Mysterious silence of global community, Muslim world on killings in Burma
By Syed Zubair Ahmad,
Will Modi make it as the first low caste PM?
By Saeed Naqvi, IANS,
Should Narendra Modi actually be crowned the prime minister in May, the post-Mandal social justice political platform will finally have prevailed...
Covid-19, state repression and the decline of people’s movement
The outbreak of Covid-19 shattered the whole world and everything was on a standstill except the state. The state managed to get absolute control...
Exercising the military option: possible, but not feasible
By A. Vinod Kumar, IANS,
Ever since the Pakistan link in the Mumbai attacks was traced, many strategic analysts have been rooting for punitive action against Pakistan - also referred to as pre-emptive strikes and hot pursuit. This is not the first time such suggestions have been mooted. After the parliament attack in December 2001, India launched Operation Parakram to mobilize its troops along the international border with the assumed intention of a frontal response to Pakistan-sponsored terrorism.
J&K pins hope on Modi visit, awaits major economic package
By Sheikh Qayoom
Jammu/Srinagar : Prime Minister Narendra Modi's forthcoming visit to Jammu and Kashmir has rekindled hopes for a much awaited economic...
Demonetization in India: Who will pay the Cost?
“Everyone will adjust. And while it can hurt some small businesses and individuals, it is better to do it than not.”–Mauro Guilin
By Maryam...
इनसे मिलिए, ये हैं “मीडिया महान”
मुहम्मद नवेद अशरफ़ी
कार्ल मार्क्स ने एक बार कहा था, 'दार्शनिक लोग समाज की भिन्न-भिन्न रूप से विवेचना करते हैं किन्तु महत्वपूर्ण यह...
Killing of elephant in Kerala has nothing to do with Malapurram Muslims
Syed Ali Mujtaba
Anti-Muslim propaganda fails to die in India. After the Tablighi Jamaat episode, now Muslims of Malappuram district of Kerala are being targeted...
Odisha to conserve 700 sacred groves to protect tribal culture
By Chinmaya Dehury
Bhubaneswar : An integral part of tribal culture, 700 sacred groves in Odisha -- out of 2,100 identified by the state government...
Americans attacking Sikhs thinking they’re Muslims: Daily
By Arun Kumar
Washington : As police investigate an attack on a Sikh man in California as a hate crime, a media report said violence...
Buddhist-Muslim Relations in Ladakh – Part 3
By Yoginder Sikand, TwoCircles.net,
Full Series: Buddhist-Muslim Relations in Ladakh
Comrades hit where it hurts in Bengal panchayat polls
By Amulya Ganguli, IANS,
In addition to the Left's across-the-board setbacks in the West Bengal panchayat elections, the significance of the outcome is that the comrades have been hit where it hurts the most. As a result, any claim that it still controls the majority of the local bodies - 518 of the zilla parishads, for instance, against the opposition's 230 - will not dispel the gloom in the Communist camp.
“If the resources of the States do not increase commensurately, how is the Finance...
Member of Parliament E Ahamed from the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) tore open the budget speech presented by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. Following is Ahamed's speech in the Lok Sabha disapproving various provisions, rather lack of it, on Monday, March 16, 2015.
India has highest religious social hostilities: Pew study
By Arun Kumar ,
Washington: India had the highest level of social hostilities involving religion in 2013, while China had the highest level of government...
Mamata as chief minister? Jury still out
By Amulya Ganguli, IANS,
Mamata Banerjee's ascent is based on an unrehearsed, inchoate, impulsive political movement, which has surged ahead of other parties in recent years in acquiring close grassroots links. As the name of her party, Trinamool (or grassroots) Congress, shows, she did not bank on any ideological conviction or organisational strength to reach her present position where she is regarded as the next chief minister of West Bengal.
India needs an ambitous programme on water optimisation
By Arvind Padmanabhan, IANS,
It is, indeed, ironic that, even after 62 years of self-rule, Pranab Mukherjee, the finance minister of India, says an often-erratic annual wind phenomenon called the monsoon that switches its role rather easily between that of an angel and a devil, is the real holder of the portfolio and not he.
