A TRADITION OF LOSING OUR TREASURES. WON’T WE EVER LEARN?

Today, I went to the recently opened Museum of Islamic Art in Doha – a fantastic collection of art from Europe, Africa and Asia. A collection that would be only half of what it boasts now if we in India had learnt to take care of our treasures.

Though we love to talk about our rich culture and heritage, all that we are capable of now is splitting hairs over religion. We have scant regard for the richness we have inherited. Just look at how we treat our archaeological sites.

Let me stop the general rant and talk about what really bothers me.

It’s the Maqbool Fida Husain Collection. That’s what upset me.

I can come to terms with the wonderful collection of centuries-old jewellery and daggers and pottery that we have lost to people who better appreciate it.

I think it’s quite wonderful that M F Husain – an Indian – is the only living artist commissioned to do a collection for the Museum, which will include artistic representation of the 99 names of Allah.

The above is his representation of the Last Supper.

But I can’t accept or digest the fact that we’ve lost him due to our intolerance to a country that doesn’t even pretend to be secular or tolerant.

How can we force an old man out of his own home and country? Our temple sculptures and art are far more provocative than what he attempted. We are so intolerant because he happens to be a Husain? Not a Srinivasan or Arjun or whatever…

Please don’t start with ‘would he do this to Fatima or Khadija or …’; that is nonsense and shirking our responsibility as reasonable folks; Till we decided to make an issue of it, Husain was only known as an Indian painter, a great one at that, with a quirky passion for Bollywood actresses.

We, because of our intolerance made him a Muslim painter.

He was so obviously crazy about all things his country boasted of – from Bollywood to whatever else. Yet at 90 he has to live in a foreign nation?

Reading the legends in the Gallery made me want to scream out loud…

Under the title (not of the painting) Controversy and Comprehension hangs the painting below:


And next to that is this legend:

Read it carefully…

In the 1990’s some of M.F.Husain’s works provoked controversy due to the representation of naked Hindu goddesses. However, the admiration he earned from the International community provided protection that afforded him a barrier from the controversy.
The State of Qatar, in its wisdom and tolerance, offered M.F.Husain a residence in Doha. Here, the painter has initiated an important…

…in its wisdom and tolerance?

Let’s forget how ironical that sounds. Let’s just focus on how it reflects on us.

India, the melting pot of cultures and civilizations, couldn’t provide protection to its artist, its citizen, its national treasure.


And worse still, we lose him to a country that doesn’t allow the residents to display (non-Islamic) religious icons in their cars, and only recently deported dozens of families who had dared to congregate and pray in their homes – Indian Hindus and Christians all.

Isn’t it sad that we Indians for all that we like to boast of are not really any better than them?

It makes me angry that we allow ourselves to be held to ransom by a small group of deranged folks… repeatedly. If it’s not the 10 terrorists in Mumbai, then it’s the MNS, Shiv Sena, Bajrang Dal, the Jehadis… we allow people with vested interests to dictate the terms. We don’t protest, we even justify it.

Meanwhile, we continue losing our treasures…

I am sick and tired...

I am sick and tired
Not just of the bastards who did that to my country – and I don’t mean the politicians alone…

I am sick and tired of those who take on a holier-than-thou attitude

Of those who see demons in everything and everyone

Of those who blame without basis

And of those who dub any opposing view as a ‘generalisation’

Of those who talk about being open to discussion… but only if all that is discussed is in agreement with what they feel or say

I am sick and tired of those who want to act as if sectarianism doesn’t exist in India, or if it does, talking about it makes you a culprit too

I am sick and tired of how bloody indifferent people can be

When I commented here that “I am totally dumb struck by the non-Mumbai folks out here who seem to be rather unmoved by the incident” it was taken as an accusation of me generalising, and making it a Mumbai-nonMumbai thing. When in fact I was making it exactly the opposite!!!!!!!

I don’t care to be rude to people who have an opinion on what I say or write, as some people are wont to do. Because I know when you are rude, your meaning is never heard, only your rudeness causes hurt.

Why did I say that in that comment? There are dozens of reasons why…

I am stating a few here…

1. A friend of mine (born-bred Mumbai, origin somewhere further south) was actually asked with a smirk by at least 3 ‘non-Mumbai Indians’ – What is happening to your Mumbai now? Her Danish and British colleagues showed a lot more sense and sensitivity. They enquired about her family, and then her country!

