Showing posts with label racism. Show all posts
Showing posts with label racism. Show all posts
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Activists condemn victimization of Muslim youth in Nasik
Activists condemn victimization of Muslim youth in Nasik
Authorities are once again unashamedly attempting to victimize a Muslim youth with the allegation that he is "Pakistani." Rahman Nawaz Khan, brother of noted social activist Faisal Khan, underwent humiliating and agonizing experience in Nasik at about 5:30pm on 9th of October 2009, when crime branch officials slapped him with the allegation that he is a "Pakistani" and tried their best to wrongly implicate him. It was only after the intervention of local residents and police that Rahman took a sigh of relief and crime branch people retracted.
Rahman is an aspiring actor, holding an Indian passport (passport no. F6745744) and other valid Indian identities (driving license, college certificates, and others) who was living in Nasik with his aunt. There is no police complaint against him of any nature. His brother, Faisal Khan, is a noted peace activist of National Alliance of People's Movements (NAPM) and has been contributing to strengthening of people's struggles across the country. When authorities can attempt to fabricate false charges against a citizen of India who thankfully has documents to prove his identity, it is left to one's imagination how serious the situation can get with millions of those residents of India who don't have any identity card to prove their nationality in their own country!
On the evening of 9th October 2009, Rahman was sitting in the lawns of the bungalow of his aunt in Nasik, when approximately 15 people came and called him at the gate of the Bungalow in very rude and inappropriate manner. "He immediately responded to their call, but was shocked to hear from them that he is Pakistani and in being watched for the last one year. Those people asked him to sit in the jeep and come along with them. My brother asked them in humble manner what exactly is the matter, and who has actually given this information. Those people become more rude and said "chal tu jeep mein baith." He was extremely tense and called his aunty, she came with the local police who did talk to my brother in a very polite manner and asked him to cooperate. He showed him all the relevant documents (his identity proof, college certificates, his driving license), and informed them that right now he did not have his passport. So the person from crime branch Kiran Kabadia started using foul language. Immediately my brother called our father and those people were convinced after talking to him. His aunty who is a Maharashtrian, tried to convince them but they said "nahi nahi yeh sab nahi chalega, every Pakistani says the same thing, tum muslim ne to badi gandh phaila rakhi hai, tum saloon ko train mein bhar ke Pakistan bhagana chahiye". After so much of threatening they asked him to come to the office on 10/10/2009 with his passport" narrated Faisal Khan, Rahman's brother.
"I would like to make it a point that the mental torture my brother has undergone is very humiliating and is shame on the democratic fabric in the society which we live. These incidents are on rise against muslims in India. These incidents should not be repeated and no Indian should undergo this mental humiliation which my brother has undergone" said Faisal Khan, NAPM activist.
It is yet another blot on Indian social fabric and democracy. By upping the victimization of Muslim youth on baseless charges, the state is jeopardizing the communal harmony and causing irreparable damage to the secularism India boasts of.
Activists from Asha Parivar have strongly condemned this nefarious act of victimizing the Muslim youth. "It is reprehensible on behalf of authorities in India to falsely accuse Indian Muslim youth as nationals of other nations, in particular, Pakistan - because it attempts to nullify the peace process between two nations and wrongly reinforces the misconception that all nationals of Pakistan are anti-social" said the statement from Asha Parivar.
The question is what constitutes to be anti-national - being an Indian Muslim youth is that anti-national in India or the act of authorities labeling Indian Muslim youth as nationals of other countries is anti-national? Is this act of authorities not against the secular and democratic values we Indians recognize ourselves with?
Asha Parivar activists believe that the act of authorities is anti-national because it marginalizes Indian Muslims, it increases the feeling of alienation in communities that are lawful residents of this nation, it is against our own Indian constitution that upholds secularism as one of the key virtues, and it propels misconceptions against another nation that all residents of that nation are anti-social.
The Asha Parivar activists have demanded an enquiry against the authorities who are perpetrating such acerbic activities in the name of law!
Published in:
Citizen News Service (CNS), India/Thailand
Elites TV News, USA
Tweetmeme.com
Authorities are once again unashamedly attempting to victimize a Muslim youth with the allegation that he is "Pakistani." Rahman Nawaz Khan, brother of noted social activist Faisal Khan, underwent humiliating and agonizing experience in Nasik at about 5:30pm on 9th of October 2009, when crime branch officials slapped him with the allegation that he is a "Pakistani" and tried their best to wrongly implicate him. It was only after the intervention of local residents and police that Rahman took a sigh of relief and crime branch people retracted.
Rahman is an aspiring actor, holding an Indian passport (passport no. F6745744) and other valid Indian identities (driving license, college certificates, and others) who was living in Nasik with his aunt. There is no police complaint against him of any nature. His brother, Faisal Khan, is a noted peace activist of National Alliance of People's Movements (NAPM) and has been contributing to strengthening of people's struggles across the country. When authorities can attempt to fabricate false charges against a citizen of India who thankfully has documents to prove his identity, it is left to one's imagination how serious the situation can get with millions of those residents of India who don't have any identity card to prove their nationality in their own country!