The Master and Margarita: Devilish happenings in Stalinist Moscow
By Vikas Datta,
Ancient Greek playwrights invented this literary device but the Romans gave it the name we know - deus ex machina (God from...
Welfare Party of India: Can it make a mark in Karnataka?
By Mohd Ismail Khan, TwoCircles.net
भगत सिंह का आलेख – मैं नास्तिक क्यों हूं
शहीद भगत सिंह
[आज यानी 23 मार्च को देश में होली मनायी जा रही है तो शहीद भगत सिंह की शहादत की पुण्यतिथि भी. लाहौर में अपने जेलप्रवास के दौरान शहीद भगत सिंह ने बहुत सारे विरोधाभासों और लांछनों के बीच इस लेख को ५ अक्टूबर 1930 को लिखा था. पहली बार लाहौर से प्रकाशित अंग्रेज़ी पत्र ‘द पीपुल’ के 27 सितम्बर 1931 के अंक में प्रकाशित हुआ था.
Indian Muslims and ‘terrorism’: Some searching questions
By Yoginder Sikand, TwoCircles.net,
Economic and social condition of Mewat
Series on Mewat – Part V
By Mumtaz Alam Falahi, TwoCircles.net,
Masses swayed by sensational media gossips
By Zohra Javed,
In the recent times media’s love for sensationalism has been boundless. Supposedly serious print and electronic media have also gone crazy and over-board with gossip and inconsequential news items like M F Husain insulting the Hindu sentiment, Taslima Nasreen hurting the Muslim ego, Amitabh Bachchan and the Maharashtra CM in a silly controversy, Sania Mirza to marry Shoaib Malik. Such trivias are blown up to larger than life size and days and weeks are wasted in going over their details.
‘Contact with Napoleon a death sentence for Tipu Sultan’
By Vikas Datta
Jaipur (IANS) : Napoleon's life and career disapproves the Leftist challenge to the "Great Man" theory of history, for he not only...
Why the Indian establishment fears Kejriwal?
By Saeed Naqvi
Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte admittedly has an uncontrollable temper, otherwise he would not have used a common Filipino term of abuse against...
Qinghai quake: China should now directly engage Dalai Lama
By Mayank Chhaya, IANS,
The deadly earthquake in the Qinghai Province in northwestern China, which killed 1400, mostly Tibetan people, on April 14, offers an extraordinary opportunity to Beijing to allow the Dalai Lama to make his first visit home in over 50 years.
By reacting to provocation, Indian Muslims are falling into a well-laid trap
By Tariq Hasan for TwoCircles.net
Reports emanating from Basirhat in North 24 Parganas district in West Bengal pertaining to the communal violence which erupted there...
वैसे, नीतीश कुमार पर किन्हें भरोसा था?
नासिरूद्दीन
क्या सिर्फ़ नीतीश कुमार पर बात कर बिहार से निकली बहस ख़त्म की जा सकती है?
क्या महागठबंधन से बाहर होने के लिए अकेले...
Justice through the legal system
By Kashif-ul-Huda, TwoCircles.net
A conversation with Azim Khan
"In case of violations of fundamental rights, one can file a petition by merely sending a post card to the court. High Courts and the Supreme Court can accept it as a writ petition and pass directives to the concerned authorities." Azim Khan, a human rights teacher and researcher explained during the course of an interview.
Early signs of bipolar trend at national level
By B.R.P. Bhaskar, IANS,
The story of how the electorate belied political prophesies and made smooth government formation possible after the Lok Sabha elections deserves close scrutiny because it contains early intimations of a new trend.
She’s royal but has no qualms bowing before commoners
By Vishal Gulati ,
Naggar (Himachal Pradesh): She comes from a royal family but sheds her royalty when it comes to wooing voters. Two-time Congress...
Issues which threaten peace and communal harmony in India
By Navaid Hamid for TwoCircles.net,
Can India afford to remain frozen in inaction?
By Rajiv Dogra, IANS,
Finally it is out in the open. The Indian defence minister, A.K. Antony, has said that war with Pakistan in the wake of the Mumbai terror attack is not an option. And once again we find ourselves trapped in a dead end.
