1. DGP and BJP MP B P Singhal examines “The sting and the truth about Gujarat” including this Aaj Tak faux pas:
It was therefore truly shocking that on 25.8.2007, Aaj Tak harped on the same old refrain that “Modi did not call the army until three days had passed“. Even more outrageous was their insistance on this point. When Aaj Tak contacted me on phone to get my response, I told the anchor that the Godhra carnage took place on February 27, 2002, that the Hindu backlash commenced on February 28th and the Army was doing flag march on the forenoon of March 1st …………
He cut me short by saying that “this is exactly what we had said, no action was taken by Modi on 29th, 30th and 31st thus giving three clear days to the murderers ……..”
I had to cut him short by reminding him that the date 28th was 28th of February, 2002 and there was no 29th, 30th or 31st in that month.
2. A post from Ideas of Civilisation which questions whether politicians should have to contact voters…
3. …and a heart-warming and inspiring story about a cell centre being run by the blind in India.. The young men and women working here are truly a source of inspiration…
Brief excerpts from all the articles below.
Keep Reading…
September 26th, 2008
Posted by
B Shantanu |
Distortions, Misrepresentations about India, Godhra, Media Related, Politics and Governance, Politics and Governance in India |
2 comments
I am no fan of Ashis Nandi and disagree strongly with many of his views but I just cannot accept the argument that his writings or thoughts should be banned/censored.
There are other (better) ways of dealing with his arguments and deconstructing them…
Calling for a ban on his writings or calls for his arrest puts us in the same league as fanatics calling for Taslima’s blood.
For those of you who missed it, here is the original article - which started it all. Many of you will find the comments on this site interesting too.
Some of you may have also read this statement signed by the big and the famous amongst our activists protesting against Ashis Nandy’s harassment…
Unfortunately the mask slips halfway through the press release:
“The harassment of well-known intellectuals and artists hides we fear, the daily intimidation being faced by members of minorities and especially the Muslims in Gujarat…”
No mention of Taslima, Kashmiri Pandits etc etc…
Having said all that, I am curious as to what Ashis thinks of his younger brother’s ideological leanings.
P.S. Personally, I did not find anything “objectionable” in the article…Some of the arguments were invalid, yes; It contained some sweeping generalisations, yes; It smelt of armchair analysis, yes…but objectionable content - I dont think so.
What do readers think?
Related Posts:
UPDATED: Is Taslima being treated differently from MF Husain?
Will Arundhati Roy pl. stand up for Francois Gautier?
MF Husain, “Artistic Freedom” and a sense of déjà vu…
My Personal View on MF Husain’s Paintings
July 2nd, 2008
Posted by
B Shantanu |
Current Affairs, Elections Analysis, Hindu Dharma, Human Rights and Legal Issues, Indian Media, Media Related, Politics and Governance in India |
2 comments
If you are wondering about the link between the two, it is AIDS !
Apparently, Call Centre “Romeos” are one of the leading reasons for increasing AIDS in India.
And Hindu fundamentalists are indirectly helping this by opposing circumcision…which supposedly helps fight AIDS.
Please read on*…
A new AIDS threat is rising in India’s numerous call centers, where young staff are increasingly having unprotected sex with multiple partners in affairs developed during night shifts, a top AIDS expert has warned. [ link ]
…”You will see call center Romeos are a major high risk for HIV,” Solomon said.
However the AIDS expert, Dr Solomon did not present any figures and there is no data on how many call center employees are actually infected with HIV.
Dr Solomon then did a curious “detour” - and blamed “Hindu activists” for hampering India’s anti-AIDS fight. She mentioned a ”recent government study to gauge the acceptance for circumcision…triggered a massive backlash by Hindu fundamentalists”
…and went on to say:
If you go out into the streets and say I will do this (circumcision) to reduce HIV, there will be a chaos…
Vaccines have failed. Microbicides have failed. This is one tool we have in hand but we can’t use it…
All this would have been fine except that Dr Solomon’s case rests on a shaky foundation.
For one, the effectivenss of male circumcision as an anti-AIDS measure is still very controversial…
and although Dr Solomon boldly proclaims ”Vaccines have failed. Microbicides have failed”, her profile suggests that she herself has not given up on vaccines and microbicides…
Might it have something to do with her various roles and assignments, I wonder?
