Heart-to-Heart III

Most Significant Period

Dr. Mohammad Manzoor Alam

From the first part of this series I have tried to explain the body and soul relationship of Islam and Ramadhan.Such significant events took place in the month that changed the courses of history and turned the world’s weakest faith group (in terms of numbers and resources) into a fast-growing super power ready to replace the eastern Roman Empire and the Persian Empire, the super powers of the time.

Heart-to-Heart II

Ten days to work for maghfirah

Dr Mohammad Manzoor Alam

Before beginning the second part of any current Ramadhan series I want to reiterate that it is not written in the format I did my earlier Ramadhan columns which were all written in the traditional, ulema-approved style. This was so even though I was not a trained a’alim.

Heart-to-Heart-I

Our capability to live through Ramadan

Dr. Mohammad Manzoor Alam

Much of my Ramadan columns have, over the years, appeared with this heart-to-heart logo. This logo marked our concern for the right training of our faith community's youth.

Dr Mohammad Manzoor Alam

Peace is so critical for Islam that its very name is derived from the root salaam, which means peace. Without it a central Quranic text Allah laid down in the Quran that he made the children of Adam respectable.

Dr Mohammad Manzoor Alam

In the first article of this series we posited that God bestowed dignity on humans: men, women, blacks, whites, yellow races, the wheatish and the reds, as well as on followers of all faiths and atheists – Hindus, Jews, Christians, Buddhists, Jains, Muslims, Sikhs, Zoroastrians, atheists, agnostics, animists and a whole range of in-between categories.

 Dr Mohammad Manzoor Alam

I

Ask an Indian Muslim what is it in India’s public life that  s/he dreads most, wants to get rid of this socio-political plague as quickly as possible and wants to elect to power only such a party, or group of parties, that does not make anti-Muslim mass violence a vote-catching strategy. You will be amazed to find that (barring a few men like Syed Shahnawaz Hussain, MJ Akbar and Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi) nearly a 100 out of 100 Muslims will tell you that it is anti-Muslim violence.   

Dr Mohammad Manzoor Alam

Science, technology and future of civilisations. DR. MOHAMMAD MANZOOR ALAM

Dr. Mohammad Manzoor Alam examines some issues in the context of uncertainties in India and the world. 

As explained in the first part of this article the ‘post-human age’ dawning on us could be difficult for people who are not prepared for it. It will be a data-driven, Al-propelled, algorithm-dictated age...

Humans have divided large segments of time into aeons, eras, epochs and ages, millennia and centuries, and attributed those times with dominant features with appropriate age names, like stone age...

From the account the Prime Minister gave of his first 100 days in office in his second term (in Rohtak on September 8), it seemed this government has been particularly kind to Muslims and their interests. A few major “achievements” of his government had been Muslim-centered...

Over the last several months we have been hearing claims about the economy going great guns. Government leaders tell us that we are growing at 7 per cent a year while the US economy is going at 3 per cent only. However, we are not told that the US economy...

A few weeks ago I had written a piece, “Let’s give peace a chance.” In it I had argued for co-operating with the Supreme Court-ordered Ayodhya mediation committee that seeks to find an amicable out-of-court settlement of the dogged Babri Masjid-Ram Janambhoomi...

A few days ago, in this column I had discussed how the Muslim representation in parliament had been brought down to a level at which this faith community of 17 crore people has been made politically irrelevant, voiceless, and pushed to the margins...

One of the less examined and analysed aspects of the recent Lok Sabha elections is the stark fact that the old dream of the Sangh to do politics without Indian Muslims has been fully realised. BJP has won an absolute majority in Lok Sabha, the House of People, without...

As I write this, the most precious moments of our lives are quickly passing by. The blessed days and nights of the holy month of Ramadhan that bring Muslims bounties of Allah, for our lives here on the earth and hereafter, are too short for the faithful...

Peace (salaam) is an absolute value in Islam. Everyday we wish peace to each other, pray for peace through our greetings (Assalamu alaikum, peace be upon you), send salaam to our Prophet in our prayers...

The Muslim world’s educational status has been declining for centuries in relation to the others. Muslim minorities in India, China, Russia, European Union, the US, Canada or South America, too, are rarely among the best. What..

The visit of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman to India at the head of a large business and official delegation this week is being looked up to with expectations of further deepening of relations between the two countries...

This letter is in response to your call to some familiar names in Indian Muslim society, a copy of which has been kindly forwarded to me by AOL director, Shri Gautam...

The rise of Anwar Ibrahim, leader of Malaysia’s ruling PKR (Parti Keadilan Rakyat) after years of imprisonment brings to mind the mythical Sphynx, the bird that was burnt to ashes and later...

The Narendra Modi government has railroaded the Triple Talaq Bill through Lok Sabha on sheer strength of a brute majority, contemptuously overlooking the Opposition protests and Muslim minority’s...

The arrest of a BSP Member of Parliament is a refreshing change after a steady dose of stories of all manner of mafia dons lording it over the towns and villages of Uttar Pradesh being published...

At the time of writing this piece (June 2, 2007) the Indo-US negotiations on the finer points of the nuclear deal between the two countries has reached a crucial stage. As is always the case, our major...

Last week some newspapers carried an interesting picture that showed half a dozen members of Turkish parliament on each other’s throats. This was reminiscent of a similar scene in Uttar Pradesh...

It is extremely difficult to figure out why we insist on calling ourselves a civilised nation. Going a step further we have convinced ourselves that we are divinely ordained spiritual...

The legendary Mr Bumble’s remark, "If the law thinks so" Sir, the law is an ass", we must admit, is one truism that will always retain some relevance, at least in India...

The Sachar Committee Report is many things to many people. However, in its essence it is just an attempt to gauge the extent of Muslim economic and social backwardness for possible governmental...

For three consecutive days the National Capital Region (NCR) has been reeling under sweltering heat. As if it was not enough, the city of Delhi and its surrounding areas have been subjected to long...

All of us know that we are the children of a single pair -- Adam and Eve. Later we divided into races and ethnic groups...

Recently a major American newspaper published a full-length article on "deteriorating" Saudi-US relations. It is quite well known that the Saudi king had recently announced his determination not to become...

Recently a news report appeared in many newspapers that said Hollywood film star Sylvester Stallone was caught in Australia carrying banned drugs. When Australian Customs officials raided his hotel room...

Our worst fears expressed in these columns a couple of days ago have come true as the violence in Gaza Strip has claimed more lives. Hamas fighters have taken over the seaside office complex of President...

RSS believes that by creating another Shri Ram controversy it can catapult its protégéé, BJP, into power. After all, the only time BJP made real electoral progress was during the Ram temple campaign. Whatever...

A few days earlier in this column we took note of a positive development in the political culture of Uttar Pradesh. Chief Minister Mayawati had created a record of sorts by allowing one of her party...

The so-called Third Front’s proposal to nominate President APJ Abdul Kalam for a second term in office is a clever move. Convinced that nobody would dare to reject President Kalam’s name because...

India is rightly proud of the Green Revolution ushered in by scientists like Dr. Norman Bolraug and his Indian associate Dr. Ms. Swaminathan. The country was constantly plagued by food shortages...

This is for the third time that we are returning to Mayawati government in this column, the first two times with appreciation, but this time with some apprehension...

In our previous entry in this column we had discussed how the fruits of the Great Green Revolution had begun to go soar in parts of India...

Presently a battle royal is waging in the BJP. It is, in fact, less of a battle than a buck-passing match between the top leaders ostensibly out to know what led to their well-deserved rout...

The tiger is the most endangered species, according to a report of World Wide Fund (WWF). It is the most in-demand species being bought, sold, smuggled, killed or captured for trade...

In a recent court judgment several Muslim "terrorists" have been awarded long sentences, including life-term, for being involved in Gujarat BJP leader Haren Pandya’s murder...

Among Sikhs there have always been holy men who have been respected and loved by people in general rather than Sikhs alone. The founder of the faith, Baba Guru Nanakji, was loved and respected by Hindus...

Reservation in Indian law is a term to describe government policy where a percentage of seats is reserved in Parliament, State Legislature, Central and state government departments and public sector...

At the time of writing this piece 1,200 students, teachers and assorted anti-government activists have been flushed out of Islamabad’s huge Lal Masjid by the Pakistani military. The whole world is looking at...

Over the last few days we have been subjected to a graceless BJP show of bad conduct. Day in and day out BJP folk have been harping on alleged flaws in the UPA’s presidential candidate and her family...

The suicide of thousands of farmers around the country tells revealing tales of our development priorities. We may be experiencing an economic boom, but since 1997 more than 25,000 farmers have killed...

It is not often that we have good news about Muslims in the mass media. If ever our young men and women come in for a mention it is likely to be for the wrong reasons and with negative undertones. However, we...

Despite sporadic attempts to bring in some transparency to the mysterious working of bureaucracy massive official corruption remains a fact of life. Such corruption is the single largest factor responsible...

On July 11, almost all major English and Hindi dailies published from the national capital carried Islamabad Lal Masjid story as lead, some using prominent graphics, pictures and highlights. The display...

The Sangh is deeply obsessed with Mr. Mohammad Ali Jinnah, Pakistan’s founder, revered as Qaed-e-Azam. The Sangh thinks this man was a villain who divided India, and refuses to consider its...

ndia and Pakistan have gone to war thrice over Kashmir, without anyone of them achieving much. There is the least likelihood of another full-blown war. Skirmishes are always possible, but not war. Both countries being...

