Archive for the ‘News’ Category
Gujarat Grabs United Nations Public Service Award
Gujarat has done it again. For two consecutive years Gujarat has managed to bag the United Nations Public Service Award. In 2009, Water and Sanitation Management Organization (WASMO) of the State government won the award for fostering participation in policy-making decisions through innovative mechanisms. This year State Wide Attention on Grievances with Application of Technology (SWAGAT) has won the UN Public Service Award in the category improving transparency, accountability and responsiveness in public service. Gujarat is the only State in India to win this award for the second time.
WASMO aims to promote, support and monitor the community participation and community based management in water and sanitation projects in an equitable, sustainable and transparent manner. WASMO trains Pani Samiti members to effectively plan, implement and manage water supply systems, handle their finances, and spread awareness on personal hygiene and sanitation. SWAGAT operates on the principle that grievance redressal is essential for good governance especially to vitalize a democracy. Every month the Chief Minister considers grievance cases through multi-video conferencing with all 26 Districts and all 225 Taluka Offices. SWAGAT is outcome focused and cases are redressed on the same day or in a time-bound manner. This is the first time that the common citizen can access the highest level office with other officers present in real-time through video-conferencing.
Will such recognitions help to re-define the image of Gujarat and Chief Minister Narendra Modi in the backdrop of the 2002 violence? The Congress expressed displeasure when Amitabh Bachchan appeared as the brand ambassador for the Gujarat Tourism Industry. Will everything related to Narendra’s Modi’s Government in Gujarat continue to be viewed with contempt? What happened in Gujarat in 2002 needs to be condemned but for how long will 2002 continue to cast a shadow on the present and future of Gujarat? It’s sad that in a country with a dismal record of public service the achievements of Gujarat are not being duly celebrated.
Faisal Shahzad or Rima Fakih: The Choice of Identity
Last week, I wrote a post on the micro effects of Faisal Shahzad’s failed terror attack in Times Square. Today, I came across another news item, which made me wonder about my observations in the last post. If Faisal Shahzad can make many American Muslims feel nervous about their religious identity, could Rima Fakih make them feel proud in any way?
Rima Fakih, who is of Lebanese Muslim descent, has been crowned Miss USA 2010.
Is Rima Fakih’s achievement a symbol of American liberalism or is she the face of ‘modern’ ‘American’ Muslims?
Muslims and New Social Media
Connecting through virtual communities has become the norm of social life for people across the globe. From acquiring cooking skills to dealing with relationship problems, from expressing political views to cribbing about economic incentives at workplace, the social media has emerged as a platform to discuss anything and everything. You can tweet the Iranian political protests, blog live about President Obama’s Inauguration Address, upload videos of you sky-diving stint and meet your long lost High School crush on social media sites. A group of young American Muslims have taken upon themselves to put these impressive features of the social media to constructive use. They have sought to create a space where the Muslims, generally viewed as insulated and segregated, connect and interact within and outside the community. Contrary to popular expectation, this aggregate of diverse forums is not limited to explaining Islam; it is not confined to focusing on a liberal/moderate enunciation of the Quranic texts. It is simply a social networking tool for Muslims; platforms where Muslims discuss cooking skills, relationship problems, political views, economic concerns and even meet their long-lost High School crush.
The Son of a Militant is Not Necessarily a Militant
After reading and writing gloomy analysis on the human rights situation in Jammu and Kashmir and the official apathy towards it, I came across something different this morning. For a change the Government of Jammu and Kashmir has acted sensibly and C.M. Omar Abdullah has adopted a progressive stand. No, this is not about AFSPA. It’s about a common Kashmiri, Basharat Bashir Baba’s dream. The only difference is that Bashir Baba’s father was involved in militant activities. Omar Abdullah’s gesture has prevented one more Kashmiri youth from joining the gang of militants.
In a report carried by The Statesman, Bashir Baba’s ordeal and this rare respite was narrated. The teenaged footballer was one of three selected from a group of 300 for professional exposure and training in Spain and Brazil (where the game is played at a very high level) under a programme run by an Argentine coach, Juan Marcos Troia. He had waited for over a year for a passport to be issued to him, even moved the High Court against his being denied travel documents because his father had been involved in militant activity, but no redress came his way. But when Omar’s attention was drawn to a media report on Basharat’s being blocked, he dribbled with the craft of a Ronaldo and hit the net with the power of a Rooney. Taking the bold line that a son could not be made to suffer for what his father had done, he directed the red-tape be cut and the passport delivered pronto.
