My SAARC Diary

arjun



http://archives.tcm.ie/breakingnews/2001/10/04/story25523.asp

It was a part of Indian act, you remember when India was gyrating its hips to seduce amrika...remember that?

Dear Farzana:
I missed the news about the BJP sponsoring a mulla party. Is this for real? If so, I think that they have very low opinion about the intelligence of muslim Indians and that they will not recognise that the real motive is to split the muslim vote. In the last elections, muslims voted selectively for whichever candidate had the best chance of beating the BJP and I dont see why they wont do the same again. If the party is serious about being inclusive, it should nominate muslim candidates in proportion to their population, just as it has done with the dalits, tribals and OBCs. But, then, how will it retain the support of its solid core?

[I keyed in my query: “What gives Pakistan the right to speak for Indian Muslims?” .....

My query about Pakistan and Indian Muslims was not a hollow one. On December 15, one headline screamed, “BJP plans ‘secular’ Muslim party”. As a ‘secular Muslim’, I refuse the government in power the right to decide who should represent me....

It is fascist for the Establishment to decide who must represent our ideology.]

Try telling that to the Jinnah-lovers!

[In a few days when they have got over the hangover (incidentally, Indian journalists have been proudly sending dispatches about sneaking in liquor), they will tell you about sounding a note of caution. Just how removed they are from reality is when they were shocked when they heard someone talk about, “Hindu pani, Muslim pani.”]

Aha! Now we know the meaning of ``Hindu pani, Musalman pani``. Musalman pani is jal-jeera and buttermilk and Hindu pani is Merlot and Drambuie (well, for some folks maybe arrack and IMFL -- that is `Indian Made Foreign Liquor` not `Indian Ma-ki-galli Liquor` though the latter is more appropriate). And all along I was thinking this had something to do with each group not wanting to use the lota used by the other!

[I will show you a recent letter in the newspapers that amazed me with its ‘logic’. The writer believes that if you find a place in the Indian cricket team even if you come from a state where your community has been persecuted with the active connivance of the government in power, then all is well with the world. It is “secular” intellectuals who have the audacity to malign the poor Gujarat government when Irfan Pathan, a teenager, the son of a maulvi who lives in a mosque can play cricket for the country.]

Well, I don`t know what else we can do. The President of the country is a Muslim. Some of the leading cricketeers now and in the past have been Muslims. Several judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts are Muslims. Do you really want us to bring back the jizya and forcible conversions to prove that we are Muslim-friendly? Or would you prefer the imposition of Sharia for criminal offenders of The True Faith?

[We have reports about how Indian hacks are being stopped in the street by ordinary people and told that they want peace. Yet, no one is going to ask them to relocate to Pakistan.]

It is nice to know that you harbor no illusions about Pakistan inviting you to reside there!

[How many are from the regional press, the small newspapers from towns in Muzzarfarnagar, Sopore, Tirunelvelli, Gadchiroli?]

I don`t know about Muzzarfarnagar, Sopore, and Gadchiroli but the newspaper coming out of Tirunelveli would be the `Dina Thanthi` which specializes in reporting on local news. They wouldn`t be able to locate Sri Lanka which is just across the Palk Straits on a map let alone Pakistan. Their idea of foreign news is ``Cold Wave in Chennai! Two Dead!! Bone Chilling Cold!!!`` Mercifully, they do stop at three exclamation marks.

FV,

General impression: someone seems sore about not participating in the junket :-).. kidding aside, the following statement is interesting:
``As a ‘secular Muslim’, I refuse the government in power the right to decide who should represent me``
Simple minded comment is that an elected govt. is kinda meant to represent people in a democracy (at least for a specific time) like it or not. Politicians will always attempt fill a void of representation, specially when they feel that a certain group is different enough and it feels that it lacks representation. This is what caste-reagional politics is all about. Yadav or Marathi parties succeed because certain politicians identified a niche they could fill. Its kind of like market economy. There is buyer and a supplier. If ``Secular Muslim`` is not a different enough caste, and representation for it is not a real market demand, then this pary will fail to take root, no matter how strong is the marketing campaign. My though is that ``Secular Muslims`` (whatever that is.. i guess it just means middle-professional class muslim) have pretty much similar representaional needs as rest of the non-muslim middle class.

``How the media plays moll``: A case of the Kettle calling the pot black!

I guess some folks will always see the pot as half black (ooops empty).

Satire

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...shouldn`t the FBI be looking for urstruly?...

Great write up. More then a few home truths written here. Wonder if thin-skinned Desis will accept it.

