distinct periods. The Tablighi Jamaat congregation happened before coronavirus took a hold in India. It was a time of fear where people and experts didn’t know how the covid situation would pan out in India. We were hearing of horror stories from Italy where people where dying in front of hospitals without being able to get into them. And with India’s poor health infrastructure, many were predicting mass causalities in India. Then with the state govt making strict orders prohibiting massing of people, the Tablighi Jamaat brought in people from many outside countries and congregated in their thousands. So the public reaction to them were harsh.
We are now in a period were the first wave subsided without anywhere near the worst case predictions. It was the lockdowns which brought more misery to people. And most of the pre-lockdown activities have been opened up including religious activities. Mosques are doing their routine mass prayers. So in this context your problem with the Kumbh Mela smacks of the typical muslim mindset.
Now regarding the prophet cartoons, they were just caricatures of him and not naked or sxual. But dozens have been killed across the world in its name including many at the publishers office killed in cold blood. And the muslims have had the audacity to claim that the cartoon was responsible for the murders and not the extremism. How many people killed when M.F.Hussain drew hindu goddess saraswati naked in a hindu country ? He got some verbal abuses and threats including death threats. But did anyone touch him ? He pretty much lived the rest of his life happily, I believe in Qatar.
Just typical muslim attempts to divert attention from the death and destruction wrought in that religions name, by blaming others religions.
Your ignorant comment didn’t age well, did it? Now see what your precious Kumbh has done.
Did you/pseudo-secular accept muslims/Tablighi where wrong in organising seminary with travellers from known hotspots. That was irresponsible and criminal act when world did not have enough scientific knowledge about Covid, its treatment and certainly no vaccine. None of pseudo-secular criticised act of Tablighis then and even criticised people who rightfully questioned need for super-spreading Tablighi event. What moral right these pseudo-secular have to criticicise now having supported/condoned Tablighi event then. Only those who criticised Tablighis have moral right to question or criticise Kumbh
Muslims are the most Communal people in the World. They say only they are believers and others are all Kafirs. The most illiterate and uneducated people in the world.
I do agree with you Zainab and unfortunately the comments section show the same mentality problem that you as a Muslim reporter is saying it. They have no objective mentality but only 0 or 1
The fact is that science and religion(any) don’t go hand in hand. Religion flourished when answers to basic questions were not known so a solar eclipse or appearance of comet were considered bad omens as there was no explanation. Religion gave it a spin and ppl had no other alternative. Any voice against was cursed or banished as saying against the lord
Now science has answers and in this case most of the ppl commenting above know that kumbh mela is an invitation to Corona. Besides it happening after so many have suffered and govt allowing it is even worse. Unfortunately they are on a high dosage of fake news and whatsapp media that doesn’t allow them to see difference between right and wrong. Everything is a insult to their religion
But nothing is more liberating than truth as you rightly said. So ppl will come around and I am
Hopeful sooner than later
Mr Kapil Somani: Now that was an outstanding post Sir! And at last, some common sense in these columns !
Mr Somani: You hit the nail on the head when you point out: “ .. Religion flourished when answers to basic questions were not known ..”.
But alas, Mr Somani, even when science provides answers, explanations and solutions to many of man’s problems and nature’s phenomena, masses still turn to religion. Often prompted and goaded by cunning politicians to do so. Many, even the educated Indians who write in the columns of The Print trust religious figures and the politicians who frame societal problems in terms of religious divisions. The neta + baba nexus has been the bane of Indian politics for long. Now you see that nexus being weaponised to vilify minorities, particularly Muslims. And as you say, WhatsApp is the omnipresent enabler of this hate and fake news.
The BJP has arrogated to itself the right to claim that it is the defender of Hinduism by terrorising Muslims. In reality, the party defends a Nazi ideology called Hindutva which the vast majority of Hindus conflate with Hinduism. But the problem with the incessant drumbeat of Hindutva and the spread of this political poison is that it has now taken a life of its own. Hindutva and Muslim bashing has become the Frankenstein that the BJP cannot control anymore. It is too difficult for PM Modi to stop the Kumbh which in all likelihood is going to be a super-spreader event.
The world is watching with alarm (ref:nyti.ms/3sgjyRT) as the Modi government lurches from crisis to crisis in its haphazard, autocratic, unscientific and politically driven response to the COVID crisis. Even Saudi Arabia has taken a more science driven approach to the Haj with the Haj restricted to only Saudi nationals in 2020 and to people already vaccinated for 2021. But Modi cannot deploy science anymore, having long sold his soul to the Hindutva ideology. And conned people into believing that he and he alone can solve the problems of India.
As Adolf Hitler said:
“What luck for rulers that men do not think”
The Kumbh will continue and Hindutva afflicted Hindus will scapegoat Tablighi Jamat and Muslims for all their ills. As most comments here prove. And no, I am not exonerating the Tablighi Jamaat for its contribution to the corpus of superstitions and pseudo-science.
Do write more often Mr Kapil Somani. Always a pleasant surprise to hear a voice of reason in the din of Hindutva.
Mr Pankaj: You rant:
“.. Don’t know your nationality, but maybe our forefathers were correct and divided by the country. Unfortunately, on our side we were not able to complete it .. Other side did it with .. meticulous planning, evident in what happened with Kashmiri Pandit in Kashmir .. ”
Well, Mr Pankaj, you don’t have much to worry about or much waiting to do.
Your Indian Führer, taking a cue from his German idol, has started construction of concentration camps a.k.a. detention camps to throw Muslims in. And then, just as the original Führer compiled a list of Jews and then had them sent them to concentration camps, the Indian Führer too appears to have applied the very same template.
Admittedly, the ethnic cleansing of Kashmiri Pandits in Kashmir was a nasty, inhuman and utterly dastardly affair – mismanaged by every Indian political party at both the Centre and in the state of Kashmir. No questions asked, no ifs and buts, the terror unleashed on the Pandit community by the Islamists is reprehensible. And they should be made to pay.
But the solution to that problem is the relocation of Pandits back to their homes and farms, expulsion of the terrorists from the region and the economic development of the region for all religious and ethnic groups. Equally importantly, Hindutvadis like you must grasp that the solution to the problems of Kashmir certainly does not lie in the ethnic cleansing, expulsion, lynching, dehumanising and incarceration of innocent Muslims in Kashmir or Muslims in other parts of India who had utterly nothing to with the events of Kashmir.
But alas, your Gujarathi Führer with his rich experience in pogroms and vilification of Muslims combined with the hatred of Muslims distilled in him by RSS Führer Golwalkar believes otherwise. And I note that both the Führers have a dedicated following in people like you Mr Pankaj and the many others who buy into this violent, fascist ideology called Hindutva. And that is worrisome because you indicate that in keeping with Golwalkar’s ideology, you too advocate an ethnic cleansing of sorts for Muslims. After all, for Hindutvadis like you Mr Pankaj, the countries for India to emulate are Pakistan with its military dictatorship and Afghanistan, run by the misogynistic, murderous Taliban right ?
I am not a deeply religious or practising Hindu Mr Pankaj. But, as a Hindu, I hang my head in shame when I read of a 14 year old Muslim child in Dasna being thrashed by 2 grown up men merely because he had strayed into a Hindu temple to quench his thirst. And then I ask myself:
– Had that child walked into a Sikh gurudwara, would he have been denied water and beaten up?
– Had that child walked into a church, would he have been denied water and attacked violently?
– Had I walked into a mosque in India and asked for a glass of water, would I have been assaulted? Would they even have asked me if I was a Hindu or Buddhist?
Indeed, the “mahant” of that temple, a Neanderthal calling himself Yati Narsinghanand Saraswati unabashedly justified this violence against the child. Is this the Hinduism you want Mr Pankaj? Is this the image of Hinduism that you want the world to remember India by ? Don’t you see for yourself the absurdity that Hindutva ideology is in reality?
As French writer and historian François-Marie Arouet, better known as Voltaire (1694-1778) said:
“Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities”
I hope ethnic cleansing of Muslims in india is not one of those atrocities.
Rohingyas are illlegal immigrants. If you want to, you personally pay price for their upkeep outside this land. I am not going to pay a single dime in support of illegal immigrants. Off they go to detention centers. And then deported. Also they are a security risk. And then they are changing demographics of this country and I am worried about it. And yes,I have no sympathy for them. You don’t get to demand my sympathy.
Call whatever you want Furer/Hitler, I don’t care. This is not Germany, Modi is not Hitler and there is no genocide. You want to spew venom, go ahead. No one gives two straws.
Junglee Rakshas: This article is about the Kumbh Mela and the dangers it poses as a COVID super-spreader event. Neither the article by Ms Zainab Sikander nor my comment deal with Rohingya refugees. Unfathomable why you would insert that into the debate. But then I understand that as a Hindutva man, you needed an opportunity to display your hate at Muslims, regardless of their provenance. And you suddenly conjure up Rohingyas to again bash Muslims.
India may not be Germany as you suggest, but the ruling party in India derives its ideological sustenance from the fascists of Italy and the Nazis of Germany. Hitler’s Mein Kampf sells like hot cakes in India and many ordinary, middle-class Indians firmy believe that India needs a chap like Hitler. The RSS itself is actually based on the template that Mussolini developed for organising Italian fascist youth.
Indeed RSS Führer MS Golwalkar writes in his book, “We or our nation defined”:
“To keep up the purity of the nation and its culture, Germany shocked the world by her purging the country of Semitic races – the Jews. National pride at its highest has been manifested here. Germany has also shown how well-nigh impossible it is for races and cultures, having differences going to the root, to be assimilated into one united whole, a good lesson for us in Hindustan to learn and profit by”.
Yes, India has not had a genocide. But India has witnessed several pogroms against religious minorities: the Nellie massacre of 1980; the Sikh pogroms of 1984 and PM Modi’s own Godhra pogroms of 2002. Of course, you would pooh-pooh these events where Hindus stopped being Hindus and were goaded into becoming frenzied, violent, bloodthirsty Babu Bajrangis.
As novelist & essayist George Orwell (1903-50) said:
“The nationalist not only does not disapprove of atrocities committed by his own side, but he has a remarkable capacity for not even hearing about them”
You prove that statement true.
“But, as a Hindu, I hang my head”
This is difference Between a Muslim and a Hindu. No Muslim, however mild he may be, will behave like a monkey as you are doing. How many Muslims have you heard hang their head for killing Hindus in Pakistan or for killing hundreds of years in India during Sultanate. They refuse to acknowledge . They behave like Holocaust denier, while you behave like a monkey.
