Role Models of the Present Indian Regime
After the fall of Communism in the former USSR, it discarded the names communists had given to their famous cities. Statlingrad became Volgograd, Leningrad became Petersburg, to name a few.
After the dethronement of Muslim (Moors) rulers of more than 600 years, Spain restored all the Churches earlier converted into mosques and brought back the pre-Muslim rule names of its towns, cities and roads.
Israel, an international enemy of Muslims, is also in the good books of Indian rulers.
In short, Russia, Spain and Israel are the role models and the source of inspiration of the present Indian regime. Will the present generation of Muslims and their generations to come learn any lesson from these historical facts and chalk out future course of action accordingly to defeat the enemy?
Farooq AbdulgafarBawani
Rajkot, Gujarat, India
Siddique Kappan Granted Bail but Still in Custody
The Lucknow Bench of Allahabad High Court granted bail without any conditions to Kerala journalist Siddique Kappan in the money laundering case on December 23. Kappan was arrested in October 2020 while on his way to cover the Hathras gang-rape case in Uttar Pradesh.
Earlier, on September 9, the Supreme Court granted him bail in the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) case, saying that “every citizen has the right to free expression”. However, he remained in jail in Lucknow in a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, which was slapped against him by the ED in 2021.As the courts have granted him bail in both cases, he is most likely to walk out of prison after more than two years and two months.
Kappan’s counsel Md. Danish reportedly said that since it was the last working day for the court this year, Kappan will be in custody until at least January 2.
Danish Akhtar
Meerut, UP
Inter-State Disputes
In the recent past, the dispute between border states of Karnataka and Maharashtra over areas that both States claim to be theirs, has turned violent. Ironically, Karnataka CM and Maharashtra Dy. CM, both from the BJP, have exchanged rough words publicly. With exchanges getting increasingly provocative, the Union Home Minister has told both leaders to use restraint and to wait for the SC to decide on the matter.
The Maharashtra-Karnataka feud mainly arises out of a lack of appreciation of the fact that almost all States have linguistic minorities that are accorded special rights. Elsewhere, Maharashtra and Telangana are caught in a dispute across their border. In the Northeast, some boundary disputes between states have cost lives. It is always advisable to wait for the Court’s decision on any dispute, but harmony can be achieved only through adopting and encouraging a culture that respects diversity which can’t be neatly marked.
Various political and cultural boundaries intersect the large geographic landscape of India. If divisive politics is allowed to add fuel to such fires, the judiciary will not be of much help and that will be a gross failure of the double-engine sarkar.
Sanjay Chopra
Mohali, Punjab
Islamophobia in Tory Leadership
In the last Tory leadership contest, the remaining candidates made extreme pledges. Rishi Sunak targeted Muslims by promising to refocus the disgraced Prevent policy even more towards “Islamists” and not far-right terrorists. It seems that he targeted Muslims just to please the Tory voters, which is becoming very common among politicians, including those who are from ethnic minorities. Shame on Sunak and his followers.
Ali Shah
London, U.K.