CHAKWAL: A local group of Christian community brought out procession on Wednesday and they chanted slogans in favour of Punjab Govt. The procession started from TMA Chakwal and the participants including men and women were carrying banners and placards in which slogans in favour of Punjab Govt. were in strike.

The participants marched on the various roads and it was converted into a public meeting at Bhoun Chowk and it was addressed by Ms. Agnes Pervaiz, Slamat Gil, Sardar Maseeh and Fakhar Yousayab and there were of the view that Punjab Govt. have provided protection and security to the christian community at district Chakwal and they were thankful to CM Punjab Mian Shahbaz Sharif.

The speakers also thanked local MNA Ch. Ayaz Amir for its assurance for protection. The procession dispersed peacefully later on. NNI

KARACHI: The Karachi Electric Supply Company has made all possible arrangements to ensure stable power supply on the occasion of Shab-e-Baraat. This was stated by Ms. Ayesha Eirabie, Director Corporate Communications, in a media briefing here on Wednesday.

She said the consumers could get KESC temporary connections for religious congregations if they needed. She asked certain elements to refrain from using illegal kunda connection, especially for such gatherings as this overloads the power supply network and may cause fault on the system as well.

Giving out operational update, Ms. Ayesha Eirabie said that at 2 PM Wednesday, the total demand of the City stood at 2258 megawatts and utility was supplying as per city’s electricity demand and there was no loadshedding in the city. All the units including IPPs were running at full capacity. NNI

ISLAMABAD: According to a Gilani Research Foundation survey carried out by Gallup Pakistan, majority of the Pakistanis consider practicing religion as the most important thing in their lives. Forty percent (40%) of the respondents ranked ‘Practicing Religion’ number one on a ten point scale. It is followed by ‘Finding Employment’, ‘Getting Education’, and ‘High Standard of Living’ among many other things that are perceived to be important in one’s life.

When the respondents were asked “Many things are important in life, please rate on a 10 point scale how important the following things are for you”, forty percent (40%) ranked ‘Practicing Religion’ on number one. Slightly higher percentage of urbanites as compared to ruralites thinks that practicing religion is the most important thing for them.

‘Finding Employment’ was ranked number one by 25% of the respondents. A higher percentage of ruralites (30%) as compared to the urbanites (15%) claimed that getting a job is the top most priority for them.

Sixteen percent (16%) of the respondents said ‘Getting Education’ is the most essential thing in life for them. They ranked it number one on a ten point scale. The survey reveals that proportionately a higher percentage of people falling in the 50+ age group (23%) believes getting education is very important as compared to those who are under 30 years of age (14%) and 31-50 age group (18%).

When asked to rate ‘High Standard of Living’, 12% of the respondents considered it to be number one. It is interesting to note that proportionately a higher percentage of people residing in rural areas (15%) think high standard of living is the most important thing in their life as compared to the urbanites (8%).

Having ‘Good Health’ is ranked number one by 9%, and to have a ‘Pleasant Life at Home’ is the most important thing in life for 7% of the respondents. ‘Living with Freedom in an Independent Country’ and ‘Living in a terrorism & Corruption Free Country’ are each believed to be a necessity in life by 6% of the respondents. While only 5% said ‘Living in a peaceful Country (war free)’ is the most important.

The study was released by Gilani foundation and carried out by Gallup Pakistan, the Pakistani affiliate of Gallup International. The latest survey was carried out among a sample of 2624 men and women in rural and urban areas of all four provinces of the country during March, 2009. Error margin is estimated to be approximately + 2-3 per cent at 95% confidence level. NNI

Islamic systems are mainly about a welfare state and more than just focusing on punishments. Yet, we need to also know what Holy Qur’an says about certain punishments, since our media is a toy in the hands of secular forces. Whether, the Swat video was fake or real, we have to refer to Qur’anic laws that are for all times and that too for the benefit of the masses. Please see the image below for a translated excerpt from Surah Al-Noor.

