Pakistan Ledger| Intellibriefs | Defense Analysis| پا کستان لیجر| پاکستاني کھاتا | -ميرا پيغام پيارے ھموطنوں کے نام.صرف ھبلوطن پاکستانی آنکھوں کے ليے— یا رب دل مسلم کو وہ زندا تمنا دے جو قلب کو گرما دے جو روح کو تڑپا دے

پاکستاان لیجر | PAKISTAN LEDGER | پاکستاني کھاتا | Sept 22nd, 08 | Moin Ansari | معین آنصآرّی |

ghettoisation, social boycott, discrimination in employment and blurring of lines between the state and religion as witnessed in Gujarat” and said “out of the hopelessness and despair of the Muslim community–and if not addressed firmly–the Christian tribal communities too will rise new waves of terror “There is no other explanation for the pheonmenon of graduates, engineers and doctors born, educated and living in India taking to the path of violence”, Pakistan, Finance Minister P Chidambaram

Q: And why do you think this sort of image of Muslims is so deeply-rooted?

A: One major reason is that most Hindus, especially those in positions of power, have little, if any, personal engagement with Muslims. So, being unable to relate to them as real, flesh-and-blood people, they tend to see them in the form of sinister stereotypes and cruel caricatures. The only source of information about Muslims they might get is from the media, large sections of which, of course, are communalized and are getting increasingly more so. Take television, for instance. You won’t find a single programme set in a Muslim household. It’s almost always set in an ‘upper’ caste, upper or middle-class Hindu family. Hindi cinema-or Hindustani cinema actually-once had considerable space for Muslims, although they were generally presented in stereotypical terms, as decadent feudal lords luxuriating in comfort, or as burkha-clad women or singing, paan-chewing qawwals or whatever, not as ‘normal’ human beings. But even that space has vanished, and now numerous Bollywood films clearly and explicitly demonise Muslims in a very carefully planned manner. In addition to all this is the poisonous anti-Muslim propaganda of the Hindutva forces. So, all this combines to colour the public domain and the public perception of Muslims in an increasingly negative light. As members of the wider society, it is not surprising that many people in the police, the courts and the media are also influenced by this way of thinking. Kavita Srivastava. Based in Jaipur, Kavita Srivastava is the President of the Rajasthan chapter of the Peoples’ Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL)

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New Delhi, Sep 17 (PTI) In a sharp attack on Pakistan, Finance Minister P Chidambaram today accused it of supporting terrorist activities and communal violence in India even as he voiced concern over “alienation” of Muslim and Christian communities in this country. Noting that India is caught in a “troubled neighbourhood”, Chidambaram said Pakistan has taken its “hostility” towards India beyond Kashmir. “Pakistan is implacably opposed to India. While Kashmir appears to be the central issue of contention, Pakistan has taken its hostility beyond Kashmir and support terrorist activities and communal conflagrations in other parts of India,” he said delivering K M Cariappa Meomorial Lecture here. The Finance Minister said while there are challenges from across the border, there is also a challenge of “alienation” of the Muslim community and more recently of the Christian community.

“The divide between the Muslims and Hindus is taking new and dangerous forms,” the Finance Minister said. Chidambaram referred to the “ghettoisation, social boycott, discrimination in employment and blurring of lines between the state and religion as witnessed in Gujarat” and said “out of the hopelessness and despair of the Muslim community–and if not addressed firmly–the Christian tribal communities too will rise new waves of terror,” he said. “There is no other explanation for the pheonmenon of graduates, engineers and doctors born, educated and living in India taking to the path of violence”, he said. Referring to India’s “troubled neighbourhood”, he pointed out how Myanmar gave shelter to insurgent groups and Nepal remained an “enigma” under the new government led by Maoists. PTI

Q: What, then, do you see as the way ahead?

A: This is a political issue, and for this we need a political struggle. It concerns not just Muslims, who might be among the worst targeted by such draconian laws, but all oppressed and marginalized social groups, communities and classes. It is a major threat to democracy, and so all democratic forces need to come together to stiffly oppose these draconian laws.Kavita Srivastava can be contacted on kavisriv@gmail.com India: Interaction of Hindus in power with Muslims Peace is a two way street Nehru’s commitment to the people of Kashmir KASHMIR Junagarh & Manvadar Kashmir and Junagarh is Pakistani territory Kashmir: Does the article of accession exist? Northern Areas are part of Pakistan and were never part of Kashmir Noticias de Rupia | Nouvelles de Roupie | Rupiennachrichten | новости рупии | 卢比新闻 | Roepienieuws | Rupi Nyheter | ルピーニュース | Notizie di Rupia | PAKISTAN LEDGER | پاکستاني کھاتا | Moin Ansari | معین آنصآرّی | DefensebriefsIntellibriefs to: RSS feed: | RUPEE NEWS | April 15th, 2008 | Moin Ansari | معین آنصآرّی | اخبار روپیہ |