Kili does not want India to be like Pakistan.
You only want to be like Muslims – in the image you imagine them ! But then what is your virtue ? Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.
The main cause for break up of British India in 1947 (which extended from the border of Afghanistan to the Bay of Bengal) was the RSS. Golwalkar published its Nazi derived theories of Hindu supremacy and exclusion in 1925. The RSS threatened Muslims – then as now. If the minority is 35%, they will not put up with it, so they demanded partition and got it. And the reality is there are more Muslims in India than in Pakistan and that is not going to change. If you keep attacking them, even the 12% will not put up with it eventually.
The conclusion then is the Sanghis do not have the capability for governance. The last 7 years proves it. Modi talked about ‘minimum government, maximum governance’, but all we saw was governance with vigilantes (whether it be beef squads, anti- love squads, corona squads), brutal police who attacked university libraries, rise in rape and acts of vandalism. Even Pakistan now does not have such a bad image.
The life of Bhakts revolves round Muslims – the underlying cause is an inferiority complex. The RSS types want to be like Pakistan – you openly say that. In Modi’s first term, some wanted to be like Israel (because it beats up Palestinians). In Modi’s second term, some admiringly talked about Mynamar (because they beat up Rohingyas). The latest is some talk admiringly about wanting to be like China (because they are beating up Uighurs).
My suggestion is to overcome your inferiority complex, accept India is a multi-cultural nation, Muslims are here to stay, and that is the reality you cannot change. Trying to change that reality will require self destruction also. Hindus being the majority should show leadership and unite Indians.
Akash your rent will make sense only to people in your echo Chamber such as kili. To others. logical people thinking like Westerners, it is as amusing as watching a monkey making faces, nothing more.
I consider myself logical thinker like westerners but also more advanced to be able to feel the pain of non-human creatures too and not put worst human above non-threatening animals. I admire Westerners who have become vegan. So I fully support the idea of slowly closing down abattoirs and educating people to move away from eating animals and preach Mahatma Gandhi’s non-violence Idea, improved for present time and discard what does not serve us, like prohibition.
I believe that theory of Satyagraha has limitation. It works only if both sides are reasonably civilized. It does not work against Nazis, communists or South Asian Muslims, as all of them believe in higher calls. So they have to dealt in their way. Even Mahatma Gandhi said that world would forget that Poland fought back with violence. so he did realize the limitations of Ahinsa.
You think like a westerner ? What vanity !
How come the worst press for Hindutva is in the west ? Nehru said Hindutva is fascism, Hindu style. Western people are starting to realise that India is falling apart due to ‘Hindu nationalism’.
You think like a Pakistani, not like a westerner. Your dearest wish is for India to be like Pakistan.
How come westerners admire Gandhi and not Godse ?
And if you are so rational like them, why do you respond irrationally with ‘what about Moplah’ when you are stuck on the failure of Modi and Hindutva ?
The subject of the article is Modi and his Hindutva lunacy have created a super spreader. India has jumped to number 2 and it will become number 1. All countries will then put India on a red list. What will be your response ? Say ‘what about Tablighis ?’
In your response, you rant and tell Zainab Sikandar to accept Hindutva or go to Pakistan. But now the most number of Hindus are going to die through the second wave of Covid, and the economy will be paralysed. Is that the fault of Zainab or Modi’s Hindutva ?
Your Hindutva seems to be about cutting one’s nose to spite the face. And you see yourself as a rational westerner ? No westerner will do that ! They will not export vaccine to show off. Only dumb Hindutva minds will do that.
You are messed up man ! And your type has messed up MY India.
Your comment shows you are third worldite. West looks after it’s own interest in logical manner then package it with some nice liberal dress. You, like other third woldites, are so dumb you don’t understand that fact. Until Saddam Hussein was fighting against Iran, which served western interest, he was good. But after his use was over he became evil in the eyes of west as user of poison gas on his own people.
Gandhi’s idea serves western interest. West has nothing to gain by admiring Godse. I am glad that India is ruled by practical minded Gujaratis. Satyagrah was based on understanding of British interests & weakness, therefore it was successful. If instead of Gandhi, Nehrus would have been in charge it would have failed totally. Therefore BJP has also adopted Gandhi & Patel, while rejecting Nehru & his stupid ideas.
it appears that Gujaratis are Westerners among Hindus, not only geographically but in thinking. All major leaders of freedom struggle like Gandhi, Patel, Jinnah were Gujarati. So basically western thinking has won among Indians.
These assorted Hindu secus are more like Creoles of West Indies. They mimic west and look down upon Africans. But like Indian secus they lack logical & practical thinking of west and so are left behind.
Harry: Your rant reminds me of a quote from Plato:
“Wise men speak because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something.”
You posed probing questions
– Had that child walked into a Sikh gurudwara, would he have been denied water and beaten up?
– Had that child walked into a church, would he have been denied water and attacked violently?
– Had I walked into a mosque in India and asked for a glass of water, would I have been assaulted? Would they even have asked me if I was a Hindu or Buddhist?
The answers to all three would be ‘no’.
Whereas in north India, under the climate the BJP has created, such brutality is possible. Why, even an 8 year old can be raped in a temple by the priest, his son, and nephew, and people will march to support them, so what is thrashing a child for drinking water ?
The greatest damage Hindutva has done is not to Muslims and Christians – it is to Hindus. The RSS culture has brutalised the Hindus so much in northern India, that it has emboldened them to mindless violence. That is to be expected. When you create a sense of entitlement in one community and it demands respect and acceptance of whatever it does – solely because it is the majority – it eventually corrupts that community and it infringes the law with abandon. It believes no body can touch it. Every act of wanton violence can be justified on grounds that the victim did not show respect.
And as Vinod Dua remarked, they have tasted the blood of Muslims, it won’t be long before they want the blood of Hindus. They raped a Dalit girl in Hathras, and the police cremated her without parents. I got a video of a Dalit boy being thrashed for sitting on a chair belong to touchables. He did not respect the high born. In his case, he cannot earn the respect of the high caste thrasher in this life. His situation is even more hopeless than the Muslim’s although the RSS makes out he is an equal in the Hindu fold.
Thanks for the reply Mr Akash.
The Kathua incident you refer to where 8 year old Asifa Bano was drugged, raped and killed makes me wonder what must have possessed these rabid animals. The child was tortured and raped, of all places in a temple and by none other than the priest and his accomplices. But the fact that the RSS and the BJP organised the Hindu Ektha Manch in Kathua and even the Congress supported the Hindu public and the offenders shows the depths of depravity that society and India’s polity has sunk to. And the sad thing is that this mass radicalisation of Hindus is a deliberate project that seems to be succeeding beyond the BJP’s and Modi’s wildest expectations.
In any case, the Kathua incident and the Dasna incident prove that in the temples of North India, the teachings that emerge seem to be:
“Hatred and violence towards Muslims are more important than worship and prayer”.
That is the sorry state of affairs after merely 6 years of the Führer in power. And the average North Indian Hindi wants more of it.
India under Modi does qualify to be a Vishwaguru doesn’t it ?
Kili, you posed probing questions
– Had that child walked into a Sikh gurudwara, would he have been denied water and beaten up?
– Had that child walked into a church, would he have been denied water and attacked violently?
– Had I walked into a mosque in India and asked for a glass of water, would I have been assaulted? Would they even have asked me if I was a Hindu or Buddhist?
The answers to all three would be ‘no’.
Whereas in north India, under the climate the BJP has created, such brutality is possible. Why, even an 8 year old can be raped in a temple by the priest, his son, and nephew, and people will march to support them, so what is thrashing a child for drinking water ?
The greatest damage Hindutva has done is not to Muslims and Christians – it is to Hindus. The RSS culture has brutalised the Hindus so much in northern India, that it has emboldened them to mindless violence. That is to be expected. When you create a sense of entitlement in one community and it demands respect and acceptance of whatever it does – solely because it is the majority – it eventually corrupts that community and it infringes the law with abandon. It believes no body can touch it. Every act of wanton violence can be justified on grounds that the victim did not show respect.
And as Vinod Dua remarked, they have tasted the blood of Muslims, it won’t be long before they want the blood of Hindus. They raped a Dalit girl in Hathras, and the police cremated her without parents.
I have a video of a Dalit boy being thrashed for sitting on a chair belong to touchables. He did not respect the high born. In his case, he cannot earn the respect of the high caste thrasher in this life. His situation is even more hopeless than the Muslim’s although the RSS makes out he is an equal in the Hindu fold.
Madam i know that this comment will not be replied by you, but i write in the hope of you reading this.
I understand and completely take into account that in certain instances, the media has failed to do it’s job and has targeted the minority community.
i as a concerned citizen take full cognisance of it.
However i do not appreciate how you sort of lowkey downplayed what was done by the tablighis and the ‘radicals’ on 26th jan( i categorically dont mention “sikhs” like you did, because i know that there were people from other religions as well during that shamefull act, and i try not to be communally targeting unnecessarily ). Yes you said what they did was wrong, but you have failed to showcase the extent of their egregious wrongs ( spitting incident, not vacating etc etc) . If you read your article once you’ll realise what i am saying (i say this from a very neutral point of view).
You may differ on this, but i feel that on the pretext of farm protests you cannot go on to climb on buildings such as the prestigious Red Fort and put a religious flag besides our national flag. If you do such undemocratic practices then you do run at a very high risk of being portrayed as terrorists and ‘goons’.
Besides these subtle points i do appreciate your thoughts( you were right to mention that we need to call out certain wrongs and inequalities )
This author keeps on propping up one sided view. Her views are more like that of sympathisers of radical Islam than anything else. She never condemns Islamic fundamentalism which is a danger for the entire world. She is another Zainab Sikhander looking for greener pastures like Washington post.
Crying about calling a Islam Terror sympathizer. Author says ” I am a Islamist who will defend Islam at any cost. Yes, I do ‘condom’ French attack on cartoonist. But it’s our right to attack them as per ‘Q’. It’s our freedom of expression ‘. Quran allows us to do that kind of freedom of expression. But we are secular. ?