2. There are quite a few Indians in my workplace. Only some of us were frantic with worry. The others barely showed a passing interest. They didn’t have family there, they don’t know what or where Colaba and CST are. So the attack didn’t deserve more than a ‘ha, yes…” On the very day we were out on work, and at that meeting so many of the foreigners came up to me and asked me about the situation. They saw me as an Indian, and asked me about India.

3. Sun TV carried wide coverage of the cyclone (which all the ‘national’ channels totally ignored. Close to 100 dead and thousands displaced!). Sun TV’s coverage of the Mumbai attack was at best indifferent. While it showed a 15 minute footage of that nepotistic MK distributing bread to the cyclone affected, it dismissed off the ongoing Mumbai crisis in a couple of minutes.

4. When a fellow South Asian told me (in reference to the young terrorist) “When you see bad things, you do bad things”, the other Indians who were with me just nodded. They couldn’t even be bothered to take offence at what that guy was saying. The people who were so brutally murdered, deserved it?

5. Someone who obviously was not following the news told me, ‘I am sure they let go of all the Muslim hostages! And no Muslim died’

6. And more than a dozen people told me, “oh Muslims, no wonder!” I almost prayed then (and I never do) that not one of those terrorists turns out to be an Indian. Because we know what would follow.

7. Then 2 people on Thursday told me that this is in response to what ‘the minorities endured’.

8. I stopped counting at 10, when people either invited me or spoke about catching the latest releases that night.

9. And when I spoke about the indifference of some here, I was asked by a friend, “What if it had happened elsewhere. Not in Mumbai or Delhi or Bangalore… Would you still be so upset?” Would I? I seriously hope so. I would probably be far more devastated if it happened in Chennai, because it is my city, and the victims could well be my near and dear ones. But I would be scared and angry wherever this took place… I would feel threatened for my country.

10. One person told me (must be a cousin of R R Patil) that the whole thing seems so much bigger, because of the live coverage.

11. And then so many didn’t even mention the attack.

12. And well, every single person who had these weird comments/ideas was a non-Mumbaikar, they couldn't identify with what was happening.

Does that mean I found no ‘Indian’ patriot here? It doesn’t. Fortunately, R & I are picky about our friends, and they (and their friends) were all angered/saddened/upset/concerned by what was happening.

Unfortunately, during the course of my work day, I interact with people who are not all to my taste or liking, many of whom are Indians. And quite a few of them figure in the list above.

I speak of my experiences, not my personal opinions, so how the hell can someone question that? Don’t we all make up minds based on our experiences?

I am not going to bury my head in the sand and claim every single Indian was affected by this. Because every single Indian obviously was not. And they anger me almost as much as those who did that to India.

We are so divided as a country. So bloody divided. North, South, West and we don’t even give enough thought to the East!

I am also sick and tired of people talking about my right to comment on India because I don’t live there… I have whole different take on that, but will save it for another post.

And one more thing, I here voices out there saying we can’t brand all Pakistanis as our enemies. Yes, let’s not. But Pakistan is, whether we like it or not. At the height of the Kargil crisis when R & I refused to buy Pakistani produce here (we work with Pakistanis and are cordial enough with them), people mocked us, saying we were new to the Gulf, and will soon forget all this. We haven’t. We still don’t.

I agree we cannot blame X who lives in Islamabad or Y in Lahore for this. But as a country, they can’t shrug off their responsibility in escalating terrorism.

I am not done with this rant, so will continue soon. And unlike some, I don’t mind being disagreed with, as long as it’s done civilly.

YOU don't have to prove anything!!!!!!!

Southways is angry -- an anger I can understand and face quite often.
If my post made people like her or anyone else to prove their Indian-ness, I must apologise.
As most opinions or emotions go, this is also very much guided by personal experiences.
When my husband or his family criticise the BJP or RSS, people tend to smirk saying because they are Christians. It angers me. They criticise them because they are Indians with a vote! I used to defend them saying my father in law served the country in the army, my husband's greatest ambition was to be part of the armed forces (though it didn't happen)... until I realised that what I was doing was wrong. Why the hell should they prove anything to anybody?
Everytime people say something about Christians I want to tell them, 'oh but my husband believes in buying only Indian made stuff'... sometimes it slips out, but most often I bite my tongue. Because, as he says he doesn't 'effing have to prove anything to anyone'.
So I can understand Southways anger.