Bombay High Court’s observations in the murder case involving presidential candidate Pratibha Patil’s brother are significant for the polity and governance of India. The court has done...

The National Election Commission has done well to clarify a major point of law. It has said that no party has a right to issue a whip to its members not to vote in a presidential or other election...

Pakistan is among the better developed Muslim countries. Despite its extraordinary standing among Muslim countries it had a poor record on democracy and civil liberties...

Not a single day passes without the discovery of a fake pharmaceutical products racket. Nobody knows what happens to the merchants of death manufacturing fake medicines or the medical store owners peddling...

The Sangh and its offshoots like VHP have not learnt any lessons from public humiliation only a few weeks ago on the issue of Ram Sethu. The Sangh’s false claim that the natural deposit in the sea between India...

On July 28, a replay of West Bengal’s Nandigram was staged by the Andhra Pradesh police in Khamam. Eight people, mostly Left supporters, died in police firing...

The incidence of acid attacks on girls and young women is increasing in India. Criminals committing this heinous act are emboldened because they enjoy virtual impunity...

One must applaud the Centre’s, particularly Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s, role in promoting the cause of justice in Dr Mohammad Hanif’s case, who had been illegally detained by the Australian...

During the visit of US President George W Bush in 2006, nuclear and agriculture deals were signed. The highly publicised nuke-deal has been finalised and reached the stage of implementation. A little known...

Day in and day out, we, the city dwellers, have to endure a cacophony of hollow claims: "India Shining", "India on the Move". Who is orchestrating this hype and hoopla? Of course, the tiny minority in the big cities...

Over the last couple of days we have been witness to some unpleasant and unnecessary acts from supposedly responsible quarters. The most bothersome was an uncalled for observation...

Of late the Ram Sethu (Adam’s Bridge) between India and Sri Lanka has come into sharp focus of our political life once again. BJP and other Sangh outfits have clung to this "issue" like the proverbial sinking...

Delhi, the capital of the country, is also turning out to be the "kidnapping capital of India." Several hundred girls are kidnapped here every year. In most cases the police show the kidnapped persons as lost. Strangely...

Recently ten persons were lynched at Rajapakar village in Vaishali district of Bihar. Invariably, all media reports described them as "thieves". Probably those who killed them told the police that the victims...

The Patna sessions court has sentenced former member of parliament Anand Mohan and former minister Akhlaque Ahmad to death in the case of murder of Gopalganj district magistrate, G Krishnayya. Anand...

The Government of India is working out a scholarship scheme for students of minority communities who have completed matriculation. It will help such students to avail of opportunities of higher education by achieving...

Delhi, India’s capital, has also earned enough notoriety as “Capital of Kidnapping Industry,” “Capital of Crime Against Women” and, of late, “Capital of Road Rage”...

We are justifiably proud to call ourselves a democracy. We do hold periodic elections, however imperfect, to elect our representatives to panchayats, zila parishads, state assemblies and national Parliament...

It seems the Sangh falls immediately in love with whatever annoys or hurts Muslims. The latest example is RSS chief’s magnanimous declaration that people who have been evicted from everywhere...

The Gujarat BJP of 2007 is not quantitatively different from the Gujarat Congress of 2002. Back then the Congress Party was a hopelessly divided house, without any clear idea of where it was headed...

Siyasat (politics), we are told, is an unpredictable, treacherous, no-holds-barred game. Gujarat politics is more so, particularly because it is the “laboratory of Hindutva”, as proudly proclaimed by men...

On the face of it the Congress election strategy in Gujarat seems rather incongruous. After all how can you fight Sangh Hindutva with another version of Hindutva? This sounds (and looks) too suspiciously...

As the day of reckoning in Gujarat draws close the nervousness of BJP and Narendra Modi’s backers is getting obvious. BJP government’s tall claims about “development” lies punctured (I will come to this topic...

In Gujarat Narendra Modi’s take is, “Gujarat shall win”. You don’t need a PhD from Harvard to know that here Mr Modi presents himself as the personification of Gujarat. That is, if Gujarat were to be a single...

Mr Narendra Modi’s government in Gujarat has spent enormous sums of money on projecting the image of the chief minister and his alleged accomplishments in economic growth. According to Arjun Modhvadia...

We all know that media (the plural from of medium)is (or, are, if you please) there for carrying message in different print, audio and audiovisual format. In the natural scheme of things it is the message that has primacy...

As the reality of Mr Narendra Modi's win in Gujarat begins to sink into the country's political psyche the apprehensions about another bout of countrywide anti-minority hysteria are getting pronounced...

The recent Bali conference on environment was notable at least in one sense. America, which has been pretending to be the leader of the world, was led by the world for a change. Forced by rest of the international community...

Really great men (and women) don't hanker for public adulation or state honours. The communist saint Ho Chi Minh ("Uncle Ho" to millions) was a self-effacing orphanly-looking stalwart who drove the French...

Finally, a high-visibility victim of Gujarat 2000, Bilkis Bano, has got a semblance of justice as a CBI court in Mumbai has awarded life-term to 11 of the accused of murdering 13 of her relatives in a gruesome...

As was already expected worldwide the ethnic Albanians of Kosovo, who form 90 percent of its population, declared independence from Serbia on February 17. We, along with the rest of the world, were expecting...

With the arrest of three Sangh Parivar activists at the end of January for the bombing of the RSS office in Tenkasi town of Tamil Nadu new hope has emerged about solving the mystery of bomb attacks on places like Makkah...

The latest unequivocal, clear and unconditional denunciation of all forms of terrorism is a welcome step taken at the Darul Uloom Deoband. But that is only half of the picture, the other half is for the government and its agencies...

Finally, on March 24 Delhi Police's controversial ACP Rajbir Singh ran out of luck and was shot through the head by one of his proteges, with the gun he had lent the killer. The man who shot him twice in the head, Vijay Bhardwaj, owed...

The recent split verdict of the Supreme Court on a riot case shows that not only the victims of the state machinery's partial and prejudiced behaviour complain about it but at least a section of the higher judiciary is also aware of it...

Quite understandably, the Bharatiya Janata Party is gloating over the UPA government's failure to curb inflation. According to the latest data released on April 19, inflation grew by another 0.24 percent compared to the previous week...

I am writing this in great anguish and sense of disappointment at the way the situation in Palestine has been forced to take an entirely unexpected and dangerous turn with President George W. Bush's latest visit to Israel...

It is distressing to note that the Afro-Asian world, along with other developing nations, is getting alienated from India, writes Mohammed Ataur Rahman...

Ever tried evading taxes? Never ever think of doing so if you happen to be a salaried, middle-class person. The taxman is sure to get you and make your life hell for refusing to pay a few thousand rupees in tax...

Hindutva organisations, which have been trying desperately to raise communal temperatures over the Amarnath yatra, have achieved some success in Madhya Pradesh. Although they have not so far been able to do...

Mohammed Ataur Rahman looks at the decline in the standards of integrity of our judiciary and wonders whether justice is going to be even more difficult to obtain...

Dr. Mohammad Manzoor Alam says now that some political stability has been ensured, the UPA must begin to address questions in public mind about the N-deal...

The electronic media of the country has recently reported an interesting albeit cruel case from Lucknow. A girl named Alankrit appeared at the Class XII examination. She was a brilliant child. She had topped her school in...

As August brings down temperature in the sub-continent, it seems Pakistan's dog days are drawing to a close. That country, plagued by military dictatorship for more than half of its independent existence, may be allowed...

The orgy of murder, arson and loot targeting Christians in Orissa continues unabated as the state plays a dumb spectator, writes Dr. Mohammad Manzoor Alam...

Dr Mohammad Manzoor Alam cautions Malaysian government against pushing Leader of Opposition Dr Anwar Ibrahim to the wall...

Children are dying from malnutrition and farmers are committing suicide as prosperous people in cities live in the bliss of denial, writes Mohammed Ataur Rahman...

It has become a distressing pattern: every few months the country is being treated to a judicial scandal more serious than the previous one, writes Mohammed Ataur Rahman...

It is already a month since the latest round of Hindutva terror began in Orissa. It is continuing unabated: churches being burnt, Christian villages burnt, schools attacked. The chief minister, Naveen Patnaik sits idle, the police...

Consider for a while the irony of a massive witch-hunt unleashed against Muslim youth on the basis of accounts provided by untrustworthy policemen...

The last few weeks have been marked by momentous events in India that will have a significant bearing on the future of freedom, democracy, rule of law and the general tenor of public life...

The ensuing elections to six state assemblies, followed by general elections, will decide whether India remains the secular, democratic state of the vision of the founding fathers of the Constitution or slips into a long...

What is going on in Gaza Strip right now has a parallel in ancient Greek history. When the powerful Athenians invaded the less powerful Melos and began to make mince meat of them, the Melians pleaded for a truce...

Sorry to begin it with a negative: Mr. George W. Bush has never been counted among the more intelligent presidents of the United States. Even if we forget his familiar penchant for gaucherie there is not really much about him...

One of the abiding shames of America’s 43rd presidency would be its terrible legacy in Iraq and neighbouring Palestine. The victims of this malicious policy, the Arabs, know that the Iraq...