Dr. Solomon is a member of the advisory board of International AIDS Vaccine Initiative-India…a permanent member on the Microbicides Committee of the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR)…
Dr. Solomon is the Indian Principal Investigator of several pioneering HIV research studies (including)…a Phase III study of 6% CS GEL, a candidate microbicide of CONRAD.
:-|.
To top off (no pun intended), here is an extract from a study that questions whether circumcision is an effective anti-AIDS measure:
From http://www.mgmbill.org/aids.htm:
The multi-country Mishra study concluded that circumcision may actually increase transmission of the AIDS virus, however, which is what many earlier studies found. The Brewer Study published in March, 2007, also concluded that circumcision in Kenya, Lesotho, and Tanzania increases the transmission of AIDS.
The United States has one of the highest rates of male circumcision and also one of the highest rates of HIV infection in the developed world, suggesting that circumcision is not helping. Conversely, Finland and Japan have some of the lowest rates of circumcision and also some of the lowest rates of HIV/AIDS. In Australia, the AFAO has now concluded that male circumcision has no role in the Australian HIV epidemic.
As you can see, the jury is still out on circumcision and AIDS…In the meanwhile of course, you have another stick to beat the Hindutva-wadis with!
Curiously no mention of the Vatican’s stance on condoms in the article:
The Catholic Church is telling people in countries stricken by Aids not to use condoms because they have tiny holes in them through which HIV can pass - potentially exposing thousands of people to risk.
The church is making the claims across four continents despite a widespread scientific consensus that condoms are impermeable to HIV.
…The WHO has condemned the Vatican’s views, saying: “These incorrect statements about condoms and HIV are dangerous when we are facing a global pandemic which has already killed more than 20 million people, and currently affects at least 42 million.”
or of how a traditional Islamic theological response may hinder control of AIDS
“Islam and Muslims exacerbate the spread of AIDS,” said Professor Amina Wadud of Virginia Commonwealth University, taking to task the behavior of Muslim men who misuse Islam.
“A traditional Islamic theological response can never cure AIDS.” She cited Muslim men who compelled sex upon their wives even though the men were HIV-positive as a result of extramarital affairs.
but I forgot, the focus is on Hindu fundamentalists!
.
Related Posts:
HIV-positive patients *real* number may be 1/3rd of estimate…
AIDS’ first casualty in India: Truth
AIDS’ first casualty in India: Part 2
* P.S. Special thanks to Sh Krishen Kak for alerting me to this and for his links on the efficacy - or not - of circumcision as a method of controlling AIDS .
June 25th, 2008
Posted by
B Shantanu |
Current Affairs, Distortions, Misrepresentation about Hinduism, Distortions, Misrepresentations about India, Media Related |
3 comments
Fellow blogger Varnam recently wrote two posts on how learning Sanskrit is now considered to be a “communal” activity and something that might put you at odds with the “secular” brigade.
In the first one, he pointed out:
Usually you see the word saffronization associated with the Hindutva folks, not Sanskritization…the revival (of this word) is with mischievous intent. Now the name of a language has become a synonym for communal politics.
In fact this attempt to brand Sanskrit as a non-secular entity happened once before, believe it or not - by the Central Board of Secondary Education. It was an attempt to pull the rug off India’s cultural heritage and history by branding an entire language as not-secular.
…The Supreme Court in a landmark verdict rejected the accusation that teaching Sanskrit was against secularism.
…the Court wrote that Sanskrit was the language in which Indian minds expressed the noblest ideas. It was also the language in which our culture, which includes the Vedas, Upanishads, Puranas, the teachings of Sankaracharya to Vallabhacharya and classics of Kalidasa to Banabhatta were expressed. Without understanding Sanskrit, the Court wrote, you cannot understand Indian philosophy on which our culture is based.
In a follow-up, he wrote:
This January, the Indian Govt. cut funding for a Sanskrit program because it is now a sin to learn an ancient language and the reason: India has a large Muslim population.
When the Supreme Court of India writes judgements admiring the language in which Indian minds expressed noblest ideas, it takes the UPA Govt. to accuse that it is communal.
JK suggests (and I fully endorse): Instead of whining about the Govt. the best course of action would be to organize a Samskrita Bharati camp in your area.
Fellow blogger Sandeep has also commented on this issue:
…Sanskritisation, a noun used as a verb form is a strange creature that really defies definition. Interestingly, Seema uses this without defining it, an act similar to her boss Sonia Gandhi who wields power without responsibility but alludes to M.N. Srinivas who coined it.