Though Bashir Baba is on his way to pursue his dreams the common practice of denying passports to relatives of suspects and militants in J&K needs to be re-considered. The Government can’t remain can active stimulus in swelling the militant ranks through supporting practices.
Red Corner Notice Aganist ‘Sayed’: Reality Check
India, the political leadership in particular, is very excited about the Red Corner notice against Hafiz Saeed and Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi issued by the Interpol on Tuesday. External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna has even declared the move as a vindication of India’s investigation into the Mumbai terror strikes. India comprehends, or at least portrays, the move as sign of international pressure on Pakistan. The UPA will use this Red Corner Notice as one of its major achievements in counter-terror diplomacy vis-à-vis Pakistan. The excitement has undoubtedly overtaken any fact-checking by the Government of India.
The bio of Hafiz Saeed on the Interpol website is not completely similar to the one sought by India. The name on the Interpol site is Hafiz Saab Sayed and nationality is Pakistan. This is a common name in Pakistan and does not necessarily imply the same person that India is seeking. The most glaring mismatch is with regard to the photo and institutional affiliation of “Hafiz Saeed”. The Interpol site has not mentioned Saeed’s linkage to either the LeT or JuD. The photo is marked as “unavailable.” The lack of clarity on such critical details has been completely overlooked by the Government of India.
Moreover, it needs to be highlighted what a Red Corner Notice implies. These Interpol ‘Red Notices’ represent only a tiny fraction of the number of red notices issued by Interpol. The persons concerned are wanted by national jurisdictions (or the International Criminal Tribunals, where appropriate) and Interpol’s role is to assist the national police forces in identifying or locating those persons with a view to their arrest and extradition. Thus the national police, that is police authorities in Pakistan, will be responsible for arresting Saeed. Following this the Interpol also mentions that people against whom such notices are issued are to be considered innocent until proven guilty. The Pakistani authorities have already declared Saeed not guilty of involvement in Mumbai attacks. Does India expect that a re-run of that process would yield a different result? Since there is no extradition treaty between India and Pakistan, Hafiz Saeed will not be handed over to India.
So is the Interpol Red Notice against ‘Sayed’ really so exciting? Why are the reactions by Indian leadership reflexive rather than being measured and calculated?
Are Indians too Touchy and Opinionated?
Two completely different news items in Indian media today left me feeling strange. The first
was Shah Rukh Khan’s experiences at the Newark Airport and the second referring to BJP’s move at distancing itself from Jaswant Singh’s new book Jinnah India-Partition Independence. I wondered if we Indians are too touchy and opinionated. Why do Indians treat abstract notions, public celebs and above all history with a sense of sacredness?
SKR’s ‘ordeal’ with the U.S. immigration officials and former President Abdul Kalam’s frisking by United Airlines led to widespread anguish among Indians. One of the popular newspapers in India has also opened a debated titled, “Should we treat Americans the way SKR was treated?” I am not passing a judgment over the SKR episode, but was certainly take aback by the popular reaction. Anyone who has had some interaction with the Indian immigration officials would find the public uproar hypocritical. The suspicion, intimidation and heavy handiness with which the Indian immigration treats its own citizens is apparent for anyone who has travelled outside the country. My first encounter with the Indian immigration department was scary. Standing in front of the passport stamping booth, I was made to feel like a thief absconding from the country. Especially if you are travelling on a H4 visa, you will be made to feel as someone who is betraying the country for a Silicon Valley techie. On the contrary I had a completely different experience with the official stamping my documents at the U.S. airport. His friendly mannerisms and conversations regarding my education made me so much more comfortable than I had felt back home. Anyways, the point is that the Indian immigration officials mistreat most Indians as a matter of protocol with no public opposition but Indians can’t tolerate the national leaders and celebs being mistreated by the immigration officials abroad. Is this about national pride or national ego?
The Jaswant Singh episode is equally confusing. In 2005, BJP leader L.K. Advani was criticized for referring to Jinnah as a secular leader. Four years Jaswant Singh is facing a similar situation for stating that Jinnah was not wholly responsible for the partition of India. For decades Jinnah has been portrayed as the villain in history books. A simple reading of the Indian National Movement in the post Quit India phase is like a Bollywood movie where Mahatma Gandhi, the hero, battles to save the unity of India from the evil intentions of Jinnah. Jaswant Singh’s assertions (purely academic according to him) seem to have challenged this projection of characters in black and white with a tinge of grey. The BJP has formally distanced itself from the book and no other political leader is likely to side with Jaswant Singh. Is this about national history or historical bias?
Self-criticism and self-evaluation are as critical for national progress as for individual development. But a sense of narcissism has clouded the critical instincts of Indians as a nation. We carry too many opinions and hold them too sacred. Have Indians not become too touchy and opinionated?