Weapon purchases are made to strengthen national defence, not merely to satisfy a whim. The Left’s objection...

Turkish Prime Minister Recip Teyip Erdogan’s frank talk about Israeli aggression against Gaza has not been taken kindly by powers that are running the world today. At the last World Economic Forum at Davos Erdogan...

The US president has ordered an increase of 17,000 troops in Afghanistan. This is about 50 percent of the number of existing NATO forces in that beleaguered country. This is more a continuation of the Bush policy...

The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP, in short) assumes too much. For instance, its preposterous assumption that it has the right and power to interrogate Indian Muslims and Christians, and to dictate to them what they...

The obnoxious behaviour of Varun Gandhi is a reminder of the fascist hooliganism of his father, Sanjay Gandhi, writes Mohammed Ataur Rahman.

Election season has turned out to be an extremely dangerous period for cows in Delhi. Once again, slaughtered cows have begun to appear in public places. This is a familiar pattern that emerges soon before...

The severe disagreement in the UPA is a matter of concern for all people who are committed to the rule of law and supremacy of the Constitution in the conduct of public affairs in India...

Now that Varun Gandhi has been slapped with the National Security Act (NSA), for the first time we are seeing hate speech being discouraged...

We had begun to have some idea of how effective a shoe protest can be right at the moment journalist Muntadhar al-Zaidi threw his celebrated pair of shoes at the world’s most powerful person. The country that was devastated...

The tradition of shoe protest begun by Iraqi journalist al-Zaidi has gained acceptance in India. On April 16 the BJP prime ministerial candidate LK Advani became the third Indian public figure at whom a “shoe” (in this case, a lowly...

The Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has made a “generous” offer to his Palestinian neighbours of a “limited Palestinian state” (his words). This state will not be a state, limited or not. When Jews got their state under...

The tone and tenor of BJP’s stock-taking after its crushing electoral defeat is amazing as well as amusing, writes Mohammed Ataur Rahman...

If the latest news reports about the North African branch of al-Qaeda issuing threats to China are true, Muslims all over the world have got more to worry about now. The French news agency AFP has reported quoting a report in a French...

After former deputy prime minister and Iron Man-2, L K Advani, his cabinet colleague in the NDA government at Centre, Jaswant Singh, is the second senior BJP leader to be booted out of the party for looking at Pakistan’s founder...

UPA-2 logged its 100th day in office on August 29. Manmohan Singh and 19 ministers had taken oath of office on May 22. A hundred days do not mean much in a five-year term, but they can exemplify the saying “morning shows the day...

Earlier this month the Cabinet Committee on Security met at the Prime Minister’s Office to discuss the growing incidence of Chinese land and air incursion in Indian territory. There have been far more incursions in Arunachal...

Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi suffers from delusions of grandeur. Thanks to our imperfect justice delivery system, Modi is still walking free seven years after the state-sponsored Gujarat pogrom of 2002...

Stories of Chinese incursions in the media have created a lot of ripples in government as well as in the society. There is the growing national consensus that the country should prepare itself to avoid a repeat of the 1962 fiasco...

HR minister Kapil Sibal is one of our more intelligent, clean and fair-minded politicians. However, his latest proposition that the admission cut-off mark for IIT students should be ratchetted up to 80 percent is neither very intelligent...

The history of Nobel awards has been replete with controversy. Henry Kissinger, whose ideas and moves have very little to do with peace, got a Nobel for peace soon after the carpet bombing of Kampuchea and devastation of Vietnam...

Over five centuries also India witnessed the advent of one of the greatest men that had walked on its soil. That was Guru Nanak Deoji, known among Muslims as Nanak Peer...

Modern warfare is based on the assumption that “everything is fair in love and war”. The first casualty of man’s brutality to man is death of the humanity of both the brutaliser and the brutalised...

The party that thrives on creating and sustaining violent conflicts between Hindus and Muslims and Hindus and Christians is caught in a conflict of its own that refuses to be settled...

The goonda raj of Raj Thackeray entered Maharashtra Legislative Assembly after a couple of years of hooliganism on Mumbai’s streets. Their attacks on Biharis and UPwallahs are no longer news. Trough their terror tactics they are...

The Sangh has got a new, flashy weapon in its armoury: they call it, rather poetically, “love jehad”. They coined this intriguing term to justify anti-Muslim riots all over Karnataka. Without any apparent rhyme or reason the...

There is a certain air of pleasant, youthful bouyance and optimism in Rahul Gandhi that my generation first saw is his father Rajiv. He was the first leader to talk about the 21st century (way back in the mid-80s) and prepare...

Till November 25 this year, Dubai was the Middle East’s most glitzy and glittering city, attracting the world’s high-profile investors, film and sports stars, holidayers and shoppers...

At the end of the year, in this grand season of celebrations, let us celebrate for a while something that is generally taken for granted: relative absence of anti-minorities violence. But, why celebrate something which should be a norm...

Nobel laureate Amartya Sen makes an immensely sensible case for development, enabling large swaths of underdeveloped population to benefit from the expanding markets. His recipe consists of two major...

India is being gradually enclosed in an ever-tightening circle of US-British-Israeli interests, not as an independent player, but as a proxy of these interests. This is a matter of serious concern for the country’s integrity, the cohesion...

Recently, the chief of Israel’s security agency Mossad was in New Delhi. It was a low-key visit, with few mentions in the media. A section of the press said the visit was kept low key because of Indian Muslim apprehensions about...

Our republic has covered a long way in its 60-year march of progress. Today, it is a strong, vibrant adolescent of 60 looking forward to a remarkable adulthood in the new decade, writes Dr Mohammad Manzoor Alam...

The British used to call the Indian Civil Service “the steel frame of India” for good reason. It bound India together strongly in an administrative apparatus that was unbreakable. That cannot be said of the civil service of today any longer...

Hope never dies in human heart. Common Indian Muslims still remember BJP’s Ayodhya campaign that killed thousands of them, rendered so many of them homeless, hurt and humiliated. Muslims have always hoped that perpetrators...

One of India’s leading spiritual gurus, Bhagwan Rajneesh, was a highly articulate person (a quality that many other gurus share with him). He said in an interview that the business of spiritual guidance was the most lucrative. “Tell...

If one looks at our media (especially Hindi and English) one gets the impression that there are two different classes of sacrilege – one good, that needs to be defended as freedom of speech and artistic expression and the...

The Supreme Court’s recent judgment legitimising live-in relationship is yet another example of judicial intervention in issues of traditional morality regarding human sexual conduct...

There is a lot of concern expressed all over India about Maoist violence. The media has done its bit to reflect that widespread concern and anger. That is quite natural and understandable...

If a Greek gives you a gift horse, be careful. This is an approximation of an old adage that cautions against “free” offerings by strangers who have no apparent reason to do that. Now, keep that in mind and look at the abundant data...

Pakistan has lauded the brief opening at Thimpu with the rider that a trust deficit in Indo-Pak ties still remained. Trust will not come the way the two sides have been working...

The Muzaffarnagar police are a befuddled lot these days over a case of “honour killing” that was not. On May 9, the family of 23-year old Ajit Saini cremated his dead body, who was killed by his girl friend Anshu’s brother for eloping with her...

For years there were no takers of the idea of Hindutva terrorism in official India. The all-knowing intelligence agencies have been insisting that “Islamic terrorists” were behind every act of terror in the country, including attacks on mosques...

Official corruption is no longer news in India. Already the country stands at the 84th position in corruption rating by Transparency International’s 2009 rating of 180 countries...

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is known to be a straight person, shorn of the charisma of the Nehrus. That has been his strength also, as he does not have to bother too much about his image...

It is not an exciting experience to look at Jaswant Singh, formerly and presently of the BJP, in person. It is even less interesting to see him on TV screen. His vacant eyes, listless face and a faint, almost incoherent, voice...

Of late we have been getting worrisome news of anti-Muslim propaganda, sinister mobilisation and hostile build-up in parts of Uttar Pradesh. Groups that have benefitted from anti-Muslim hysteria in the past are behind this...

Let me begin with a confession: the Allahabad High Court decision on Babri Masjid title suit has brought a silent, deep despair into Muslim hearts. Et too, Brute?...

We witnessed a strange euphoria in certain sections of our society over President Barack Obama’s three-day visit to this country. It was strange because the expectations underlying it were far from realistic...

I dread the sight of the morning newspaper. It makes one’s cup of tea taste like rat poison. Every morning, morning after morning, we are treated to some cheeky chicanery of our political class that disgusts and nauseates...

In politics, it is not important to work, but to be seen working. Over the last five years Nitish Kumar had not only been working for the “development” of Bihar, but had been seen working all these years. He has been richly rewarded for...

In the final hours of the year, when the fog deepens and the cold begins biting hard, the mood gets grim and it is easier for dark thoughts to assail the mind. In these last hours of 2010, it’s easy to get despondent about our situation...

If one looks loosely at the pattern of events of last few years, up to the last few days of 2010, one could make a fairly reliable guess about the events and trends ahead of us. So, less us guestimate...

The first few days of the new year have brought quite a few coincidences. Late last week, the venerable Time of India carried a news story saying there would be stricter security checks on airports from this year...

A good grasp of language is supposed to be a core asset in the legal profession. The ability to see, discern and articulate nuances makes fine judges and lawyers who serve the purposes of justice with finesse, accuracy and laudable...

