Comment by Riaz Haq on November 14, 2022 at 10:59am

India’s entrenched north-south divide is growing as its population changes, with serious social and political consequences

Hannah Ellis-Petersen in Delhi
Mon 14 Nov 2022 01.30 EST


https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/nov/14/india-faces-deepening...


The north-south divide has also enabled the politicisation of population in India. In the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, ruled by a hardline figure from the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the high population has been used to justify the drafting of a population control bill, proposing coercive methods to ensure two children per couple.

The draft bill is seen by some as a thinly veiled attack on Muslims, fuelled by a pervasive yet inaccurate myth promoted by Hindu nationalists that the number of Muslims is fast outpacing Hindus, as part of a conspiracy by Muslims to become the majority in India. Muslims make up 14% of the population, Hindus are 80%.

“All this talk of population control measures in Uttar Pradesh is only to keep the controversy going and to give Muslims a bad name, stir up hatred and win the Hindu majority vote,” said SY Quraishi, a former Indian civil servant who recently published The Population Myth, a book demolishing the myths around Islam and family planning in India.

“As the data clearly shows, this suggestion of Muslims overtaking the Hindu population is a blatant lie.”

Quraishi emphasised that while Muslims in India do have higher fertility rates than Hindus, this is not due to religion but because Muslims are often poorer, less educated and with less access to health services. The Muslim fertility rate in India is also now falling faster than the Hindu rate.

BJP leader Ashwini Upadhyay recently submitted a petition to the supreme court calling for “an effective population control policy like China” to cope with the “population explosion”, though such policies have been rebuffed by the central BJP government.

Quraishi said rather than trying to emulate China’s population control measures, policymakers in Delhi should take them as a warning.

“In India people used to admire China’s policy of one child norm,” he said. “But now look, China has a population crisis on their hands, 70% of their population are ageing. That should be an important lesson for anyone talking about coercive measures: otherwise in a few decades that could be us too.”

Cities under pressure
Advertisement

Though fears of an Indian “population bomb” have eased, one area already creaks under the strain of a rising population. India’s cities are some of the biggest and overburdened in the world, and in the next few decades they will get even bigger.

India is still largely rural, with about 33% of the population living in cities, but urbanisation is picking up pace. By 2035, 675 million Indians will live in cities and, according to UN projections, by 2050, more Indians will live in urban environments than villages. With a population of 20 million, India’s capital Delhi is already one of the largest and most polluted cities in the world. It’s expected to grow to 28 million by 2041, according to the city masterplan.

In the biggest metropolises of Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata, housing, water, transport and sanitation infrastructure are already struggling to cope, and this will only be exacerbated by climate change. In India’s financial capital Mumbai, which is predicted to grow from 20 million to 27 million by 2025, 40% of people live in slums. In 2019, the city of Chennai ran out of water entirely.

“Urbanisation will drive important changes in this country in the coming decades but at the same time, the quality of life in Indian cities is already deteriorating fast,” said Rumi Aijaz, a fellow at the Delhi thinktank Observer Research Foundation.

“Adaptation of urban areas is one of the biggest challenges India faces as its population grows – but right now the government response is weak.”

Comment by Riaz Haq on November 14, 2022 at 11:03am

India’s entrenched north-south divide is growing as its population changes, with serious social and political consequences

Hannah Ellis-Petersen in Delhi
Mon 14 Nov 2022 01.30 EST


https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/nov/14/india-faces-deepening...


Despite the continued rise in population in the north over the next few years, India’s overall trajectory is one of declining fertility and eventual population stability. Yet just how far fertility will fall is still up for debate. Unlike in the west, India’s declining fertility rate so far has not coincided with a change in family structure or marriage patterns, such as women choosing to marry and have children later, or not at all.

Instead, so far, the maternal expectations of Indian women have remained largely unchanged; the majority still get married by their early twenties, have two children while relatively young and then stop, often by opting for sterilisation.

As India develops and more women are educated and enter the workforce, experts say fertility norms will continue to shift. Back in the Bihar village of Kishanganj, Nazia Parveen, 19, who is studying at university, said she had already noticed the difference that women’s education had made to the number of children being born locally.

“Now much fewer children are being born in the village and around 60% of the families are using family planning,” she said. “This is such a change from the past when there was no awareness, and it is all because of women’s education. No one of my generation wants to have more than two children.”