Actually there is Hindu Covid virus and Muslim Covid virus. The Hindu covid virus is good and does not spread. The Muslim covid virus is bad and keeps spreading among Hindus. Since the Hindu covid virus is good Kumbh mela can be held. Since Muslim covid virus is bad KSA stopped Haj. One can avoid the bad Muslim virus by talli, thali or a diya in the balcony.
Just wait for a few weeks, we will know if the Kumbh is a super spreader event. Lack of scientific outlook among the general public and political leadership causes our rulers to give priority to the primacy of religion in our lives. Nature will have the upper hand if we cannot suspend religious symbolism during a pandemic.
It’s been a couple of weeks now and I think the huge increase in cases should tell us that the Kumbh did turn out to be a super spreader, along with the Bengal rallies.
Tablighi Jamaat definitely has a huge role in spreading the COVID in its initial days.
Now COVID is having community transmission in full swing.
Maha Kumbh is helping it to attain its glory.
Tablighi was wrong
Maha Kumbh is also wrong.
And stop writing such silly write ups in the name of religion for your own personal mileage.
Missionary work is not some charity act.
It’s a conversion process by hook or crook method.
History is there for everyone to know how religions have spread – either by force or freebies
Zainab sikandar, your bias is blatant. When in minority talk of discrimination, when in majjority why dont you talk of discrimination, you ch?? What happened to hindus in Pakistan, Bangladesh and kashmir, (I do to muslims in rest of india. Dont like it? start walking to pakistan. Once upon a time, I would have paid for your train fare, not anymore, now you walk.
The way this government is handling the Covid crisis it exposes itself as one of the most superstition ridden, totally uneducated, least caring for the welfare of its population, divisive and with no clue of administration.there are people who have commented above, saying india is a cradle of ancient civilization. Does he forget that today we are the cradle of this dreaded virus. Then there is an erstwhile army man who has problems with the semantics of the headline of this article. Another refers to the lies that were spread about the Markaz when even the courts have given them a clean chit. We are indeed well on the way to becoming a Vishwaguru!
Great article and brings out the ingrained biases in the media, the political leadership as well as the general public. Keep up your fearless reporting. There is nothing more liberating than the truth.
The headline is too provocative and the article is biased .. Dont put what you feel on top of Indians. Its your personal view. Indians aren’t stupid as you are .
And shame on you print , you are propagating hate .. this is not journalism you idiots
It is true that political and religious gatherings are spreading covid. At the same time, when the Jamaat case came up, people really feared the pandemic. That fear has vanished now, thanks to the PM holding large crowded meetings in WB. So at that time it was possible for BJP to fool public. The casual way in which ideas like god sent punishment to infidels was thrown by uneducated muslim clerics did not help either.
Well that is true isn’t it. Try reasoning out with Muslims when they are in a mob. To convince them even on the most simple things that are needed to live in civil society becomes a herculean task. Like not blocking public spaces to conduct namaz, to stop blaring from loudspeakers when people are trying to get some sleep, stopping the unhygienic slaughter of mute animals in public spaces etc. Even humane reforms like banning triple talaq, multiple marriages, female genital mutilation, etc are no go areas for Muslims. Not only in India, but all over the world, including in Muslim countries, Muslims aren’t exactly the flavour of the day, month or year.
Truth hurts has been clearly proved by the kind of comments made against author. it’s clear that if something attends political rallies, religious gatherings and Kumbh Mela, it’s Corona proof and we won’t Corona. It’s height of hypocrisy. Last year it was claimed even govt Covid bullitein one of the main reason for raise in cases was because of Tabligi. At least court had finally trashed allegations.
Last time when everybody was following rules, Muslims were not. This time there is a fatigue set in the population regarding lockdown. Also to give you some pointers – despite 20% of the population majority of crimes are committed by Muslims. I have Muslim friends, but those are upper middle class educated ones, even they never speak about the crimes committed by Muslims – even supported backlash against France.
Clearly we failed miserably in 1947 by allowing Muslims to stay back.
My wife works at a government hospital where hundreds of people are vaccinated against covid everyday, anyone wants to guess how many of them are muslims? In the lower single digits and no one is preventing them from taking a vaccine shoot. They refuse to take the vaccine shoot for various reasons like religion, distrust of modi and conspiracy against muslims. Maybe spend some time researching why muslims are so backwards all over the world, even in England government has to vaccinate them in mosques just to somehow get them to take the shoots.
Zainab it isn’t about religious gatherings. What muslims of Tabligi Jamaat went on to do is shocking. The word is out there that there is a new disease, which who no one knew much about, which could be lethal and spreads through air and spit. The world knew that and so did Tabligi Jamaat people. Knowing it what they did? They went on to spit on every one – on police, on medical staff, in the bus, refused to go to hospitals, refused to quarantine themselves properly. Why did they do that? Do you have any answer?
And then, this Furfura sharif imam, who is now contesting polls under ISF wished 50 crore Hindus die because of this pandemic.
What does a Hindu make out of it. There is a straight line that can be drawn along these ideas: islamic supremacy in India -> gazwa-e-hind -> fight against non believers as mentioned in quran -> belief that fighting non-muslims is a holy war -> an unknown disease that could kill -> Kill Hindus just by spitting on them.
We see this straight line. We make opinions based on their behavior and not reading articles begging for pity on behalf of them.
Can you tell me one believeable reason why Muslims in Delhi, in Hyderabad, in Chennai, in Indore, in Mumbai .. from North to the South of this country exhibited this behavior? Yes, the way we look at it, it does look like Corona Jihad. Unless your community can provide an explanation, not just any but a believable one, we’d think that this is indeed Corona Jihad.
Also, Ms Sikander in the context of Samuel Paty (school teacher)very conveniently missed mentioning one fact. Samuel had asked all students of peaceful faith to leave lest they feel offended while discussing the cartoons in the classroom. The teacher had made ample efforts not to cause any offense.
The author Ms Sikander is often in the habit of tweaking facts to support her unfounded thesis.
So stupid this article by ZS is that I won’t waste any time commenting on it. Utter nonsense.
Danesh Gangahar: Then why do you comment?
This is an irresponsible statement. I am an Indian and I do not think so. I am sure that the author is an Indian and she too does not think so.
The heading could have read “Some Indians think…” or “many Indians think…” or “Few Indian think”
Tailpiece: Perceived alienation either which way mostly is a result of generalization. A dangerous approach, either which way. Respect is a two way affair, (somebody said respect has to be earned – yes that too works both ways)
Col Viswanathan needs to be commended for sticking his neck out. Unfortunately most of the comments seems to prove the author right. I am yet to see a comment that takes the rational approach of condemning mass gatherings (any religion, any political party) as they are the “super-spreaders”. All we get instead is whataboutery and an extremely vulgar display of bigotry.
It appears you are nitpicking on the heading to avoid the subject : the use of Covid as an opportunity to persecute Muslims and forgetting the govt.’s role was to bring the disease under control for everyone, and the govt’s current lapse allowing political rallies and religious ceremonies as if Hindus cannot be spreaders of corona .
You recommend the heading could have read “Some Indians think…” or “many Indians think…” or “Few Indian think”.
If you want to be pedantic, it will be more accurate for Zainab Sikandar to have said ‘Silence on Kumbh shows many Hindus think only Muslims spread Covid’. For the fact is the media is run and owned by Hindus (Arnob, Rahul Kanwal etc.), and the BJP’s IT cell claimed the Muslims were engaged in corona jihad. Arnob Goswami asked the Markaz people why they are damagimg ‘MY country’. The Muslims were harassed by police and vigilantes; some hospitals refused them admission; Dr. Aarti Lalchandani who is a head of medical institution made fake videos claiming Muslims spat on staff, and she said they should not be admitted in hospitals. Hindus sitting in UAE and Kuwait seeing these videos started tweeting against Muslims, till they were expelled. Only then, Modi woke up and said corona has no religion and Jaishankar ran to the GCC before the issue escalated and Indian businesses were closed.
However, Zainab Sikandar did not say Hindus, she wrote Indians – but you understood it meant Hindus. Why ? Because you know who is guilty. Your protest is in fact an admission of guilt.
Your general point is ‘Respect is a two way affair, (somebody said respect has to be earned – yes that too works both ways)’.
So the respect of the 85% majority is conditional on the 15% minority showing respect. Till then, vigilantes can beat up and lynch minorities, harass them on trains, conduct a pogrom, rape a 8 year old in a temple etc. and you will point out it is because the minorities did not respect us sufficiently. The Hindu nationalist on an Air France flight who chanted ‘Hindus are awakening’ to Sikh passengers forcing an emergency landing also felt we are not shown enough respect. Will the other communities in India respect us if we do such actions to show Hindu pride ? Do you think the outside world will appreciate the Hindus? This is why the French scholar of Indian politics, Christophe Jaffrelot wrote that India has become a place where the majority has a minority complex.
Also, what what will be the standard by which you judge whether the minority has shown the majority sufficient respect ? Is it they should not protest or publicise lynchings over cows, pogroms, police joining mobs to throw stones, rape of 8 year old girls, arresting women travelling in a train ?
This concept of demanding the 15% minority to show respect to the majority (or else….) is nothing but an inferiority complex.
I would request you to reconsider your stance and ponder over your concept of demanding respect. Earning respect is not conditional. It depends on performance. Respecting others is an essential part of being cultured.
Well it’s not just about the festival. It’s not like hindus took out tiktok videos about how to spread covid to non believers . The muslim brotherhood took out many such videos which were well received within the muslim brotherhood . That is what gets people pissed off
How dumb is this article. A country that has been the cradle of several religions viz. Jainism, Buddhism, Sikhism is being blamed for being communal. Clearly the writer is biased and the article is sponsored.
Mr Amit Singh: Sure, many religions took root in India. But does India live by the spirit of these religions ? Hatdly any more Mr Amit Singh. India has witnessed the Nellie massacres of 1980; the anti-Sikh pogroms of 1984; the Godhra pogroms of 2002 orchestrated by the man who today is the PM of the country; lynchings of innocent Muslim men; the thrashing of a Muslim child who wanders into a temple to quench his thirst and so on.
Of course, the knee-jerk reaction of bhakths like you when you read facts that don’t neatly fit into your naïve, jingoistic notion of the Vishwaguru is to beat about the bush and insinuate all sorts of nonsense about the messenger rather than counter the message. But then, it is hard to disprove hard facts isn’t it Mr Amit Singh? Much easier to hurl invectives against the author – who happens to be a Muslim and a woman to boot.