The way the farmers’ unrest has spread quickly from Greater Noida near Delhi to Aligarh, Mathura and Agra districts is alarming. For all this, no one but Uttar Pradesh government of the day is responsible...

The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has published its results for 2010. A Chennai-based law graduate S Divyadharshini has topped the prestigious Civil Services Examination. A total of 920 candidates, including...

The BJP is extremely upset about the Communal Violence (Prevention, Control and Rehabilitation) Bill. Why it is so perturbed is not very difficult to know. In fact, it is rather simple: the Bill, if enacted into law, is likely to take away...

Over the last several days of the Baba Ramdev drama, one got the impression that the 5-star yogi is a puppet whose strings are deftly pulled by the ventriloquist, the RSS. The baba is not an agent of his own free will, and his show...

In recent weeks a feeling of exclusion of Indian Muslims from the consideration of power elites has been haunting me. Our own role in most things has been that of self-abdication and self-disempowerment...

In this age of falling heroes and failing institutions when one comes across ministers behind the bars (after being properly stripped of their portfolios, of course), senior bureaucrats and police officers serve Jail terms for...

Justice Anand Narain Mulla famously called the UP police “goondas in uniform.” That the honourable judge’s remarks are not too much off the mark even today is borne out by facts...

The terror attack in Norway has blasted quite a few myths about terrorism and its perpetrators. It has also distinguished the attitude of media and world leaders to acts of terror perpetrated by different groups...

As a person who grew up in a Muslim environment sustained by the noble Islamic tradition, I have always seen people praying: “God, give us useful knowledge.” This, in fact, is a standard prayer said, often in Arabic, from...

When Anna Hazare stood up against official corruption, I was there, along with other Indians, including Muslims, supporting him and his cause...

Revolutions begin with great promise as they articulate people’s frustrations and fears and seek to address them, using people’s power. However, most of them end up in chaos, mindless violence, blood on the streets, reign...

The unearthing of over 2,156 unidentified bodies from mass graves in Jammu and Kashmir’s four districts is a confirmation of the worst fears regarding atrocities by security forces and local police...

Section 20 of the Bill sets the rules to set up and constitute a National Authority for Communal Harmony, Justice and Reparation so as to exercise the powers and perform the functions assigned to it under...

Former deputy prime minister, Union home minister and senior BJP leader L. K. Advani is a true RSS man: he never cared a hoot for law, or rule of law, and has consistently been a law-breaker...

In the twilight hours before Dussehra, one of our national festivals celebrated as an occasion for togetherness and goodwill as well as victory of good over evil, I shudder to think of Mr L K Advani’s proposed...

Are the French returning to stake their claim to their former North African Empire? And, are the wily British at their old game once again? The way they have behaved in Libya is a grim reminder of their visciousness and...

The fall of old regimes in the West Asia and North Africa region, like the proverbial nine pins cannot be understood without putting everything in the colonial context...

Imagine for a while, that Hitler won World War II, the Vichy regime in France remained unchallenged by the Free French of de Gaulle, that Chekoslovakia remained German territory, that V2 rockets flattened London, that there was...

A second marriage, it is wisely said, is the victory of hope over experience. The thaw in India-Pakistan’s icy relations is like a second marriage, which is always contracted in the hope that it would be a better union than the...

The slow build-up to coming stae assembly elections and, beyond that, parliamentary elections, has begun with BJP’s chameleon-like fast change of colours...

The holy Quran asks Muslims to hold on to “God’s rope”, together. Islam’s call to Muslims is to stay united and not sow the seeds of division and mutual conflict. Over the centuries, we have violated these injunctions repeatedly...

Dictators are pigheaded megalomaniacs who think with their muscles rather than with their minds. For these power-drunk guys people don’t matter. What matters is their own power...

Justice, more often than not, is a process, a work in progress, rather than a one-time, final and fixed category. To people like me, brought up in the Islamic tradition, the final and absolute, irrevocable justice will be delivered on the...

The country is remembering the shame and sorrow of Gujarat 2002 when hundreds of Muslims were massacred, maimed and raped in a state-sponsored orgy of violence. A colossal damage to property and ethnic cleansing...

It is not always easy to make sense of the Budget. This is particularly so as every interest group looks at it in the narrow perspective of its own gains and losses. A vast section of our people, including farmers and agricultural...

Over the last couple of weeks the country seems to have gradually slipped into a deeper and deeper political inertia. This is far more evident in the corridors of power in New Delhi than anywhere else...

A strange situation is developing in the country following the army chief’s uncalled for remarks and unprecedented moves that one of India’s leading publications has rightly called “Gen. Singh’s war on India...

After the 26/11 attacks in Mumbai, in 2008 India-Pakistan relations had frozen. The ice began to thaw with Pakistan conferring the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status on India, which means substantial increase in...

The other day one of our prominent English dailies carried a news item that said UP Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav had announced his government would release from jail Muslim youth falsely implicated in terror cases...

The Congress-led UPA-II government at the Centre is completing three years in office next month. That is the time for review of its performance by its leadership as well as for an appraisal by the people at large...

Violent politics: Terrorism and Guerilla War is a significant book to read for people who want to understand Naxalism and have some idea of how to address the issue. Military action is certainly not an option for coping with militancy...

US officials, from President Obama and Secretary Mrs Clinton down to ambassadors and junior diplomats, never tire of proclaiming that the United States is not at war with Islam, but “Islamic” extremism...

UPA-II's anniversary celebrations seem to have come at an inopportune time. Caught up in a media blizzard, seemingly orchestrated to facilitate a transition in 2014, the Congress Party led UPA has few options...

We are passing through interesting times. Interesting and intriguing. The best show going on is the newly found love for secularism in the NDA, announced from the rooftops by the illustrious Mr Nitish Kumar himself...

We are passing through interesting times. Interesting and intriguing. The best show going on is the newly found love for secularism in the NDA, announced from the rooftops by the illustrious Mr Nitish Kumar himself...

Over the last few weeks dramatic events have occurred in Egypt with rapid succession that give them the same breathless, highly excited quality in some measure evident at Tehrir Square at the height of the anti-Mubarak regime...

“Encounter killing is plain murder”, says Justice AM Ahmadi, former Chief Justice of India. If anybody in India is capable of deciding on the legal and constitutional validity of police encounters, Justice Ahmadi is certainly one of them...

Over the last several weeks we are once again subjected to a painful spectacle that is staged regularly, with almost predictable certainty every few months in different parts of the country. I am referring to mass violence...

As I am writing this piece, I get the news through the morning papers that violence has erupted once again in Assam after a lull of a few days. Four more people have been killed, still more have been driven out of their homes...

To many Muslims in Uttar Pradesh the return of Samajwadi Party to power earlier this year was like return of hope in a dismal situation. Within the span of a few months that hope has turned out to be an illusion. After a...

So far Delhi has been described by different epithets at different times: “rape capital of India,” “diabetese capital of the world” etc. Now the way children are disappearing from the city, it can also be called “child abduction...

Like always, our Independence Day comes loaded with memory and desire–the collective memory of decades of struggle since 1840s and 1850s till the D-Day, August 15, 1947, and the personal memory of life in an independent...

After a whole month of intermittent killings, curfew and purposeful, determined ethnic cleansing, the violence in Assam is yet to cease. On August 25, when I was still in Assam, meeting victims, relief workers and government...

The conviction of Babu Bajrangi, who openly boasted about the Naroda Patiya murders on TV and that of Dr Maya Kodnani, a gynaecolost and minister of state in Modi government for sometime, is the highlight of the special court’s...

The amount of money spent on a single day of Parliament is so huge that it boggles the mind of an average Indian. The BJP has been holding Parliament to ransom for a better part of the session, flushing the country’s huge...

As I mentioned in the first part of this series, Assam (as well as the entire northeastern region) is a boiling cauldron of ethnic suspicions and mutual hatred between over 400 tribal groups...

By now it is an established pattern of US-EU-Israeli war against Islam, ill-concealed as “war on terror.” Before every physical attack on a Muslim country, during invasion, and after the war, they keep up a constant...

Recently, UP Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav talked to one of the English dailies published from the national capital. It was generally about party issues and a little about governance. Akhilesh talked at length about these things...

Dr Mohammad Manzoor Alam on a recent Supreme Court judgment cautioning police against tagging terror label on an entire community...

Narendra Modi loves to attack two people—Sonia Gandhi and General Pervez Musharraf, his favourite term for the general being “Mian Musharraf”...

The Reserve Bank Governor Mr D. Subba Rao’s recent announcement constitutes a significant advance in the field of Islamic banking and finance in India, which has been a cherished goal for all of us, and for the attainment...

At this point in time one has only sympathy for poor BJP. Not that it has done anything to earn it: it gets our sympathy by default. For years it has profitably sold terrorism for electoral gains and for keeping itself ahead...

For years America has been in denial on global warming. Earlier this month, a Republican luminary said something to the effect that global warming was some kind of a delusion, without any basis in reality. He was only one of several...

In the fresh round of violence and counter violence in Gaza, the first blood was drawn by Israel, not Hamas. However, as usual, the rationale for savage bombing of Gaza by Israel being put forward is that this is in “self defence” against...

