…Muslims need to look within their own community and build reforms within it.
Last weekend, I finally managed to read the entire transcript of the Karan Thapar – Shabana Azmi interview and stumbled upon this bit in which she comments on the need for reform within the Muslim community:
Karan Thapar: Today, not just abroad but even in India, people say that Muslims have to take on the onus of changing the image of their religion and the image of the community. Is that a fair thing to say?
Shabana Azmi: I think it is. …

Amidst all the violence and “protests” around the issue of transfer of 40 hectares of land to Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board (SASB), I noticed two questions that appear to have gone unanswered.
The first question…and this is really the elephant in the room, is, “How many “Hindus” would it take to change the demography of Kashmir?
It is important to consider this question as this is what seems to upset most Kashmiris. To wit:
…President of Action Committee Against Land Transfer (ACALT) and former Kashmir Bar Association President, Mian Abdul Qayoom…termed the (SASB) …

Many of you must have read the recent news-reports on the Kerala Catholic Bishops� Council’s�recent call to Christians to have more children. It has also been pointed out in�various discussions on this subject that�Christians in Kerala have been at the forefront of family planning and have generally had fewer children than the rest.
However, a fact that has been conveniently ignored by most reports is that�not only is�”the Christian and Muslim population in the state (is)…well above the national average”, it is also growing faster than the Hindu population (emphasis mine):
T.R. …

*** CAUTION: LONG POST ***
This is an unusual blog-post. It is actually�a series of excerpts from�articles that speak for themselves.
Please read and share with everyone who is even a little bit concerned about India.
We cannot afford to remain mute spectators…
�
First, some excerpts from a richly referenced analysis, “The Shiliguri Corridor: Question Mark on Security” by Pinaki Bhattacharya:�
“A critical futuristic threat perception vis-�-vis India�s North Eastern region has long preoccupied many analysts and the Indian security establishment. The projected exercise would involve Pakistan launching an attack on Jammu and Kashmir. At …

A report in yesterday’s Telegraph (14th Feb) has some surprising statistics re. the growth of Muslim population in the border districts of Assam, Bihar and West Bengal.
The numbers speak for themselves.

Source: http://telegraphindia.com/1080213/images/13zzpopulationbig.jpg
Some excerpts from the report, “Demography survey on eastern border” by Bhavna Vij-Aurora
…”There have been reports that more madarsas and mosques are sprouting along the borders, which in itself is an indication of increased Muslim population in the area,” disclosed an intelligence official.
….The last such study was done by the Intelligence Bureau and the home ministry in 1992, and …

This is a sad story of the North East.
It is a first-person account of how bad things are in the beautiful land of the “seven sisters” – in Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and other neighbouring states in the North East of India.
Having lived for several years in Assam, I have a very special affinity for the region and great personal interest in the developments there.
Assam, together with its six “sisters” is also a region of great strategic importance and critical to long term stability of our country.
Some of you may …

Came across a great post by Sandeep on the recent assault on Taslima Nasreen in Hyderabad.
Some things stand out in this remarkable episode:

The deafening silence of the liberal activists on the incident (from Arundhati Roy onwards) � although there appears to be some condemnation of the incident from Muslims leaders (and others)
The contrast in the stance of our Government re. granting of citizenship to Taslima (the government is still “looking into it”) -  and the demand for visa for Dr Haneef (see here and here)
The avoidance of the “M-word“ by …

Excerpts from a column by British PM Tony Blair in the Sunday Times recently (May 27, 2007) (emphasis mine):
“The absconding of three people on control orders because of suspicion of their involvement in terrorism has, once again, thrown into sharp relief the debate about terrorism and civil liberty…(that is)… the balance between protecting the safety of the public and the rights of the individual suspected of being involved with terrorism.
…We have chosen as a society to put the civil liberties of the suspect, even if a foreign national, first.
I happen …

Just came across Prudent Indian‘s comment on this post re. the Mecca Masjid blasts. I am reproducing it here:
“1.)Why did not Hindus rioted after Mumbai train blasts or Delhi serial bombings on the eve of Diwali or after AksharDham terrorist attack? WHY DID THESE RIOTS IN HYDERABAD? (To the list of attacks, I would add Sankat Mochan Temple attack where the restraint shown by Hindus was noted by even the international media).
2.)Why is it that it happened in AP a state run by “SECULAR” Chief Minister?Will these “shriek and shout” channels …

A few days ago, I came across this�very worrying article, “ISI fomenting trouble in India’s north-east” that corroborated the fear I had for a very long time of ISI coordinating its anti-national activities across India.
First some excerpts:
“…Pakistan’s Inter Service Intelligence is working with Bangladesh’s intelligence agencies to facilitate cooperation between north-east militant groups like United Liberation Front of Asom and other jihadi outfits in South Asian regions, besides Tamil rebels in Lanka, US intelligence service Startfor has said.
…In its latest forecast titled ‘India: The Islamisation of the Northeast’, it observes …