A famous criticism of communism states “Communism is itself a religion”. According to many people’s belief communism is total comprehensive system and provide a framework for complete devotion.It provides a complete revolution against capitalism. Formation of stateless, classless society with a fundamental of common ownership is the basic principle of communism.It provides a socioeconomic structure to point a good base for above achievements.Communism is often compared to earlier Christianity as various stated in verses of holy Bible.But as a whole it cant be a religion,its a movement.

Gaither Stewart Says in his note that : “Though Communism always proclaimed itself godless and anti-religious, its adherents have been compared to Jesuits as a result of the rigorous dogma of their faith, the iron discipline, their passionate loyalty and confidence in the future. Therefore the historical tendency, especially among ex-Communists, to label Communism a religion and the Manifesto a holy book.”

Great English Historian R.N. Carew Hunt in his Theory and Practice of Communism labeled Communism ?the largest mass movement since the rise of Christianity.? Historians has always tried to put a bogus tag on communism that it is a religion and stated a striking dogma about it.But,Communists believe communism can be seen in many religion,many of its ideas can be seen in Islam,Hinduism and Christanity, but as a whole it is not a religion.Communism is not even an ideal.Marx and Engels wrote that Communism was ?a movement which abolishes the present state of things.?

A scholastic approach and investigation says communism emerged from religious movement in Germany.It emerged as a way to replace modern Christianity with Humanism.Marx?s forerunners, the Young Hegelians of the early Nineteenth century, believed in the imminent fall of Christianity, to be replaced by a new humanist faith. Christianity that transformed the natural communal character of man into a union of each individual with a personal God was responsible for the individualism of modern society. Young Hegelian and other philosophers claimed that Communism rested on the religious conception of the essence of man.

Thus Communism can be based on the belief of humanity.If forced,communism can be considered as a religion based on human values.Its a movement for the people and of the people.If a movement can be tagged with some religion then that’s fine!Critics can question about the economic performance of communist principle against market based economies,their principles against religion is the only way that can protect this world from burning against terrorism.State Atheism is a very good phenomenon that must be imposed if we really want to save our “GOD created earth”.

Communism and religion; these two are are just opposite to each other may be we can call them as two different poles of human belief. Early communism like as proposed by Karl Marx is completely based on atheism, but to some extent it was having a liberal view point. Karl Marx himself was an atheist and he termed religion in a very difficult way. In his famous quotation he once said that

“Religious distress is at the same time the expression of real distress and the protest against real distress. Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, just as it is the spirit of a spiritless situation. It is the opium of the people. The abolition of religion as the illusory happiness of the people is required for their real happiness. The demand to give up the illusion about its condition is the demand to give up a condition which needs illusions.”

(Critique of Hegel’s Philosophy of Right ).

Lenin the other face of communism in USSR also qouted

“Atheism is a natural and inseperable part of Marxism, of the theory and practice of scientific socialism”

The term Religion is important for the majority sect of people in all over the world, but it raise a question “wether religion is really necessary to lead a peaceful life?”. It will be decided by the people of the world when the time will come. There are some communists although, who has termed a new name for communism called “Religious Communism”.

Let us take in depth with this religious communism. Religious communism is based actually on some religious principles and its followers merge with secular communists in abolitionism of capitalism. It is based on the principle that some people volunteer themselves their personal belongings so that each and every people can have a little share and miserable condition of people can get a little reduced. The main motto of this principle is that “Let people work according to their ability”.

In religious communism the ideology is that to apply religion in the field of communism. Here some criticism can be done like how can an intellectual apply religion to communism is a good question and great food for thought. Religious communism is advocated by great philosophers like Fran-ois Babeuf who coined a great term

“Society must be made to operate in such a way that it eradicates once and for all the desire of a man to become richer, or wiser, or more powerful than others.”

Various religion like Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Christians support to this ideas.