The shoddy 2G affair has harmed the country beyond ordinary calculation. It has hurt public faith in the state and investor confidence in the economy. It has created extraordinary sense of uncertainty and frustration in the country. The...

December 6 is a particularly dreaded day in the life of many sensible Indians, a day of painful memories of mindless anti-Muslim violence and a point in time marked by great emotional division between members of the two...

The mammoth rally at India Gate on Sunday, December 23, was a dramatic expression of mass anger at the utter failure of the state of Delhi and the government at the Centre to protect people’s life, honour, limb and liberty. The latest...

People of dubious character are said to hide their innate evil behind tall claims of patriotism. Of late, we have seen quite a few of them brandishing their alleged patriotism by arguing vehemently and vociferously for an end...

The election results in Gujarat are out now and Narendra Damodar Bhai Modi has comfortably returned to power in the state for the third consecutive times though he could not increase the number of seats held by him last...

One of the themes that dominated news and analysis worldwide for the whole of 2012 was the Arab Spring – uprisings, mostly successful, in the Arabic-speaking world against the corrupt and oppressive rule of despots across...

A happy trend that has held steady for years, including 2012, is the steady growth of Islamic banking and finance. By 2011, it had financial assets around the world worth $ 1.3 brillion, which was a 150 percent increase over five years...

Youth is the prime human resource on which any country thrives. It is mostly the youth who earn the money that goes to support pensioners. It is they who provide the manpower that drives an economy and runs the...

Recently we read the following piece of wisdom from Mr Narendra Modi in a newspaper: “’Indian Talent’ plus ‘Information Technology’ is equal to ‘India Tomorrow’.” What a pearl of wisdom! This amar vani (deathless speech) was...

Old habits of thought are difficult to shed. Narendrabhai Modi’s by now well-known habit of subverting law and dynamiting constitutional values was once again on display recently when under his leadership the Gujarat...

For reasons best known to them only, a sizeable section of the national media has worked itself into a frenzy discussing Narendra Modi-as-PM. Panting and frothing at the mouth with self-induced excitement, some...

In my foreign travels as well as in my interactions with foreign dignitaries visiting IOS we have often discussed the Muslim situation all over the world. We have often agreed that Muslims have been living in difficult times...

True to an established pattern, the false story of Delhi Police (Special Cell) about a massive terrorist plan to trigger powerful blasts in Delhi was exposed on April 28 when the NIA (National Investigation Agency) found...

Over the last few weeks South Asia has been in a flux. We have been witness to public anger in India over the assault on Sarbjeet Singh, an Indian prisoner in a Pakistani jail, with death sentence for having caused blasts in Pakistan...

Mohammad Khalid Mujahid, an accused in a blast case of 2007, died mysteriously on May 18 while being taken to Lucknow jail from Faizabad court. The man had no history of heart disease or any symptom related...

In this beleaguered country not a day passes without the news of gruesome murder of innocent people in the name of counter-terrorism, or the attack on security personnel by real terrorists resulting in death and destruction...

Lawyers provide an important service alongside judges. The former try to bring some clarity to the issues through argument, exhibit of relevant items and presenting witnesses in an organised manner which makes...

Today widespread planned violence against Muslims in Uttar Pradesh has become a norm. As many as 35 anti-Muslim riots, mostly in eastern UP, have been recorded...

An editorial in The Times of India of June 13 carried a beautiful illustration. The face was shaven and bald on one side of the nose, on the other side it was bearded and with a receding hair line. Clearly, it was a composite...

Of late we have seen media leaders concerned over the state’s alleged bid to curb media freedom. Overt and covert attempts by the state to control media amounts to the negation of right to free speech and expression...

The BJP has issued a Vision Document regarding its policy on Indian Muslims. On the face of it the document looks like a radical reversal of the Sangh’s hostile policy of decades overnight. It is too good to believe. And it is...

As I said in my last article the BJP has started what we can term a “full-blown love offensive” to win Muslim hearts. Recently 30 Muslims with a public profile attended a conclave organized by Citizens for Accountable Governance...

Within the next few hours the Subcontinent will enter the holy month of Ramadan. A sizeable part of the world has already entered it...

Military rule is the least desirable government anywhere in the world. There is no reason why it should be different in Egypt. With the death of at least 51 Morsi supporters on July 8 in firing by security forces military rule has...

On July 7 a series of low-intensity bomb explosions in the Mahabodhi Budhist temple at Bodh Gaya in Bihar killed two persons and injured several others...

Language, the choice of words, can be a great give away. It may bring out the innermost thoughts and prejudices without even the speaker’s intention. That is exactly what happened when Gujarat CM Narendra Modi tried to express...

Earlier this month the Union cabinet approved the National Food Security Ordinance. It was a bold and timely decision as proper legislation is time-consuming and hunger cannot wait...

Over the years Nobel laureate economist Amartya Sen has emerged as India’s conscience keeper. Earlier this week he declared that as an Indian he would not want Narendra Modi as prime minister of the country. The...

The court verdict on July 25 and sentencing of Shahzad Ahmad on July 30 in the infamous Batla House encounter case has too many gaping holes in it. As some of the crucial issues involved were overlooked by the judge...

Uncertainties abound in the wake of creation of states (provincial units). The creation of new nation states is even more seriously fraught with risks of violence and awakening of old historical animosities...

In one of her famous pieces of writing Arundhati Roy has this interesting headline: “Democracy–Where is She When She is not At Home?” She then proceeds to answer the question in her own characteristic way...

Narendrabhai P. Modi has a strange sense of humour that involves cutting cruel jokes at the cost of victims of crimes against humanity...

Every few days we learn about some anti-Muslim riot staged somewhere in India. The most unfortunate part is that these riots generally occur in non-BJP states, run by “secular” parties whose credentials are not generally...

Remember the Mahatmaji’s three moral monkeys, who were taught “not to see evil, not to hear evil, not to speak evil”. That, in fact, is a high standard of personal morality...

Over the last few decades, it seems, severed heads of cows and its different body parts scattered in temples have gradually lost their riot value. In the last couple of elections in Delhi, this old tactic failed to mobilise Hindu...

Statistics is of immense help in quantifying economic gains, but sometimes relying upon statistics alone can be misleading. One example is the latest National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO) data that presen...

One of the favourite dialogues of LK Advani, on whose hand lies the blood of thousands of Muslims, is that December 6, 1992 was the “saddest day” of his life. He does not say why, and stops short of uttering any word of regret...

In a way, the disclosures made in policeman DG Vanzara’s letter of resignation are no disclosures really, as all along Muslims of Gujarat and India knew that the most heinous breaches of human rights in that...

When small things start casting long shadows, it is time for the sun to set. Small time goondas in UP have started casting giant shadows and announcing the beginning of the end of Samajwadi rule in the next assembly...

The anti-Muslim riots in Muzaffarnagar and adjoining areas are already being compared to Gujarat 2002. As many as 50,000 people have been officially reckoned to have become internal refugees...

Of late Narendra Modi has intensified his Muslim identity politics by making hundreds of burqa-clad Muslim women and kurta-pyjama-topi-clad Muslim men to attend his rallies...

All over the country Muslim youth have been languishing in jails for years without rhyme or reason. Most of them have been falsely implicated in terror cases...

Over the last few years Narendrabhai Modi has been thumping his chest about his economic growth model, creating the impression that Gujarat is the number-one state in terms of GDP per capita and level of...

The worst threat to our wellbeing is not from the straight harm anti-Muslim groups are inflicting on us in the form of communal riots, but the confusion they are sowing among us. Confusion can be more dangerous...

As the elections in five states draw close, the Internet has come alive with a colorful debate on the virtues and vices of Congress and BJP vis-à-vis each other...

As the general elections draw close one comes across a substantial degree of confusion in some sections of Muslim society. Strange logic is forwarded for voting BJP. We need some clarity on that. The logic goes...

We are told Narendrabhai Modi, who is a 4-in-One product, would be best suited for India’s prime ministership.

The first quality that he has is that he is a liar. He, and people like him, think that lying...

It seems BJP cannot survive even a day without mass violence and communal riot. All the time it is itching for such a conflict...

The single specialisation of RSS since 1920s has been sowing hatred and hostility in the Hindu mind against religious minorities, particularly Muslims and, to a lesser degree, Christians...

Muslims and Christians are not the only enemies that the Sangh and its offshoots like BJP, VHP, Bajrang Dal want to destroy. The Constitution of India and the History of India are two equally valid targets for destruction...

There is a theory in criminology that says out of several suspects in a murder the most likely criminal is the person who benefits from the murder. From this perspective, the natural question that arises from the Patna blasts is, “who...

he BJP crossed all limits of public decency when it honoured its MLAs Sangeet Som and Suresh Rana at Narendra Modi’s rally in Agra on November 21. These two men have been charged with using hate speech against...

We express deep sorrow and solidarity with the people of South Africa over the death of Nelson Mandela.

Like India, South Africa is emerging as a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural country that Mr. Mandela proudly called a “rainbow nation”.

The Delhi Assembly elections results have brought total rout to Congress Party and near-victory to BJP. However, the heavy backing to Aam Aadmi Party has surprised us all, including psephologists, “scientists” of election...

India’s withdrawal of some of the diplomatic previleges of the US embassy in India is only fair and reciprocal. So far India has been treating US officials and diplomats with honour and dignity in face of the worst provocations...