On the evening of 9th October 2009, Rahman was sitting in the lawns of the bungalow of his aunt in Nasik, when approximately 15 people came and called him at the gate of the Bungalow in very rude and inappropriate manner. "He immediately responded to their call, but was shocked to hear from them that he is Pakistani and in being watched for the last one year. Those people asked him to sit in the jeep and come along with them. My brother asked them in humble manner what exactly is the matter, and who has actually given this information. Those people become more rude and said "chal tu jeep mein baith." He was extremely tense and called his aunty, she came with the local police who did talk to my brother in a very polite manner and asked him to cooperate. He showed him all the relevant documents (his identity proof, college certificates, his driving license), and informed them that right now he did not have his passport. So the person from crime branch Kiran Kabadia started using foul language. Immediately my brother called our father and those people were convinced after talking to him. His aunty who is a Maharashtrian, tried to convince them but they said "nahi nahi yeh sab nahi chalega, every Pakistani says the same thing, tum muslim ne to badi gandh phaila rakhi hai, tum saloon ko train mein bhar ke Pakistan bhagana chahiye". After so much of threatening they asked him to come to the office on 10/10/2009 with his passport" narrated Faisal Khan, Rahman's brother.
"I would like to make it a point that the mental torture my brother has undergone is very humiliating and is shame on the democratic fabric in the society which we live. These incidents are on rise against muslims in India. These incidents should not be repeated and no Indian should undergo this mental humiliation which my brother has undergone" said Faisal Khan, NAPM activist.
It is yet another blot on Indian social fabric and democracy. By upping the victimization of Muslim youth on baseless charges, the state is jeopardizing the communal harmony and causing irreparable damage to the secularism India boasts of.
Activists from Asha Parivar have strongly condemned this nefarious act of victimizing the Muslim youth. "It is reprehensible on behalf of authorities in India to falsely accuse Indian Muslim youth as nationals of other nations, in particular, Pakistan - because it attempts to nullify the peace process between two nations and wrongly reinforces the misconception that all nationals of Pakistan are anti-social" said the statement from Asha Parivar.
The question is what constitutes to be anti-national - being an Indian Muslim youth is that anti-national in India or the act of authorities labeling Indian Muslim youth as nationals of other countries is anti-national? Is this act of authorities not against the secular and democratic values we Indians recognize ourselves with?
Asha Parivar activists believe that the act of authorities is anti-national because it marginalizes Indian Muslims, it increases the feeling of alienation in communities that are lawful residents of this nation, it is against our own Indian constitution that upholds secularism as one of the key virtues, and it propels misconceptions against another nation that all residents of that nation are anti-social.
The Asha Parivar activists have demanded an enquiry against the authorities who are perpetrating such acerbic activities in the name of law!
Published in:
Citizen News Service (CNS), India/Thailand
Elites TV News, USA
Tweetmeme.com
Ban Racism and not the Burqa
Ban Racism and not the Burqa
Bindu Gurtoo
So the French president has gone and done it. In the first presidential address in the French Parliament since 1848, the esteemed President talked about… the Burqa! By declaring, quite theatrically in the parliament that there was no place for the burqa in France, Mr. Sarkozy has undone the goodwill that President Obama so painstakingly earned for the West in Cairo last month. Not only that, by making a fatwa like declaration, he has given the Islamic hardliners another opportunity to raise the bogey of western cultural imperialism. Well, what else can one expect from a man who seems to have little clue on how to deal with global recession, or to tackle the rising unemployment in his country or even to get his countrymen and women to put in an honest day’s labour without going on a strike. Bombastic statements such as these confirm the long held belief of the coloured world that liberty is the white man’s concubine who uses her exclusively for his pleasure.
Pray, Mr. Sarkozy, how is burqa a garment of exclusion while the catholic nun’s habit is not? Granted that the burqa condemns the wearer to a claustrophobic formlessness, but, what about the two piece bikini designed by a man for the voyeuristic pleasure of the male gaze? How can a culture which connives in forcing teenagers to attain impossible thinness and applauds bizarre garments as high fashion, or sit in judgment over others’ attires? Come on Mr Sarkozy, tell us, as instruments of debasement and oppression, how are decadence, racism, substance abuse, bulimia, porn and pedophilia any less than the burqa? If, by banning the burqa you are trying to rescue Muslim damsels in distress, then may we suggest a more worthy alternative? How about giving the Muslims in your country genuine equal opportunities that are not sabotaged by racial snobbery?
