India erupts after Saddam Hussein's execution: Photos of trains stopped in Lucknow, anger in Bhopal & Bangalore

Tens of thousands of Indians came out in scores of Cities and towns across the nation, to protest the hanging of Saddam Hussein in Iraq. 

Mostly Muslims, leftists, Samajwadi Party workers and citizens from various walks of life cutting across religious lines, hit the streets.

Following are some of the photographs to capture the mood from Lucknow, Bangalore, Bhopal and other cities of the country.

Now, read about the protests, demonstrations and the display of public anger in cities of the country.

Though lakhs have already died in the war, Saddam Hussein's hanging on the eve of Eid-ul-Zuha, enraged Muslims.

People from other communities, especially, those with Communist background, were seen participating in the protests.

Slogan against George Bush

In fact, it was Saddam Husain as a symbol of the anti-imperialistic resistance that also brought such a large number of people out on streets. 

Hindus were heard ruing the death of a friend of India. In first photograph Samajwadi party activists are seen atop a train on the outskirts of Lucknow which they stopped. 

Trains were stopped elsewhere also to protest the killing of Saddam Hussein. There were huge rallies taken out.

In other photo, a woman, a surviving victim of Bhopal gas tragedy* holds a placard with message against-George Bush message, written in Urdu. 

In the third photograph, United States of America's president George Bush's effigy set ablaze in Bangalore. 

However, in Lucknow a section of Shias today celebrated. Most of these demonstrations and protests were peaceful.


The protesters were sad but calm and there was no destruction of property or arson reported from anywhere. 

There were huge protests in South India also. Ulema had urged Muslims to exercise restraint. 

The figure of number of protest is yet to come but over a hundred demonstrations were reported. 

Many cities had over a dozen demonstrations each and on Sunday many marches are planned.

Saddam Hussein executed: Tragedy for Asia, shame for Middle-East & Arab States

Saddam Hussein's hanging in Iraq: Tragedy for Asia

Shame for Middle-East and the Arab States

Saddam Hussein: April 28, 1937-December 30, 2006

He may have been a dictator. He may have committed massacres. Even democratically elected leaders in my country have engineered massacres and riots. 

I would not let a foreign nation decide their fate. Saddam Hussain may not have been a hero for many Muslims like us earlier but his execution exposes the hollowness of Islamic countries and the 'auqaat' [real worth] of these Muslim leaders.


In Saddam Hussein's execution [death by hanging] and before that the farce of the court case, the world has seen another example of the American arrogance that has destroyed numerous countries. A travesty of justice indeed.
Khuda Hafiz Saddam H
usain
Eid-ul-Zuha Mubarak!

Whither civil rights: Jewellers ban veiled women's entry, Adult lovers can't marry

'We are not just beard & burqa'

Meena, 36, a tribal woman and Peter, 38, a rickshaw puller, are in love but they can't marry. The Vishwa Hindu Parishad's local arm Dharm Sena doesn't allow them to marry.

After all, Meena, is a tribal, and the Sena feels it would lead to a tribal's conversion to Christianity. They applied for marriage at the Collector's office but  the permission has not been granted because the woman is not Christian.

Madhya Pradesh has BJP government in power and Assembly has passed a bill that will make such marriages even more difficult.

The Governor has sent the bill to President. Meena's brother Radhey refutes allegations of coercion. 'Peter is a daily wager and can't lure us with any money", he says. Isn't a peculiar situation that two adults, who are in love can't marry?

Check this Link

NO BURQAS IN OUR SHOWROOMS: JEWELLERS IN PUNE

Meanwhile, jewellers in Pune have banned entry of women wearing veil in their shops. The jewellers' association has taken the step after incidents of thefts. They have written to Home Minister for permission to put up a notice outside their shop that 'Veil-wearing customers would not be allowed'.

Maharashtra Minorities' Commission chairman Naseem Siddiqui says, 'We ask every community to condemn this decision. A woman has the right to wear anything she wants. She should be given the choice whether to wear a burqa or a jeans to shop,'.

'Today they are saying that burqa-clad women robbed a jewellery store, and stop veiled women from entering the shops. Tomorrow they will say burqa-clad women robbed a bank, so veiled women will not be allowed in banks too. This is not only absurd but dangerous too,' she said.

Many of us would call it xenophobic and see it as a serious breach of citizens' civil rights. Some would even appreciate the security concerns of jewellers. However, I see more such demands coming from different quarters in future.

With Hindus and Muslims living in separate areas in each City, denial of house to person of other community causing increasing ghettoisation, the gulf between communities has widened a lot in the recent decades [years].

Can you imagine a neighbourhood shopkeeper imposing such a ban? Yes, spic and span showrooms can surely afford that because of the feeling that Muslims don't go to such expensive showrooms where branded jewellery is sold.