Comment by Riaz Haq on November 18, 2022 at 5:38pm

Excerpts of "The Trauma of Caste" by Thenmozi Soundarajan:


I also write in honor of all of my Muslim kin, because so many Muslims have carried the water for so many Dalit movements, and in turn we too carry yours. When faith is criminalized and racialized, we have to overturn the expectations of the dominant culture to return to our fullest selves. We learn every day from your commitments to justice and peace even in a time of great dehumanization.

Soundararajan, Thenmozhi. The Trauma of Caste (p. xx). North Atlantic Books. Kindle Edition.

These two stories have been weaponized by Buddhist nationalists to claim a mandate that the Sinhalese are the true heirs to a spiritually ordained Buddhist nation and to justify violence against anyone deemed a threat to the island. This condemns ethnic Tamils and religious others like Muslims, Hindus, and Christians as invaders.44 Buddhist clergy of the Mahavamsa have further divided themselves into lineages based on caste and banned caste-oppressed Buddhists from entering the temples they administer. Scholar Lasni Buddhibhashika Jayasooriya found that many casteist attitudes in popular Buddhism are rooted in Sri Lanka.45 One of her respondents noted that “it is obvious that in many cases the core ideas of Buddhism are being violated. Religion is raped by its followers.”46

Soundararajan, Thenmozhi. The Trauma of Caste (p. 69). North Atlantic Books. Kindle Edition.

South Asian Christians and Muslims have been hesitant to call out casteism within their faiths, given the persecution they suffer today under Hindu nationalists. Churches and mosques face demolition; priests, imams, and nuns are victims of assault and violence; the drumbeat of genocidal language targets these communities. In the face of such terror there is discomfort in speaking about divisive issues. That said, caste-oppressed followers of these faiths are working, quietly and with enormous courage, to expose and address casteism while also fighting for religious freedom. I respect the struggles within these communities and believe that discussing casteism openly and with empathy creates opportunities for growth even in this dismal time.


Caste does not have a scriptural foundation in Islam, but it is nevertheless found among the cultural practices of South Asian Muslims. These practices are not unified across South Asia, for Islam has multiple points of entry and cultural histories across the continent. Islam came to the region through Sufi mystics, flows of trade by sea, and the Silk Road, as well as by conquest and invasion. These multiple origin stories have created different Muslim communities that have varying understandings of hierarchy. It’s therefore more appropriate to say that we are examining caste in the cultural practices of South Asian muslim communities, not in Islamic religious doctrine. Caste in Muslim communities matters because South Asia is home to the largest population of Muslims (600 million) in the world, with about one-third of all Muslims being from South Asia. India stands out among its closest neighbors with a Muslim minority that numbers almost 200 million, making India the third-largest Muslim country after Indonesia and Pakistan.60

Soundararajan, Thenmozhi. The Trauma of Caste (p. 72). North Atlantic Books. Kindle Edition.

Comment by Riaz Haq on November 18, 2022 at 5:39pm

Take, for example, caste in Muslim communities in India. These divides often refer to followers’ proximity in relationship to the Prophet and are broken down into categories. Ashrafs claim their origin from Central Asia and encompass subgroups who are considered the noble high castes. They include the Sayyids, the supposed descendants of the Prophet; the Shaikhs, the supposed descendants of the Prophet’s companions; the Pashtuns, members of Pashto-speaking tribes in Afghanistan and northwestern Pakistan; and Mughals, persons of Turkish origin who came into India with the Mughal armies.61 Ajlafs are converts to Islam from the lower occupational Shudra castes, including barbers, tailors, and weavers. And finally the Arzals (literally, the “despicable”) are Dalit converts whose occupations were considered unclean. In the 1901 Indian census, Arzals were described as castes “with whom no other Muhammadan would associate, and who are forbidden to enter the mosque or to use the public burial ground.”62

Soundararajan, Thenmozhi. The Trauma of Caste (p. 73). North Atlantic Books. Kindle Edition.