Chief Justice Altamas Kabir on human rights, influence of neoliberal capital and the role...
By Umang Kumar for TwoCircles.net
More than a lifetime: Abdul Qadeer, a prisoner for 22 years
By Ismail Khan, TwoCircles.net,
30 years later, Assam Accord back in focus
By Aroonim Bhuyan
New Delhi : As the country celebrated Independence Day on Saturday, the historic Assam Accord, signed on this very day 30...
Modi again shows his word is law
By Amulya Ganguli,
But for the drama of the Shiv Sena’s boycott of the swearing-in ceremony of Narendra Modi’s expanded council of ministers, the occasion - the first expansion of his five-month-old government - passed off as a routine event.
Delhi varsity polls: It’s between ABVP-AAP youth wings
By Ashish Mishra
New Delhi: This year the high-profile Delhi University Students' Union (DUSU) election - which routinely defaces the capital’s walls and public utilities...
Buddhist-Muslim Relations in Ladakh – Part 5
By Yoginder Sikand, TwoCircles.net,
Full Series: Buddhist-Muslim Relations in Ladakh
Abdul Ghani Sheikh is probably one of Ladakh’s most well-known writers. A retired Indian Information Service officer, he has authored numerous books, including short stories, in Ladakhi and Urdu, and some of his writings have been translated into English as well. He is a Argon community leader and commands considerable respect among the Buddhists as well.
Plant inspired solar cells to revolutionise energy storage
New York A new technology developed by scientists at University of California - Los Angeles (UCLA) can store solar energy for up to several...
The Power Of Hindu Votes!
By Mansoor Durrani
Credit must be given where it is due. Hindus have always been a majority in India. Even during the Muslim rule of...
Is India faced with a 3.1 lakh crore farm-loan waiver? And will it help?
By Alison Saldanha & Prachi Salve
As demands for farm-loan waivers grow across Punjab, Haryana, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, and Karnataka -- after Uttar...
Students clash in NIT Srinagar after India’s defeat in World T20 Semi-final
By Raqib Hameed Naik, TwoCircles.net
Srinagar: Things took uglier turn in National Institute of Technology (NIT) Srinagar after India lost the World T20...
Does it matter who wins election in Araria?
By Ashish Ranjan and Kalyani B
This is where
the road ends
tarmac
of India shining
gives way
to gravel
and red dirt
of...
Azadi ki or Chalo: The future of India’s farmers’ protest
One battle appears won but the war for India’s soul rages on.
Pieter Friedrich | TwoCircles.net
When the Kisan Morcha — the Farmers Protest — was...
Leh residents unite to protest against Shia cleric’s execution, organise candle light march
By Raqib Hameed Naik, TwoCircles.net
Leh: The execution of the Saudi Shia cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr in Saudi Arabia on January 2 has...
Religion like breath in Indonesia
By Mujtaba Hamdi, CGNews,
It's a very disappointing day for democracy when supporters of religious tolerance are publicly beaten. But that is precisely what happened this month in Jakarta when 200 activists of the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) suddenly stormed the Monas Square where supporters of the Alliance for Freedom of Religion and Belief (AKKBB) were holding a peaceful rally.
Separatism gets competitive in Kashmir valley
By Tarun Vijay, IANS,
It's election time in Jammu and Kashmir and once again the politicians are divided between issues of national integration and separatism to gather votes. It's not electricity or water supply, but security of the people and declarations of equidistance from India and Pakistan that hog the electioneering, speeding up a strange competition in raising secessionist voices.
India’s can make distinctive contribution to Paris climate conference
By Sujatha Byravan, Amit Kanudia and Arushi Sen,
The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Conference of Parties (COP) meeting to be held in Paris (COP-21) in December 2015 is expected to establish a new international agreement on climate change. The main bone of contention lies in the differentiation and sharing of the remaining carbon space in order to avoid catastrophic warming. China and the US, which are the world's largest CO2 emitters, have recently announced an agreement to restrict emissions by 2030.
Paes, Sania perfected the winning mantra
By Veturi Srivatsa
As suspected, the Justice Rajendra Mal Lodha Committee report punishing two franchises and their officials for their notoriety in the Indian...
