by admin | May 25, 2021 | News
Javed Akhtar
Mumbai : Irked by a social media user who asked him if Shia and Sunni were different religions, veteran writer-lyricist Javed Akhtar on Thursday said all kinds of religious people were “equally unreasonable”.
He made the comment as part of a chain of tweets after the social media user asked Akhtar: “Is Shia and Sunni different religions Javed Akhtar? #JustAsking.”
The celebrated writer, who is quite vocal about his views on socio-political issues, said: “Your question about Shia and Sunni reminds me of a very famous dialogue from a film ‘Gone With The Wind’. And it was, ‘Frankly my dear, I don’t give a damn’.”
Journalist Arnab Goswami joined the conversation by questioning Akhtar: “But where is the answer!”
Akhtar wrote: “It is for them to decide whether they are from the same religion or not. Doesn’t interest me. So what if they are and so what if they are not. I believe all kind of religious people are equally unreasonable. Is that clear enough Arnabji or the nation still wants to know some thing.”
On that, Goswami hit out at Akhtar saying: “Easiest way to escape (run away) from question that don’t suit you. Otherwise you are badly known for unwanted advice, decision and conclusions. And yes, the nation still wants to know many things but that you would not like to face for sure.”
Akhtar also got engaged in a Twitter argument with another user who raised a question on the feasibility of having “Aamir Khan, a Muslim, play (a part) in most ancient and sacred of Hindu epics, the Mahabharata”.
Akhtar abused the user, asking him “which foreign agency is paying you to spread this kind of perverse and poisonous thoughts in our country”.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | News, Politics
New Delhi : Visiting Jordanian King Abdullah II on Thursday said that the global war against terror was not a fight between different religions but between moderates and extremists.
“Today’s global war against terror is not a fight between different religions or people. It is between moderates of all faiths and communities against extremism, hate and violence,” the King said while addressing a conference on ‘Islamic Heritage: Promoting Understanding and Moderation’ here in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“What is heard in the news and what is shown about religion is what separates people,” he said.
He added that around the world, suspicions are inflamed by what different groups don’t know about others.
“Such ideologies of hate distort the word of God — to stir up conflicts and justify crimes and terror.
“We need to take these things seriously…they should never be allowed to distract us from the truth that faith should draw humanity together.”
He said faith inspires countries like India and Jordan where different religious and ethnic groups have lived together.
“It is faith that brings together different civilisations together. Compassion, mercy, tolerance are values shared by billions of Muslims and non Muslims around the world.”
“These values put us together to act for our coming future,” he said.
The Jordanian King arrived here on Tuesday on a three-day state visit. Earlier this month, King Abdullah had hosted Modi in Amman.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | News, Politics
New Delhi : Stressing that India embraced many religions, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Thursday that every religion flourished in India.
“Every religion found life here, it grew here. Every Indian is proud of this virtue, no matter what langusge he speaks, no matter what religion he practices,” the Prime Minister said at a conference on ‘Islamic Heritage: Promoting Understanding and Moderation’ in the presence of Jordan’s King Abdullah II.
“Be it Buddha or Mahatma Gandhi, the fragrance of peace and love has spread across the world from India. India has given the idea of ‘Vasudev Kutumbakam’ — which means that the whole world is our family. India found its identity in considering the people of this world as their family.
“We will be celebrating Holi tomorrow, there will be a celebration of Buddha Jayanti, that will be followed by the month of Ramzan — a symbol of the country’s unity and diversity.”
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | News, Politics
New Delhi : Vice President Venkaiah Naidu on Wednesday said Hinduism is not a religion but a cultural concept of India.
“All the religions preach love, peace and harmony — be it Islam, Christianity or Hinduism…Hinduism though I don’t consider a religion. It is more than that. It is a broader cultural concept of India,” he said at the inauguration of the Sunder Nursery — a new 90 acre city park — near Humayun’s Tomb here.
The Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC) commenced conservation and landscape works at Sunder Nursery in 2007, following an MoU with the Central Public Works Department and the Archaeological Survey of India.