…Sanskritisation, however, you want to define it, has no factual basis in Indian history or tradition or society–unless you equate Sanskritisation with Brahminisation (ugh and sic!).
Related Posts:
Don’t wear a “tilak” to work !
“Secular Fundamentalism”…alive & kicking in India
Also read: “Pseudo-secularism” at its best?
June 17th, 2008
Posted by
B Shantanu |
Ancient Indian History, Current Affairs, Distortions, Misrepresentation about Hinduism, Distortions, Misrepresentations about India, Identity, Impact of Islam on India, Indian Culture, Arts and Music, Indian Media, Media Related, Politics and Governance in India, Politics of Minority Appeasement, Sanatana Dharma, Spirituality & Philosophy |
2 comments
I recently came across The Whitewashing of History, by Nithin Sridhar. Nitin has kindly agreed to let me reproduce the article on this blog. Those of you who are interested in history will find here a devastating critique of current studies and interpretation of Indian History - which has largely been driven by leftist-leaning scholars steeped in their prejudices and with varying agendas.
The article looks at the now thoroughly discredited “Aryan Invasion Theory” (AIT), the impact of Islamic invasions on India and the red-herring of “Hindu vandalism”.
I have also included a selection of comments at the end.
*** ARTICLE BEGINS / LONG POST ***
The history of India has been whitewashed and distorted, first by European rulers, and after independence by eminent historians of India and their supporters the Leftists, Seculars and self-claimed Progressives of India to meet their own ends. They have painted the pre-Islamic invasion period as a Dark Age and have glorified the Islamic period to be very peaceful and prosperous.
Ram Swarup says, “Marxists have taken to rewriting Indian history on a large scale and it has meant its systematic falsification. They have a dogmatic view of history and for them the use of any history is to prove their dogma. Their very approach is hurtful to truth…. The Marxists’ contempt for India, particularly the India of religion, culture and philosophy, is deep and theoretically fortified. It exceeds the contempt ever shown by the most die-hard imperialists.”1 Some of the common claims of these eminent historians are:
1] The Aryan Invasion Theory is true2
2] Large scale destruction of Buddhists and Jain temples was done by Hindus in pre-Islamic India.3
3] The Muslim rulers were religiously tolerant and Islamic rule was prosperous. The eminent historians deny the destruction of Hindu temples or the killing of Hindus at the hands of Muslim rulers. They also deny the religious motive behind the killing of Hindus at the hands of Muslim rulers.4
Let us examine the Aryan Invasion Theory (AIT).
Keep Reading…
May 18th, 2008
Posted by
B Shantanu |
Ancient Indian History, Conversions, Missionaries in India, Debates & Discussions, Distortions, Misrepresentation about Hinduism, Distortions, Misrepresentations about India, Impact of Islam on India, Islamic Rule in India, Media Related, Medieval Indian History, Politics and Governance in India, Politics of Minority Appeasement, Saraswati-Sindhu Civilization |
20 comments
Courtesy Radha Rajan…enjoy.
This afternoon one of the CNN-IBN news report is that over a 100 militants have ’slipped/slinked/sneaked’ into J&K . They may be heading towards Bandepura. I decided to take off to J&K pronto and do my CNN-IBN citizen journalist sleuthing.
***** Report BEGINS *****
Hi, i am now standing with Muhammad Maqbool Malik who first told CNN IBN about the infiltration. Let me pan my camera for the stunning visuals.
Malik saheb, can you please us what is this thing over which we are standing?
This is the watch tower of the J&K police to watch the infiltration taking place.
I see. when was this built?
Immediately after the Kargil war.
Let me pan my camera downwards. Malik saheb, this line that we see painted this bright and beautiful luminiscent pink, what is this?
Oh, that is the LoC. It is to help the militants know that when they step across the pink line, they have successfully infiltrated.
And this tower it is a remarkable piece of enginering, malik tells me. malik saheb can you tell us what is remarkable about this watch tower?
Yes, remember madam that at the time of the Kargil war, Bill clinton told Vajpayee our army can do anything to retreive our peaks without crossing the LoC. Well this tower has been built right on the LoC so that we detect infiltration the moment it is happening. The genius who built the tower built it faithful to Clinton’s diktat. If you spit from the tower, the spit falls into pakistan. ut the tower reains faithfully inside the LoC.