Additionally, the vast majority of South Asian Muslims are converts. Islam, like Sikhism and Buddhism, espoused philosophies of equality and brotherhood and allowed for more mobility of caste-oppressed followers, in contrast to the inequity and marginalization embedded within caste-based rituals and religious traditions; these notions were particularly appealing to Dalits and the caste-oppressed. Dr. Ejaz Ali, national convener of the All-India Backward Muslim Morcha, coined the term “Dalit Muslims,” saying: Our ancestors did not come from Arabia. They were locals who converted to Islam. One could categorize them into two broad groups. Firstly, Dalits who converted to Islam en masse, to escape from caste oppression under the Brahminical order. They were visibly impressed by the simplicity and brotherhood of the early Muslims, especially the Sufis. They saw them eating together from the same vessel, praying together shoulder-to-shoulder in the same mosque. They saw that anyone could become the Imam to lead the prayers. The Sufis welcomed them with open arms. At the Sufi langars (free community kitchens), they saw people of all castes eating together. All this visibly impressed them and they converted in large numbers to Islam in search of equality and self-respect . . . These are the Dalit Muslims.64

Soundararajan, Thenmozhi. The Trauma of Caste (pp. 73-74). North Atlantic Books. Kindle Edition.

The caste-oppressed in these Muslim communities have focused on their underrepresentation in Indian institutions, and they have organized under the banner of the Pasmanda movement, meaning “those who have been left behind.”65 And they assert that caste-oppressed oppressed Muslims make up 85 percent of all Muslims in India. Their goal is to pursue their rights to affirmative action and greater representation in political parties and society.66 Today the movement includes many organizations like the All India Pasmanda Muslims Mahaj of Ali Anwar from Bihar and the All India Muslim OBC Organisation of Shabbir Ansari from Maharashtra.

Soundararajan, Thenmozhi. The Trauma of Caste (p. 74). North Atlantic Books. Kindle Edition.

Comment by Riaz Haq on November 18, 2022 at 5:39pm

Caste-oppressed Muslims have also faced unique hardships during the atrocities of Partition, the bloody process that led to the establishment of Pakistan as an Islamic country, and the second partition that led to the Bangladesh War of Independence. During this period many Indian Muslims had to make choices to stay behind in the new India governed by dominant castes or leave to establish Pakistan. Many caste-oppressed Muslims stayed behind because they did not have the resources to leave, while other families found their relatives split between Indian, Pakistani, and Bangladeshi borders. This division has led to a constant othering of Indian Muslims as foreigners in their own homeland. It is a tragic outcome of casteist and nationalist tropes that further disenfranchises vulnerable caste-oppressed Muslims.

Soundararajan, Thenmozhi. The Trauma of Caste (p. 74). North Atlantic Books. Kindle Edition.

Another example of caste and South Asian Muslim cultural practices can be traced to the history of Partition at the Punjab border. Muslims left the India side of Punjab for Pakistan, and many Dalit Christians on the Pakistani side of Punjab chose to stay rather than risk being a minority within a new Indian nation led by dominant castes. After Partition, a majority of the Dalit Hindus, who did all the cleaning of the sewers, left from Pakistan. As a result, Dalit Christians were forced into those unwanted jobs in the Punjab region of Pakistan. It was a painful reentry back into the caste hierarchy, as these Christians had converted to escape such terrible labor; now they were betrayed by the fledgling state.67 This is but one of many examples of caste in the cultural practices of South Asian Muslim communities, and there remains much room for research and discourse. No one country or religion has offered safe harbor for Dalits; instead, all South Asian geographies beget caste violence.

Soundararajan, Thenmozhi. The Trauma of Caste (pp. 74-75). North Atlantic Books. Kindle Edition.

Comment by Riaz Haq on November 20, 2022 at 5:35pm

Qatar hosting the World Cup highlights Western double standards
Is this truly about human rights, or is it that Western pundits can’t stomach the idea that an Arab Middle East country will host the World Cup?

by Ayman Mohyeldin

https://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/amp/rcna57891

From the moment Qatar won the bid to host the 2022 World Cup, there have been criticisms surrounding its capacity and deservedness to hold the event. And rightfully so; any country that plans to welcome people from around the world for a globally important affair should be subject to intense scrutiny.

But what has played out over the past several years, and intensified in the final few months before the World Cup’s Sunday premiere, reveals the depths of Western prejudice, performative moral outrage and, perhaps most significantly, gross double standards.

A barrage of negative and quite frankly racist commentary about the tiny Persian Gulf nation has included headlines suggesting that fans who were celebrating the buildup to the tournament were paid to appear, because they were South Asians. A French outlet published a cartoon depicting the Qatari national team as terrorists. The list goes on.

But is this debate truly about migrant workers’ rights and human rights, or is it that European countries and Western pundits, who view themselves as the traditional gatekeepers of global soccer, can’t stomach the idea that an Arab Middle Eastern country will host such a venerable event?

