Maulanas cry foul over a ’suhaag-raat’

irena, good show..please write more about stuff from street level.

re:#29 by stuka
Notwithstanding some recent bollywood movies showing kissing scenes openly, sex is still a taboo in India. So everything related to sex is under a wrap.
One unwanted consequences is the plethora of hip gyrations, bosom heavings etc that u see in a typical bollywood movie (which makes me feel like vomiting) in scenes where all that was required to be shown was just a kiss!
It is not just the mullah who object to the kiss!
I remeber a priest in Pushkar, Rajashtan threw a fit when an Israeli couple (recently married) kissed in public
Another unwanted consequence of sex being a taboo is that it is not discussed openly either in classrooms or in public fora in India. Public ignorance about safe sex has resulted in the spread
of HIV infection in India
Sridhar

Zero

Majority is authority is actually a very good principle. Yet, the job of a conscientious person in the minority of one is to bring before the majority issues and points of view the majority may have neglected.

I had to hit back at the so-called ulema on this one, “I too am a Muslim, I find nothing wrong in the film.” To which the Maulana replied, “That is your opinion.” To which I replied, “That the film is tasteless is just YOUR opinion.” The Maulana and the lawyer were quiet again.

First of all it sounds as if the writer was deliberately there to justify their own need to watch the film, and secondly, it think the answer quoted above given to the write was adequate enough. Opinion of one Muslim can never be taken over the well-being and wishes of the majority. Thats what everyone is taught. Majority is authority.

a nice read... what it certainly does is make me want to watch the movie which otherwise i probably wouldn`t have

#35 chuhay:
``Abey Burpy,
Are you responding to Stuka or submitting a holy matrimonial ad?
Saala, aata he Chowk pe rishta dhoondhne. :)``

LOL. Happy New Year, brothers and sisters on chowk!

# 39

Accuracy is one of the pillars of journalism. So, shouldn`t that nick be ``nakhalavi?``

To all Chowkies:

Haiy tau yeh rasm-e-zamanah, lekan phir bhi
Ho mubarak tumhain yeh saal nya, meray rafiq

Happy New Year

Mohammad Gill

Thanks everyone for reading this piece and posting your comments. Happy New Year.

Irena Akbar

Zombilici, ShoreSahib,
Thank you both for your interesting answers. Between the two of you, you have provided the answer I was looking for. Yeni Cheri (New Army) were Balkan Christian boys taken at a young age as a tax. As Zomiblici has detailed, they were not eunuchs. Mr. ShoreSahib also alludes to the fact that they were administrators and the elite military corps.

Teshekur. Allah Smarladik.

For Salim Chauhaan:
Rana Jee,

The YeniCheri fulfilled administrative purposes in all departments of the Ottoman Sultanate from management of the Topkapi Saray, Harems, Army etc....

The Eunuchs or Khwaja Sera`s of the Muslims courts of Mughal India, Safavid Persia, Ottoman Turkey, and Fatimid Egypt were not the limp wristed Hijras of Post colonial India rather were formidable figures both powerful and very wealthy whose estates were absorbed back into the ruling monarch`s treasury after their death.

It is debatable what made them eunuchs. Eunuch does not translate as Hijras rather it is as you suggested a number of possible genetic and physical characteristics manifested in the male body. We can discuss those in detail if you so wish, but I am not sure if I answered your question to your satisfaction.

sincerely
Asim

#34 by Salim_Chauhan (I could be mistaken, but the Yeni Cheri (New Army) or Janizaries were ...)

The Janissaries were indeed the elite corps of the Ottoman army. It may be that some of them ended up as eunuchs, although that was highly unusual. The boys recruited throguh the policy of devshirme, which was in effect a system of human taxation, were Christians from the Balkans, who were brought to Istanbul and then submitted so a process of selection. The most worthy of them were to remain in at the sultan`s court, while those deemed unfit would be sent down to Anatolia.
The ones who stayed on at the court received diverse training... ranging from physical training to languages, law, religion etc. The bulk of them would end up making up the military corps, while the elite who were trained in administrative matters had quite promising career prospects as governors and even viziers.
The close guard of some Ottoman sultans was indeed made up of Janissaries, but that has little or no connection to the eunuchs.

#33 Burpy {``I am a well-educated, English-speaking, American-TV-viewing, progressive, upper(middle)class, high-disposable-income, urban, young male. I have certain opinions and expectations about how my lifestyle should be. Within the limits of my immediate society- my home, workplace and social circle- I manage to sustain this lifestyle fairly comfortably...``}

Abey Burpy,
Are you responding to Stuka or submitting a holy matrimonial ad?
Saala, aata he Chowk pe rishta dhoondhne. :)

Shore Sahib #24, {``THe Yeni Cheri of Turkey fulfilled a similar purpose.... ``}

Sir,
I could be mistaken, but the Yeni Cheri (New Army) or Janizaries were the corps formed by taxation levy, in terms of young boys, on Balkan Christians. These were raised as Muslims and given the best training in military and administrative affairs. They were sworn to protect the Sultan in battle and not necessarily as eunuchs in harems. Isn`t that right?

stuks,

my post #32 probably raises more questions than it answers, so lemme give it another shot.

I am a well-educated, English-speaking, American-TV-viewing, progressive, upper(middle)class, high-disposable-income, urban, young male. I have certain opinions and expectations about how my lifestyle should be. Within the limits of my immediate society- my home, workplace and social circle- I manage to sustain this lifestyle fairly comfortably, with nobody none the worse for it.

But I also live in a country where my outlook and opinions are not shared by that many, especially where issues of ``morality`` and ``culture`` are concerned. Hence in any public domain I am smart enough to realise that the popular opinion, however wrong it may seem to me personally, will hold sway.

Now I may resent this (I do) and even protest it ( lots of people do, mostly in the safe confines of armchairs), but to deny that it exists with an airy nonchalance like Irena does is the sort of hollow breeziness I am referring to in my earlier posts.

Hope this clarifies, anyway I am sleepy now, will check in the morning to see if this made any sense :))

Re: # 29

``out`` meaning unpopular. These things are cyclical. Frankly from all accounts the 70s were far more liberal than the present day in some ways.

sir-jee `` breejhy tone `` shayad eajhy aye, but my point is that it betrays a certain tremor in the voice as well. Pooh-poohing the idea of India being a conservative nation just because one`s friends are liberal doesn`t change the facts.