The release of Lalu Prasad Yadav from prison on bail has introduced a powerful element in Bihar politics as well as national politics...

Samajwadji Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav has been contradicted by his own government. A report of the UP administration has confirmed the death of 34 children in the refugee camps of Muzaffarnagar riots victims...

Recently we organised a three-day international conference on Abu al-Qasim al-Zahrawi, an all-time great physician, surgeon and scientist of Andalusia (Arab Spain) who died in 1013, exactly a thousand years ago...

North India is in the grip of a cold wave. Chilly winds are blowing across the vast plains of the region. At the height of the season’s bitter cold the Akhilesh Yadav government has ruthlessly dismantled refugee camps...

Aap’s coming into power in Delhi has unnerved and frustrated the BJP and Sangh’s other outfits. They are so frustrated that they have started resorting to goonda tactics...

Aam Admi Party leaders, in an interaction with Muslim representatives at Patna on January 14, have asserted that their party is above the considerations of religion and caste. They fought elections and did their politics...

Earlier this week Maulana Arshad Madni of Jamiatul Ulema-e-Hind said in Lucknow that the UP government was not responsible for the anti-Muslim riots last September. He said the local administration was responsible...

Last week the national capital witnessed certain sights that it had never imagined it would ever do. For instance, who could imagine that the Delhi chief minister will leave his office at the secretariat and sit on a dharna in...

The Aap and its chief Arvind Kejriwal continue to be an enigma wrapped in mystery. Nobody can really know what are the implications of his announcing a list of corrupt politicians. On one hand his crusade against official corruption...

Kerala government’s move to corner the Jamaat-e-Islami Hind (Jamaat-e-Islami of India) and force it to the wall is unfortunate and misguided. Jamaat sources have said that keeping in view their electoral support...

At the beginning of the third millennium the international media was flush with articles comparing the global situation at the beginning of the second millennium with that at the third. US News and World Report said in its cover story...

The shabby way in which LK Advani has been regularly treated by the BJP and its mentor RSS over the last few years is pitiable. It shows that hate, vandalism and mass murder finally come back to visit upon the perpetrator...

By now we had almost started half-believing in BJP’s new-found love for Muslims. The party had almost convinced some Muslims (including the Akbar-e-Azam of Indian journalism) that Gujarat 2002 was a fiction written by a secularist...

The famous Narendra Modi said in Nanded on March 29 that “netas would be brought to justice” within one year of his taking charge of office of prime minister. By netas he meant tainted netas of non-BJP parties...

Of late the BJP has suddenly created another, more powerful hate wave. Vasundhraraje Scindia has announced menacingly that there will be a lot of “cutting people to pieces” after the election. Last week she was supposed...

Finally, the much-awaited BJP manifesto has been released, even though elections have already begun. Manifestos come weeks before the election, not on the day people start going to the poll booth. This is a great discourtesy...

Campaign 2014 was like no other in India’s election history in its scale, intensity, deployment of technology, human resource and staggering amount of money. This is particularly true of BJP, as no other party came...

As media reaches the conclusion about the outcome of the general elections the Sangh Parivar and its excited ‘chhutbhaiyyas’ are competing each other in speak loud and threatening the opponents. One important...

Whatever the result of this Lok Sabha election, this much is sure that the country has finally reached a watershed where established democratic procedures are openly being rejected in favour of a business administration...

The Great Vinashpurush, Shri Narendrabhai Modi, has famously said that he has already been chosen by God to take the country to its destination. Now all that he wants from the people of India is an endorsement of...

As we have explained earlier, this monthly column is in the nature of an intimate family discussion within the Muslim community, especially with youth...

At this point of time it is quite clear that the great hope and promise that the Arab Spring generated across the Arab world have been frittered away recklessly...

In India, anti-Muslim pogroms have become part of normal election process. The best way to ensure a BJP victory is to increase communal animosity with hate speech for a few weeks, followed by an inevitable anti-Muslim...

Quite often an occasion arises in public life when even good leaders lose contact with public mood and do things that drive them further away from the people. At the time of partition of India, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad was...

This has been the most polarising election fought around a controversial figure with a highly divisive track record. To turn two faith communities against each other no stone was left unturned. Uttar Pradesh witnessed...

It is a great tribute to the country’s democratic institutions that despite a charged atmosphere the Lok Sabha elections have been conducted peacefully and a peaceful transfer of power has been effected. Most Afro-Asian...

The last few weeks have witnessed a steady rise in different kinds of violence, rape and murder of women (Dalit, Muslim, OBC), attack on and murder of Muslim youth and others suspected to be Muslims, sundry violence in...

Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair richly deserves all the epithets showered on him. He has often been called, with ample justification, an inveterate liar and a poodle of George Bush Junior...

The NDA government under Narendra Modi completed a month in office a couple of days ago. For some this was a moment to sit back and reckon what the government had been able to achieve in that small...

We are moving quickly towards the end of the first ashrah (ten days) of the holy month of Ramadan. See, how quickly time passes. It passes more quickly if you are busy praying and reading from the Quran...

I am writing this column for the second time in a month, although usually it comes only once in a month. The departure from routine is because of the significance of the holy month of Ramadhan...

The violent energies unleashed by communal politics before, during and after the elections have led to social tension that might erupt into great violence any moment. These violent energies have not yet spent themselves...

The world is so cruel and callous to the sorrows of the oppressed. Remember only seven decades ago, when Hitler was exterminating Jews all over Europe in their millions, the world was acting as a hapless, clueless spectator...

The august Parliament’s dignity and honour have recently been brought to a new, record low by its own members. The decline in it has been steady for years. The present Lok Sabha has members with a criminal...

I am visiting you with this column for the third time in a month, instead of the usual once-a-month periodicity. As I stated earlier, this departure from routine is because of the significance of the holy month of Ramdhan...

One often wonders why it takes so much time for the state to notice what is common knowledge among Muslims. An example is the Sachar Committee Report, which finally, formally and officially established the fact...

Within the next few hours Parliament will be debating one of the most burning issues the country faces: recurrent communal violence. Let us hope that the debate does not end up in a brawl like in recent past. Parliamentary...

The recent weeks have been trying for Uttar Pradesh, which has witnessed a staggering 600 “communal incidents”, since the Lok Sabha polls. “Communal incidents” is an official euphemism for low-intensity communal violence...

The first casualty that was hardly noticed after the new government took over in Delhi was the deletion of important documents of the home ministry. It was taken rather casually and the voices who expressed their concern...

Over the last several days I was so deeply pre-occupied with other concerns that I could not find time to write this column. Now that I am visiting this space, I have to refer to pronouncements by the President of India...

The tiger can’t change its stripes, the leopard its spots. BJP cannot shed its anti-Muslim obsession. This is the lesson learnt at the UP BJP’s executive meet at Mathura last week...

Recent media reports about Muzaffarnagar are disturbing, to say the least. Stray information about last year’s anti-Muslim violence’s victims making distress sale of their lands have been coming in regularly...

The NDA has crossed the 100-day mark in office and it is rightly in for evaluation. So, let us see what we (or the government) has got to show for it. In short, nothing much...

Of late we have been reading reports in a section of the press about al-Qaeda’s plans to enter countries of our region where Muslims are persecuted. Three such names have appeared: Myanmar, India and Kashmir. The...

It is reassuring to know that a five-member Constitution bench of the Supreme Court of India, headed by the Chief Justice R M Lodha, has ruled that states have the right to extend second official language to a language other...

The Prime Minister, Mr Narendra Modi has said recently on the 13th anniversary of 9/11 that if the United States had heeded Swami Vivekananda’s call for universal brotherhood, America would not have to see that day. We have...

It has been a long open session on Muslims. For weeks together we have heard and read a concentrated demonising propaganda against Muslims. According to it, the Muslims are running a well-funded “love jihad” campaign...

After five days of continuous media hype and hoopla about Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the United States we have got a pause to catch our breath and consider what we got from the visit...

Islam stands for a complete surrender to God’s Will. The shahadah (There is no God but Allah and Mohammad is His Prophet) is a pledge to live by this covenant. The pledge to honour God’s will includes giving up...

Love jehad is like a magical trick in the hands of the Sangh: now you see it , now you don’t. This has been going on since 1920s, and it is as old as RSS...

Now it is official. Extremist Buddhists and Hindus are forming a grand alliance against Muslims in South Asia. What damage they can cause Muslims is not really known, beyond a cowardly attack on Muslims...

On the 150th anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, on October 2, 2019, nobody will defecate in the open anywhere in India. By then everyone of us will have a toilet to go to. This is the target of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan...

With the convincing win of the BJP in Haryana and Maharashtra earlier this week the Congress Party’s steady decline has despened. There is a clear ominous signal in Maharashtra that forebodes a UP-Bihar...

Three events in the recent past are enough to suggest that the process of saffronisation of democratic institutions has begun. Some two months ago, slogans of “Jai Shri Ram” were chanted by BJP workers who were present...

The get together of Nitish Kumar, Lalu Prasad Yadav, Deve Gowda and Sharad Yadav over lunch at Mulayam Singh Yadav’s residence in New Delhi has set off talks about revival of parts of the old Janata Party in coming days. The...