I wrote the 'comments' on the post reading Broom, MM and MG. Not the posts. I would have to be semi-literate or illiterate to question MM's Indian-ness.

But in defense of what I said earlier -- I believe in nationhood. And I do feel we need to work together as Indians, we need to all put our Indian-ness over our religious preferences.

There are people who don't believe in the concept of nation-hood. that's their problem.
I believe in it. So every argument and defence from me would be from that stand.

And yes, it would help if not all comments towards Hindus/Hinduism is negative. It would help even more if there are some positive comments thrown our way.
I say this, because I am a Hindu. What is so wrong with that?

That was my basic premise. Don't demonise us! And don't twist a simple post into a PhD thesis on religious differences. For goodness' sake, give me a break!

About Dave's comments on my earlier post, half of which I don't understand, and the other half I don't agree with, I can only say this.
You don't believe in the concept of 'Nation'; I not only believe in it, it is EXTREMELY important to me. So after this there is really nothing we can argue about that would make sense to either of us. But say you are travelling in India, and Hindu mob roughs you up, my guess is, it would be the goverment that represents your 'nation' that bails you out of the mess. Not Iain Banks or Radiohead!

1,2,3 Mic Testing. Speaking for the Hindu...

Lots and lots and lots of discussions on the subject of religion, in the blog world. I had posted about this a couple of months ago.
Some that are worth a read are here: MumbaiGirl, MadMomma and Broom. I agree to the larger argument, but disagree with certain issues within.
I could have commented in detail on those blogs (I did comment on one, briefly) – but then of what use is this space?
I am not going to get into a point by point argument or agreement.

What I noticed in the comments on above blogs is this: There were apologetic/defensive/offensive Hindus. Many seemed genuinely ashamed by the way some from their community behaved. There were many who said really nice things about friends from other communities.
But from the Christian and Muslim readers, anger seemed to be the main emotion. They don’t have nice things to say about the 600 million Hindu Indians they know or Hinduism itself? Really? Why?
The main premise of the argument for tolerance is that there should be no generalisation. But it takes two to tango.
I do get annoyed that when we talk about religious tolerance or doing the right thing, it is invariably targeted at Hindus (in the Indian context, at least).

Yes, we do have a larger responsibility, being in the majority. We need to be more conscious of our actions. But that does not absolve other communities of their responsibilities. How about making a few accommodations too?
And the increasing tendency for those from minority religions in India to paint themselves as victims all the time, is something I can’t digest. Can’t they find anything redeeming in the country they call home? In their fellow national of other religions? Is there no one amongst them who are doing well, enjoying the best of opportunities, living a good life?
While it is understandable that when you are in the minority your insecurity tends to be a tad more pronounced, it is also important not to paint the entire Hindu community as villains.
There is no excusing Khandamal or Godhra. It’s a shame that we never will be able to erase or live down. But amongst a billion population in a country as huge and diverse as ours, please don’t tell me you can’t find any reprieve.
Domination of one religion over another, discrimination based on religion, killings, marginalisation – it’s there everywhere. It’s been there for centuries and centuries. And the fact that we are not used to it still, says a lot in favour of the whole human race. It means that most of us are still fair and tolerant and are hoping for a more ‘equal’ world to live in.

PS: I used to think I am an atheist. But I am not. I am way too spiritual and believe in Karma above all else. I am totally irreligious, but Hinduism shaped my identity.
PS: And if you thing I am member-in-waiting for VHP or Bajrang Dal, that’s your problem!