The development of this city park is in line with other similar initiatives by The Aga Khan Trust in Kabul, Mali, Zanzibar, Cairo, Hyderabad, Chantilly, amongst others.
Naidu said that private-public partnership became a success in this project that “combines together nature, culture and future”.
He said because The Aga Khan, current Imam of Ismailis, a denomination within Shia Islam, “believes in serving the mankind, he is serving God”.
He also said the development works undertaken by AKTC reflected Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s campaign Swachh Bharat.
The conservation works draw attention to a unique ensemble of 16th century garden tomb.
In 2016, UNESCO extended World Heritage designation to twelve structures conserved by AKTC, including six standing within the Sunder Nursery.
Landscape architect M Shaheer designed this new city park along a central axial spine around which gardens were designed – both formal and informal settings for families to enjoy picnics.
The landscaping of the park includes Delhi’s first arboretum, an amphitheatre, ponds and lakes, nursery beds, a flower showcase, rose gardens and orchards.
Sunder Nursery houses almost 300 tree species, drawing 80 species of birds and 60 species of butterflies.
It continues to have 20 acres of nursery beds managed by the CPWD.
—IANs
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Opinions
By M. Rajaque Rahman,
The fuss over the secularity of the morning prayers in the state-sponsored Kendriya Vidyalayas is not just hawkish but also a marked display of ignorance of the very concept of prayer. As it stands, the Supreme Court will have to rule on whether prayer has a religion. Here is hoping the apex court will go by the spirit of the prayer and save the education sector from getting trapped in the polarised and prejudiced milieu in the country.
For the record, the prayer in contention is a combination of a song in Hindi preceded and followed by a Sanskrit shloka. The song is a simple call of the heart to fill it with knowledge and purify the soul. The opening shloka is the popular “Asato ma sad gamaya…” which is an expression of the longing to move from untruth to truth, from darkness to light and from death to immortality. The closing shloka is a prayer seeking to move together and not to hate each other.
The prayer doesn’t invoke any deity or God. There is no polytheism, no segregation, no discrimination. And that has been the core of all common prayers of this nation. Take, for example, the Gayatri Mantra. It doesn’t invoke God for any small individual comfort. Instead, it seeks inspiration and guidance for our intellect. And, where else can one find a more inclusive wish for the well-being of all than in the meaning of “Sarve bhavantu sukhinah”? This elementary prayer wishes happiness, goodness and freedom from misery for all.
If such genuine calls for righteousness, wisdom, eternal light, happiness and wellness of all beings are to be called non-secular and unconstitutional, then the cry for amending the Constitution will only start looking justified.
The point is that these prayers are universal in language and content. They unite the entire creation into a bond of divine blessing and they nowhere limit whom you should pray to. Allah, Jesus, Krishna, Ganesh or Shiva don’t seem to matter. Hence, there is no question of contravening Article 28(1) that prohibits providing religious instruction in educational institutions funded by the State.
The attitude that everything that has its origin in India is Hindu and non-secular has done a lot of harm to the nation. In the guise of being secular, we have denied the country from making such deep prayers for righteousness and wisdom a part of the national consciousness. Those who protest such prayers in the name of secularism not only expose their ignorance of their meaning but also do the biggest disservice to the ideals of secularism. If everybody is blessed with these attributes, the essence of secularism will be a fait accomplii.
The prayers being questioned are more about spiritual pursuits and attaining the highest attributes in life rather than ritualistic and superstitious. They are an important part of the indigenous repository which is full of values that are essential for promoting unity and universalism and weeding out fanaticism from young minds. It is a national tragedy that an aspiration for such higher attributes isn’t inculcated through our education system. Unless we teach such values, what education means in the life of a man will always be lost and it will fail in producing peace-loving, law-abiding, tax-paying and patriotic citizens.
We just need to find non-controversial ways of spiritualising Indian education. The need of the hour is to shift the national discourse from saffronisation to spiritualisation and come up with a policy that will integrate the ancient treasures for which generations of people from all over the world have been coming to India.
(The author keenly follows and writes on issues relevant to the Idea of India. He tweets @rajaque)
—IANS