Recently, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi said at an ASEAN summit that terrorism had no religion, Indian Muslims heaved a sigh of relief. This line, that “terror has no religion”, is a relatively new Sangh refrain, being mouthed...

Thanks to India’s strong democratic tradition, even Narendra Modi came to power after a regular vote. This tradition requires that new legislators and governments are allowed a fairly long grace period before their performance...

After years of effort the struggle for having a full-fledged Islamic banking system in India met with a moderate measure of success when the State Bank of India announced last week that it would launch a Shariah-complian...

The gruesome murder of 142 students in a school of Peshawar by Pakistani militants, reportedly Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, is a reprehensible act of barbarity. Those innocent children were nobody’s enemies. The indiscriminate...

Whom would you prefer to be with, if given a chance: Sarpnath, or Nagnath? Will you prefer one over the other, or would you avoid their company in any case? After all, both are cobras, unfriendly creatures...

In a burst of anti-Muslim violence in a village of Bihar’s Muzaffarpur district, hundreds of homes have been torched and the occupants made to flee for safety in the biting January cold...

King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz, who died at 90 on January 22 after ruling Saudi Arabia since 2005, leaves a rich legacy of development, social and educational reforms and regional stability...

As Indians, let us sit back and think for a while about what we got from the high-profile visit of President Barack Obama. Two tangible and one intangible outcomes are visible at this moment, about 72 hours after the visit ended...

Now that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Arvind Kejriwal is the Chief Minister of Delhi, the people, including Muslims, are naturally looking forward to action from him to redress their long-standing problems...

Nobody sympathises with a rapist. All of us wish the worst to befall him: let him come under the wheels of a big truck. Or, even worse: let him be run over by a huge goods train and die a horrible death. Or, if we can be patient and wait for a...

The reverberations on Modi government’s first general budgets are still being heard, more clearly with the passage of time. In hindsight it looks like a feeble attempt to please everybody, but has ended up pleasing nobody...

Subramanian Swamy takes the prize for being the most irresponsible political leader hands down. However, his latest provocation is a little too brazen and malignant even from his own standards...

It was Mahatma Gandhi’s advocacy of ahimsa (non-violence) in general and his concern for cow protection in particular that is reflected in the Directive Principles of the Constitution making it incumbent on the state to work...

It is time now for the Union government to have a fresh look at its decision to defer a Shariah-compliant mutual fund by the State Bank of India...

How do we judge the justice delivery system in India? Is it good, shoddy, or great? In fact, it is all the three at different times and levels. To be fair to it, its shoddiness does not always come from within it, but mostly from outside: the political...

The recent remark of the Prime Minister at the conference of chief justices and chief ministers of Indian states that “five star activists” are driving the judiciary was a clear attack on civil society, putting a question mark on the legitimacy...

Narendra Modi government has come to power on a plank of “development”, a thriving economy and people’s economic wellbeing. In practice, it has ended up doing just the opposite...

I am returning to this column after a long time. I was kept busy by myriad other pressing engagements. As I had said at the time of the beginning of this column, I intend to reach out to the youth with it, particularly Muslim youth...

Assalamu Alaikum Wa Rahamtullah everybody. I am back to you with this column a little earlier than I usually do. The previous piece, “Know thy World” is being completed with this piece. The earlier piece said we have to practise...

How many of us can afford a Rs 10 lakh suit? I think no Indian can do it, except the Prime Minister of India, Mr Narendra Modi, who claims to be the son of a chai wallah?...

Recently, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that achche din aa gaye (good days are here). The PM, in his own opinion and judgment, was sure that he had delivered on his electoral promise of achche din aaenge...

ssalamu Alaikum Wa Rahmatullah, everybody. We are meeting in the first ashra (ten days) of the holy month of Ramdhan. This part of the month is rightly called Ashrah rahmat (Ten days of Allah’s Grace) Like any good thing in life...

On its own, yoga is like other systems of exercise that promote physical, mental and emotional wellbeing. Despite its origins in a Hindu religio-cultural milieu, its widely acknowledged “founder”, Patanjli, was said to be an agnostic...

A democracy is known by its fair play to all its citizens and equality before law. Sadly, it has become a pattern in India that some go scot free and others are heavily punished for committing the same crime. The judiciary, helped...

The epidemic called the Islamic State (IS) has quickly spread from Iraq and Syria to Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and, according to some reports, Pakistan and Afghanistan. It is a dangerous trend that spells...

After a whole year of anti-Muslim slander campaign and sporadic violence against Muslims (to a lesser degree, against Christians as well), we had been hoping that the excitement of Sangh enthusiasts will wear...

The fast unfolding Vyapam scandal is viewed by a substantial number of political commentators as an albatross around Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s neck that will certainly restrict his maneuverability and reduce him...

We are meeting at a highly auspicious moment, blessed by God – the night of 29th Ramdhan in much of the Subcontinent and the night of 30th in many parts of the Muslim world. These are the most precious moments...

Of late the honourable Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendrabhai Damoderbhai Modi, seems to be undergoing a profound change of heart. Shri Modi, who never tired of finding fault with Muslims–from their alleged...

Politicians everywhere are notorious for looking at political advantage through populist actions first and looking at its economic costs later. The PM’s announcement of Rs 1.25 lakh crore Bihar package before...

Over the last few weeks, things have not been going well for the country. A rash of anti-Muslim riots in Bihar, higher incidence of communal violence in the country compared to last year as per Home Ministry statistics...

In Bihar, the BJP-RSS propaganda machinery has got a windfall in the form of religion-wise census. The foot soldiers of the Sangh are warning Hindus that the Hindu population growth has been slower than that of Muslims...

The circular issued by Maharashtra’s BJP government late last month has raised concern in liberal, informed sections all over India regarding its potential misuse by the police and administration to crush...

I am returning to this column after a long while. But, better late than never. The occasion for writing this piece is the coming Eid al-Azha within the next few hours in our part of the world. This is the time to renew our commitment...

There is an Urdu couplet that can be loosely translated as: “When the gardener set my nest on fire, the leaves that I relied upon began to fan it.” Now that Muslims have been forced into a corner by communal organisations...

Our food largely decides what kind of a body and mind we are going to get finally. If you eat carbohydrates (carbon + hydrogen) exclusively and shun proteins (nitrogen) you are certainly going to have more...

On October 12, Sudhendra Kulkarni, journalist and aide to former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, was forcibly painted black by Shiv Sena goons for attending the release ceremony of Pakistani politician...

The Dussehra address of the RSS chief is by now an established ritual to which Hindutva votaries look forward with great excitement and expectation. Even common Indians, not affiliated to the Sangh, are interested...

As a roaring chorus of condemnation of the Sangh-inspired storm of intolerance rises to high heavens, the perpetrators of crimes against humanity are busy defending the indefensible. Sangh stalwarts, with...

With their political maturity and fresh thinking the people of Bihar have set a trend which is likely to be followed in other state assembly elections in near future...

The Bihar elections have delivered a staggering blow to the NDA. They may not be a game-changer, but they certainly point to possibilities of a better performance by a secular front in the future...

There is a parliamentary ritual, a customary courtesy of the government represented by the parliamentary affairs minister made right before beginning of each session of this august body. Under this custom the parliamentary...

The last few weeks have been as disturbing as the preceding weeks. The slander campaign against Muslims accompanied by organised violence against them in different areas of the country and the...

Over the last few years an impression has gained ground that Islam is violent and vengeful. This impression has been deepened and confirmed by violent events in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Palestine and Yemen, all “Muslim” lands...

Over the last few weeks there has been a growing sense of uncertainty among Muslims when they read about attacks on their co-religionists, their religious symbols, and malicious statements against celebrities...

I am returning to this column a little earlier than usual. I must reiterate before proceeding further that this column is meant particularly for Muslim youth. The idea is that youth have vitality and extraordinary physical energy...

Over the last few months it has become quite evident that the NDA government at the Centre is hostile to the life of the mind that universities signify. The government’s thinking on the subject is an extension of the Sangh’s thinking...

We are passing through a strange moment in our life where we are confronted with the evil described neatly by Macbeth’s witches: “Fair is foul, foul is fair.” In a moral reversal, language, too, has been turned upside...

For all its appearances, the country is slowly, but steadily, being pushed towards an undeclared civil war. However, I must qualify my statement at the outset: because civil war is a precise term denoting an internal...

There is general feeling in India that if the government at the Centre, or in some state, wants to distract public attention from an issue, it forms an enquiry commission, which sees to it that justice is delayed...

First of all, my apologies for returning to you a little late with this column. I had been travelling much of the time. This column, for a change, talks less about our religious, social and cultural like as Muslims...

Over the last few years we have been seeing a cynical game being played with increasing enthusiasm by all kinds of politicians and organisations. People who were never the admirers of Babasaheb...

Of late we have been witnessing a gruesome drama played by the UPA and NDA on the extrajudicial killing of Ishrat Jahan and some others in Ahmedabad on June 15, 2004 by Gujarat Police. The...

Recently we talked about how people have been killed in fake encounters. The police have claimed that the victims were terrorists, but courts found no proof of terror against them. Yet they got no...

Sometimes towards the end of cold war, Rand Corporation, which conducts researches and writes reports for US government, its foreign policy and military establishments, prepared a report that had...

After a couple of recent visits to Turkey, I have come to the firm conclusion that the country is reliving its grand Ottoman legacy under the leadership of Recep Tayyip Erdogan with its economic growth, conservative...