Edited to Add a comment by ME on MG's post. It just made a lot of sense to me, so adding it here.

the thing that strikes me is how everybody seems to have generalized everybody else.
Growing up outside of India, I never though being a Christian in India made me a minority. In fact, as a kid vacationing in Kerala, i thought all the parts of India were like mine - where you woke up to the bhajans, call to prayers from the mosque and the church bells - all nicely living side by side - a bit naive I know, but i don’t think the religion divide registered in my psyche.
I don’t remember religion as being an issue in my Indian school in the GUlf.
I do remember randoms getting hecked up about the North - South Divide and in college about the Mal - Tamil divide: talk about inane.

i guess what i am trying to say is - uh? Is this really such a big problem
And when did it become an issue on the scale of minority vs. majority? As far as I can see, you can’t really tell who’s a minority in India by looking at their face as opposed to the West (or more specifically the US) where the colour of your skin clearly marks one out as a minority.
And really, when did reading a couple of random blogs make anybody an authority on what the entire Hindu, Christian or Muslim community thinks?
<>
For this Christian reader, it’s more like bewilderment that this non-issue could even be an issue.

Privileged, indeed

Reading this reminded me once again how lucky R, O, Plus & I are.

Let’s start at the very beginning. R is a Malayalee Syrian Christian & I am a Tamil Hindu. At least, by birth, we are this. And as the fairy tale goes, we met, we were stupid, we married, and we are trying to live happily ever after **silly smiley**.

Were our parents concerned about our choice? Yes.

Were they worried about what family and friends would think of this union? Yes.

Did they think that our different religions would pose a problem in future, especially once children make an appearance? Yes.

Did they express their doubts, concerns, and worries to us? Yes.

Did they disapprove of our decision? Maybe, in some remote parts of their heart and mind.

Did they make us feel like villains or victims? NO!

Did they make a public spectacle of their concerns? NO!

Once they were done asking questions and we were done answering them, did they nag us? NO!

Did they support us? Yes! Even when some nosey-parkers tried to interfere they were politely (and sometimes, not so politely) asked to buzz off.

Did they make us feel welcome and part of the family? Yes!

Did they ever, ever, ever again in the 10 years of marriage bring up any of their initial concerns? Not to date!

Did the birth of their grandchild, and the expectation of another, rear the ugly head of religious ownership? No.

Did a request of Baptism, Hindu naming ceremony or any other religious procedure ever come up? No.

Would they like it if we volunteered? Of course, they would love it. But they are not unhappy and sulky that we don’t.

It is not that the families, most of whom are religious, had no reservations. It’s the fact that they put our interests above their prejudices. Their priority was that their son/daughter-brother/sister was happy.

I’ve gotten so used to the hassle-free life that I forget inter-religious marriages anywhere in the world is strife-ridden.

In our case it helped that neither of us were religious practitioners. We believe in the concept of goodness and express it in ways our birth religion has influenced us to.
Our daughter now gets similar indoctrination.
What is wonderful about my family and R’s is that the much dreaded change-of-heart that people predicted post first child, never happened.

I used to be extremely sensitive to the situation and look out for the faintest hint of religious ownership. After several false accusations, I realized that I only ended up looking stupid and petty in front of people who were being really understanding and tolerant of my immaturity.
R on the other hand doesn’t care. While I am uncomfortable when his aunts invite me for a prayer meeting and fuss with him, he says he would attend one if my family invited him, because he would be happy that they thought he should be included. The point is, I fuss even if my aunts or uncles invite me for their prayers and bhajans.

But we are very different people, and I am more of the fault-finding type.

But I am also the count-your-blessings types… and this is one I should count a million times over.

Ram's namaz break...

A must read link

There is hope indeed...

pity their ignorance

My colleagues (she & she) have already blogged about this, so I am not going to repeat the sentiments that I wholeheartedly agree with.

To give a background of sorts -- we work in a multi-cultural publishing house. Our colleagues -- full-time, part-time, freelance and extended company -- hail from a whole load of different countries: Egypt, Palestine, Lebanon, Qatar, Sri Lanka, Nepal, India, Pakistan, Poland, Britain, USA, Bahrain...
And this is what we have noticed of the Arabs. They can be funny and kind and friendly and helpful (rarely all of it at the same time!) and occasionally professional. But they are not often aware of the world beyond their comfort zone, nor are they open minded.

We have colleagues who have worked with us for nearly five years, and know little or nothing about the other cultures they are exposed to. We have Christians and Buddhists and Hindus and non-Arab Muslims working together.
But to them we are all collectively known as 'non Arabs' who eat unappetising food (real rich coming from someone who lives on macaroni and foul beans) and speak a funny tongue. And culture? Whatever could that be?