Indian media tows their government agenda unquestionably. It has no character and no principles. Probably, they have been put in that position by the fascist policies of the current government of hindu religious nuts. What these nuts did to the journalists of Tehleka dot com and how they destroyed their lives for the crime of exposing the corruption of Army Generals and politicians who would sell their country for a prostitute and a thousand bucks has set an example for the rest of the journalists in India. And that is exactly the reason, even when something was not even happened yet, Indian media would blame it on Paksitan in the past - whether it was the hijacking of Indian airliners by their own government or attack on their own parliament by their own agents.

In the past few days these spineless and chracterless journalists and media were roaming in our country like they have come to their susraal. I am glad that these cockroaches and their genocidal maniacs of leaders are out of my country now.

Stay out!!!!!!

It`s good to see Pakistani and Indian Leaders interacting but for how long? that is the real question ? after all this could be BJP`s one of those vote-attracion tactics? ahhh.. there goes my Pakistani-Doubting on India Sense.. I am confused whats happening to be honest! friends and relatives in high-up places says ` this is the last chance.. ma mala banta nazar aa raahaa hai` but who knows!!! thats what I heard back in Agra? and back in Lahore?
As a Pakistani who has links back in Fatehpur Sikri, I sure am concerned about my family relatives there and about Muslims back in India especially after post-Gujrat, last time I was in India was last year and all I saw was a new sense of hatred between Hindus and Muslims (thank you CM.Modi) the man who turned India from Secular to Religious...about Jamat-e-Islami is concerned `everyone knows how loyal Jamat is to Army is...after all who sponsered Qazi Saab`s son visa for USA?)...
I could conclude my reply with a prayer of peace...Insh`Allah there will be peace..!!!
Bush Blair Bhajpaye Bushraff Bin Laden Zinda Bad..!!!

How the media plays Joker of the Indo - Pak Circus-
FV- These guys have been raving and ranting like jokers on the streets of Pakistan. The same natty anchor went to interview the street urchins playing cricket on the streets to get the “young voices”. They were asked whether they know Sachin . One kid said no. The other said yes. The anchor’s closing statement was- every Pakistani is looking forward to Indian team ..and all that crap!! I fail to understand why the stupid Indian journalists in Pakistan want to turn this into a mela and keep lying about the undercurrents.
And that headline regarding the film LoC - Who the hell is the Pakiland to tell us whether we should make films on terrorism or Kargil sponsored by them or not- why is the General ASHAMED and EMBARRASSED of his stupid acts getting exposed in the Public- the film LOC should be seen by all the Indians compulsarily- FV is right in stating that all this is a planned strategy to ignore Kargil while the Indians and Pakistanis played their games of peace? Yes, contemporary reality must leave some room for history.

I agree that BJP is trying the appease-the-mullah strategy now- as if the mullahs represent the ‘secular’ Muslim . By trying to form a “Muslim” party BJP has shown its evil intention of splittng the muslim votes by encouraging the mullahs to align to the communal politics. BJP is playing with fire and is adopting double speak. FV is right about BJP and its evil intentions for the Indian muslims.

I`m really not sure what to say...but the media gives the people what they want..and it would seem that the audiences want to hear about peace..which is a good thing?

Maybe we should diffrentiate between peace and living togther like best friends...I think most people in both nations want war to stop, as someone with friends posted on the border..I want the cease fire to continue..and I think most other people do to...

And I personaly felt visiting Pakistan is an eyeopenere..even PLU (people Like us) with supposed access to media and liberal ideology do have preconcieved notions which are only shattered once u cross the border...I mean, you know you are similair but you are suprised when u see actually how similiar you are..

Farzana

In general, I liked the Indian media people. Their emphasis was on peace & future. They were quite critical of some of Indian Government policies in Kashmir - and most of all, did not brag about the Indian successes & power. They were mature & I give them high marks.

The Pakistani media - sorry to say - except for a few - were still in their traditional hangover - same old Kashmir, Kashmir, Kashmir - bickering about the commas & full stops in the agreement.

In fact, majority of the callers told them not to sensationalize the issue & think of the poor masses of the area. A common caller displayed a better sensitivity & maturity than the TV anchormen. (Hamid Mir of Geo, Dr. Masood & the other joker with him on ARY)

In a strange congruance of interests - Mulla, Military, PPP, PML (N) - all were for peace and agreement - in accordance with their own independent logic.

Musharaf, for the first time, gave a Press Conference where he got a Pass Grade. It took him 4 years to learn this.