Meanwhile, no comments from you on the dangers of the Kumbh Mela becoming a potential super spreader event.
One insecure community has all the problems in India, while so many others peacefully coexist,
ThePrint seems to be a biased media house. Looks like the article is a sponsored one targetted against the unity and integrity of india trying to defame one of the greatest nations on earth.
It is correct that, all gathering weather political, religious or personal are contributing to spread of carina virus. But using that as a guise, Ms Zainab has laid bare her extreme right mind set.
It is precisely after reading articles of people with such division ary mind set, that a sane Indian citizen feels that..
There should be a limit to spreading venom in the name of journalism. Why is Print even allowing this.
Madam….. You talk of communalism….that view propogated by the hindus…..Is communalism only one sided??? Have the Muslims or Christians not been Communal? Ever….. Or is it that, only when Hindus articulate their anxieties or insecurities , then it is communalism or bigotism…. but when articulated by Minorities it is not…. Like, not too far in the past, when both the Muslims and Christians said that their people are no more feeling safe in india…. You talk about Kumbh Mela…. this is in 2021…when we know much more about Covid-19 and ways to deal with it, when compared to our knowledge in Feb-June 2020….There was a law to be enforced then…which were deliberately/unknowlingly, depending on which side of the argument you are on, flouted by the tablighis….. are they not to be called out for this flouting?? or are they to declared innocent….. in the case of Kumbh Mela, it is just the guidelines, NOT THE LAW, put out by the Govt…. Just like the guidelines being flouted during political rallies…… Your argument is wrong and i would say biased and communal if not in writing but definitely in thought
I find that the readers have given up on you. These days, nobody even bothers to comment, or criticize or even abuse you. You have simply dropped out of readers’ radar. You know the reasons best.
The problem also lies in the unapologetic and unabashed differential treatment that is normalised by the media. This is the problem with the minorities. Privileges are mine because I am in Minority. Rules and regulations are only for the majority.There’s indeed nothing more liberating than the truth. And the truth is that India has the fangs of communalism deeply dug into it. It should liberate those who still question whether communalism is a small town parochial minded phenomena that shouldn’t matter much. It is now a pan-India urban phenomena that is changing the soul of our country. The footpath is my prayer hall. I will ensure to halt traffic for my Prayer. I will ensure to shout only to wake up the follower at 5.30 am and then 4 more times to remind him to pray. The courts will keep on shouting about the decibels and no political party will arrest these “alarmists” in the literal sense (5.30 am) for the violation of laws laid down by the Parliament. But when the other side rings the bells for aarti, it disturbs the entire atmosphere at noon. The 56″ chest gets narrowed to 36″ to curtail both the practices which are illegal as per court orders.
The basic fact of the matter is this maam…this is a Hindu country…there are more than 50 Islamic countries of the world , we can’t allow this one too to be dominated by Islam…..wherever muslims are in majority they impose Islamic dikata..it is a fact . The Muslims lost the chance to live peacefully when they agitated for and got their own Islamic nation. Now let us Hindus shape this nation as per our wish…”seculars” please excuse us. I don’t mean Muslims can’t live here…but the nation will be governed as per Hindus not as per Muslims. Take it or leave. You won’t ask these questions in Islamic countries…but you dare to do it in India.No more…
“.. The basic fact of the matter is this maam…this is a Hindu country ..”
Well, no wonder Sikhs want a separate Khalistan.
Kili you and your Moplas want a separate Khalifat
Don’t know your nationality, but maybe our forefathers were correct and divided by the country. Unfortunately, on our side we were not able to complete it. Other side did it with so much meticulous planning, evident in what happened with Kashmiri Pandit in Kashmir.
Unfortunately, on our side we were not able to complete it.
Yes. because we had monkey named Nehru on our back. It is time India finally put stake through the heart of SECULA vampire and free itself of this possessed state. { other famous vampires were Dracula & Blacula.]
The author inadvertently admits that muslims did spread Covid19 last time.
TRUE, THOSE HINDUS RELIGIOUS FESTIVALS OF MASS GATHERING WITHOUT MASK AND VACCINE LEAD TO THE INCREASE IN CASES AND DEATHS. HINDUS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS.
India is not the only country which has problems with the Muslims , the entire world has.
Mandy: But India is the only country which has a problem with Hindutva …
It is time Zainab accept the fact that Muslims were given 1/4 of India as homeland, from which they kicked out indigenous Hindus. It is time for Hindus to tell Muslims If you don’t like Hindutva catch Samjhota Express. and take your pet Hindu secularist monkey with you for your entertainment.
Muslims should realize that they did not favor India by staying in India, they may have done favor to Nehru family to retain the throne. There is no logical reason why Pakistan should have less % of Hindus today than India has of Muslim as it had far more Hindu % wise in 1947.
Let us say you achieve an all-Hindu state. The subject is ‘why is India heading to be the top Covid nation’ ? Is it due to partition, and Moplah ?
Or is it because we have an unruly, unscientific, uneducated religion-crazed and hate-enraged population, a PM who tells lighting diyas and clapping hands is effective , a govt. that runs a fake news cell, with a charlatan as health minister, a Baba who sells an immunity booster as a cure, and a minister who promotes Covid papad ?
Perhaps India would be better off if your type had caught the Samjota Express ! All Sanghis should be sent to Pakistan to fight the dharm yudh they crave for.
Indian people elected BJP and shown middle finger to Hindu secularist monkeys. So take your pick . Accept Hindutva or catch Samjhota Express. India will not miss you guys. Rather Indians will be happy to get rid of wt blankets.
Harry: Your vacuous “response” to Mr Akash above is yet another spectacular display of your intellectual impotence, ignorance and gomutra fuelled crudeness. When confronted by superior logic, facts and Mr Akash’s brilliant use of your own assertions to tie you into knots, you, like a stuck broken record, bray “Samjhauta Express” and “Moplah rebellion”.
Indeed, even your itchy groined, brawn centric BIMARU gaurakshak friends appear to have more brains than you. For, unlike missing links like you, your they seem to realise to have understood the adage:
“Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt”.
Alas Harry, you haven’t understood that and continue to bray, bleat and bark and make an ass of yourself.
And whilst I am not your enemy per se, I cannot but help quoting Napoléon Bonaparte:
“When your enemy is making a mistake, please do not disturb him” !
Kili you & Akash like to be broken record, I don’t. We have discussed this issue hundreds of times. There is nothing new.
You guys believe in Goebbels idea that if tell guy that he is pig hundred times he will start making noise like pig.
Kili I like you & Akash[ if he his Hindu] . The reason is you guys provide validity of Darwin’s theory of evolution, according to which man evolved from monkey, and theory of Atavism, according to which a creature may exhibit it’s pre-evolutionary traits. So you guys are living examples proving validity of these theories.
But seeing so many Hindu secularists in India, I suspect that man evolved from monkey in India not Africa. So we have so many living examples. Africans don’t seem exhibit these pre-evolutionary traits
What will happen if Indian people give up on Hindutva and Modi ? Will India end for you ? Will you commit suicide ?
Good question Mr Akash !
I guess that were Modi to vanish, Harry will throw in his lot with Adityanath or Sadhvi Pragya Thakur or perhaps Tejaswi Surya. There is no shortage of certified clowns, Neanderthals and Nazis in the BJP that give the Hindutva espousing Harrys of India their orgasms.
Some background on these lugubrious luminaries and Modi successors:
– Adityanath is the visionary who enjoined his Hindu Yuva Vahini nutters to dig out the corpses of Muslim women and rape them;
– Sadhvi Pragya Thakur is the Godse worshipping BJP MP who claims that her stroking a cow in a clockwise direction cured her of her cancer. Her oncologist had to go public and debunk this crazy woman’s claims;
– Tejaswi Surya is the BJP MP and premature ejaculator par excellence who claims to be some sort of an expert on the orgasms of Arab women. His antics invoked the ire of some of the rulers of UAE
In any case, Harry is not exactly going to face a shortage of duly elected saffron thugs to support. Hindutva and Prophet Modi might make the BIMARU electorate starve but vote they will for their own tormentors. Alas, mass radicalisation in India is done and dusted.
Harry, the gentleman who swallows the RSS gospel lock, stock and barrel and hates Muslims and certainly the likes of you and I will continue to live to hate another day. He will get a new Führer to channelise his hate. And as long as Harry can hate Musimn, he would not mind starving.
Harry: Like many a Hindutvadi and RSS lathiwala, you rail against the Partition of India and wish that it had never happened, cf. your rant:
“.. accept the fact that Muslims were given 1/4 of India as homeland ..”
But how the hell do you square your dislike of the Partition with your unvarnished hatred of Islam and Muslims who live in India ?
India today has a Muslim population of 172million Muslims out of a total population of roughly 1200 millions (1.2 billions). The Muslim population is roughly 14% of India’s total population.
If you now add the 216 million Muslims of Pakistan and the 163 million Muslim of Bangladesh, you would thus have roughly 551 million Muslims in a total Akhand Bharath population of roughly 1.6 billions. In other words, the Muslim proportion of the population would be a whopping 34%.
So tell me Harry: Would you like to increase the proportion of Muslims in India and to get ¼ of the territory you claim they were given ? After all, you have consistently demonstrated that you hate the 14% Muslims who are already in the country. So why would you increase the number of Muslims ?
See the absurdity of your Hindutva ideology Harry ?
But how the hell do you square your dislike of the Partition with your unvarnished hatred of Islam and Muslims who live in India ?
I think like westerners, not third worldites.
Britain, France etc. accepted giving away Sudetenland to Hitler’s Germany. But once Hitler refused to abide by the agreement west not only gave back Sudetenland to Czechoslovakia but also allowed Germans, except those who fought Nazism, to be kicked out of Sudetenland. They also allowed Poland to kick out Germans from Silesia and East Prussia. Muslim case in India is similar to Nazi Germans. Muslims league’s powerbase was UP, Bihar, Bengal, Gujarat etc. but not Punjab or Frontier province. So Basically Pakistan movement was movement of Indian Muslims, not Pakistani Muslims.
So logically India should have kicked out Muslims, except from Princely states in North, once Pakistan started kicking out Hindus, This how logical westerners would have done in theory called assure mutual destruction. Nehru with his monkeylike third world thinking was to dumb too to understand such concept. instead that jack ass recruited Muslim league members & supporters, who decided to stay in India, into Congress.