They never once wish us for Diwali or Christmas or Onam. Not even when we thrust some goodies on them for the occasion.
Every time we have an official lunch or an office get together, the 'non-Arabs’ indulge their intolerance by opting for an Arab cuisine restaurant. Because if there is one thing ‘they’ can really do better than the rest of us put together, it is sulk and crib.

However, for the sake of peace and harmony, and also because the rest of us don't mind different experiences, we go with what pleases them. We organise Iftars and celebrate Eids.
The worst of it is that they take our accommodations for granted.

Yet, what I feel towards them is not anger.
It is pity, and a gleeful sense of superiority.
A race that has contributed so much to astronomy and mathematics, and who were known for their adventurous spirit and explorations, is now reduced to a bunch of ignorant, narrow minded and insular people.
When we talk about their authors, their food and their landmarks, why do they never show curiosity about the different cultures they interact with daily?
They can't even accept that non-Arab Muslims may have a different way of practising their religion. It's their way or haram**case point below**.

In fact few of them show interest in other Arab nations, even. So where is the question of wanting to know more about Poland and Nepal?

They know Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan. But please!!!!!!!!!!!!

As I said... every bit of indifference they display is for me a point scored on behalf of the society, religion and culture that moulded me and people like me.

** Case 1: We were discussing a contact we knew at work. The guy is a Hindu, married to a Muslim. And immediately, barked a colleague... oh, she is no Muslim. When we tried explaining that in India there was provision for people of different faiths to marry without conversion, he turned a deaf ear to our explanation and maintained that if the husband was a Hindu, then she can't be a Muslim.
** Case 2: I described a friend as a devout Muslim -- meaning she prays, and believes and does charity and observes Ramadan. The response: She can't be, because she doesn't cover her hair, and wears blouses that expose her hands.

what mould do you fit?

it starts at school... this urge to fit everyone into moulds. not just physiological -- tall, short, beautiful, cute, could-do-with-nose-job!

and it's not just about trying to fit a personality mould either -- cranky, cheerful, angry, selfish, selfless, friendly (we are all one or the other at some point in the day).

then it's the environmental classifications, as well.

O comes back from school telling me how her teacher couldn't understand why i did not share the surname she and her father did.
apparently, she asked her more than once if she was sure my surname was not C.
O handled it well, as we have had this conversation before. because i have explained to her that i prefer keeping my name alone, and when she is old enough, she can call herself as she pleases.

i don't carry any surname at all. My given names are a mouthful by itself, so i dropped my dad's initial/name. in the south, surnames are not really common. you just take your father's first name. or the initial. so i was C. V S for a long time. and when i had to give a name for my bylines when i joined Indian Express, i decided V S would do just great. and marriage to a C-surnamed person, didn't change the resolve.

so already the teacher (whom i totally adore otherwise) is trying to fit my whole family into a mould -- the Cs.

i hate being introduced as Mrs R C -- especially by people who know my name. one of my sisters, who hasn't taken her husband's surname, sent out a communication to all, that her name will not change post-marriage. and when some very stubborn people still send letters or cards to her, addressed Mrs and Mr D or Mrs D, she returns it with a polite note that no Mrs D resides there, but a certain Ms M C does!

you may consider it extreme -- but what do you do when people try to force you into a mould, even when you expressly convey your dislike or disregard for it?

now, i log in to the school website to check O's profile, I see 'Christian' marked against religion. this when we didn't just leave the column blank in the school form, we actually ran a line through it. even the birth certificate we submitted doesn't contain details of religion. but apparently some know-it-all decided that with a surname like C, it has to be a certain religion.

i know i have a huge scene in the making at school -- and R would probably disuade me from doing so, as i have earned quite a reputation there already! -- but i don't want O trying /struggling to fit into all the categorisations thrust upon her. Malayalee/Tamil? Christian/Hindu? Daughter of Journalists=journalist-in-the-making? (oh, goodness forbid, hope not)

there are some things she can't escape, for now.
daughter of V&R, an indian; legacy of uneven teeth and quick temper from mum...
i don't want her burdened with more.