-------------


Piers Morgan
@piersmorgan
Yes, and we tortured innocent Iraqi civilians when we illegally invaded that country. Britain’s in no position to play the moral superiority card vs Qatar.

https://twitter.com/piersmorgan/status/1594274105309945856?s=20&...

------------

#Fifa President Gianni Infantino:"I am European. For what we have been doing for 3,000 years around the world, we should be apologizing for the next 3,000 years before giving moral lessons" #soccer #football #Colonialism #slavery #Qatar #alcoholban https://www.npr.org/2022/11/19/1137962269/fifa-president-gianni-inf...

DOHA, Qatar — FIFA president Gianni Infantino used his opening press conference before the start of the monthlong World Cup to deliver a blistering tirade at the West for continued criticism of host country Qatar and its human rights record.

For an hour, Infantino lectured the international press assembled at the Qatar National Convention Centre and then took questions for 45 minutes. In lengthy, and at times angry remarks, Infantino blasted the criticism of Qatar and FIFA.

"I am European. For what we have been doing for 3,000 years around the world, we should be apologizing for the next 3,000 years before giving moral lessons," he said.

He furthered the defense by saying, "Today I feel Qatari. Today I feel Arab. Today I feel African. Today I feel gay. Today I feel disabled. Today I feel a migrant worker."

Infantino said he has difficulties understanding the criticism and called it hypocrisy. "We have to invest in helping these people, in education and to give them a better future and more hope. We should all educate ourselves, many things are not perfect, but reform and change takes time."

Since FIFA chose Qatar to stage this tournament in 2010, soccer's governing body and the host country have endured withering criticism. It's the first time a Middle Eastern country has hosted a World Cup. A report released this month from the London-based rights group Equidem said the migrant laborers who built the World Cup stadiums worked long hours and under harsh conditions. The report said they were subjected to discrimination, wage theft and other abuses.

Infantino's news conference comes a day after FIFA and Qatar announced that the sale of beer would be banned at the eight stadiums. FIFA said the decision would ensure "the stadiums and surrounding areas provide an enjoyable, respectful and pleasant experience for all fans."

Comment by Riaz Haq on May 2, 2023 at 8:29pm

Muslim mayor from New Jersey barred from White House Eid celebration

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/05/02/muslim-mayor-whi...


The mayor of a borough in New Jersey said Tuesday that he was barred from attending a White House celebration marking the Islamic holiday of Eid al-Fitr and was informed of the decision just hours before his arrival.

Mohamed T. Khairullah, who is Muslim and is serving his fifth term as mayor of Prospect Park, N.J., submitted his name for clearance by federal officials, as is typical for attendees at White House events, he said. But a White House staffer told Khairullah on Monday that his name had not been cleared by the Secret Service, which “did not provide a reason,” the mayor said at a news conference Tuesday.

“While we regret any inconvenience this may have caused, the mayor was not allowed to enter the White House complex this evening,” Anthony Guglielmi, chief of communications for the U.S. Secret Service, said in a statement Monday. “Unfortunately we are not able to comment further on the specific protective means and methods used to conduct our security operations at the White House.”

“I’ve been to the White House complex, prior,” Khairullah said Tuesday, adding that he poses “no risk” to anyone.

Khairullah — whose biography says he is the longest-serving Muslim mayor in New Jersey — was born in Syria but fled with his family in 1980 to Saudi Arabia before moving to the United States in 1991.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on Tuesday referred inquiries about the episode to the Secret Service. Jean-Pierre said that she attended the event along with nearly 400 Muslim people and that “it was a meaningful event, an opportunity to celebrate along with Muslim leaders from across the country who were here.”

At Monday’s event, President Biden told attendees, “Welcome to your home.” He thanked Muslims who have contributed to American society, as “teachers, engineers, as doctors, as lawyers, business owners, congresswomen, congressmen,” as well as in the military and law enforcement.

“Muslim culture,” Biden said, “is woven throughout the American culture.”

New Jersey Democrats, Sens. Robert Menendez and Cory Booker, and Rep. Robert Menendez Jr., sent a letter Tuesday to the head of the Secret Service, and to a top White House official in charge of social events, demanding answers about Khairullah’s treatment.