Islam directly does not have any fundas of ‘Religious Communism’. But to some extent Zakat and Riba are in favour of Religious Communism, in the sense that zakat refers to the system of donating some of a personals income to some one and that is what religious communism supports. Riba is a system for usury and is totally forbidden in Islam as stated in Quran. Verses like

“That they took riba, though they were forbidden and that they devoured men’s substance wrongfully? We have prepared for those among men who reject faith a grievous punishment (Qur’an 4:161)”

and

“O you who believe, you shall not take riba, compounded over and over. Observe God, that you may succeed. (Qur’an 3:130)”

clearly states how Islam does not allow Riba.The same principles appears for Religious Communism.

According to christian beliefs that supports the view of “christian communism” states that after a year of death and resurrection of Jesus Christ a little group including the apostles formed a small group of christian communists. To some extent according to many Christians The Holy Bible compels them to follow communism. Some biblical verses like ACT 2 and 4 states that Christians lived in communist society.There are numerous other quotes that are taken from ‘Synoptic Gospel’ that defines the life and ministry of Jesus.There are various quotes that suggests the idea. An example can be

“49 For he that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is his name. 50 And his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation. 51 He hath shewed strength with his arm; he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. 52 He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree. 53 He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away.” (Gospel of Luke (1:49-53), Mary delivered the following description of the works of God).

The above statement clearly shows the idea of Religious Communism.

The nations that rise always leave their impact on other civilizations. The new generation of Muslims grew up with charisma of watching Hollywood movies and American TV Series/ Serials. Gregory Peck, Rock Hudson, Yul Brynner, Charlton Heston, Tom Cruise, Roger Moore and the like became their ideals. James Bond was the favorite icon. Though they could not have helped this situation, yet a thing worth mentioning here is that the plight of most Muslims in this world is like the first Hijra of Muslims who were new to faith and so they have to acquire the Muslim way of living as prescribed by our religion. We have to start from the first level of learning of Islam because most of us are devoid of religious upbringing in the true sense. It cannot be undermined however that the Western world has its appeal due to the sophistication fostered by its individuals and the symbols of success dominating the present world. The concern here is the dilemma of our lost identity!

The youth in these ‘technologically blessed’ times subscribe to social utility tools on Internet like Facebook, and visit discussion boards where users from all over the world talk about their ideas. Then emails are being circulated in groups that contradict the real purpose of being alive. The theories attacking Islam are so prevalent that the youngsters lacking religious upbringing get confused and are further led away from their real ideologies. Though it is true that ‘Militant Islam’ is destroying the image of Muslims in the whole world and we should strongly condemn it in every possible way, yet we cannot overlook the covert forces that are operating behind it. Furthermore, it would not be wise to shun our core values just because of the wrong kind of religious practices that we see in the country.

Today’s educated Muslims hit hard at Islam being confined to rituals, but the fact is that rituals do have their place in Islam and cannot be ignored, but of course Islam embodies a complete code of life. We are told that whosoever is under debt at the time of death will not enter paradise until it is cleared, and this discourages us from engaging ourselves in unnecessary debts. Next, if we try to practice our obligations towards our parents, neighbours, spouses and children as laid out in our religion, then that would make us good human beings. These and many other beliefs direct us towards a peaceful life where our true and distinct identity stands out as Muslims!

In Islam we are told that ‘frequent lying’ is a big sin but few of us really bother about this. Lying is the basis of all evils, and we can easily see why Pakistan is rated a corrupt country. Worldly success is certainly not a forbidden fruit in Islam, yet we are only told not to become too obsessed with this life making us forget the hereafter. We Muslims love life, yet are not intoxicated by it. There is a verse in Qur’an “But as for anyone who desires the hereafter, and strives for it as he ought to, being a true believer, shall have his endeavors be gratefully acknowledged!” (Surat al-Isra – 19). Now what does striving for hereafter mean? Does it only mean prayers, fasting and other obligatory rituals? The rituals cannot be ignored of course, but striving for the hereafter also means living our life the way it has been prescribed by Almighty Allah through the message conveyed by His Prophet (pbuh). The last chapters (Surahs) of Qur’an are full of descriptions of Judgment Day. The fear of facing the Lord on the Judgment Day makes us act good towards our fellow beings, help the poor and needy, observe our obligations to our parents, makes us strive for earning our living in a fair way by hard work and honesty and not by trampling on the rights of others. Most of the Muslims today are devoid of the fear of the hereafter, for we see cut-throat competition amongst colleagues in organizations where there are all sorts of leg-pulling and conspiracies against the more competent workers. Our goals are selfish and not about contributing to the success of organizations. So how can Almighty help this nation when most of the best minds are engaged in pursuing selfish goals?