Dawning The Burqa: Shallow Imitations
The Police Department in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, U.K. experimented with a novel venture last week. Referred to as “In Your Shoes”, the initiative required three policewomen to dress in Burqas for a day to understand how it feels to a Muslim woman. Two sergeants and a community support officer dressed in head-to-foot burqas and other traditional clothing and went out shopping. The officers wore brightly-coloured traditional Muslim outfits and a full-length black jilbab plus a niqab, which covers the face leaving slits for eyes.
Are we expected to appreciate such experiments? Will the mis-perceptions relating to the Muslim community be rectified through such attempts? Will the Muslim population accept such shallow imitations of their cultural and religious traditions? The “In Your Shoes” experiment had three major flaws. �
First, as expressed by Matthew Elliott, of the Taxpayers’ Alliance, “People want the police out catching criminals, not indulging in politically correct gimmicks. The police are overstretched as it is without officers being paid to do other things than their real job.”
Second, the outcome of the dress-up game was obvious. No one expected the three women to be in any way critical burqa. Sergeant Deb Leonard, who wore some of the clothing, described her experience in a South Yorkshire Police in-house magazine. “I have gained an appreciation and understanding of what Muslim females experience when they walk out in public in clothing appropriate to their beliefs.” It was a poorly crafted PR exercise. For an opposing view on the issue one should read Liz Jones’s account of how she felt on wearing the burqa for a week. In the words of Liz, “It looks so innocuous: just a few yards of black fabric. But, my goodness, how oppressive it is, how suffocating, how transforming.”
Finally attempts at imitating the dress code without comprehending and believing in the cultural and religious rationale of the same are meaningless. For the non-Muslims the burqa is a gender issue but for majority of women it is part of their Muslim identity.
I guess the next experiment will involve British Army soldiers dressed as Al-Qaeda and Taliban men to closely understand the psyche of these men!
The Stoning of Soraya M.
The release of ‘The Stoning of Soraya M.’ in theaters today can be referred to as both ironic and coincidental.
Set in a small Iranian village shortly after the fall of the Shah, “The Stoning of Soroya M.” opens on Freidoune (Jim Caviezel), a French-Iranian journalist whose car has broken down and who has some time to kill while it is repaired. He encounters Zahra (Shohreh Aghdashloo), who tells him there is a story he, and the world, must know. The film, in Farsi and English, was inspired by the 1994 best seller by French-Iranian journalist Freidoune Sahebjam. The Stoning of Soraya M. is based on a real-life event where Soraya is charged with adultery by her husband Ali. Ali wants to divorce Soraya and marry a 14-year girl. Soraya’s objections lead to her tragic death. Soraya is stoned to death in front of her children and cheering villagers. Ali and their sons, as well as her father, participate in her killing.
Stoning had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, where it was the runner-up for the Audience Choice Award and was the second runner-up for the Cadillac People’s Choice. According to the WSJ ‘This is classic tragedy in semi-modern dress that means to horrify, and does so more successfully than any film in recent memory. The Stoning gives us an alternate, non-political, perspective on Iran.
Is Pakistan a Victim of Impressions or of Reality?
Just came across a very interesting and even surprising news piece in the Telegraph.co.uk
The news article reads “Pakistan’s Asif Ali Zardari faces army rebellion over India détente”. The opening lines of the article read “According to sources close to Chief of Army Staff, General Ashfaq Kiyani, senior officers are alarmed at the president’s plans to divert troops and aircraft defending Pakistan’s border with India and deploy them in a new offensive against Al-Qaeda and Taliban militants.”
Though I am not very sure that the threat to Zardari’s Presidency is as real as projected in this particular article, the news nevertheless confirms that “impressions dictate reality”. The difference of opinion between the political leadership and military personnel of the western countries is hailed as the gift of democracy. But for countries like Pakistan, such difference of opinion creates the impression of an impending military coup. Pakistan is no doubt facing several challenges but the international media often over-reacts to developments in the country.
Is Pakistan a victim of impression or of reality?
New Muslim Cool
New Muslim Cool! That sounds interesting. It’s a new PBS Documentary that explores the least known dimension of Islam. New Muslim Cool is Islam as you have never seen it. It is also hip-hop as you have probably never heard it. This film gives audiences an insider’s view of a little-known cultural fusion between Muslims and street beats that has been developing since the very beginnings of hip-hop culture. The result is a surprising challenge to stereotypes of both Muslims and urban youth in America that encourages viewers to look critically at the “clash of civilizations” between Islam and the West.