Remarkable. How did he manage that?
Well Madam after every foot of the tower was completed we would bring in a man on top and make him spit. This way we ensured till the end that the spit always fell on the other side of the LoC while at the same time we are as close as we can get to the LoC.
You are in J&K. What do you do once you sight infiltrators.
We inform CNN-IBN immediately even if it is the middle of the night.
But why dont you send them back, or arrest them or kill them immediately.
That is not our job madam,. that is the job of the Indian army. Our job is only to tell CNN-IBN about the infiltration. Now look to your right Madam, can you see there, beyond that tree, a long line standing on the Pakistani side of the LoC?
Yes, let me pan my camera again. parul, can you see the long line infiltratorswaiting to slip in? they are all having their cup of tea now. malik Saheb tells me that once they finish their cupps they will start to cross the pink line,
Madam, see they have begun and see how they are all walking ina single file and madam look, they are now breaking up into three.
Malik saheb why are they breaking up into three?
One line goes to Baramulla, another to Kupwara and the third to Hyderabad.
***** Report ENDS *****
P.S. By the way, has anyone noticed how terrorists are now called “militants”?
Related Posts:
The “truth” behind BBC’s “Objectivity” (or how one man’s militant is another’s terrorist etc)
The great joke that is Indian media - part 3
The great joke that is Indian media… (part 1)
April 19th, 2008
Posted by
B Shantanu |
Current Affairs, India & Its Neighbours, Indian Media, Jammu & Kashmir related, Media Related, Pakistan related, Terrorism in India |
5 comments
This is a sad story of what happened to a meeting arranged with a sense of purpose and responsibility by Vigil in Chennai to discuss Gautier’s exhibition and the administration’s response to it.
Against the backdrop of the cancelled exhibition, Vigil had invited Dr Subramaniam Swamy and Shri C P Radhakrishnan (National Executive Member of the BJP) to speak on the “Politics of History and Minorityism“.
They both agreed to come and Vigil spent a significant amount of money and effort in spreading word of the event (see ad below).
At 1230 on the day of the meeting, Radha-ji of Vigil got a call from Dr Swamy who conveyed his inability to come as he had to go for some *urgent* work to Delhi.
Shri Radhakrishnan excused himself saying he was not feeling well.
Keep Reading…
March 15th, 2008
Posted by
B Shantanu |
Distortions, Misrepresentations about India, History, Impact of Islam on India, Islamic Rule in India, Media Related, Medieval Indian History, Politics and Governance in India, Politics of Minority Appeasement |
6 comments
Came across this very well-researched article last week that looks at the other side of the story of Kandhamal.
It is written by Shri P Chand Dogra, a retired IPS officer who personally spent time in Kandhamal earlier this year to find out the “truth” of what happened in the district.
Shri Chand Dogra makes a few interesting points in the article, namely:
1.�Hindu households and dwellings were also attacked during the violence and in much larger numbers - a fact that has been overlooked by most of mainstream media.
2. The roots of the problem lie in social issues rather than religious ones.
Keep Reading…
March 15th, 2008
Posted by
B Shantanu |
Conversions, Missionaries in India, Current Affairs, Distortions, Misrepresentation about Hinduism, Distortions, Misrepresentations about India, Hindu Dharma, Hindu Social System, Media Related, Politics and Governance in India, Reservations, Affirmative Action |
54 comments
From a very readable article in the latest edition of Technology Review* “You Don’t Understand Our Audience“, an excerpt that applies equally well to the media in India.
The background to this extract is a series on Al Qaeda that John Hockenberry (the writer of this piece) had proposed to NBC bosses in the aftermath of 9/11 which was deemed to be less interesting/relevant than a series on firefighters. Read on and think how sharply this applies to the Indian mainstream media.
Excerpt:
“…This was one in a series of lessons I learned about how television news had lost its most basic journalistic instincts in its search for the audience-driven sweet spot, the “emotional center” of the American people. Gone was the mission of using technology to veer out onto the edge of American understanding in order to introduce something fundamentally new into the national debate.
The informational edge was perilous, it was unpredictable, and it required the news audience to be willing to learn something it did not already know. Stories from the edge were not typically reassuring about the future. In this sense they were like actual news, unpredictable flashes from the unknown.
On the other hand, the coveted emotional center was reliable, it was predictable, and its story lines could be duplicated over and over. It reassured the audience by telling it what it already knew rather than challenging it to learn.