OFBJP now listed as foreign agent under US Law, ties with ruling BJP laid...
By Pieter Friedrich
The Overseas Friends of the BJP (OFBJP), after 29 years in operation in the United States, formally registered as a “foreign agent”...
The Congress wins by default
By Amulya Ganguli,
It's been a lucky break for the Congress. The party must be thankful that, but for a hopelessly divided opposition, it might not have made it to the winning post in two of the three states which went to the polls.
As much is clear in both Maharashtra and Haryana. In Arunachal Pradesh, of course, it faced no challenge. But the outcome in the distant northeastern state is not expected to have much of an impact on national politics.
On the Meanings of the Hijab
By Sana Khan,
More than three years ago I wrote an article titled ‘burqa-to wear or not to wear’. A friend said that she supported the view of the French government banning the burqa as it truly was doing it to respect the principle of secularity in school and well of course it would liberate women, and in this light I wrote this article. That time I was arguing that the wearing or not wearing of a burqa/hijab is an individual choice about attire. Just as the other women exercise their opinion to dress in the manner they want, without any hue and cry, a woman in burqa/hijab should have the right to dress in the way she wants to. I am sharing here some excerpts from that article which I think are significant only to place the discussion around hijab in a more lucid way as it explains my position on hijab.
Thokk Do: Five years of Encounter-Raj in Uttar Pradesh
The staggering number of 'encounters' in Uttar Pradesh during chief minister Yogi Adityanath's term only make true his 2017 statement—a rather undeclared policy of...
A different, dangerous land: Three alternate depictions of Britain
By Vikas Datta,
Mankind has always had a hankering for a more perfect, equitable society than the one they live in and many have tried to give it a shape - Plato in "The Republic", Christian theologian St Augustine with "The City of God" for his co-religionists to aspire to, and English statesman Sir Thomas More, who coined a generic name for it with his "Utopia" (1516). But as visionaries kept on dreaming of ideal societies, its converse also developed - the brutal, dehumanising "dystopia" - based on fears of increasing intrusion of the modern state into people's lives, extreme ideologies, and technological developments that could aid control - and ultimately, repression.
Indian media’s code of silence on Kashmir
By Aijaz Zaka Syed for TwoCircles.net
The Indian media boasts an illustrious history. Born under the British rule, it quickly mastered the rules...
Modi’s victory signals rise of new India
By Amit Kapoor,
The Lok Sabha election results have been surprising and stunning, to say the least. No one expected such a thumping win for...
Tibet protests underscore problems with integration
By Mayank Chhaya, IANS
The explosion of protests in Tibet in the run-up to the Olympics shows how tenuous the region's integration into China is despite Beijing's frequent assertions to the contrary.
It is significant that protests have erupted worldwide notwithstanding the Dalai Lama's appeal in support of a peaceful conduct of the games.
We need to rectify mistakes: Franklin
By IANS,
Hyderabad: New Zealand all-rounder James Franklin hopes the batsmen would rectify mistakes they committed in the first inning.
The Original Sin of Shahrukh Khan
Indian Muslims are mere pawns in the endless game of chess between India and Pakistan
By Aijaz Zaka Syed for TwoCircles.net,
Bengal train blast: Local politicians, criminals also on NIA radar
By Rajnish Singh
New Delhi: Political parties, local gangs and terrorist organisations are among the suspects the National Investigation Agency (NIA) is tracking in its...
News Analysis: Russia-U.S. talks on missile shield see no breakthrough
By Liao Lei, Xinhua
Moscow : Showing his broken arm, U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates denied he is a difficult negotiator in the 2-plus-2 talks with Russian counterparts, but the talks held in Moscow were seen as tough with no breakthrough on a planned U.S. missile shield in Central Europe.
No missile shield compromise
A case for Muslim political party
By Karoly,
The options that have been placed for "what should be the future political approach of Muslims" have been (1) vote for UPA, (2) vote for NDA, (3) vote for the third front and (4) form their own secular democratic party.