If India had Master Tara Singh as PM, those bloodbath of Hindu & Sikhs would have stopped.
Good reminder from Zainab Sikandar, and a very valid one. India is having a second wave, it is going to be massive, and it is going to sink the economy hopelessly. The second wave is caused by political rallies, cricket matches in Modi stadium, and it has to be said the Kumbh mela. Do we see the Indian media shouting that Hindus are doing a dharm yudh against MY country ?
It is well known that unlike other countries, India’s media just saw Covid in Feb. 2020 as another opportunity to bash Muslims. The Markaz congregation had started before the Covid lockdown. The Nizammudin police station is next to Markaz, they could have warned them. Instead, much of the Indian media led by Arnob Goswami, Rahul Kanwal etc. used it to attack Muslims, saying these people were attacking MY country. If you harass people, they would be afraid to do testing. Dr. Aarti Mirchandani spread fake videos saying the Tablighis were spitting to spread corona and advising medical institutions from treating Muslims. She was the head of a medical institution, and a doctgor swears the Hippocratic oath to treat all. The govt. silently endorsed such behaviour. It finally got out of hand when bhakths listening to this propaganda started sending ‘hate Muslim’ messages from Arab countries. They were caught and deported from UAE and Kuwait for using flouting social media regulations in those countries. Only then Modi send a weak warning to Indians to desist, and Jaishankar was sent to GCC when it became clear they will take more action.
Contrast the handling of Covid by the govt. of Kerala with the Hindutva infested states. That state was professional, so much so the BBC interviewed their Health Minister Shailaja Teacher and asked what she can teach the UK.
Please watch the video of the interview Rahul Kanwal (himself a propagator of propaganda on ‘corona jihad’) with Israeli writer and historian Yuval Harrari. There, Harrari denounces the targeting of minorities, blaming them for Covid. Watch Rahul Kanwal’s face fall !
See the video ‘Yuval Noah Harari In Conversation With Rahul Kanwal (go to around 44 mins).’
See also the article in Business Standard ‘India’s Covid crisis stems from arrogance, hyper-nationalism, incompetence’. Here is a passage : ‘What went wrong? As is typical in India, official arrogance, hyper-nationalism, populism and an ample dose of bureaucratic incompetence have combined to create a crisis. The state has left India vulnerable to a second Covid-19 wave, multiple new mutations and the threat of repeated, livelihood-destroying lockdowns.’
Hence, Zainab Sikandar, you have sent an important and valuable reminder, at the right time. It is entirely appropriate. The Indian govt. has committed mistake after mistake. They allowed Covid to be used to bash Muslims initially in a show of fake Hindu nationalism; then they announced a lockdown with 4 h notice causing misery to ‘migrants’ (are they not part of MY country ?). They promoted unscientific concepts like hand clapping, lighting lamps, Covid Pappad, gobar, immunity boosters from Baba Ramdev as cures. Then they started exporting vaccine to compete with China and were boasting about it.
And now we have a situation out of control. The majority community was made to feel it is only the minority that spreads and is susceptible to Covid, so the majority has no responsibility. India has displaced Brazil, and will overtake US where the vaccination programme is under way. India is running out of vaccine. The Hindu reported that India informed the WHO that India exported more vaccine than it used.
Wow! All the commenters yelling and screaming at Zainab and The Print cannot seem to offer a halfway logical response to why the Kumbh Mela is a good idea during the pandemic. And then they complain of bias. Hypocrites!
Hats off to Zainab Sikander for this daring logical article explaining the atrocities to which the minorities are being subjected to by the fascist rulers these days. Brands like Pakistani,Khalistani,Jihadi,maoists,Urban Naxals etc.are in their daily language now . Hard earned social fabric of the country has been torn out by these fascists;minorities at the receiving end.
Kudos to Zainab Sikandar for this logical article explaining the step-motherly treatment being meted out to minorities in this country. The hard earned social fabric of the nation has been torn out by the fascist rulers. Hindutva agenda of the RSS being implemented through BJP is really a matter of concern for the minorities.Brands like Pakistani,Khalistani,Jihadis,Tabligis,Urban Naxals,Maoists are in their daily language.There is an atmosphere of chaos all over.
The Hindutvadis believe the dharma teaches to persecute dalits and non-Hindus. The doctrine of karma teaches that there will be payback, may be even in this life. The second wave is led by the kumbhis and will put India number one in the world with Covid.
no hindu dharma doesnt teach to persecute dalits and non hindus, just persecute muslims
Hindu Militant: You seem to be proud to declare yourself as a promoter of hate. You think India can survive as a country based on hatred ? You don’t think Sikhs have taken notice of rabid, mad Hindutva Neanderthals like you ?
” You don’t think Sikhs have taken notice of rabid, mad Hindutva Neanderthals like you ?”
Sikh knows the only alternative is Pakistan, where Sikhs were wipe out or Congressmen, Hindu Secularists, who killed them in thousands.
So barring Khlistanis, Sikhs safely living in Canada or England, who want local Indian Sikhs to become proverbial guinea pig for their dreams no Sikh living in India really cares. for your secularism. Therefore Akali dal was with BJP. Like Poles Sikhs have also become wiser.
Mr Tirath Singh Rawat, the Chief Minister of Uttarkhan pontificated:
“No one would face restrictions as the faith in God will overcome the fear of Covid-19.”
Mr. Rawat has since tested positive for Covid.
Within 10 to 15 years when BELIEVERS reach a critical mass of 40 percent of the population.
Then JIHADI BEGUM will no longer be spewing venom on non believers but will indulge in taking her HATRED on road.
Unless MODI government is able to control POPULATION of all religious community to ensure that demographic changes don’t murder Democracy within 2 decades of uncontrollable population growth as is evident in Assam and West BENGAL . INDIA doesn’t have a future as a nation with scientific outlook.
Thousands of Zainab have come and gone. Thousand more will come and go. (be it whosoever govt). No one can change the ground reality. MUSLIMS ARE CONSIDERED SECONG CLASS LOWELY CITIZENS. NO ONE OTHER THAN THEMSELVELS WANT TO VISIT AREAS WHERE THEY RESIDE. BELEIVE IT OR NOT, BUT THIS IS THE ACTUAL REALITY
You are comparing two distinct periods. The Tablighi Jamaat congregation happened before coronavirus took a hold in India. It was a time of fear where people and experts didn’t know how the covid situation would pan out in India. We were hearing of horror stories from Italy where people where dying in front of hospitals without being able to get into them. And with India’s poor health infrastructure, many were predicting mass causalities in India. Then with the state govt making strict orders prohibiting massing of people, the Tablighi Jamaat brought in people from many outside countries and congregated in their thousands. So the public reaction to them were harsh.
We are now in a period were the first wave subsided without anywhere near the worst case predictions. It was the lockdowns which brought more misery to people. And most of the pre-lockdown activities have been opened up including religious activities. Mosques are doing their routine mass prayers. So in this context your problem with the Kumbh Mela smacks of the typical muslim mindset.
Now regarding the prophet cartoons, they were just caricatures of him and not naked or sxual. But dozens have been killed across the world in its name including many at the publishers office killed in cold blood. And the muslims have had the audacity to claim that the cartoon was responsible for the murders and not the extremism. How many people killed when M.F.Hussain drew hindu goddess saraswati naked in a hindu country ? He got some verbal abuses and threats including death threats. But did anyone touch him ? He pretty much lived the rest of his life happily, I believe in Qatar.
Just typical muslim attempts to divert attention from the death and destruction wrought in that religions name, by blaming others religions.
Your ignorant comment didn’t age well, did it? Now see what your precious Kumbh has done.
Did you/pseudo-secular accept muslims/Tablighi where wrong in organising seminary with travellers from known hotspots. That was irresponsible and criminal act when world did not have enough scientific knowledge about Covid, its treatment and certainly no vaccine. None of pseudo-secular criticised act of Tablighis then and even criticised people who rightfully questioned need for super-spreading Tablighi event. What moral right these pseudo-secular have to criticicise now having supported/condoned Tablighi event then. Only those who criticised Tablighis have moral right to question or criticise Kumbh
Muslims are the most Communal people in the World. They say only they are believers and others are all Kafirs. The most illiterate and uneducated people in the world.
I do agree with you Zainab and unfortunately the comments section show the same mentality problem that you as a Muslim reporter is saying it. They have no objective mentality but only 0 or 1
The fact is that science and religion(any) don’t go hand in hand. Religion flourished when answers to basic questions were not known so a solar eclipse or appearance of comet were considered bad omens as there was no explanation. Religion gave it a spin and ppl had no other alternative. Any voice against was cursed or banished as saying against the lord
Now science has answers and in this case most of the ppl commenting above know that kumbh mela is an invitation to Corona. Besides it happening after so many have suffered and govt allowing it is even worse. Unfortunately they are on a high dosage of fake news and whatsapp media that doesn’t allow them to see difference between right and wrong. Everything is a insult to their religion
But nothing is more liberating than truth as you rightly said. So ppl will come around and I am
Hopeful sooner than later
Mr Kapil Somani: Now that was an outstanding post Sir! And at last, some common sense in these columns !
Mr Somani: You hit the nail on the head when you point out: “ .. Religion flourished when answers to basic questions were not known ..”.
But alas, Mr Somani, even when science provides answers, explanations and solutions to many of man’s problems and nature’s phenomena, masses still turn to religion. Often prompted and goaded by cunning politicians to do so. Many, even the educated Indians who write in the columns of The Print trust religious figures and the politicians who frame societal problems in terms of religious divisions. The neta + baba nexus has been the bane of Indian politics for long. Now you see that nexus being weaponised to vilify minorities, particularly Muslims. And as you say, WhatsApp is the omnipresent enabler of this hate and fake news.
The BJP has arrogated to itself the right to claim that it is the defender of Hinduism by terrorising Muslims. In reality, the party defends a Nazi ideology called Hindutva which the vast majority of Hindus conflate with Hinduism. But the problem with the incessant drumbeat of Hindutva and the spread of this political poison is that it has now taken a life of its own. Hindutva and Muslim bashing has become the Frankenstein that the BJP cannot control anymore. It is too difficult for PM Modi to stop the Kumbh which in all likelihood is going to be a super-spreader event.
