Dear Mr Sivaswamy, You are absolutely right. There is not one point in your article I could find contention with. The Muuslim community at large is behaving in exactly the same manner as it was expected to: laarge scale protests, misplaced anger, and paranoia that its \'faith\' is under threat from a cartoon or series of cartoons. Islam has lost or is loosing its vitality. From its heydays in the middle centuries where it spawned and unbeliveably advanced and enlightened civilization, it is slowly but surely sputtering to its end as a great spriritual religion in much the same way Christianity has lost its verve in the West. All the angst,noise and fundamenatalism seen in Islam are signs of that phase....last gasps if you will. How immoral for a minister in India to call for the execution of another person..... and this moron is claiming this is what his electorate (muslim) want. It has now been proven that muslims of the present era are the most intolerant of peoples, way, way more \'intolerant\' than the \'hindutva\' hindus of India. And by the way, I am a Christian myself. Thanks, San.
I couldn't agree more with the author of this piece. Its time we put the Indian constitution above any one group, person or mouthpiece. The minister who had the gall to declare a bounty on somebody's head, should be tried in Indian courts for behavior unsuitable for a public person, who's sworn to uphold the Indian constitution. The soft-moderates need to stand up and get counted if their rights are not going to be continuously trammelled by a bunch of far-right fundamentalists. This is not the country that was 50 years ago, even 20 years ago and this kind of irresponsible comment sets us back by years everytime it happens. Having said that - I doubt the current administration has the *alls to stand up to this kind of extremism. Shame on them.
sai, I find most of the points u raised make sense, but then what UPA GOVT will be looking at is short term goals .No political party thinks of aftermath of asituation on long term basis, if that was case there would be have been much more development in india.
You see, we as Indians don't resist any chance of taking a hit at OTHERS doing things that "hurt our sentiments." Good enough. Thats commendable, but only if use the same reaction when WE do the same. Wondering what I am talking about? The name and picture of Lord Ganesh used to market the potentially lethal beedis, pictures of the Goddess Lakshmi blown to bits by the Diwali fire crackers - all of this never even occurs to us, does it? No, we actually celebrate it!! Yet, when there is an opportunity to aim our guns at others, we are almost estatic!
Cleanse yourselves, and then go about attempting to cleanse others.
Continued from previous message..People absorb everythig subconsciously. If the next "Gandhi" dies, being faithful to the history of "Gandhi" surname tradition don't make him a martyr telling he sacrificed for nation. It is because you reap what you sow. You neglect the crime and hatred to political mileage,and allow it to nourish and grow and become stronger, then remember, it will also consume you. No one is immune to hatred.
Excellent and unbiased article. Congress has always been the source of all the seperatist movements in India and torchbearer of Pseudosecularism. Not a single Party-Leftists, Congress, Lalus, Lalitas or anyone is condemning the muslim fundamentalism. The moral has gown down so much that the Samajwadi Party Leaders rather Came to their colleagues rescue saying that "Death Fatwa's is issued against non-indian living far away in some other continent hence not a criminal offnce and not at all serious". Tomorrow it will sure pour down to kill some indian as well and it will be too late. Welcome to medivial ages. Seclar India lives in texts. We shall never be secular in reality except by loud mouth. When no one cares about fundamentalism it means they are giving it a mute reception. When people start caliming that their god is the only god and only source of salvation and it does not form a offence then it it Saying " we can not live together as we have different belief's". I am seeing bad times ahead with lot of bad blood between Hindus muslims and Christians. And the suffer would be common man unsuspicious of the gravity of hate situation. Contnued.....
Saisuresh, Your opinion is very thought provoking and I agree with you that the government of India should stand up against any form of religious fundamentalism (be it Hindu, Muslim, Christian etc). However, muslim fundamentalism is India lately has been on the rise, the cartoon over-reaction is a good example, and I think the only way to bring it under control is to establish a common civil code. It hurts Indian democracy when a Shariat court in Lucknow issues a fatwa against the cartoonist in Denmark, completely overruling the legal authority of our constitution. I am waiting for the day when the rational, forward thinking, moderate muslims in India (there are so many of them) will come forward and object such absurdities, it has not happened yet. I pray for the well being of India and all its communities and I want to see India prosper. Sushant
