Saudi king Shah Fahd's death: Less sorrow, little affect on Indian Muslims

Indian Muslims uninterested in Saudi affairs

The ruler of Saudi Arabia, King Fahd, passed away on Monday night. He was termed Khadim-ul-Harmain or the Custodian of the Holiest sites of Islam.

No doubt it was under his rule that the oil-rich state made further strides in education, governance, modern infrastructure, some reforms apart from advancements in Science and Technology.

He opened colleges and universities and it was a period of greater prosperity for the nation and his people but overall the prestige of the King among the Muslim masses across the world went down.

Not only it was the Iraq war and the arrival of the US soldiers on the holy land, but the manner in which his country that was looked upon by more than a billion Muslims as their model state, becoming a stooge of US.

No wave of sorrow across Islamic world

No wonder that the death has been received with shock across the world but there is no such wave of sorrow as in the case of leaders like Shah Faisal or even Yasser Arafat or say Hafiz Al Asad. Isn't it a sad moment for the rulers of Arabia?

Ignoring the popular sentiment, they play second fiddle to the US and thus surreptitiously support the Jewish state, thereby sabotaging the cause of Palestine. How right was Urdu poet Abdul Ahad Saaz wrote the famous verse...

'Shyookh apnee atlasi qabayen zebtan kiye..zameen ka tel aakhirat ke daam bech kar jaza kama chuke*. When Arafat died the masses went hysteric in countries as far as Malaya. Youths came out on the streets of cities in India to express their sorrow.

This is despite the fact that Arafat had failed to redeem himself after the Oslo accord. The fact that Muslim world has leaders who do not have any following among people, speaks of the widening gulf between the stooges of the US and the masses in most of the Muslim countries.

Indian Muslims are no longer attached to Saudi kingdom. They don't feel the emotional attachment with the ruling class at all. Of course, there is love and attachment for the country that has the holiest sites of Islam, but no longer a blind following for the monarchs. 

Period. 

Most powerful country's most powerful woman gets snubbed: Condoleeza Rice's delegation roughed up in Sudan!

SNUBBED!

She is is the most powerful woman in the world. That's what the US and Western media loves to say. After all, who else qualifies better. We are talking about Condoleezza Rice.

She is black [politically correct] and born-again Christian [not fundamentalist in case of Christians]. But in Sudan her entourage was allegedly roughed up. Now the papers in America are quite bitter about the episode.

We have come to learn that during her visit, the journalists accompanying her kept on pestering Sudan's President with questions and Prez' guards forced the journos and the officials out!

The 'mis-treatment' was meted out to some other members of Rice's entourage also. It is a different matter though that Sudan foreign office later expressed regret. But at least, Condi must have learnt a lot after this episode. 


Particularly, the fact that the whole world won't fall on her feet and there exists a world outside the shores of United States of America (USA). The moral of the story is that power is not universal and one must not get delusional with it. 

Lessons for Asians to learn from Dr 'Death' Patel episode in Australia

If one Dr Patel is found accused of killing his patients then all practisig medical practitioners with the surname Patel and all the Asian doctors can't be branded as 'killer doctors' or 'bad surgeons' either.

That's absurd. But this is happening in Australia. Dr Patel has been termed as Dr Death in Aussie newspapers and the media is screaming. The patients have stopped going to Asian doctors and all those with a brown skin or 'wrong' surname.

This is really unfortunate in a civilised society. Just like all Musims branded as extremists, it is also painting everyone with the same brush. However, we don't see a strong and united campaign on such an issue.

The VHP-RSS have spread hatred in countries including Britain, US and other foreign countries. Muslim organisations haven't done something great either. Unfortunately the expatriate Indians (NRIs) are more communal.

The Asians are split on religious lines in these countries and as a result such battles against discrimination can't be fought together. If Asians Abroad want to learn a lesson they can learn from Dr Death episode.

Communal violence in Dhar: Saffron influence in Malwa

Once again communal violence erupted in Dhar, a historic city in Central India. The violence claimed the lives of two persons.

For the last decade this town has become a virutal potboiler and the situation has gone from bad to worse recently.

The failure of administration to control the riot doesn't come as a surprise striking because it has become the norm in Dhar, which was once the capital of Sultans of Malwa.

The Saffron groups have done their best to turn this peaceful place into the Ayodhya of Madhya Pradesh. After Jhabua, Dhar is another laboratory for the RSS. The fact that Malwa has considerable Muslim population, minor incidents always get communal turn.

Among the sensitive districts of the state are Indore, Shajapur, Burhanpur, Dhar, Ratlam, Neemuch, Shajapur, Dewas, Mandsore and Rajgarh--almost all are in Malwa region. All these districts have more percentage of Muslims that the statewide population percent of Muslims which is just 6.5%.

More importantly there are towns in Malwa that have a large concentration of Muslims. Sarangpur, Shujalpur, Sarangarh, Mahidpur and Mhow to name just a few. Over the years RSS has gained from strength to strength in this region.

The proximity to Gujarat and the large trader community here are other causes for growing communalism. Unfortunately the police has not been fair and this has increased the mistrust among Muslims regarding the administration.

Veil in Vogue: Burqa brings freedom for non-Muslims, covering face gets social sanction in India

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The burqa or the veil that is demonised in the Western world and even looked at suspiciously among non-Muslims in India is proving to be a boon for the young ones.

Teenaged girls are preferring to cover their faces. The style is exactly similar to that of a Muslim veil. They cover themselves while going out with friends or even boy friends.

One of the main reasons is that middle-class girls when in company of their boyfriends, don't want to be recognised or seen by their relatives. So it's safe to cover your face and you won't have to worry about being identified during a visit to park or a mall.

That's not a Muslim girl...

This phenomenon is not restricted to a few isolated places but all over India.In small cities like Jamshedpur, the college authorities are in a fix, how to deal with the problem.

The girls take the burqas from a shop on rent before going out on date. Of course, there is no criticism of the practice. It's fashion now.

Burqa gives them anonymity and there is no fear being caught by parents or acquaintances. Earlier, girls claimed that they were protecting their skin from the harsh sun in Indian summer by covering their faces.

But now, throughout the year, you can see women covering their faces. They use a piece of cloth--like a head scarf or 'dupatta' to cover their faces.

Now it has become a perennial sight across India. In all seasons, girls in Pune, Nagpur, Bhopal, Raipur, Ranchi and other cities, go out covering their face and hair, that provides them the anonymity which they need to meet their lovers.

Veil has brought this independence to girls, which is otherwise not possible in our society. So how can you say that Burqa restricts. If Muslim girls generally used black burqa [Bohra women wore vibrant veils], then now its colourful veils for all.