The world is watching with alarm (ref:nyti.ms/3sgjyRT) as the Modi government lurches from crisis to crisis in its haphazard, autocratic, unscientific and politically driven response to the COVID crisis. Even Saudi Arabia has taken a more science driven approach to the Haj with the Haj restricted to only Saudi nationals in 2020 and to people already vaccinated for 2021. But Modi cannot deploy science anymore, having long sold his soul to the Hindutva ideology. And conned people into believing that he and he alone can solve the problems of India.
As Adolf Hitler said:
“What luck for rulers that men do not think”
The Kumbh will continue and Hindutva afflicted Hindus will scapegoat Tablighi Jamat and Muslims for all their ills. As most comments here prove. And no, I am not exonerating the Tablighi Jamaat for its contribution to the corpus of superstitions and pseudo-science.
Do write more often Mr Kapil Somani. Always a pleasant surprise to hear a voice of reason in the din of Hindutva.
Mr Pankaj: You rant:
“.. Don’t know your nationality, but maybe our forefathers were correct and divided by the country. Unfortunately, on our side we were not able to complete it .. Other side did it with .. meticulous planning, evident in what happened with Kashmiri Pandit in Kashmir .. ”
Well, Mr Pankaj, you don’t have much to worry about or much waiting to do.
Your Indian Führer, taking a cue from his German idol, has started construction of concentration camps a.k.a. detention camps to throw Muslims in. And then, just as the original Führer compiled a list of Jews and then had them sent them to concentration camps, the Indian Führer too appears to have applied the very same template.
Admittedly, the ethnic cleansing of Kashmiri Pandits in Kashmir was a nasty, inhuman and utterly dastardly affair – mismanaged by every Indian political party at both the Centre and in the state of Kashmir. No questions asked, no ifs and buts, the terror unleashed on the Pandit community by the Islamists is reprehensible. And they should be made to pay.
But the solution to that problem is the relocation of Pandits back to their homes and farms, expulsion of the terrorists from the region and the economic development of the region for all religious and ethnic groups. Equally importantly, Hindutvadis like you must grasp that the solution to the problems of Kashmir certainly does not lie in the ethnic cleansing, expulsion, lynching, dehumanising and incarceration of innocent Muslims in Kashmir or Muslims in other parts of India who had utterly nothing to with the events of Kashmir.
But alas, your Gujarathi Führer with his rich experience in pogroms and vilification of Muslims combined with the hatred of Muslims distilled in him by RSS Führer Golwalkar believes otherwise. And I note that both the Führers have a dedicated following in people like you Mr Pankaj and the many others who buy into this violent, fascist ideology called Hindutva. And that is worrisome because you indicate that in keeping with Golwalkar’s ideology, you too advocate an ethnic cleansing of sorts for Muslims. After all, for Hindutvadis like you Mr Pankaj, the countries for India to emulate are Pakistan with its military dictatorship and Afghanistan, run by the misogynistic, murderous Taliban right ?
I am not a deeply religious or practising Hindu Mr Pankaj. But, as a Hindu, I hang my head in shame when I read of a 14 year old Muslim child in Dasna being thrashed by 2 grown up men merely because he had strayed into a Hindu temple to quench his thirst. And then I ask myself:
– Had that child walked into a Sikh gurudwara, would he have been denied water and beaten up?
– Had that child walked into a church, would he have been denied water and attacked violently?
– Had I walked into a mosque in India and asked for a glass of water, would I have been assaulted? Would they even have asked me if I was a Hindu or Buddhist?
Indeed, the “mahant” of that temple, a Neanderthal calling himself Yati Narsinghanand Saraswati unabashedly justified this violence against the child. Is this the Hinduism you want Mr Pankaj? Is this the image of Hinduism that you want the world to remember India by ? Don’t you see for yourself the absurdity that Hindutva ideology is in reality?
As French writer and historian François-Marie Arouet, better known as Voltaire (1694-1778) said:
“Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities”
I hope ethnic cleansing of Muslims in india is not one of those atrocities.
Rohingyas are illlegal immigrants. If you want to, you personally pay price for their upkeep outside this land. I am not going to pay a single dime in support of illegal immigrants. Off they go to detention centers. And then deported. Also they are a security risk. And then they are changing demographics of this country and I am worried about it. And yes,I have no sympathy for them. You don’t get to demand my sympathy.
Call whatever you want Furer/Hitler, I don’t care. This is not Germany, Modi is not Hitler and there is no genocide. You want to spew venom, go ahead. No one gives two straws.
Junglee Rakshas: This article is about the Kumbh Mela and the dangers it poses as a COVID super-spreader event. Neither the article by Ms Zainab Sikander nor my comment deal with Rohingya refugees. Unfathomable why you would insert that into the debate. But then I understand that as a Hindutva man, you needed an opportunity to display your hate at Muslims, regardless of their provenance. And you suddenly conjure up Rohingyas to again bash Muslims.
India may not be Germany as you suggest, but the ruling party in India derives its ideological sustenance from the fascists of Italy and the Nazis of Germany. Hitler’s Mein Kampf sells like hot cakes in India and many ordinary, middle-class Indians firmy believe that India needs a chap like Hitler. The RSS itself is actually based on the template that Mussolini developed for organising Italian fascist youth.
Indeed RSS Führer MS Golwalkar writes in his book, “We or our nation defined”:
“To keep up the purity of the nation and its culture, Germany shocked the world by her purging the country of Semitic races – the Jews. National pride at its highest has been manifested here. Germany has also shown how well-nigh impossible it is for races and cultures, having differences going to the root, to be assimilated into one united whole, a good lesson for us in Hindustan to learn and profit by”.
Yes, India has not had a genocide. But India has witnessed several pogroms against religious minorities: the Nellie massacre of 1980; the Sikh pogroms of 1984 and PM Modi’s own Godhra pogroms of 2002. Of course, you would pooh-pooh these events where Hindus stopped being Hindus and were goaded into becoming frenzied, violent, bloodthirsty Babu Bajrangis.
As novelist & essayist George Orwell (1903-50) said:
“The nationalist not only does not disapprove of atrocities committed by his own side, but he has a remarkable capacity for not even hearing about them”
You prove that statement true.
“But, as a Hindu, I hang my head”
This is difference Between a Muslim and a Hindu. No Muslim, however mild he may be, will behave like a monkey as you are doing. How many Muslims have you heard hang their head for killing Hindus in Pakistan or for killing hundreds of years in India during Sultanate. They refuse to acknowledge . They behave like Holocaust denier, while you behave like a monkey.
Kili does not want India to be like Pakistan.
You only want to be like Muslims – in the image you imagine them ! But then what is your virtue ? Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.
The main cause for break up of British India in 1947 (which extended from the border of Afghanistan to the Bay of Bengal) was the RSS. Golwalkar published its Nazi derived theories of Hindu supremacy and exclusion in 1925. The RSS threatened Muslims – then as now. If the minority is 35%, they will not put up with it, so they demanded partition and got it. And the reality is there are more Muslims in India than in Pakistan and that is not going to change. If you keep attacking them, even the 12% will not put up with it eventually.
The conclusion then is the Sanghis do not have the capability for governance. The last 7 years proves it. Modi talked about ‘minimum government, maximum governance’, but all we saw was governance with vigilantes (whether it be beef squads, anti- love squads, corona squads), brutal police who attacked university libraries, rise in rape and acts of vandalism. Even Pakistan now does not have such a bad image.
The life of Bhakts revolves round Muslims – the underlying cause is an inferiority complex. The RSS types want to be like Pakistan – you openly say that. In Modi’s first term, some wanted to be like Israel (because it beats up Palestinians). In Modi’s second term, some admiringly talked about Mynamar (because they beat up Rohingyas). The latest is some talk admiringly about wanting to be like China (because they are beating up Uighurs).
My suggestion is to overcome your inferiority complex, accept India is a multi-cultural nation, Muslims are here to stay, and that is the reality you cannot change. Trying to change that reality will require self destruction also. Hindus being the majority should show leadership and unite Indians.
Akash your rent will make sense only to people in your echo Chamber such as kili. To others. logical people thinking like Westerners, it is as amusing as watching a monkey making faces, nothing more.
I consider myself logical thinker like westerners but also more advanced to be able to feel the pain of non-human creatures too and not put worst human above non-threatening animals. I admire Westerners who have become vegan. So I fully support the idea of slowly closing down abattoirs and educating people to move away from eating animals and preach Mahatma Gandhi’s non-violence Idea, improved for present time and discard what does not serve us, like prohibition.
I believe that theory of Satyagraha has limitation. It works only if both sides are reasonably civilized. It does not work against Nazis, communists or South Asian Muslims, as all of them believe in higher calls. So they have to dealt in their way. Even Mahatma Gandhi said that world would forget that Poland fought back with violence. so he did realize the limitations of Ahinsa.
You think like a westerner ? What vanity !
How come the worst press for Hindutva is in the west ? Nehru said Hindutva is fascism, Hindu style. Western people are starting to realise that India is falling apart due to ‘Hindu nationalism’.
You think like a Pakistani, not like a westerner. Your dearest wish is for India to be like Pakistan.
How come westerners admire Gandhi and not Godse ?
And if you are so rational like them, why do you respond irrationally with ‘what about Moplah’ when you are stuck on the failure of Modi and Hindutva ?
The subject of the article is Modi and his Hindutva lunacy have created a super spreader. India has jumped to number 2 and it will become number 1. All countries will then put India on a red list. What will be your response ? Say ‘what about Tablighis ?’
In your response, you rant and tell Zainab Sikandar to accept Hindutva or go to Pakistan. But now the most number of Hindus are going to die through the second wave of Covid, and the economy will be paralysed. Is that the fault of Zainab or Modi’s Hindutva ?
Your Hindutva seems to be about cutting one’s nose to spite the face. And you see yourself as a rational westerner ? No westerner will do that ! They will not export vaccine to show off. Only dumb Hindutva minds will do that.
You are messed up man ! And your type has messed up MY India.
Your comment shows you are third worldite. West looks after it’s own interest in logical manner then package it with some nice liberal dress. You, like other third woldites, are so dumb you don’t understand that fact. Until Saddam Hussein was fighting against Iran, which served western interest, he was good. But after his use was over he became evil in the eyes of west as user of poison gas on his own people.