Badshah Khan’s hundred-year-old message of peace
By Kashif-ul-Huda, TwoCircles.net
"There is nothing surprising in a Muslim or a Pathan like me subscribing to the creed of nonviolence. It is not a new creed. It was followed 1,400 years ago by the Prophet all the time when he was in Mecca.” - Badshah Khan
Muslim quotas in AP
By Aariz Mohammed
Â
It is the duty of the State to evolve criteria to identify ‘Backward Classes’ Irrespective of Caste, Religion, race, Sex and place of birth in accordance with the Philosophy of the Indian Constitutionalism.
Genesis of Anti-foreigners movement in Assam
Part III: Nellie 1983
By Anjuman Ara Begum and Diganta Sharma for TwoCircles.net
Remembering Sept. 11 attacks and its cost on humanity
On the twentieth anniversary of the September 11 attacks, the Taliban is back in power and the United States has to negotiate and trust...
अभिव्यक्ति की आज़ादी और जम्हूरियत के चौथे स्तंभ पर खूनी हमलों का दौर
जावेद अनीस, TwoCircles.net के लिए
दुनिया का सबसे बड़ा लोकतंत्र भारत पत्रकारिता के लिहाज़ से सबसे ख़तरनाक मुल्कों की सूची में बहुत ऊपर है.
‘रिपोर्टर्स विदआउट...
Book Review: Chasing A Mirage
It is a tragedy of the post-911 world that the field of Islamic concepts and terminologies have also fallen a victim to misunderstanding, misinterpretation, and plain hysteria. Fuelling these fears among the masses are not only rabid Islamophobes but also those who claim to be nothing of that sort but whose actions speak otherwise. Canadian TV host and commentator Tarek Fatah belongs to the latter category. He has a history of mindless criticism of things as mundane as the aversion to music to more significant ones as the introduction of Sharia-based laws in Ontario.
Re-reading Allama Iqbal’s “Syed ki Lauhe Turbat” on 200th birthday of Sir Syed Ahmad...
By Muhammad Naved Ashrafi
Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) is celebrating this year (2017) as bicentenary birth year of their founder and India’s social reformer Sir...
Anti-terror camp in UK trains youth to counter extremism
By Shahid Mursaleen
What drives a Western born-and-bred youngster, with all the privileges of an education, a modern lifestyle and freedom of speech, to violently attack his fellow countrymen? The growing phenomenon of home-grown radicals highlights the need to understand the root causes of such violence and develop a strategy to deal with the individuals at risk of committing it.
Indian Muslims need think tank and lobby group: SM Syed Khalil
By Kashif-ul-Huda, TwoCircles.net
UP sitting atop dynamite
By Dr Mohammad Manzoor Alam,
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. This is the result of an assiduously built and sustained tension between communities for electoral purposes.
Mumbai order on Surya Namaskar is interfaith discrimination and curtailment of fundamental rights
Dr Syed Zafar Mahmood for TwoCircles.net
The municipal corporation of Greater Mumbai (BMC) has made Surya Namaskar mandatory for all students in its 1200...
How do RSS and other Sangh Parivar outfits escape terrorist tag?
By Adnan Alavi
The TV Today group's English channel Headlines Today aired the sting operation that showed top Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) leader Indresh Kumar's involvement with Hindutva-inspired fanatics.
How Islamic is the “Islamic State”?
By Maariyah Siddique for TwoCircles.net
About 3 million Iraqis displaced, around 4 million of Syrians fleeing their country in tremendous horror. Women captured, beheaded...
Terrorising Muslims in the Name of Countering Terrorism
By Yoginder Sikand, TwoCircles.net
In the face of a seemingly unending wave of fake encounters, killings and arrests of innocent Muslims across the country falsely accused by the police of being ‘terrorists’, a three-day Peoples’ Tribunal was recently held in Hyderabad on ‘Atrocities Committed Against Minorities in the Name of Fighting Terrorism’.
In the face of a seemingly unending wave of fake encounters, killings and arrests of innocent Muslims across the country falsely accused by the police of being ‘terrorists’, a three-day Peoples’ Tribunal was recently held in Hyderabad on ‘Atrocities Committed Against Minorities in the Name of Fighting Terrorism’.