Very few individuals in our generation understand spirituality and bonding with the Almighty as essential needs of the time. In the first battle of Islam, the Muslims did not have more than few swords, and they were much outnumbered by the enemy which was well-equipped. But yes, their belief in Almighty Allah was very strong which made them win the battle. However, the Muslims did eventually gather a huge army of 10,000 and conquered Makkah, but that conquest was not just due to emphasis on accumulating defense equipment and man-power, but due to purification of the souls from the evils that they were immersed in prior to converting to Islam. They inspired the Non-Muslims with their compassion, tolerance and courteous ways and thus were able to convert them. The irony is that we have let ourselves divided into Secular and Non-Secular groups whereas Qur’an only categorizes people as Believers and Non-believers. While acquiring worldly knowledge which is no doubt essential, we have to try to earnestly please God in all spheres of life on individual and collective basis.

The early Muslims ruled the world and made great contributions to every field of arts and sciences because that era was close to the Prophet’s (pbuh) time, and they had a strong basis of faith. Their desire for knowledge stemmed from that faith, and they wanted to help others through the advancement of knowledge. Their pursuit of worldly knowledge did not make them forget the temporariness of this life unlike many intellectuals today who claim that worldly knowledge is everything, and this is the basic dilemma of today’s educated Muslims! There are stories of early Muslims who were monks at nights, yet fought like gladiators during the day. The truth is that every nation that rises has to meet its fall also, as the history proves. So this also happened to the later generation of Muslims who became lazy and started falling away from both worldly and religious knowledge.

In Islam, poverty and bad times are never celebrated and we are asked to keep praying for Allah’s bounty. There are two forces at play in our lives. One is the struggle we make to improve our lives or to help others, while the other is fate or destiny. Some people say that man makes his fate himself but this is far from Islamic spirit. We observe how sometimes a very successful person meets some tragic accident and is left crippled. This opens our eyes that there is a bigger plan already laid down by the Greatest Force (Almighty Allah), and though we can only try at our end, yet we cannot always control success and failure.

All of us are born with genetically-controlled inherent strengths and weaknesses, and our test is only how far we can manipulate them to achieve our targets. It so happens that some successful people start attributing their successes only to their efforts or the will to succeed and others also believe them. We are fascinated by how Bill Gates started his operations from a single room in the 70’s, and became a billionaire. These and lots of other stories make us desperate, and we lose sense of purpose sometimes. Here’s where Islamic theories lessen our frustrations, and save us from indulging in Depression. Though material success has its place in our life and God has asked us to pursue it through rightful sources, yet why do we see a rising percentage of Depression cases in the developed countries then? It is because those people (and the like of such people in other countries) see this world as everything, which makes them despair due to nurturing a narrow vision.

Hard work and dedication are the basic ingredients to success nevertheless, but we should not let ourselves deluded by reading too much of Western philosophies / quotations and set some time aside for our own treasures as well. Recently, a Pakistani engineer living in Massachusetts USA since the 60’s, retired from the position of Vice-president of a Construction firm which was the only company that had survived the great depression of the 30’s. The post-retirement phase created a vacuum in his life since he had become accustomed to a very high profile and busy schedule. Though he was a very rich man who could easily afford luxurious activities to spend his free time, yet he succumbed to a serious nervous breakdown. It was revealed later on that he had not been a practicing Muslim, in fact far from religion. This proves that success alone does not matter, and we have to cling to religion in order to strengthen ourselves both spiritually and mentally, for Islam brings you hope!

