AMU at the Crossroads #6

Hi Vikas,

Thanks for sharing your views with us here.

I would like to take up the ghettoisation comment. I don`t think ghettoisation is a one way process. It is reflection of the state of trust and bomhomie between the two communities.

Singapore`s case is examplary as here the govt. ensures that in every HDB block, all communities have adequate representation. I wish the Indian govt. could follow the example set by a small country like Singapore.

Thanks

AMU at the Crossroads #3

Thanks for your views.

You say: ``As an alig, I do think that AMU has a special status, including minority status.``

You think? Even after reading the article, you think? It is the minority status that has been taken away.

As of the reservations, I respect your view. Fifty years of non-affirmative action has done wonders for the Indian Muslims!

Muslims and the Road to Perdition Re: # 11

Hi Sameer,

I am not saying that you should lose your identity. I am not saying that injustice is good or should be tolerated. Both sides (The West and the Muslims) have to act. The point is that religion is an individual and private matter. Don`t make it a political issue in a country where it is not the state religion. The idea is to make the world a better place and enjoy the blessings of the Lord peacefully and amicably.

The fact is none of us can claim to know Islam in a way of finality (that is your knowldege of Islam is complete and error-free). Just devote one year in learning about Islam from all perspectives, then you will really appreciate what I am talking about.

About ideas and time, what I am trying to say is that don`t think of replicating the Islamic Golden Age again. To my mind, it is not possible, and also pointless. Ideas do come back but in different shapes. For example, globalization has come back but its face is different this time. So, you have to figure that out.

Muslims and the Road to Perdition Thanks for all your comments.

Dear Inquirer, thanks for explaining ``soft approach`` to Viewer.

Dear Viewer, the issues you have raised--objections against the Western powers--are not incorrect; perhaps, you have missed the lines where I have pointed them out. I have referred to Mehmood Mamdani`s book. They are all there. Please read carefully. My argument is that these issues don`t give Muslims the right to wreak havoc in their host countries. I am talking about harmony, not confrontation. I have also urged that the Western powers cannot allow these injustices to go on in Muslim societies anymore. Solutions to those problems must be found by consensus and peaceful means. Both the Muslims and the Western countries have to act sensibly. Confrontations, bombings and suicide missions won`t help resolve the issues.

Zafar

Being Imrana Re: # 122

Google please!

Being Imrana Re: # 29

The media had a hot issue on its plate.

yup...it`s not the reality that`s the problem, it`s the reporting of the reality....just like the media over-focuses on gujrat when thousands of people die in traffic accidents in India every month...next time some chaddis do a sati, we should blame the media...

FOR THE MEDIA, ALL STORIES ARE NOT EQUAL. SOME ARE SIMPLY MORE CONTROVERSIAL, MORE SALEABLE.

Muslims need education and jobs to come out of their ghettoized lives.

No shit sherlock...I thought the resolution of the palestenian issue would make things a-ok...

SHOWS HOW SERIOUS YOU ARE ABOUT THE DEBATE ON THIS ISSUE!

Imrana is more a proof of the failure of the state

The state isn`t obliged to provide for poor muslims any more than it`s obliged to provide for poor hindus....
Opportunities, or the lack thereof, are the same for all poor people, hindu and muslim...you know...third world dump and all....

I NEVER SAID THAT. THE STATE WORKS TOWARDS CREATING OPPORTUNITIES. THATS HOW NATIONS DEVELOP. AGAIN CITIZENS HAVE ALSO TO WORK ON THIS.

Being Imrana Re: # 27

Thanks for your enlightened over-simplification. And shall I post it twice?

Being Imrana Re: # 25

Rushdie has already established that in his writing. I digressed from that point as I wanted to make another point. Thanks any way.

Being Imrana Re: # 21

Cayenne, what the???

The episode has taken a lot of media space and attention in the form of news stories, cover stories, editorials, op-eds, demand for uniform civil code, and TV crews going to people and asking their opinion. Of course, by national crisis I don`t mean a constitutional breakdown or a state of emergency.

So, now the enlightened ones here have started parsing my sentences. Please go ahead and find more. If one bits like you don`t have better things to do, what the ???

Being Imrana Re: # 19

Harish Bhai, I am not against government schools. And the point I am making it is that the government should do more than just give ``chalo padhayen, kuchh kar dikhayen`` ads. It has been proved that mere literacy is not enough. And in India, as per one research study, most of the literacy figures are more true on paper than on the ground. District primary eduaction programmes are being run but it will take some years before the results can be seen. I am emphasizing on education and there are ways to give incentive to people to educate themselves and their children, irrespective of caste and creed. And how can you compare education with sterilization? This is not a joke or a place for cheap talk.

As of Bahul beating you on that ``that gem`` of mine, should I congratulate Rahul?

Being Imrana Re: # 18

Sorry for not being able to make the point clear here.

The idea here is to talk about the circumstances as rape is an extremely complex occurrence. One is talking about the larger situational constructs that allow rape to happen.

But you are taking the issue too far.

``And for God`s sake don`t ever use the word facilitate in the same sentence as rape, decent people will throw up when they read such pathetic sentence formation.``

I didn`t know some Chowk readers were laguagewise so sophisticated that a pathetic sentence formation would make them throw up. Thanks for enlightening me.

Being Imrana Re: # 10

I am not exempting the Deoband seminary or for that matter any other institution that refuses to grow and change with the times. In dynamic human societies, no religion can afford to remain isolated and moribund. I hope it is clear now.

Being Imrana Re: # 9

Hi. I`ve seen this. That`s the problem with media. Without confirming anything, they can invent a story and create a national debate around it.

Being Imrana Re: # 5

Hi. I have said what you are saying in this para: `` am not saying that Maulvis and madrasas are doing Indian Muslims very good. I am not saying that there is no need to change the outmoded personal laws. I am not saying that Indian Muslims should leave everything in the hands of the Ulema.`` And I mean it.

Being Imrana Re: # 3

No Mike. The Indian state has not failed me. But it sure has failed millions of its citizens by not providing with adquate access to education and healthcare. Amid grinding poverty, Indian police system and the judicial system in a nightmare for millions--a kafkaesque proposition. Thanks for your suggestion to go to the land of the pure. You can keep it.

Being Imrana Re: # 2

Burpinder, Imrana and her husband don`t exist in vaccum. They are products of Indian society, and they breathe under the same sky like any other Indian. Rule of Law is very important for a state to succeed in ensuring justice; and education, not just literacy, and employment are pivotal in ensuring an individual`s empowerment. Take yourself. If you were not educated and employed, would be able to look much beyong the banyan tree of your village panchayat?