Friday, April 28, 2006

From community to sects, sub-sects: Now a Shia TV Channel ?

QTV, now known as ARY
Just got to know that the Shia community in India is planning to start a television channel of its own. I am not very much impressed.

Already the cable-wallahs have little bandwidth to show fresh channels and given the fact that Shias are a minority within a minority it will be even difficult to get it viewd.

Except in Hyderabad, Lucknow and parts of Kashmir where else would peope able to force the cable-wallah to show it.

Meanwhile, I have yet to hear about any sub-sect launching its own channelI mean I find Hindu channel, local small-time Jain religious channels, Christian channels but not of sub-sects. In fact, some Hindu religious channels show the programmes of Jains and Sikhs also.


It would be better if Q TV [now ARY] allots sometime to the Shia brothers as well. But I don't think any of the side would like it. This [Shia channel] is the plan of the recently floated All India Shia Personal Law Board (AISPLB). 


The other day an elderly gentleman was telling me that how Q TV is 'corrupting' the Muslims in India with its Barelvi overdose [qawwalis and similar things that irritate this man who probably finds all this un-Islamic] though indulges in a hundred other 'bidah' himself.

But nobody wants reconciliation, everyone seems so rigid that only their personal interpretation and understanding of faith, sect or sub-sect is correct and the rest are all--astray. Long ago I had decided not to discuss and disssect religion and religious practices.

There is quote or saying that it is a great fallacy that talking out things help rather they aggravate. So let us have all sorts of religious TV channels representing all thoughts. I already watch none except Pogo [the kids' channel] and often the corrupting Fashion TV FTV.