Two years are now solidly behind Narendra Modi as Prime Minister of India. It is a moment of reckoning, time to question what he has delivered over these two years, how his team has functioned as cabinet...

In the last article in this series we talked about how the ruling class seems to have taken the Rand Corporation report (to the US administration) suggesting that the poor of the Third World should be allowed...

From today, June 7, the holy month of Ramdhan begins in most of South Asia. In many parts of the world it began yesterday. The variation of a few hours is because of Islam’s lunar calendar which...

Killing somebody without justification is a great crime. It is a greater crime if the state is the killer, because the state is there to protect citizens, not to kill them wantonly. Also, destroying the evidence of the murder...

The evil mind that planned and executed Gujarat’s anti-Muslim pogrom of 2002 and Muzaffarnagar killings of 2013 is back plotting a similar carnage before UP election next year. They claimed that Gujarat...

As of writing this (afternoon of 24th Ramadhan in the subcontinent) much of the holy month is already gone. The first ashra (ten days) of rahmat (God’s mercy) has gone by ; the second of maghfirat (God’s pardon) too gone...

For nearly two months now the Kashmir valley has been on fire. A continuous curfew of 50 days or so was lifted earlier this week, but certain areas are still under curfew....

Human sacrifice has been a part of history. The evil practice still continues in parts of the world, including India. We read reports of such sacrifices in India once in a while made to propitiate some goddess to ask...

At an international seminar on Islamic higher education last month in the idyllic Maldives I made certain observations that were received with acclaim. The organisers asked me to chair the next session where...

At the outset, it must be asserted that monetary and financial policies are made for the people, and people are not made for such policies. This basic principle seems to have been stood on its head in the present conundrum...

I am returning to this column after a long while, in circumstances that are far from pleasant. Today, the Islamic world is a sad picture of disarray, anarchy and violence–internal as well as with others. From Afghanistan...

I am returning to this column within a week. The usual periodicity of this is once every month or so. The reason for this is the wide response to the last column under this title. The enthusiastic response to the article...

Over the last couple of days I have frequently been returning to the content of the Prime Minister’s much-awaited address to the nation within hours of the beginning of the New Year. We had been hoping for some respite...

The unity, prosperity and wellbeing of Muslims as individuals, groups and countries is so important that by the time we come to the end of an article we realise that far more has remained unsaid than what...

Now that we are in the fourth week of the first month of January 2017, we look back at the last century (1917-2017) as lost years for the Ummah, for which it has truly been a century of setbacks. Rarely any...

A recent expose by Rajasthan Patrika that had the potential to create a storm in the media and society has been quietly allowed to die down and buried in deafening silence by the same corporate...

The continuous engagement between the Supreme Court, the Union government and civil society for quite a while has obfuscated issues relating to the Aadhaar card. Despite such engagement since...

aking note of Unique Identity Project’s limitations the Supreme Court of India first observed that Aadhaar card should not be mandatory. Over a period of time it seems to have come to the conclusion that Aadhaar...

By the time you get to read this, only two days of Sha’abaan will be left. That is, only two days before the holy month of Ramadhan dawns upon us, bringing with it all the bounties and favours from...

Ashrah in Arabic means ten days. And, we are already well into the first ashrah of the holy month of Ramadhan. Though the whole month of Ramadhan is full of Allah’s Grace and Mercy, these particular days are known...

On June 6 five farmers were killed in police firing in two separate incidents in Mandsaur, Madhya Pradesh. The police fired on large crowds of farmers demanding remunerative prices for...

Like note ban, nobody knows whom the current meat ban is going to benefit. All that we know is that it has created extraordinary problems for the livelihood of two crore people, aggravated goonda...

When you get to read these lines only a day or, at best, two, of the holy month would be left before Eid celebrations. That is, only a small window of opportunity is left for believers to take advantage of to please Allah...

After a relentless bout of persecution of Muslims over the last three years under well-orchestrated programmes like ghar wapsi, love jihad, and cow protection the Sangh seems to be preparing for a gear shift...

In the last piece we discussed how, with the Prime Minister’s public disapproval of goonda attacks on Muslims by cow vigilantes, we hope this mode of anti-Muslim violence will cease for a while for other modes...

After decades of politics under the British Raj the Indian National Congress decided finally on August 8, 1942 that enough was enough and every mission, commission, petition and submission had become irrelevant. The people...

The Prime Minister’s speech on Independence Day was, as usual, full of rhetoric and flourishes, but short on specifics. Some of his assertions were too good to be believed. Hence, it is of interest to look at the speech...

Large crowds are a powerful symbol. Often they are an indication of something being wrong, something needed to be rectified by people in power. If the rulers fail to take note, a crowd has a way of turning...

This is an SOS to halt the unprecedented escalation in the persecution of Rohingya Muslims of Myanmar. Over the last ten days alone, nearly 125,000 of them have fled over the border to Bangladesh to avoid...

US President Donald Trump in his familiar cavalier way has announced that the US embassy would be moved from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem despite warnings from European and Muslim states that such a move would....

A summit is the top of a mountain. In diplomacy, a summit is a meeting of the top persons of countries–presidents, kings or, at the minimum, prime ministers. At the extraordinary session of Organisations of Islamic Conference...

The US move to shift its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem has reset the Mid-East political and diplomatic chessboard. Since President Trump’s announcement of the decision on December 6 it has become...

If anything, 2017 was marked by an all-pervasive sense of fear and loathing. Virtually everyday people were beaten up or killed for allegedly eating beef, conducting love Jihad, resisting ghar wapsi...

I am returning to this column, addressed particularly to the Muslim youth, after a while. The issue I want to talk about is the ubiquitous violence, sense of dissatisfaction and disappointment, rage and resentment that seem...

The intractable Ayodhya dispute defies resolution. Not that men of faith and goodwill on both sides have not tried, or not tried hard enough to resolve it. Among the tallest spiritual figures who tried to untangle...

The NDA’s last budget is a sleight of hand to impress the rural voter in 2019. Urban voters, especially the youth, impressed by BJP’s promise of the moon, had voted wholeheartedly the Narendra Modi-led coalition...

Justice Rajinder Sachar, who passed away on April 20, at 94, after a long life of fighting for public causes, was truly what we call salt of the earth. A judge in the illustrious tradition of VR Krishna Iyer and...

The count-down to the general elections - 2019 has begun. Prior to this, polls to several assemblies have become a focal point for the ruling party at the Centre, BJP, and opposition parties. After elections...

As I write this, it is the second day of the blessed month of Ramadhan in a large part of the world. The Ramadhan moon was sighted last evening in an unusually large swath of the globe. Thus a preponderant...

By the time you get to read this, it will be the anniversary of a great turning point in Islam’s history: the 17th of the holy month when the crucial battle of Badr was fought between Muslims (who came from Madina)...

As of writing these lines the second ashra (ten days) is coming to a close. The moment we get down to taking our iftaar of the 20th Ramadhan, the night of the 21st Ramadhan begins, as in the Islamic calendar...

The release of former Malaysian deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim from prison following a royal pardon from Sultan Muhammad V on May 16, 2018 is a milestone in the country’s politics. That democratic...

On July 30, the final draft of the updated National Register of Citizens (NRC) was completed in Assam that listed 2.89 crore citizens, out of 3.29 crore applications for citizenship. As many as 40 lakh people were excluded...

The Quranic revelation began with Iqra, or Read. By the way, I have a clear preference for Read as the meaning of Iqra over Recite and Proclaim. I have a simple reason for believing that, because when the Archangel...

When Imran Ahmed Khan Niyazi’s Pakistani cricket team won the World Cup in 1992, the whole subcontinent, not just Pakistan, rejoiced in the victory. For the first time (and possibly for the last) cricket was a sport in India...

Trust an ill-mannered buffoon to turn the sacred into the profane, or, at least try to. Cartooning, like journalism, art and poetry can come to the rescue when freedom, justice and human rights are threatened...

Unity of the Ummah is a precious value in Islam. The reason is quite clear: people believing in a single, Almighty God (Allah) and his last Prophet (PBUH) and the Book of Allah revealed on the Prophet, the Quran...

When RSS sarsanghchalak Mohan Bhagwat made certain observations during a three-day lecture series at Delhi’s Vigyan Bhawan, a lot of people sat up and watched in sheer amazement. It seemed as if the traditionally...

What you don't seem to realise is that Mohan Bhagwat the head of the RSS in 2018, in the run up to the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, has tried to put a pro constitution and pro Islam gloss on Hinduism...

Only last month RSS sarsanghchalak Mohan Bhagwat had, in a series of lectures, given a clear indication that the Sangh was moving away from its aggressive and highly divisive Hindutva stance. He...

On November 2, Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a dramatic announcement. He has been making such announcements over the last four years, but this seemed magical. In a way...

And with that I am going to make a paradoxical statement: whoever wins the Lok Sabha election in 2019 will be an unhappy person. The next prime minister from the party winning the majority seats would be...

The extraordinary performance of Congress Party in major states of north Indian Hindi belt has proved that we are not living in Congress–mukt (Congress-free) Bharat as BJP would have us believe, but...

The Supreme Court verdict on the Rafale deal that supports government’s decision to clinch it and discourages any questioning of it has turned out to be based on a wrong and misleading account...