Gujarat plans to implement controversial Religious Freedom Act
By Yunus News
Amit Shah, Minister of state for Home of the government of Gujarat, has said that he wants to complete the necessary process to bring the Gujarati Freedom of Religion Act into effect. The Act had already been passed in 2003 but because of heavy protest, and because according to some it was not in line with the Indian constitution, it was never put into practice.
Of the freedom to revel and to abstain
By Shobha Shukla, CNS,
The Supreme Court of India has ordered a closure of all slaughter houses and eateries serving non vegetarian food for nine days, starting 15th August, all over the country. This has been done in deference to the wishes of the Jain community during the holy period of their Paryushan Parva.
World Asthma Day (5 May 2009): Asthma control is appalling in most countries
By Bobby Ramakant, CNS,
More than 300 million people around the world have asthma, and the disease imposes a heavy burden on individuals, families, and societies.
The Global Burden of Asthma Report, indicates that asthma control often falls short and there are many barriers to asthma control around the world. Proper long-term management of asthma will permit most patients to achieve good control of their disease. Yet in many regions around the world, this goal is often not met.
Why Multi-sectoral development programme for minorities moves at a snail’s pace
By Amjad Suri and Mohammed Imteyaz Ahmed for Twocircles.net
The multi-sectoral development programme (MsDP) division of the Ministry of Minority affairs has...
‘I want to visit Pakistan before my death’ – Sardar Son Singh from shrine...
By Ravi Nitesh,
At a time, when we are witnessing difficult times for communal harmony and situation of conflict between India and Pakistan, at a time when few advocate and propagate hatred in the name of religion and nationality, there still are examples that are shining like a ray of hope.
As US Fed lets party to go on, Indian bulls will need patience
By Vatsal Srivastava,
Janet Yellen gave a classic US Federal Reserve talk when she addressed a press conference after a globally-awaited meeting of the policy committee on Wednesday. "Just because we removed the word patient from our statement doesn’t mean we will be impatient," the chairwoman said.
In search of liberals
By Quamar Ashraf,
Vir Sanghvi’s article, ‘The Curious Case of Indian Liberals’ in his Sunday’s Counterpoint column needs to be analyzed objectively. He has unjustifiably criticized liberals for their approach on issues that do not directly concern the subject—freedom of expression.
Charity Alliance rekindling hope among the hopeless in Murshidabad
By Mumtaz Alam Falahi, TwoCircles.net,
TCN series: Visit to Malda and Murshidabad: Concluding part.
Nation is always empowered by its women: PM
New Delhi : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said a nation is always empowered by its women.
“Nation is always empowered by its women....
Hazare reminds PM of ‘forgotten poll promises’
Ralegan-Siddhi (Maharashtra) : Social activist Kisan Baburao alias Anna Hazare on Friday said there is "no difference between the UPA and NDA governments" and...
Maharashtra elections: Muslims are moving beyond the status-quo
By M. Zajam and Kashif-ul-Huda for TwoCircles.net
On the face of it, Muslims have been able to maintain the status-quo in the new assembly of Maharashtra but scratch the surface and witness the emergence of a community gaining political strength.
Doesn’t Mr. Advani deserve better?
By Amitava Mukherjee
Very quietly, a very important thing happened in the BJP on July 20 when L.K. Advani was not invited to participate...
Rampage around Film Padmavati: Power of Historical Fiction
By Ram Puniyani
Nearly an year ago multiple rowdy protests took place when the film Padmavati was being shot in Rajasthan. Sanjay Leela Bhansali had...
From jihad to ijtihad
By Asghar Ali Engineer,
‘JIHAD’, with its imbued wrong meaning, became a notorious word in the West after 9/11. Terror now has an overwhelming presence in parts of the Muslim world, including Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iraq. Violence there seems at times to be out of control as it is Muslims themselves who are targeted by terrorists.
For Modi, the real test will be taming ‘gau rakshaks’
By Amulya Ganguli
A year ago, the Prime Minister had admonished the gau rakshaks (cow vigilantes) in no uncertain terms. He did so again last...
