धर्मनिरपेक्षता
November 12, 2016
Last week Iranian-born secularist and human rights activist, commentator, broadcaster and spokesperson for Iran Solidarity, One Law for All and the Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain, Maryam Namazie received the prestigious Prix International de la Laïcité 2016 award in Paris from French Prime Minister Manuel Valls. We reproduce below the transcript of her acceptance speech....
November 12, 2016
The targeting of minorities by Islamists anywhere in the Muslim world must be denounced by religious and political leaders in our country
Image: Star/ Focus Bangla
Hundreds of people ransacked temples and vandalized homes of the Hindu minority in the Brahmanbairs district of eastern Bangladesh. Over 100 Hindu homes and 17 temples were vandalised and looted since October 30 in...
November 12, 2016
There is no one uniform tradition of Sufism, a fact that is little known today.
Image: Reuters
Sprouting from the concrete floor of a madrassa is the bark of the ancient Karir tree that has remained rooted to this spot as the world around it changed. The shade of this tree was the madrassa itself when Baba Farid Shakarganj, head of the Sufi tradition of Chistiya, moved here – a...
November 11, 2016
Today, November 11 is the 128th Birth Anniversary of Maulana Azad. In 1992 he was posthumously awarded India's highest civilian award, the Bharat Ratna. He was 70 years when he passed away on February 22, 1958.
Maulana Abul Kalam Azad was twice elected President of the Indian National Congress, in 1923 and again in 1940. This excerpt from his historic address made at...
November 10, 2016
Today, medieval India is seen as a place of eternal religious conflict. But that view is more due to modern-day politics than the actual events of history.
Image credit: Scroll.in
In 1940, as Mahomed Ali Jinnah laid out his vision of the Two Nation Theory in Lahore, he argued that Hindus and Muslims in the subcontinent have separate pasts. “It is quite clear,” said the soon-to-...
November 8, 2016
12 things we can't ignore as America votes.
Image credit: Vox.com
For John Berger at 90, whose uncompromising tenderness and compassion shows us how to look hard yet be full of care.
1. There should be a plural term for violences. This would let us talk about how to choose between violences. Today, this would mean judging between different ‘brands’ of violence in the...
November 6, 2016
The nation is facing a crisis right now, and unity is what is required from all
Photo credit: Dhaka Tribune
The Hindu community in Bangladesh is under assault.
Every Bangladeshi with a conscience needs to stand up for them, and stand alongside with them.
The ruling party deserves praise, as it has always historically been the party of pluralism and minority rights, and the...
November 5, 2016
Every now and then, you can spot a lone temple that has been kept preserved by residents of the area.
Image credit: Haroon Khalid
There is quiet struggle going on in the city of Nankana Sahib in Pakistan – the birthplace of Guru Nanak.
Facing Gurudwara Janam Asthan, built on the spot where the first Sikh guru’s home once was, is a large mosque with a tall minaret....
November 4, 2016
एक दानिश्वर की मशहूर लाइन है- जो इतिहास भूल जाते हैं, वे इसे दोहराने की गलती करते हैं. इतिहास में तीस साल, लंबा वक्त नहीं होता है. फिर भी लगता है कि हम बहुत जल्दी भूलने के आदी हो गये हैं. नतीजतन, बुरे वक्त को दोहराने की गलती करते रहते हैं. फिर वैसा ही माहौल बनाने की कोशिश हो रही है, जैसा तीस साल पहले बनाया गया था. वैसा ही उन्माद पैदा करने की कोशिश हो रही है. समाज को वैसे ही बांटने की कोशिश हो रही...
October 31, 2016
लखनऊ: गंगा-जमुनी तहजीब की मिसाल का प्रतीक है लखनऊ। नवाबों के शहर के नाम से मशहूर लखनऊ ने फिर इसकी एक बानगी पेश की है। यहां साथी हिंदू डॉक्टर अपने परिवार संग दीपावली मना सकें, इसके लिए सरकारी अस्पतालों के मुस्लिम डॉक्टरों ने ओपीडी के अलावा इमर्जेंसी में भी अपनी ड्यूटी लगवा ली है। आपसी भाईचारे की यह तस्वीर सिर्फ अस्पतालों में ही नहीं, बल्कि लेसा में भी नजर आ रही है। दो दिन शहर में बिना फॉल्ट बिजली...