This explains why TV news voices all use similar cadences, why all anchors seem to sound alike, why reporters in the field all use the identical tone of urgency no matter whether the story is about the devastating aftermath of an earthquake or someone’s lost kitty…”
I call the “informational edge” stories, hard nuts and the “emotional center” items as cookies…Guess what most of us prefer.
As an example, consider the mystery behind the locked cellars in the Taj (hard to explain) vs. Taslima admitted to AIIMS for ‘drug effect’ (nice, easy to swallow)
Related Posts:
The great joke that is Indian media - Part IV
Can I turn “right” here, please?
* Published by MIT, requires registration (free)
January 30th, 2008
Posted by
B Shantanu |
Indian Media, Media Related |
no comments
Ashutosh Sheshabalaya ,whom I quoted in my earlier post, has followed up with another brilliant piece of writing in The Globalist in which he talks about Nano and India’s impact on the larger global economy…
Some excerpts:
…And yet, all that Western media manage to see is that “the planet is doomed” once millions of Indians and Chinese get their own cars — even though there is only one car for approximately every 1,000 Indians, while in the United States the ratio is three cars for every four people.
…Such ingrained Marie Antoinettesque assumptions — having one’s cake and eating it too — are, of course, emblematic of the entire debate in the Western media about shifting global economic powers.
…
It ignores the fact that India has its very own “good new habits.” It already boasts one of the planet’s largest public transport systems, and Indian Railways’ total annual passenger volume equals the entire world population — which it transports at heavily subsidized rates to make it affordable to most Indians.
Keep Reading…
January 16th, 2008
Posted by
B Shantanu |
Current Affairs, Distortions, Misrepresentations about India, Geo-Strategic Issues (incl. Nuclear, Oil, Energy), Indian Economy, Media Related, Technology in India |
3 comments
Srinivas Bharadwaj, writing in rediff recently, made some great points about the “trashing” of Nano by some in the western media (”Why some US scribes slammed Tata Nano“, Jan 14 ‘08)
Excerpts:
“…Tata Nano is the Model-T of India. It represents…a freedom no different from what Ford brought to the American consumer about a 100 years ago. And yet, it is already being challenged, not so much on price or on technology. It is considered a polluter, a source of global warming, in short, a threat to humanity.
Among its notable critics (is)…author and NYT columnist Thomas Friedman (who)…was quick to call the Nano, a ‘cheap copy of our worst habits.’..
Newsweek, in an article headlined ‘A Billion New Tailpipes’…quotes a Yale environmentalist, Daniel Esty, as saying: “This car promises to be an environmental disaster of substantial proportions.”
The reasons why American journalism is against the Tata Nano are obvious. The Nano was ‘not invented here (in the United States).’
…Esty, who was quick to praise the Prius (in Green to Gold) to the skies and promote aircraft manufacturer GE, oil-giant BP, does not use the same yardstick that the second law of thermodynamics does.
The Prius gives about the same mileage as the Nano and seats just as many. Yet, at over $25,000, the Prius is the rich man’s answer to the environment. I believe that for the rest, there is the Nano.
In the years to come, the Nano might come in a flex-fuel version, or might use ethanol or electric cells. . . but you have to give Tata time to gain marketshare AND innovate at the low price point. Which is why I must ask: “Why the double fuel-efficiency standards, Mr Esty?”
I came across another article last week which highlighted the progress India has made towards more sustainable development. Sadly, like the Nano, the good points rarely get talked about, while inaccurate statements are emphasised and highlighted. Below are some excerpts from “EYE ON THE TIGERS“, by Ashutosh Sheshabalaya (JAn-Feb ‘08). I recommend everyone to read this in full.
“…one of the most sterile facets of the global warming debate is to refer to China and India, rather than to Chinese and Indians. China and India may be among the world’s biggest CO2 emitters…(but)…out of the world’s 235-plus countries, China and India’s populations outnumber the bottom 220 put together. And their per-head/per-body contribution to global warming is vastly lower than that of the West.
Keep Reading…
January 16th, 2008
Posted by
B Shantanu |
China related, Current Affairs, Distortions, Misrepresentations about India, Geo-Strategic Issues (incl. Nuclear, Oil, Energy), India & Its Neighbours, Indian Economy, Media Related, Technology in India |
one comment
An alert reader sent me this great example of politically perfect reporting (emphasis mine):
“Police are investigating a racially motivated act of vandalism which was linked to the case of the British teacher who was jailed in Sudan.