Malls can also impose similar bans in future. After all, a burqa [like a bearded Muslim] would appear unfashionable [even grotesque] in such modern environment. This is one of the fall outs of 9/11 that has seen rise in prejudices.


This happened all over the world. Alas, this attitude towards Muslims and burqa in Europe would not affect much but surely it does hurt when it happens in India, a country where Islam is religion of the soil for over a thousand years.

Shaukat Siddiqui's 'Khuda Ki Basti': An epic Urdu novel that depicts human suffering and the spirit to survive against all odds

It was a strange feeling. I had just started reading one of the greatest Urdu novels ever written, 'Khuda ki Basti' and finished a few chapters of it but the next morning I got the news that Shaukat Siddiqui, the author, had passed away in Pakistan.

I had always heard names of three great post-partition novels 'Aag ka Daryaa' by Qurratul Ain Hyder, Udas Naslein by Abdullah Husain and Shaukat Siddiqui's Khuda ki Basti, ever since my childhood.

Hyder's Aag ka Darya was readily available and I also got its English transliteration 'River of Fire', in order to lend it to friends.

I could not find Udaas Naslen but I bought its translation that was published in India a couple of years back under the title 'Weary Generations' I got from Hazratganj [Lucknow].

The third novel Khuda ki Basti [The Blessed City/God's Own Land] eluded me for long. All efforts to get it were in vain for years.

A library where I found it in index, had refused to lend it to me as it was in two volumes and the first part had been missing. Recently they somehow got the first volume and hence I issued the whole book comprising two volumes.

I had not read Shaukat Siddiqui, though he belonged to Lucknow, my birthplace. An Urdu novel that has seen over 50 editions would surely have some unique quality, I knew, but I regret that I could read it so late. It is a very dark novel and while reading it, I, for once, had to review my opinion about the critics of Qurratul Ain Hyder.

Yes, I staunchly felt that those who termed Hyder as a 'bourgeoise writer' and charge her of 'writing for the upper/upper-middle class and romanticising the past', were nothing but a frustrated lot. But as I read Shaukat Siddiqui's masterful story, I could see the real Lucknow, the real Lahore and the real Karachi.

The life of ordinary people in the aftermath of partition, the large number of real people who suffered and who are always on the brink--trying their best to prevail upon their misfortune but whose every effort is thwarted. 

The dreams of the teenaged boys and street kids and their language could never have been written by somebody else with such perfection. Siddiqui never returned to Lucknow but his portrayal of the life of the City's [Lahore-Karachi have the reflection of Lucknow also in the novel] poor and under-privileged class is unmatched [and scary].

The story of teenaged Sultana, whose dreams die young and poverty forces her mother to ask her to elope with a suitor but even he doesn't turn up and her mother has to marry the person who had his eye on the daughter.

Sultana's brother who works at a mechanic's workshop is fired. He runs away but lands up in a juvenile home from where he goes to a pickpocket's school. One of his friend, who earned a few paisas by pushing the cart of a leper beggar also has a tragic fate. 


Other characters of the novel including Sultana's younger brother and her suitor also struggle to survive. Though the noel is terribly gloomy but the characters keep you spellbound. In their struggle for survival, some characters find peace though it is short-lived. 

However, Shaukat Siddiqui has succeeded in writing an exceptional novel that looks like an insider's account of the world where the word 'people' doesn't mean just the businessmen, politicians and bureaucrats or the occasional teacher.


Rather, they are eunuchs, thieves, sodomites, catamites, pickpockets, beggars, streetchildren, activists, zealots, mechanics, junk-dealers and so many others move along side you, forcefully making their presence felt and capturing your imagination.

And once again, the novel speaks their language and lives their hopes and failures, not the author's. It's tragic, yes. It's gloomy, yes but you need to read it. It's damn good! Wish to read more of his works soon. 


For news about his demise. Click. As far the novel is concerned, it's a must-read book that will leave a strong impression on you. It will help us understand human suffering, the extent of exploitation of the poor children, particularly, the street urchins, and in process help us become more evolved and more sensitive persons. 

Photographs of Baqrid, Christmas celebrations in India

Eid-ul-Azha [or Eid-ul-Adha] also known as Baqr'eed and Christmas, two major festivals are round the corner in India as in rest of the world.

While Christianity has over 2 billion followers, Islam has nearly 1.6 billion adherents. Naturally, these are big festivals.

Here a photograph that shows Islamic Umayyad Chanting Association performing Mawlawi dances before the two major festivals in Damascus.

The other photograph shows a Bohra Muslim selling gifts and Santa Claus' dress at his shop in Mumbai.

The Bohras are mostly a trading community that is spread over Western coast of India viz. Gujarat and Maharashtra.

In India also, we celebrate all the festivals. For us, communal harmony is foremost and it has been a tradition for us for centuries.

Best wishes to you ahead of the Festivals.

Id Mubarak

Merry Christmas