That the political philosophy of Anna Hazare closely resonates with the overall anti-democratic Hindutva ethos owes, in part, to the Brahminical worldview that they share, says Yogi Sikand
A vihar dedicated to the Buddha, apostle of universal love being built on the disputed site in Ayodhya, might actually be a mutually acceptable and eminently sensible settlement for many Hindus and Muslims themselves, says Yogi Sikand on reading Ambedkarite scholar Balwant Singh Charvak's book
A recent national consultation of Christian leaders has opposed the Communal Violence Bill for being inadequate, reports Yogi Sikand
Despite their differences, mainly related to political strategy, Islamist groups like the Jamaat-e Islami and the Jamaat- ud-Dawashare a very similar ideology -- of the centrality of the notion of the Islamic State and the compelling need to acquire political power in order. Yogi Sikand critiques a study on the rising Islamic radicalism in Pakistan
No sooner had the WPI been officially launched in New Delhi than Muslim supporters as well as critics began posting their comments on various, mainly Indian Muslim, websites, arguing for and against the party. Some, mostly members or sympathisers of the Jamaat, hailed the new party as a welcome development
The enslavement of the Muslim mind to the diktats of the mullahs has everything to do with the mullahs' political and personal interests in their capacity as self-styled 'authoritative' interpreters of Islam, says Yogi Sikand
The menacing threat that radical self-styled defenders of Islam today pose to the Pakistani State is, undeniably, a logical culmination of the very ideological basis of that State, says Yogi Sikand
If Vastanvi had blundered in appearing to praise Modi, his detractors, such as the pro-Congress Madnis, were no less blameworthy, being closely linked with a party that was no less anti-Muslim than the BJP, says Yogi Sikand
The men sitting around me -- dressed, like the rest of the crowd, in white kurta-pyjama, and sporting unkempt beards and white skull-caps -- enthusiastically shook their heads in agreement. Like the maulvi-poet, they laboured under the burden of being forced to prove their patriotism, their anti-Pakistani credentials, and their opposition to terrorism -- an unenviable predicament they were compelled to share with the rest of their co-religionists
India's Muslims need to be seen as a potential asset, rather than a liability, in the struggle against terrorism. Scores of Indian ulema or Islamic clerics are now openly castigating all forms of terror, organising mass rallies and even issuing fatwas to get the message across. The Indian State and civil society urgently need to realise that hounding the Indian Muslims can only play into the hands of outfits of groups like the Lashkar
The lively convention, organised in New Delhi, announced of a long list of plans for practical action to be taken to galvanise the struggle against communal fascism.
The Hindu Right has, ever since its inception, consistently used terror as its major weapon for stirring up Hindu passions so as to cultivate a Hindu vote-bank. This has been particularly the case on the eve of major elections, as is the case today, says Yogi Sikand
The mounting indiscriminate arrests, torture and detention of vast numbers of innocent Muslim youth across the country in the name of countering terrorism not only makes a complete mockery of our claims to secularism and democracy but is a perfect recipe for making Muslim terrorism a self-fulfilling prophecy
'The Hindus of Jammu and the Buddhists of Leh find themselves in precisely the same position as did supporters of the Muslim League in pre-Partition India, only now the actors have reversed their roles.'
The violence that is rapidly engulfing large parts of Jammu and Kashmir, set off by a controversial government decision to grant a tract of land to a temple trust in Kashmir, threatens to totally disrupt the already tenuous inter-communal relations in the region.
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