Gandhi’s idea serves western interest. West has nothing to gain by admiring Godse. I am glad that India is ruled by practical minded Gujaratis. Satyagrah was based on understanding of British interests & weakness, therefore it was successful. If instead of Gandhi, Nehrus would have been in charge it would have failed totally. Therefore BJP has also adopted Gandhi & Patel, while rejecting Nehru & his stupid ideas.
it appears that Gujaratis are Westerners among Hindus, not only geographically but in thinking. All major leaders of freedom struggle like Gandhi, Patel, Jinnah were Gujarati. So basically western thinking has won among Indians.
These assorted Hindu secus are more like Creoles of West Indies. They mimic west and look down upon Africans. But like Indian secus they lack logical & practical thinking of west and so are left behind.
Harry: Your rant reminds me of a quote from Plato:
“Wise men speak because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something.”
You posed probing questions
– Had that child walked into a Sikh gurudwara, would he have been denied water and beaten up?
– Had that child walked into a church, would he have been denied water and attacked violently?
– Had I walked into a mosque in India and asked for a glass of water, would I have been assaulted? Would they even have asked me if I was a Hindu or Buddhist?
The answers to all three would be ‘no’.
Whereas in north India, under the climate the BJP has created, such brutality is possible. Why, even an 8 year old can be raped in a temple by the priest, his son, and nephew, and people will march to support them, so what is thrashing a child for drinking water ?
The greatest damage Hindutva has done is not to Muslims and Christians – it is to Hindus. The RSS culture has brutalised the Hindus so much in northern India, that it has emboldened them to mindless violence. That is to be expected. When you create a sense of entitlement in one community and it demands respect and acceptance of whatever it does – solely because it is the majority – it eventually corrupts that community and it infringes the law with abandon. It believes no body can touch it. Every act of wanton violence can be justified on grounds that the victim did not show respect.
And as Vinod Dua remarked, they have tasted the blood of Muslims, it won’t be long before they want the blood of Hindus. They raped a Dalit girl in Hathras, and the police cremated her without parents. I got a video of a Dalit boy being thrashed for sitting on a chair belong to touchables. He did not respect the high born. In his case, he cannot earn the respect of the high caste thrasher in this life. His situation is even more hopeless than the Muslim’s although the RSS makes out he is an equal in the Hindu fold.
Thanks for the reply Mr Akash.
The Kathua incident you refer to where 8 year old Asifa Bano was drugged, raped and killed makes me wonder what must have possessed these rabid animals. The child was tortured and raped, of all places in a temple and by none other than the priest and his accomplices. But the fact that the RSS and the BJP organised the Hindu Ektha Manch in Kathua and even the Congress supported the Hindu public and the offenders shows the depths of depravity that society and India’s polity has sunk to. And the sad thing is that this mass radicalisation of Hindus is a deliberate project that seems to be succeeding beyond the BJP’s and Modi’s wildest expectations.
In any case, the Kathua incident and the Dasna incident prove that in the temples of North India, the teachings that emerge seem to be:
“Hatred and violence towards Muslims are more important than worship and prayer”.
That is the sorry state of affairs after merely 6 years of the Führer in power. And the average North Indian Hindi wants more of it.
India under Modi does qualify to be a Vishwaguru doesn’t it ?
Kili, you posed probing questions
– Had that child walked into a Sikh gurudwara, would he have been denied water and beaten up?
– Had that child walked into a church, would he have been denied water and attacked violently?
– Had I walked into a mosque in India and asked for a glass of water, would I have been assaulted? Would they even have asked me if I was a Hindu or Buddhist?
The answers to all three would be ‘no’.
Whereas in north India, under the climate the BJP has created, such brutality is possible. Why, even an 8 year old can be raped in a temple by the priest, his son, and nephew, and people will march to support them, so what is thrashing a child for drinking water ?
The greatest damage Hindutva has done is not to Muslims and Christians – it is to Hindus. The RSS culture has brutalised the Hindus so much in northern India, that it has emboldened them to mindless violence. That is to be expected. When you create a sense of entitlement in one community and it demands respect and acceptance of whatever it does – solely because it is the majority – it eventually corrupts that community and it infringes the law with abandon. It believes no body can touch it. Every act of wanton violence can be justified on grounds that the victim did not show respect.
And as Vinod Dua remarked, they have tasted the blood of Muslims, it won’t be long before they want the blood of Hindus. They raped a Dalit girl in Hathras, and the police cremated her without parents.
I have a video of a Dalit boy being thrashed for sitting on a chair belong to touchables. He did not respect the high born. In his case, he cannot earn the respect of the high caste thrasher in this life. His situation is even more hopeless than the Muslim’s although the RSS makes out he is an equal in the Hindu fold.
Madam i know that this comment will not be replied by you, but i write in the hope of you reading this.
I understand and completely take into account that in certain instances, the media has failed to do it’s job and has targeted the minority community.
i as a concerned citizen take full cognisance of it.
However i do not appreciate how you sort of lowkey downplayed what was done by the tablighis and the ‘radicals’ on 26th jan( i categorically dont mention “sikhs” like you did, because i know that there were people from other religions as well during that shamefull act, and i try not to be communally targeting unnecessarily ). Yes you said what they did was wrong, but you have failed to showcase the extent of their egregious wrongs ( spitting incident, not vacating etc etc) . If you read your article once you’ll realise what i am saying (i say this from a very neutral point of view).
You may differ on this, but i feel that on the pretext of farm protests you cannot go on to climb on buildings such as the prestigious Red Fort and put a religious flag besides our national flag. If you do such undemocratic practices then you do run at a very high risk of being portrayed as terrorists and ‘goons’.
Besides these subtle points i do appreciate your thoughts( you were right to mention that we need to call out certain wrongs and inequalities )
This author keeps on propping up one sided view. Her views are more like that of sympathisers of radical Islam than anything else. She never condemns Islamic fundamentalism which is a danger for the entire world. She is another Zainab Sikhander looking for greener pastures like Washington post.
Crying about calling a Islam Terror sympathizer. Author says ” I am a Islamist who will defend Islam at any cost. Yes, I do ‘condom’ French attack on cartoonist. But it’s our right to attack them as per ‘Q’. It’s our freedom of expression ‘. Quran allows us to do that kind of freedom of expression. But we are secular. ?
Actually there is Hindu Covid virus and Muslim Covid virus. The Hindu covid virus is good and does not spread. The Muslim covid virus is bad and keeps spreading among Hindus. Since the Hindu covid virus is good Kumbh mela can be held. Since Muslim covid virus is bad KSA stopped Haj. One can avoid the bad Muslim virus by talli, thali or a diya in the balcony.
Brilliant sarcasm Apollo !
Just wait for a few weeks, we will know if the Kumbh is a super spreader event. Lack of scientific outlook among the general public and political leadership causes our rulers to give priority to the primacy of religion in our lives. Nature will have the upper hand if we cannot suspend religious symbolism during a pandemic.
It’s been a couple of weeks now and I think the huge increase in cases should tell us that the Kumbh did turn out to be a super spreader, along with the Bengal rallies.
Tablighi Jamaat definitely has a huge role in spreading the COVID in its initial days.
Now COVID is having community transmission in full swing.
Maha Kumbh is helping it to attain its glory.
Tablighi was wrong
Maha Kumbh is also wrong.
And stop writing such silly write ups in the name of religion for your own personal mileage.
Missionary work is not some charity act.
It’s a conversion process by hook or crook method.
History is there for everyone to know how religions have spread – either by force or freebies
Zainab sikandar, your bias is blatant. When in minority talk of discrimination, when in majjority why dont you talk of discrimination, you ch?? What happened to hindus in Pakistan, Bangladesh and kashmir, (I do to muslims in rest of india. Dont like it? start walking to pakistan. Once upon a time, I would have paid for your train fare, not anymore, now you walk.
The way this government is handling the Covid crisis it exposes itself as one of the most superstition ridden, totally uneducated, least caring for the welfare of its population, divisive and with no clue of administration.there are people who have commented above, saying india is a cradle of ancient civilization. Does he forget that today we are the cradle of this dreaded virus. Then there is an erstwhile army man who has problems with the semantics of the headline of this article. Another refers to the lies that were spread about the Markaz when even the courts have given them a clean chit. We are indeed well on the way to becoming a Vishwaguru!
Great article and brings out the ingrained biases in the media, the political leadership as well as the general public. Keep up your fearless reporting. There is nothing more liberating than the truth.
for once i agree with the author. she has raised a valid question.
The headline is too provocative and the article is biased .. Dont put what you feel on top of Indians. Its your personal view. Indians aren’t stupid as you are .
And shame on you print , you are propagating hate .. this is not journalism you idiots
It is true that political and religious gatherings are spreading covid. At the same time, when the Jamaat case came up, people really feared the pandemic. That fear has vanished now, thanks to the PM holding large crowded meetings in WB. So at that time it was possible for BJP to fool public. The casual way in which ideas like god sent punishment to infidels was thrown by uneducated muslim clerics did not help either.
Well that is true isn’t it. Try reasoning out with Muslims when they are in a mob. To convince them even on the most simple things that are needed to live in civil society becomes a herculean task. Like not blocking public spaces to conduct namaz, to stop blaring from loudspeakers when people are trying to get some sleep, stopping the unhygienic slaughter of mute animals in public spaces etc. Even humane reforms like banning triple talaq, multiple marriages, female genital mutilation, etc are no go areas for Muslims. Not only in India, but all over the world, including in Muslim countries, Muslims aren’t exactly the flavour of the day, month or year.
Truth hurts has been clearly proved by the kind of comments made against author. it’s clear that if something attends political rallies, religious gatherings and Kumbh Mela, it’s Corona proof and we won’t Corona. It’s height of hypocrisy. Last year it was claimed even govt Covid bullitein one of the main reason for raise in cases was because of Tabligi. At least court had finally trashed allegations.
Last time when everybody was following rules, Muslims were not. This time there is a fatigue set in the population regarding lockdown. Also to give you some pointers – despite 20% of the population majority of crimes are committed by Muslims. I have Muslim friends, but those are upper middle class educated ones, even they never speak about the crimes committed by Muslims – even supported backlash against France.
Clearly we failed miserably in 1947 by allowing Muslims to stay back.
This is not journalism, you are running your propaganda behind journalism. Print should not allow such article
My wife works at a government hospital where hundreds of people are vaccinated against covid everyday, anyone wants to guess how many of them are muslims? In the lower single digits and no one is preventing them from taking a vaccine shoot. They refuse to take the vaccine shoot for various reasons like religion, distrust of modi and conspiracy against muslims. Maybe spend some time researching why muslims are so backwards all over the world, even in England government has to vaccinate them in mosques just to somehow get them to take the shoots.