Islam is derived from the Arabic root “salama” which means “surrender, submission, obedience, sincerity” and consequently “being in peace”. So in the religious sense Islam means, “being in a state of peace by surrendering to the will of God” and “obedience to His law”.

Today over a billion Muslims of the world are in a perpetual state of listlessness owing to a tirade of Islam-negative images, discourse, diatribe and stereotypes being directed at them. While the roots of Islam bashing and persecution can be traced back to the times of the Prophet (PBUH), the aftermath of 9/11 certainly saw Islamophobia reaching historic heights. Several reasons account for this disturbing imbroglio including the political policies and ambitions of the western governments, historical encounters between Islam and Christianity and agenda-setting of western media machinery; however, one of the most important factor that has lead to the current chaos and confusion is the absolute lack of understanding and scholarly guidance on what “true” Islam is within the Muslim World itself.

Islam (deen, the way of life) is based on Quran (the Revealed Word of Allah) and Sunnah (the ways of the Prophet). However, a cursory glance at the Muslim World will reveal that the Islam followed or in most cases “enforced” exhibits serious dichotomy and disconnect. Some Muslim countries have officially declared a certain form of Islam as their state religion (and they make sure that their form of Islam is enforced and strictly adhered to), while others have taken a relatively neutral stance. Yet others have declared themselves as secular Muslim countries. Many may regard this as vibrancy and plurality in Islam, but the truth is rather bitter and alarming.

For centuries, the Muslim World has been plagued by a serious dearth of intellectual discourse on Islam and its teachings. While Quran exhorts and encourages man to seek knowledge and learn; to discover himself and his Lord through this knowledge and to utilize the offerings of this universe for his blissful existence, progress and multiplication of his progeny, this trait of “pondering” and “questioning” has been consciously stifled by the pseudo-ulemas and retrogressive governments in the Muslim World. This has lead to a consistent decadence and digression of understanding of even the most basic and intrinsic Islamic principles. Similarly a mullah can be found in every mosque at every end of a street but they hardly ever do anything more than delivering war-mongering sermons on Fridays or bickering over frivolous issues like the length of the beard or the way the takbeer should be observed.

Borne out of this intellectual decadence and taking advantage of the void thus created, emerged a radicalized, extremist group, who took upon itself the task of “Islamizing” the Muslim society and representing (rather misrepresenting) the true Islam. This group loosely includes the Taliban, Al-Qaeda operatives, militants, mullahs, maulvis and their ilk whose philosophy today poses the greatest threat to the Muslim World. Their version of Islam has no Islamic authentication, their faith has no god to worship and their humanness has no humanity. They only serve to malign, defame and insult Islam. They brazenly and shamelessly use Islam to fulfill their personal and political ambitions. They are not religiously inspired, they are politically motivated. They employ religious symbolism of paradise and martyrdom to allure young minds to fulfill their destructive agendas.

Jihad is not suicide bombing, blowing up of innocent, unarmed worshippers in a mosque or killing of people who leave homes in the morning in search of livelihood; it is a pious practice of striving in the way of Allah by various means (Jihad al-Nafs, Jihad al-Lisan, Jihad al-Yad, Jihad as-Sayf). Similarly, women in Islam are not meant to be oppressed, mistreated and forced within the confines of their homes without providing for their physical, mental and psychological wellbeing; rather Islam empowers and encourages women to realize their true potential and lead their lives with dignity and self-respect within the parameters laid down in Islam.

So burning down of girls’ schools in Matta or other areas, public whipping of a young girl in Swat without ascertaining her sin, burning and closing down of barber shops and CD outlets have no precedence in Islam. It is due to this extremist and irrational behaviour that images of armed bearded men chanting and sloganeering, flogging and whipping, killing and beheading, burning and rioting are constantly splashed across the western media.