Reality of the allegations against AMU VC
By Mushtaq Ahmad Alig,
It is generally said, and to a great extent correctly, that whenever a new Vice Chancellor (VC) comes to Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), he is warmly welcomed with bouquets all the way from the Aligarh railway station to the VC lodge, but when he departs or is forced to leave the university, bricks follow him from the VC lodge to the railway station or till he vanishes from the sight if leaving by a car. This writer was a student during the tenure of two VCs.
Obama and Mayawati: a Comparison in Contrast
By SR Darapuri,
It will be apt to mention in the beginning that a comparison between Obama and Mayawati (Dalit woman Chief Minister of UP state in India) is not very appropriate because there is a world of difference between their personalities and deeds. But some over enthusiastic followers of Mayawati have started comparing them and are spreading the dictum that "if Obama can do it why cannot she?" They have started projecting her as the future Prime Minister of India. As such it becomes necessary to make an attempt to make a comparison between Obama and Mayawati.
Countering Hate and Violence: What Should Minorities Do?
By Ram Puniyani
The violence against religious minorities has been on the rise during last few years. Many a reports tell us not only about...
Let us rediscover our history of composite culture: Asghar Ali Engineer
By Anju Azad, TwoCircles.net
Guwahati: Ashgar Ali Engineer spoke at a 3-day long international conference on “Armed Conflcit and Peace Prospect’ on June 17th, 2009 at Guwahati, Assam. The conference was organized by Omeo Kumar Das Institute of Social Change and Development. He delivered a lecture on ‘Re-reading through History of Communal Harmony’.
A brief abstract of his speech is as follows:
Sad that Aamir feels like leaving India: Digvijaya
Panaji : It was sad that Bollywood star Aamir Khan and his filmmaker wife Kiran Rao felt like leaving India in the face of...
अमेरिकन फेडरेशन ऑफ़ मुस्लिम्स ने किया मेवात के होनहार बच्चों को सम्मानित
By TCN News,
आपकी नज़र में मेवात की चाहे जो भी इमेज हो, लेकिन यह सच है कि मेवात में प्रतिभाओं की कमी नहीं है....
Threat of pandemics and responsibility to deliver on health for all
By Shobha Shukla
COVID-19 pandemic has proven how global economy depends on health security. Another key lesson hard learnt is how important are integrated health...
Syria and Lebanon, more than just neighbours
By Sami Moubayed, CGNews,
When the French occupied Syria in 1920, they famously dissected the country, giving four major parts to the newly created state of Lebanon. The French left Syria 26 years later, and Syrian lawmakers claimed that the division was null and void, asking President Shukri al-Quwatli to officially request the area be restored to Syria.
High Court upholds ban on Zakir Naik’s entry in Mangaluru; Salafist organisation postpones event
By TwoCircles.net Staff Reporter,
Mangaluru: A Division Bench of Karnataka high court has upheld the prohibitory order issued by Mangaluru city police commissioner S...
The relevance of Mahatma Gandhi today
By Arun Gandhi, IANS
Jan 30 is the 60th anniversary of Gandhi's assassination
Attn Eds: Following is a special article written for IANS by Arun Gandhi, grandson of Mahatma Gandhi
Sixty years after his death a portion of Gandhiji's ashes, stashed away by Madalsa and Shriman Narayan, the daughter and son-in-law of Jamnalal Bajaj, will be immersed at Chowpati Beach in Mumbai. Although I will be thousands of miles away in the United States the memories of 60 years ago will be refreshed and the day will be as poignant as Jan 30, 1948.
India is Darul Aman Mr. Singhal
By Asghar Ali Engineer,
The ulama in medieval ages had broadly divided the world into two categories: Darul Islam and Darul Harb i.e. abode of Islam and abode of war. In those days there was no democracy and there were monarchs and autocrats everywhere. There was no concept of citizenship but the ruled were treated as subjects. Where monarchs or sultans were ruling those regions were called Darul Islam and where non-Muslim monarchs ruled and persecuted Muslims, those regions were called Darul Harb i.e. abode of war.