Three vehicles in Dundee had the words “teddy bear” scratched on them…
The victims are said to be of Asian origin…”
***
How did Asia get dragged into this afffair between an African country and a European country?
This is what really happened.
Related Posts:
How another “secular democracy” might have dealt with Sh. Karunanidhi
Please, no “M-word” here… and
Nice, politically correct reporting - UPDATED
.
December 7th, 2007
Posted by
B Shantanu |
Current Affairs, Media Related |
one comment
Came across this gratuitous reference in a recent ANI story about an Indian American in Britain who has filed 40 cases of racial discrimination with employment tribunals in Britain.
The news-item had this “nugget” towards the end of the report:
Deman, who is married and from a Hindu background, is a U.S. citizen and describes himself as Indian-American.
Notice the “H-word”?
What has his being “a Hindu” got to do with this report and his lawsuits? As far as I could understand, none of his lawsuits were based on religious grounds; I wonder what was the point of that remark?
Related Posts
Unintended or deliberate? The missing “H-word”… and
The dreaded “H-word” - excerpts
November 21st, 2007
Posted by
B Shantanu |
A Hindu Identity, Indian Media, Media Related |
4 comments
…Wall Street Journal thinks so.
And if the eminent WSJ says so (in a title, no less), it must be true, right?
During last weekend, came across this half-baked opinion passing off as a news-story (Note: this article is not available for free viewing; Subscription only) “How a Muslim Billionaire Thrives in Hindu India” - note the last two words.
It is written by Yaroslav Trofimov.
If the name rings a bell, there is a reason.
He tried to better his own record in this piece from a few days ago (Sept 19): “In India, ‘Untouchables’ Convert To Christianity - and Face Extra Bias” (Note: this article is not available for free viewing; Subscription only).
Do read Retributions’ review of the Azim Premji article and BarbarIndian’s take on it.
.
UPDATED: Additional posts that have have some relevance to this (in the broader context)
Of Turkey, Secular States and Religion
Hinduism as a secular concept
P.S. Thanks to “An only mouse” (see comment #4) for alerting me to this article, “A Nation of Christians Is Not a Christian Nation“. I found this sentence very interesting:
“The founders (of US) were not anti-religion. Many of them were faithful in their personal lives, and in their public language they evoked God.
They grounded the founding principle of the nation — that all men are created equal — in the divine. But they wanted faith to be one thread in the country’s tapestry, not the whole tapestry.”
Food for thought, I think.
October 7th, 2007
Posted by
B Shantanu |
An Indian Identity, Conversions, Missionaries in India, Distortions, Misrepresentation about Hinduism, Distortions, Misrepresentations about India, Hindu Social System, Media Related, Reservations, Affirmative Action |
20 comments
Most of you would remember the senseless destruction of the Bamiyan Buddhas by Taliban from a few years ago.
Some days go, I had alerted readers to another attack on Buddha statues - this time in Pakistan - which most media channels (including the revered BBC) chose to downplay.
Two days ago, the Islamic zealots returned to complete their unfinished business.
Excerpts from the story:
“The historic statue of Buddha in Pakistan’s Swat Valley was attacked for the second time in 20 days on Saturday night, damaging its head and shoulders. Militants have threatened that a third attack is imminent when they will “destroy it completely”.
…The Pakistan government has not yet issued any statement.
Musa Khankel, local correspondent of The News…told HT over telephone: “They told me they will come again to complete the job. They were proud of what they had done. They said they considered it their religious duty.”
Here is a link to a picture of the statue.
According to an earlier BBC report, “the Buddha statue in Swat valley (is)…considered (to be) the largest in Asia, after the two Bamiyan Buddhas…Swat has seen increased pro-Taleban activity in recent months”. I have not seen any mention on the BBC of the latest attack.
Muhammad Aqleem, deputy curator of Swat Museum, said (that) “he did not think that the police would be able to protect Buddhist cultural sites in swat as they themselves were the victims of terrorist attacks.” (sic)
On the other hand, this perhaps is really not “news” given the increasing Talibanisation of Pakistan…
October 4th, 2007
Posted by
B Shantanu |
Ancient Indian History, Current Affairs, India & Its Neighbours, Media Related, Pakistan related |
no comments