It is imperative to state that it is certainly the duty of Muslims to preach Islam to the non-believers so that truth may be distinguished from the falsehood. After that, whosoever wishes to embrace Islam may do so and whoever wishes to continue upon un-islamic belief may do so. But under no circumstances can people be violently threatened or forced to conform to Islamic faith. Decisive evidence in this regard is the following ayah:

“Let there be no compulsion in religion; Truth has been made

clear from error. Whoever rejects false worship and believes in

Allah has grasped the most trustworthy handhold that never breaks.

And Allah hears and knows all things.” (Surah Al Baqarah:256)

The Prophet (PBUH) spread Islam by being a practical example for the followers. He never exhibited violent behaviour even in the face of the most atrocious and barbaric cruelties directed at him and his followers. The state of Madinah was one of the most peaceful and tolerant societies the world has seen and yet these so-called forbearers of Islam “choose” to revive Islamic values not by peaceful means but violent, abhorrent devastation.

Immediate corrective measures need to be taken at individual, intellectual, societal and government levels to redeem the situation. Extremism, radicalization and ultra-conservatism might push the world to the brink of “clash of civilizations” in addition to polarizing the Muslim society. The entire Muslim World needs to step back and go through a phase of introspection, self-analysis and self-realization before it even begins to counter the external threats directed at it. It needs to get in touch with the true meaning of Islam. This can be done at the individual and collective level by ending the monopolization and “ownership” of Islam from the diktats of the faux maulvis, mullahs and the pseudo-scholars. The Muslim governments must end their official endorsements of a certain form of Islam and allow for open discussion, discourse and dialogue aimed at promoting and enhancing better understanding Islam and its philosophy. Every Muslim must strive to gain knowledge, read and understand Quran and Sunnah and endeavor to lead his life according to the true teachings of Islam.

Islam is a religion of peace, tolerance, harmony and co-existence. Therein lays the true spirit and essence of Islam. “Islam,” wrote George Bernard Shaw, “is the best religion and Muslims are the worst followers.” It is about time the followers take heed and prove him wrong.

ISLAMABAD: Government is committed to provide all facilities and coordination to Buddhist Monks as religious tourists to Pakistan. This was stated by Federal Minister for Minorities Mr. Shahbaz Bhatti after his meeting with Japanese Ambassador here in Islamabad.

The Minister apprised the Ambassador about the steps taken by the Peoples Party Government to promote the status of minorities in Pakistan. Both sides agreed on the point that terrorism and extremism can be defeated by promoting interfaith harmony and by dispelling the impression of cultural conflicts in the world.

Japanese Ambassador appreciated the efforts of Ministry of Minorities which is trying to bridge the gap among different religions through concerted efforts of religious leaders of different faiths. The ambassador also appreciated the personal endeavors of the Minister to solve the issues and problems of minorities on priority basis. The preservation of the minorities’ cultures through Ghandara Art Heritage preservation is a significant measure taken by the Ministry on the initiative of the Minister, himself.

Government is determined to fix 5% quota for minorities in Federal and provincial department to improve their financial conditions. The People’s Party Government is also determined to increase the number of minority representation in Federal and provincial legislature. He further added.-SANA

At what point in history did the word ‘Sadhvi’ enter the Muslim lexicon? Did the word ‘Sadhvi’ enter the Muslim psyche with the arrest of Pragya Singh Thakur, Malegaon bomb blast accused? The answer is a firm no. Pragya Singh Thakur is merely an offshoot; continuation of a contagious disease called communalism planted into the body politic of India with the demolition of Babri Masjid on December 6, 1992. The legacy of Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur can be traced back to the Sadhvi Rithambara who had famously said, “Ek dhakka aur do, Babri Masjid tor do” [Give one more push, bring down Babri Masjid].

We do not have any proof to suggest that Sadhvi Pragya is a descendent of Sadhvi Rithambara but they share a common ideology of hatred against Muslims with varying degrees of execution. The former believes in the physical virus of violence while the latter believes in the verbal virus of violence. Sadhvi Rithambara is more dangerous than Sadhvi Pragya because her methodology is to cultivate hate within the confines of law of the land. She is a hate-monger in the disguise of a woman preacher who had once said,

“Muslims are like a lemon squirted into the cream of India. They turn it sour. We have to remove the lemon, cut it up into little pieces, squeeze out the pips and throw them away.”