While you rush to ban the burqa the way you banned the turban, why not ban a few other things such as tobacco, liquor and skinny fashion which have debased and destroyed a great many of your people? But we know you are not going to do that, Mr. Sarkozy for these are valued as expressions of the haute French culture. And one does not desecrate one’s culture by rudely hiving off bits, does one? We suspect Mr. Sarkozy that you have learnt your lessons in governance from the redoubtable Robespierre whose guillotine had once worked overtime in the name of democracy.
Perhaps Mr. Sarkozy, it is time you stepped out of the Muslim woman’s wardrobe and directed your attention to some real issues such as climate change, recession and the future of the European Union. Or do we conclude that it is because you are incapable of pondering over these problems that you take refuge in her cupboard? Do come away from her closet, President and let the Muslim woman decide for herself what she would like to wear. Ah! You are only trying to lend a helping hand, aren’t you? Please desist! For history shows us that the helping hand often ends up slapping the helper. As the president of the nation that pioneered popular uprising, you ought to know that revolutions have to germinate in native soil and can never be successfully grafted. Instead, place your trust in the Muslims to decide on the destiny of their cultures for themselves.
Perhaps, Mr. Sarkozy, the time has come for France to follow the example from across the Atlantic of her once good friend and partner- in- revolutions and elect colored leaders? Though it may seem a daunting task for a man of your intellect, but think Mr. Sarkozy, think!
Bindu Gurtoo, CNS
(The author is a member of Citizen News Service (CNS) Writers' Bureau. Email: bindugurtoo@gmail.com, website: www.citizen-news.org)
Published in
Central Chronicle, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh
Counter Currents
Citizen News Service (CNS)
Bihar and Jharkhand News Service (BJNS)
Op-Ed News (OEN), USA
Two Circles.Net (TCN)
Bindu Gurtoo
So the French president has gone and done it. In the first presidential address in the French Parliament since 1848, the esteemed President talked about… the Burqa! By declaring, quite theatrically in the parliament that there was no place for the burqa in France, Mr. Sarkozy has undone the goodwill that President Obama so painstakingly earned for the West in Cairo last month. Not only that, by making a fatwa like declaration, he has given the Islamic hardliners another opportunity to raise the bogey of western cultural imperialism. Well, what else can one expect from a man who seems to have little clue on how to deal with global recession, or to tackle the rising unemployment in his country or even to get his countrymen and women to put in an honest day’s labour without going on a strike. Bombastic statements such as these confirm the long held belief of the coloured world that liberty is the white man’s concubine who uses her exclusively for his pleasure.
Pray, Mr. Sarkozy, how is burqa a garment of exclusion while the catholic nun’s habit is not? Granted that the burqa condemns the wearer to a claustrophobic formlessness, but, what about the two piece bikini designed by a man for the voyeuristic pleasure of the male gaze? How can a culture which connives in forcing teenagers to attain impossible thinness and applauds bizarre garments as high fashion, or sit in judgment over others’ attires? Come on Mr Sarkozy, tell us, as instruments of debasement and oppression, how are decadence, racism, substance abuse, bulimia, porn and pedophilia any less than the burqa? If, by banning the burqa you are trying to rescue Muslim damsels in distress, then may we suggest a more worthy alternative? How about giving the Muslims in your country genuine equal opportunities that are not sabotaged by racial snobbery?
While you rush to ban the burqa the way you banned the turban, why not ban a few other things such as tobacco, liquor and skinny fashion which have debased and destroyed a great many of your people? But we know you are not going to do that, Mr. Sarkozy for these are valued as expressions of the haute French culture. And one does not desecrate one’s culture by rudely hiving off bits, does one? We suspect Mr. Sarkozy that you have learnt your lessons in governance from the redoubtable Robespierre whose guillotine had once worked overtime in the name of democracy.
Perhaps Mr. Sarkozy, it is time you stepped out of the Muslim woman’s wardrobe and directed your attention to some real issues such as climate change, recession and the future of the European Union. Or do we conclude that it is because you are incapable of pondering over these problems that you take refuge in her cupboard? Do come away from her closet, President and let the Muslim woman decide for herself what she would like to wear. Ah! You are only trying to lend a helping hand, aren’t you? Please desist! For history shows us that the helping hand often ends up slapping the helper. As the president of the nation that pioneered popular uprising, you ought to know that revolutions have to germinate in native soil and can never be successfully grafted. Instead, place your trust in the Muslims to decide on the destiny of their cultures for themselves.
Perhaps, Mr. Sarkozy, the time has come for France to follow the example from across the Atlantic of her once good friend and partner- in- revolutions and elect colored leaders? Though it may seem a daunting task for a man of your intellect, but think Mr. Sarkozy, think!
Bindu Gurtoo, CNS
(The author is a member of Citizen News Service (CNS) Writers' Bureau. Email: bindugurtoo@gmail.com, website: www.citizen-news.org)
Published in
Central Chronicle, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh
Counter Currents
Citizen News Service (CNS)
Bihar and Jharkhand News Service (BJNS)
Op-Ed News (OEN), USA
Two Circles.Net (TCN)
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