An incident that changed the history of Achalpur
By Ghulam Badiuddin, Urdu Times
Achalpur was an ideal abode of Hindu- Muslim unity in the past. Here both communities participated in all local social, cultural, political, civil and even religious events together. Both communities shared equally in marriages, education, agriculture, sale and purchase of goods, floods and epidemics and helped each other. Males and females of both communities shared in every happiness and tragedies jointly.
Manufactured rage: From Burdwan to Malda, right-wing’s ‘Project West Bengal’
By IndScribe
A protest turned violent in Malda leading to arson and injuries to some persons including policemen. However, it has been blows up...
नए आन्दोलनों की ज़मीन तैयार करता जाट आरक्षण आन्दोलन
जावेद अनीस
जाट आरक्षण आंदोलन आगामी तीन अप्रैल तक के लिए टल गया है. इसी के साथ जाट नेताओं ने हरियाणा सरकार को एक नयी डेडलाइन देते हुए कहा है कि सरकार 31 मार्च तक चलने वाले विधानसभा के मौजूदा सत्र में आरक्षण विधेयक पारित कराए. अखिल भारतीय जाट आरक्षण संघर्ष समिति के राष्ट्रीय अध्यक्ष यशपाल मलिक ने उम्मीद जतायी है कि सरकार उनके सुझावों पर गौर करेगी
India embraces smoke-free policies on Gandhi’s birth anniversary
By Bobby Ramakant
India has boldly enforced the smoke-free policies banning smoking in public places and private areas with public access from 2 October 2008 – the birth anniversary of the father of nation Mahatma Gandhi.
30 days in Afghanistan: arrival
Engineer by degree, writer by chance, Muslim by birth and filmmaker by passion, JSG is in Afghanistan for 30 days. He will be taking advantage of his stay there to observe, reflect and write about it. TwoCircles.net will be publishing his posts from Aghanistan.
Minority status will not help Muslims but may open Pandora’s box
By Firoz Bakht Ahmed
Since the government has done away with the minority status of the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), a debate has set in...
Kamala Surayya – the saint of the era
By Karoly,
The writer of love, Kamala Surayya has bid farewell to this world, after her fleeting life which was but as elegant as her literature. A writer par excellence in English and Malayalam, from a dignified Hindu family of litterateurs, she was not afraid to face brickbats and thorns and risk losing the accolades she was wont to receive by testifying to the ideology of her conviction. In the process she brought to fore the hypocrisy of many of our intelligentsia and the deception by the media.
The concept of jihad in Islam
By Maulana Wahiduddin Khan
(Translated from Urdu by Yoginder Sikand)*
The word 'jihad' is derived from the root juhd, which means 'to strive' or 'to struggle'. It denotes the exertion of oneself to the utmost, to the limits of one's capacity, in some activity or for some purpose. This is how the word is understood in Arabic grammar.
Education not diminishing India’s preference for boys
By Tanay Sukumar
Young graduate mothers gave birth to 899 girls per 1,000 boys, lower than the national average of 943, according to an IndiaSpend...
Sir Syed and Maulana Qasim Nanotvi
By Maulana Nadeem-ul-Wajidi,
Translated by M Ghazali Khan,
IPhone: The super brand of the decade
By Prasanto K. Roy, IANS,
It's the coolest design on the planet. It's the super brand of the decade. And it has come to India - at midnight. The iPhone, like so many things Mac, defies logic.
Apple products, pulled out of Steve Jobs' jeans at Macworld expos, tend to get fans screaming and queuing up, cash in hand, a day before launch. Experts point out missing features and flaws, but they don't care.
They must have one.
At over Rs.31,000, the iPhone will sell in India at over three times its US price of $199. If you list the features, you can get them at less than half the price.
Muslims and Modi: Need of change in thinking
By Syed Ubaidur Rahman,
Narendra Modi's historic win shocked the so-called Muslim leaders who expected a miracle victory for non-BJP, non-Congress parties in the Lok Sabha battle.
IIT-Madras team aims to reduce leukemia treatment’s side effects
By Shweta Sharma
New Delhi: A team of researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology-Madras (IIT-M) have devised a technique that uses a new...