PS: I sent R out on this job, and he explained to the school official that we were a multi-religious family, and did not want any one to be highlighted. the detail was deleted without a protest. -- Sept 21

The Muslim. The Hindu. And The FEAR

This is just the tip of the iceberg.
I am not a leftie; I am not an underdog-lover; But I do hate religious fanaticism.
Probably because I was born and brought up in Chennai, which is not communal in the way Mumbai, Delhi or even Bangalore is... And I had no problems with the Muslims I knew there... I found them no weirder than the rest of us. I married a Christian... though not the evangelical, the 'lord is my saviour' type.
And I've always had a problem with people who generalised about Muslims... including my father and my sister. I found it petty and unreasonable.
Now this is getting to a different level.
A friend of mine relocated to Mumbai from here. A techie, chilled out, totally in love with the city he calls home. Then his Hindu-wife tells me, every day there are subtle signs telling him he is different.
Only Muslim tele-marketing agents contact him; it was difficult to nail a job because of his religion... worse because he comes from the Gulf.
I know tonnes of people who would say they are getting what they deserve. Bullshit!
Discrimination can't be justified.
I live in a Muslim country, fanaticism is in my face everyday. I get totally annoyed by the unquestioning blind faith, and rejection of anything 'different'. I fear their narrow-mindedness; I fear the power their clerics have over them; In some of their eyes, I see a madness that gives me goose bumps; I hate the way they treat their womenfolk; but I still can't hate THE MUSLIM. Because I see many who don't fit into my fear parameters.
When I hear rabid comments from Hindu fundamentalists, I react with anger. When I hear it from regular folks, whom I consider reasonable, I pee in my pants.
Because whether we realise it or not, if we don't watch our thoughts, actions, words, we will cross the thin line that divides us from what we deplore.
That all that we accuse the Muslims of (almost all of which is true to only some, not all of them), we ourselves will live to bear.
That the greatness of India and even Hinduism, and the reason it has thrived so wonderfully all these thousands of years (despite its many flaws), should not be corrupted by the culture of non-acceptance and intolerance that other religions may follow. In condemning those ideals, we should not end up creating our own monstrous dictums.
I am scared. Terribly scared, that my daughter will be forced to identify with one of her parent's religion... that she will not have the liberty to imbibe all and create her own walk of life.

and then there are some...

like here... don't get me wrong. i am no fan of the US, but I don't mind the americans. i find them rather nice.
so here is a people who say there are different paths and methods to salvation. you are not damned if you choose to embrace a piece of stone, or cry over the crucifix.
then there are the others... it's their way or the highway. and if you are not of their belief, then well, too bad, you deserve to die a real painful death.
i am ANGRY!

why i don't like the praying type

of all the religious type, the ones who spend hours praying are the ones who annoy me the most.
somehow, they feel the hours they put in praying absolves them from all their responsibility.
that they don't ever have to give or help or think about those who are not so privileged. the PRAYER assumes that his hours of praying (hours that have made no good difference in anyone's lives) don't oblige him to be a good citizen.
i know people who make it a virtue of wearing off their knees and foreheads in genuflection; but ask them to give 5 minutes of their time or 10 bucks of their earning for a good cause? their worn knees will carry them quicker out of your reach, than Flo Jo!
i am sure those prayers are mainly demands... for more and more. for self and family.
why not a word thrown in for say world peace, the Dalai Lama returning to Tibet, that their underpaid and overworked servant manages to get more money out of their stingy hands?

About The Dictionary below

One of the members at the writing workshop I attended some weeks ago wrote that.
I found it absolutely beautiful and true... it was spiritual without being religious -- my favourite way for things to be!
We try to find solutions and proof for everything in science. We take refuge in it, and then the line blurs. From trying to cure diseases, genetics becomes about designer babies.
From finding alternative energy resources, nuclear science becomes about destruction.
I am all for science... don't get me wrong. But not a science that disprespects and rapes nature. Definitely not that.
And for me just as how science is misused, so is religion.
From providing solace for the soul, it is now a weapon to discriminate and kill...
That the sun rises and sets, and in Qatar is it is a perfect ball in the evening, unlike how sunsets are back where i come from; how sometimes the sun and the moon are visible up in the sky at the same time; how there are shades of pinks and oranges in the skies that I've never ever seen -- not on an artist's palette, not in a weaver's loom, not on photoshop... colours that we find impossible to translate; that every day we learn new aspects of species, attributes that we cannot even begin to imagine...
and when you see or hear or experience all this, and just take it a wee bit down, from the head to the heart... a humbling moment, that trivialises the wars we wage at work, home and in the world.