“We ask for you to provide our offices with information” describing “what occurred and why,” the lawmakers wrote. They also said the federal officials to review “Mayor Khairullah’s status so that in the future he may be able to attend events and represent his constituents at the People’s House.”

The New Jersey chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations condemned Khairullah’s exclusion from the White House event.

“That a well-respected Muslim leader would effectively be disinvited from the White House Eid celebration, just hours ahead of time, is wholly unacceptable and insulting,” Selaedin Maksut, the chapter’s executive director, said in a statement.

At the news conference Tuesday, Khairullah said the episode was confounding, considering his previous experience attending events with top federal officials. He said he has been at other events featuring “former presidents, where Secret Service was available. And I was able to approach presidents, shake hands with them.”

Comment by Riaz Haq on May 3, 2023 at 7:48am

The Kerala Story's true picture: 3 'radicalised' women, not 32,000

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kochi/the-kerala-storys-tr...

KOCHI: Amid the raging controversy over the upcoming film 'The Kerala Story'.

-----------

32K Women Missing Claim Made By 'The Kerala Story' Does Not Add Up While a teaser of the film released in November mentions the 32K figure, the trailer released last week makes no mention of it

https://www.boomlive.in/fact-check/politics/fact-check-viral-the-ke...

The makers of the movie 'The Kerala Story' have claimed that 32,000 women in Kerala belonging to the Hindu and Christian communities have disappeared and have been trafficked to places such as Syria and Afghanistan to be sold as sex slaves to terrorist outfits such as ISIS over the last ten years. This they claim has happened through 'love-jihad' -a term that describes a conspiracy theory peddled by the Hindu right that alleges an elaborate ploy by Muslim men to lure Hindu women into romantic relationships with the ultimate aim to convert the latter to Islam.

BOOM found that the makers of 'The Kerala Story' have grossly exaggerated the claim and that there is no data either by the Indian government or international organisations which supports the 32,000 figure. While there have been instances reported (read here, here and here) where law enforcement agencies are probing women from Kerala being duped with promises of jobs or ISIS sympathy, no record reflects a number so large. BOOM found that the reasoning provided by the makers of the film are based on extrapolation and sources from where they are yet to recieve replies, such as Right to Information (RTI) applications. The movie is slated to be released on May 5 as a trailer was recently released for the film, which was followed by a slew of controversies. In a Facebook post, the Chief Minister of Kerala, Pinarayi Vijayan, has lashed out against the film and so has his party, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the Congress, which is in opposition in the state.

Comment by Riaz Haq on July 1, 2023 at 8:11am

Man Arrested in Attack on Connecticut Lawmaker After Eid Prayer Service


https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/29/nyregion/connecticut-lawmaker-kh...

Representative Maryam Khan had just left an Eid service in downtown Hartford when a man attacked her outside the building.


A man who was arrested in connection with an attack on a Connecticut state lawmaker, the first Muslim elected to the Connecticut House of Representatives, after an Eid al-Adha prayer service was formally charged in state court on Thursday.

Representative Maryam Khan, a Democrat, sustained minor injuries during the attack, according to the police.

The man, Andrey Desmond, 30, from New Britain, Conn., is being held on a $250,000 bond. He was charged with unlawful restraint, assault, breach of peace and interfering with the police.

Mr. Desmond was previously diagnosed with schizophrenia and has a long history of psychiatric hospitalizations and stays in inpatient facilities in New York City and Connecticut, according to records and interviews with Mr. Desmond. He was released from prison in 2020 and was living in a supportive housing facility in the Bronx. He returned to Connecticut in May.

-----------

Pakistan-born US lawmaker attacked after Eid prayers in Connecticut


https://www.dawn.com/news/1762397/pakistan-born-us-lawmaker-attacke...


Maryam Khan, a Pakistan-born US lawmaker from the state of Connecticut, was attacked after attending Eid ul Azha prayers with her family in the state’s capital city of Hartford, the American media has reported.

According to The New York Times, police have arrested a man in connection with the attack that took place on Wednesday, during which Khan — the first Muslim elected to the Connecticut House of Representatives and a Democrat — sustained minor injuries.

The suspect was formally charged in state court on Thursday, the report said, quoting police.

“Andrey Desmond, 30, from New Britain, Connecticut, is being held on a $250,000 bond. He was charged with unlawful restraint, assault, breach of peace and interfering with the police,” the report stated.

Comment

• ‹ Previous
• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• Next ›
• Page