Founding Editor: Daya Varma (1929-2015)
Editors: Vinod Mubayi (New York) and Raza Mir (New Jersey).
Editorial Board: Ram Puniyani and Irfan Engineer (Mumbai); Pervez Hoodbhoy (Islamabad); Dolores Chew (Montreal); Vamsi Vakulabharanam (Amherst); Ajay Bhardwaj (Vancouver).
Circulation/website: Feroz Mehdi (On behalf of Alternatives, Montreal).
THE STATE OF INDIAN MUSLIMS: DOES ANY ONE CARE?
Daya Varma
It is only natural that all institutions of a country or the world, all political parties and all women and men of conscience carry a bias which identifies problems not on the basis of their relative relevance but because of identity with self. In the case of India, it is the Muslims who do not qualify for any concern by the political parties including the communist parties, human rights activists, left intellectuals, journalists and above all Muslims themselves.
UPA- ONE YEAR AFTER RETURN TO POWER
Ram Puniyani
This May 2010, UPA completed its one year in the seat of power for the second term. Now it is being christened as UPA II and political pundits are evaluating its performance on various scales of performance, foreign policy, economic performance, farmer’s suicides, foreign affairs etc. One point which, does not find much mention while evaluating its performance, is the plight of minorities during this year.
SRI LANKA: EDITORIAL NEW DEMOCRACY
The chauvinistic ruling class which caused the war, led it to victory and cares little for the disastrous consequences of the war is back in the saddle. Likewise, the Tamil political leaders who led the Tamil people towards loss of life and property and disablement are back in their parliamentary seats. Muslim and Hill Country Tamil nationalist leaders, who get elected to parliament for their own advancement and not that of the people, too have returned to parliament.
NEPAL: COMMUNIST PARTY OF NEPAL (United Marxist-Leninist) PROPOSES POLITICAL ROADMAP
Amid deepening political crisis, the ruling CPN-UML has come up with a roadmap for the future political course.
NEPAL: PUSHPA KUMAR DAHAL DAHAL FORGING NEXT STRATEGIC MOVE
Pushpa Kamal Dahal, Chairman, United Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) (UCPN-Maoist) has been staying at Dwarika Resort, Dhulikhel, to write a political document to be presented at the party central committee meeting. Accompanied by his aides and security guards, Dahal reached the resort at 10 in the morning and has been busy with analyzing the yearlong performance of the party and future course of action.
NEPAL: CHINA AND THE WEST STEP INTO NEPAL CRISIS
Peter Lee
The abrupt curtailment on May 7 of the bandh or general strike in Kathmandu called by the United Communist Party Nepal-Maoist (UCPN-M) seemed to demonstrate the limits of the Maoists’ popular support. However, this apparent setback reflects a deal to smooth the Maoists’ re-entry into Nepal’s government as China and Western powers try to bring an end to months of unproductive and potentially violent deadlock. Beijing looks forward to the formation of a consensus government incorporating the Maoists and responsive to China’s concerns.
India, on the other hand, must ponder if it is ready to resign itself to the loss of a compliant if ineffectual client regime in Kathmandu.
INDIA: DELAYED WAKING UP: TERRORISM INVESTIGATIONS
Ram Puniyani
The Ajmer bomb blasts took place on 11th October 2007; these took place inside the holy Shrine of Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti, killing two people. In the wake of this the central Home minister, in his standard statement said that this is the handiwork of HUJI and Lashkar-e-Tayyaba type groups who are indulging in these activities and this is aimed to disrupt the communal harmony in the country.
PAKISTAN-USA: “WHY FAISAL SHAHZAD BOMBED TIMES SQUARE”
Pervez Hoodbhoy
The man who tried to set off a car bomb in Times Square was a Pakistani. Why is this unsurprising? Answer: because when you hold a burning match to a gasoline tank, the laws of chemistry demand combustion. As anti-American lava spews uninterrupted from the fiery volcanoes of Pakistan’s private television channels and newspapers, a collective psychosis grips the country’s youth. Murderous intent follows with the conviction that the US is responsible for all ills, both in Pakistan and the world of Islam.
PAKISTAN: A MIRACLE IN CHAKWAL?
Pervez Hoodbhoy
The sudden appearance of Prophet Mohammed’s (PBUH) alleged footprint in the sleepy village of Dharabi near Chakwal has sent a wave of religious excitement across Pakistan. At a three-hour drive from Islamabad, Dharabi is now attracting tens of thousands of visitors from Swat to Karachi.
IDENTITY, INDIAN POLITICS AND CASTE CENSUS
Asghar Ali Engineer
The Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has assured the parliament that caste will be included in the current census. This was after Yadav leaders and OBC members of Parliament raised the issue and there was heated debate. The question arises why is it or is not necessary to include caste in counting people of India. Apart from caste even religion has not been included which also raises doubts in the minds of minorities. Maulana Madani, a Muslim leader and Rajya Sabha member has threatened to launch an agitation if column of religion is not included in the census form.
INTERNATIONAL: THE PAST IS IN THE FUTURE
Sam Noumoff
One of the remarkable features of China is that she has served as a magnet for a wide variety of foreigners over the centuries, from those who came to save their souls, to those who came in the expectation of enormous profit to those who came seeing China’s misery as a call to the human struggle for liberation.
LIVING TOGETHER SEPARATELY: GHETTOIZATION OF INDIAN MUSLIMS
Ather Farouqui
With the spectre of communalism raising its ugly head all across the country, Muslim ghettoization is emerging as a grave and complex problem that requires urgently to be addressed. It has a decisive bearing on communalism. Unfortunately, it has not drawn the attention it deserves.
INDIA-PAKISTAN: THE IMPORTANCE OF HINDU-MUSLIM DIALOGUE
Maulana Waris Mazhari
Hindus and Muslims have been living together in India for over a thousand years. Yet, they are still plagued by misunderstandings about each other and mutual hatred. A principal reason for this is that they have not sought to understand each other sincerely. Undoubtedly, there have been individuals among them who were deeply conscious of, and strongly opposed to, the enormous gulf that divides them, and they tried, in their own ways, to transform this hatred into dialogue and reconciliation. However, in the face of stiff opposition, their efforts did not yield much fruit.