This poisonous potion of hate sums up the ideology of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, the Bajrang Dal, the Shiv Sena, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and all the associated organisations of right-wing political family, loosely referred as the Sangh Parivar.

The BJP was born from the womb of Sangh Praivar and therefore a legitimate child of the Hindutva brigade. When the BJP came to power at Centre in 1999, there was a palpable sense of jubilation in the Parivar [community] camp. For it was the time to ‘right’ a “historical wrong”; to construct Ram Temple in Ayodhya. To capitalize on Hindu sentiments Sadhvi Rithambara was touring America in 2002. She was at the Ganesh Temple in New York to raise funds for her new project – homes and shelters for Hindu orphans and widows.

She delivered a fiery speech peppered with poison. She said,

“The efforts to build a temple for Lord Ram at the Babri Masjid site had given Indians a sense of pride… People questioned the Ram Janam Bhoomi movement but I told them if the youth of India stood up for the cause, even Muslims will start to say Long Live Lord Ram [Yahan to meeyan log bhi bolenge, Jai Shree Ram].”

What a project for Hindu orphans and widows has got to do with Ram Janam Bhoomi?

A comparatively calm and docile South India has begun to understand and include words like ‘terrorism’, ‘communalism’ and ‘hate’ in its day today vocabulary. That brings us to an interesting metaphor: When there is any trouble in the body, it is the whole body that feels the pain. Pramod Mutalik symbolizes and shares the pain of Sadhvi Pragya. Mutalik may have become a Muslim household name with his provocative statement, “Malegaon is a Jhalak. More is possible if every woman picks up bombs”, but he was in the news much before Sadhvi Pragya. In the second half of 2008, the same Mutalik, a vendor of anarchy, had said in a press conference held in Bangalore press club that Hindu suicide squads are ready “to take on Islamic terrorists.”

This news item remained on the fringe and nobody bothered to pick it up since Mutalik posed a threat only to the Indian Muslims. He became a despicable object only when his men attacked ‘Hindu’ women in a pub in Mangalore.

Sadhvi Rithambara, Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur and Pramod Mutalik once belonged to BJP whose unofficial doctrine is based on the hate culture. It is altogether a different matter that when the hate crosses the permissible limit, BJP tries to distance itself from its ardent supporters.

Kalyan Singh, once the poster boy of BJP, has suddenly become an imposter for the BJP. Kalyan Singh is the same politician whose right-wing ability to check on Yadavs was once a prized possession of the BJP. Mulayam Singh’s new-found love with Kalyan Singh is a well-planned political strategy to kill two-birds with one arrow. Mulayam Singh may have a mulayam corner for Kalyan Singh but Muslims will not become victims of his velvet-politics. It was under the watchful eyes of Kalyan Singh that Babri Masjid was demolished. The then UP Governor Satyanarayan Reddy had written a letter to the then PM Narsimha Rao on December 1, 1992 urging that the “general law and order situation, especially on the communal front, is satisfactory.” Both BJP-ruled UP and Congress-ruled Centre slept over this suggestion.

Kalyan Singh was guilty of connivance while Narsimha Rao was guilty of inaction; he preferred to sleep that fateful afternoon when Babri Masjid was being brought down. A question worth-asking: Is there any difference between an open enemy and unfaithful friend?

If right-wing politics of BJP demolished Babri Masjid, the middle path politics of Congress gave us the world’s longest running Liberhan commission. The commission would hopefully file the report by March end. Muslims will not give an award to Justice Liberhan for revealing the name of the culprits because they already know the names!

India is taking a right-wing turn once again. Sadhvi Rithambara, Sadhvi Pragya, Pramod Mutalik Kalyan Singh and Narendra Modi are the L.K. Advanis of the decade hell-bent on pressing the Hitler nerve.
Can India be saved from indignant Indians?