Support Arun Gandhi! Jews, Move On!

Arun Gandhi was forced to resign from the board of M.K. Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence based at the University of Rochester. Simply because he chose to comment on the all powerful Jewish mafia.
Here is a news report quote:

Gandhi was on a panel of scholars, writers and clergy who discuss a new topic weekly on the Washington Post's "On Faith" page and his comments, posted Jan. 7, drew a torrent of criticism, much of it unfavorable.
He wrote that Jewish identity "has been locked into the holocaust experience — a German burden that the Jews have not been able to shed. It is a very good example of (how) a community can overplay a historic experience to the point that it begins to repulse friends.
"The holocaust was the result of the warped mind of an individual who was able to influence his followers into doing something dreadful. ... The world did feel sorry for the episode but when an individual or a nation refuses to forgive and move on, the regret turns into anger."
Describing Israel as "a nation that believes its survival can only be ensured by weapons and bombs," Gandhi asked whether it would "not be better to befriend those who hate you?"
"Apparently, in the modern world so determined to live by the bomb, this is an alien concept," he wrote. "You don't befriend anyone, you dominate them. We have created a culture of violence (Israel and the Jews are the biggest players) and that Culture of Violence is eventually going to destroy humanity."

Now pray tell me, what is wrong with his comments?
Why does the whole world have to continue apologising for what happened to them under Hitler? To appease them, another set of people (the Arabs/Palestinians) have been permanently displaced, terrorised and satanised. Isn't that good enough? Who will speak up for the Arabs in the Middle East, and what they have had to endure because of what Hitler did in Europe to the Jews?
And why couldn't the Jews involve in a verbal debate with Arun Gandhi, instead of shutting him up and getting rid of him?
Hasn't the world asked the South African victims of apartheid to move on? Hasn't the world asked the African-American victims of slavery to move on? Hasn't most of the world moved on from sometimes brutal colonisation.
Is death really worse than brutal discrimination. So the Jews died dreadful deaths. Does that make other brutalities, that didn't result in deaths, less despicable?

haram, haram, haram

Everything is Islamic. Halal. From the food we eat to the money we invest. Halal chicken, halal chick peas. Banks are vying with each other to give shariah compliant products. Halal investments, halal loans!!!
And then the rather religious landlords and his minions go about hiking rents relentlessly. Rat holes for QR5000 a month? Give me a break!!! Haram, Haram Haram!
Sheikh Yousuf Qaradawi, SPEAK!!

Faithful Hugs

I don’t believe in a God, as is propagated by religions. I don’t believe in a God who is prayed to, and made demands of. I don’t believe in a God that demands routines, strictures and punishes. Naturally, I don’t believe in God-men or women.
I believe in an all encompassing power that has an explanation for every nano-second of every human being’s life. A power that is responsible for all things beautiful. A power that defends itself against our onslaught, and hence is responsible for all things ugly too.
It demands no prayer, only respect. It demands no organised religion. Religion is a brilliant concept, conceived to keep people together, and live in peace. That concept has been molested by those who least believe in it.
But I almost understand why people have a compelling need to believe. To belong to a religion. To worship. They are too busy trying to find an elusive peace of mind, and would rather place the responsibility on an entity they can’t quantify. An entity who can be the fall guy.
It doesn’t work for me.
And God-men/women. That is far more incomprehensible. To place so much trust in another human being who is just like you. Eats, sleeps and shits the way you do. Is as inhibited about sex (talk, action… whatever) as most of us are! And yet there are millions of us who seek them out as our saviours. What is it about them that makes us lose logic.
There is one God-person I almost understand. The person they call Amma. Supposedly illiterate, yet a majority of her followers are the highly-educated. I understand only one of her rhetorics. Her hugs.
Because in any relationship, from the time we are born to the very end, that is what we seek the most. Hugs. Even those of us who say we don’t like to be hugged, are probably only scared by the power it wields.
Hugs – As Tender as a mother’s love, As Secure as a father’s conviction, As Affectionate as a sibling’s jibes, As Sexy as a husband’s passion, As complete as a child’s trust.
It is probably hugs that people seek when they pray.