Zainab it isn’t about religious gatherings. What muslims of Tabligi Jamaat went on to do is shocking. The word is out there that there is a new disease, which who no one knew much about, which could be lethal and spreads through air and spit. The world knew that and so did Tabligi Jamaat people. Knowing it what they did? They went on to spit on every one – on police, on medical staff, in the bus, refused to go to hospitals, refused to quarantine themselves properly. Why did they do that? Do you have any answer?
And then, this Furfura sharif imam, who is now contesting polls under ISF wished 50 crore Hindus die because of this pandemic.
What does a Hindu make out of it. There is a straight line that can be drawn along these ideas: islamic supremacy in India -> gazwa-e-hind -> fight against non believers as mentioned in quran -> belief that fighting non-muslims is a holy war -> an unknown disease that could kill -> Kill Hindus just by spitting on them.
We see this straight line. We make opinions based on their behavior and not reading articles begging for pity on behalf of them.
Can you tell me one believeable reason why Muslims in Delhi, in Hyderabad, in Chennai, in Indore, in Mumbai .. from North to the South of this country exhibited this behavior? Yes, the way we look at it, it does look like Corona Jihad. Unless your community can provide an explanation, not just any but a believable one, we’d think that this is indeed Corona Jihad.
Also, Ms Sikander in the context of Samuel Paty (school teacher)very conveniently missed mentioning one fact. Samuel had asked all students of peaceful faith to leave lest they feel offended while discussing the cartoons in the classroom. The teacher had made ample efforts not to cause any offense.
The author Ms Sikander is often in the habit of tweaking facts to support her unfounded thesis.
So stupid this article by ZS is that I won’t waste any time commenting on it. Utter nonsense.
Danesh Gangahar: Then why do you comment?
This is an irresponsible statement. I am an Indian and I do not think so. I am sure that the author is an Indian and she too does not think so.
The heading could have read “Some Indians think…” or “many Indians think…” or “Few Indian think”
Tailpiece: Perceived alienation either which way mostly is a result of generalization. A dangerous approach, either which way. Respect is a two way affair, (somebody said respect has to be earned – yes that too works both ways)
Col Viswanathan needs to be commended for sticking his neck out. Unfortunately most of the comments seems to prove the author right. I am yet to see a comment that takes the rational approach of condemning mass gatherings (any religion, any political party) as they are the “super-spreaders”. All we get instead is whataboutery and an extremely vulgar display of bigotry.
It appears you are nitpicking on the heading to avoid the subject : the use of Covid as an opportunity to persecute Muslims and forgetting the govt.’s role was to bring the disease under control for everyone, and the govt’s current lapse allowing political rallies and religious ceremonies as if Hindus cannot be spreaders of corona .
You recommend the heading could have read “Some Indians think…” or “many Indians think…” or “Few Indian think”.
If you want to be pedantic, it will be more accurate for Zainab Sikandar to have said ‘Silence on Kumbh shows many Hindus think only Muslims spread Covid’. For the fact is the media is run and owned by Hindus (Arnob, Rahul Kanwal etc.), and the BJP’s IT cell claimed the Muslims were engaged in corona jihad. Arnob Goswami asked the Markaz people why they are damagimg ‘MY country’. The Muslims were harassed by police and vigilantes; some hospitals refused them admission; Dr. Aarti Lalchandani who is a head of medical institution made fake videos claiming Muslims spat on staff, and she said they should not be admitted in hospitals. Hindus sitting in UAE and Kuwait seeing these videos started tweeting against Muslims, till they were expelled. Only then, Modi woke up and said corona has no religion and Jaishankar ran to the GCC before the issue escalated and Indian businesses were closed.
However, Zainab Sikandar did not say Hindus, she wrote Indians – but you understood it meant Hindus. Why ? Because you know who is guilty. Your protest is in fact an admission of guilt.
Your general point is ‘Respect is a two way affair, (somebody said respect has to be earned – yes that too works both ways)’.
So the respect of the 85% majority is conditional on the 15% minority showing respect. Till then, vigilantes can beat up and lynch minorities, harass them on trains, conduct a pogrom, rape a 8 year old in a temple etc. and you will point out it is because the minorities did not respect us sufficiently. The Hindu nationalist on an Air France flight who chanted ‘Hindus are awakening’ to Sikh passengers forcing an emergency landing also felt we are not shown enough respect. Will the other communities in India respect us if we do such actions to show Hindu pride ? Do you think the outside world will appreciate the Hindus? This is why the French scholar of Indian politics, Christophe Jaffrelot wrote that India has become a place where the majority has a minority complex.
Also, what what will be the standard by which you judge whether the minority has shown the majority sufficient respect ? Is it they should not protest or publicise lynchings over cows, pogroms, police joining mobs to throw stones, rape of 8 year old girls, arresting women travelling in a train ?
This concept of demanding the 15% minority to show respect to the majority (or else….) is nothing but an inferiority complex.
I would request you to reconsider your stance and ponder over your concept of demanding respect. Earning respect is not conditional. It depends on performance. Respecting others is an essential part of being cultured.
Well it’s not just about the festival. It’s not like hindus took out tiktok videos about how to spread covid to non believers . The muslim brotherhood took out many such videos which were well received within the muslim brotherhood . That is what gets people pissed off
How dumb is this article. A country that has been the cradle of several religions viz. Jainism, Buddhism, Sikhism is being blamed for being communal. Clearly the writer is biased and the article is sponsored.
Mr Amit Singh: Sure, many religions took root in India. But does India live by the spirit of these religions ? Hatdly any more Mr Amit Singh. India has witnessed the Nellie massacres of 1980; the anti-Sikh pogroms of 1984; the Godhra pogroms of 2002 orchestrated by the man who today is the PM of the country; lynchings of innocent Muslim men; the thrashing of a Muslim child who wanders into a temple to quench his thirst and so on.
Of course, the knee-jerk reaction of bhakths like you when you read facts that don’t neatly fit into your naïve, jingoistic notion of the Vishwaguru is to beat about the bush and insinuate all sorts of nonsense about the messenger rather than counter the message. But then, it is hard to disprove hard facts isn’t it Mr Amit Singh? Much easier to hurl invectives against the author – who happens to be a Muslim and a woman to boot.
Meanwhile, no comments from you on the dangers of the Kumbh Mela becoming a potential super spreader event.
One insecure community has all the problems in India, while so many others peacefully coexist,
ThePrint seems to be a biased media house. Looks like the article is a sponsored one targetted against the unity and integrity of india trying to defame one of the greatest nations on earth.
Fan of BJP, this artical proves that BJP is our hindhu government so all Hindus should vote for it.
Jai BJP
It is correct that, all gathering weather political, religious or personal are contributing to spread of carina virus. But using that as a guise, Ms Zainab has laid bare her extreme right mind set.
It is precisely after reading articles of people with such division ary mind set, that a sane Indian citizen feels that..
There should be a limit to spreading venom in the name of journalism. Why is Print even allowing this.
This article is downright divisionary.
Madam….. You talk of communalism….that view propogated by the hindus…..Is communalism only one sided??? Have the Muslims or Christians not been Communal? Ever….. Or is it that, only when Hindus articulate their anxieties or insecurities , then it is communalism or bigotism…. but when articulated by Minorities it is not…. Like, not too far in the past, when both the Muslims and Christians said that their people are no more feeling safe in india…. You talk about Kumbh Mela…. this is in 2021…when we know much more about Covid-19 and ways to deal with it, when compared to our knowledge in Feb-June 2020….There was a law to be enforced then…which were deliberately/unknowlingly, depending on which side of the argument you are on, flouted by the tablighis….. are they not to be called out for this flouting?? or are they to declared innocent….. in the case of Kumbh Mela, it is just the guidelines, NOT THE LAW, put out by the Govt…. Just like the guidelines being flouted during political rallies…… Your argument is wrong and i would say biased and communal if not in writing but definitely in thought
Dear lady Jihadi!
I find that the readers have given up on you. These days, nobody even bothers to comment, or criticize or even abuse you. You have simply dropped out of readers’ radar. You know the reasons best.
True
aggree
The problem also lies in the unapologetic and unabashed differential treatment that is normalised by the media. This is the problem with the minorities. Privileges are mine because I am in Minority. Rules and regulations are only for the majority.There’s indeed nothing more liberating than the truth. And the truth is that India has the fangs of communalism deeply dug into it. It should liberate those who still question whether communalism is a small town parochial minded phenomena that shouldn’t matter much. It is now a pan-India urban phenomena that is changing the soul of our country. The footpath is my prayer hall. I will ensure to halt traffic for my Prayer. I will ensure to shout only to wake up the follower at 5.30 am and then 4 more times to remind him to pray. The courts will keep on shouting about the decibels and no political party will arrest these “alarmists” in the literal sense (5.30 am) for the violation of laws laid down by the Parliament. But when the other side rings the bells for aarti, it disturbs the entire atmosphere at noon. The 56″ chest gets narrowed to 36″ to curtail both the practices which are illegal as per court orders.
The basic fact of the matter is this maam…this is a Hindu country…there are more than 50 Islamic countries of the world , we can’t allow this one too to be dominated by Islam…..wherever muslims are in majority they impose Islamic dikata..it is a fact . The Muslims lost the chance to live peacefully when they agitated for and got their own Islamic nation. Now let us Hindus shape this nation as per our wish…”seculars” please excuse us. I don’t mean Muslims can’t live here…but the nation will be governed as per Hindus not as per Muslims. Take it or leave. You won’t ask these questions in Islamic countries…but you dare to do it in India.No more…
Mr Rohit Vashisht: You bray:
“.. The basic fact of the matter is this maam…this is a Hindu country ..”
Well, no wonder Sikhs want a separate Khalistan.
Kili you and your Moplas want a separate Khalifat
Don’t know your nationality, but maybe our forefathers were correct and divided by the country. Unfortunately, on our side we were not able to complete it. Other side did it with so much meticulous planning, evident in what happened with Kashmiri Pandit in Kashmir.
Unfortunately, on our side we were not able to complete it.
Yes. because we had monkey named Nehru on our back. It is time India finally put stake through the heart of SECULA vampire and free itself of this possessed state. { other famous vampires were Dracula & Blacula.]
The author inadvertently admits that muslims did spread Covid19 last time.