I can only say I hope Roger Cohen reads this and reconsiders his paean to the 'Indian model' he so vigorously defended in his recent column... (https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/14/opinion/the-inspiration-of-ample-indi...
14
But Roger Cohen says India Is swell -
"India is ample. Soon to be the most populous country on earth, it is home to close to a billion Hindus, some 172 million Muslims and tens of millions of Christians. Cochin is dotted with churches and mosques. Nobody cares too much. There’s room for multiple truths."
I'm inclined to think - perhaps not.
"India is ample. Soon to be the most populous country on earth, it is home to close to a billion Hindus, some 172 million Muslims and tens of millions of Christians. Cochin is dotted with churches and mosques. Nobody cares too much. There’s room for multiple truths."
I'm inclined to think - perhaps not.
16
This is an excellent and accurate article about the state of affairs in present day India. There will be many responses crying unfairness and terrorism etc. but truth is the truth. The BJP led govt, not unlike Trump in US, has made it ok for public discourse to be blatantly intolerant and even racist. As a person who grew up in Delhi, it was shocking for me to read a couple of weeks back that mobs were attacking, beating - and yes lynching - African-origin people in the malls of Delhi. That is not all, the govt and the PM - who were right in speaking against attacks on Indians in the US - did not say a word against the violence. I imagine that India is probably a scary place for Muslims and minorities right now. I hope better sense prevails and the people of India rise up against intolerance, violence and fundamentalism, otherwise, as the author correctly states, they will be complicit in their silence.
31
The BJP has been a threat to India for decades. Few outside of the Indian community paid much attention to the BJP, its rise and what the rise signified. Now we cannot escape knowing what is happening. Will India do anything to stop this insanity? I'd guess they will, but not real soon.
10
How many Muslims have been killed by Obama's drones (and now by Trump's drones)?
We are seeing again the point of Stalin's remark. "One death is a tragedy, a million deaths are a statistic".
More than 170 million Muslims live in India, most of them leading peaceful and good lives.
But bad things are bound to happen at times. Sometimes by Hindus to Muslims, sometimes by Muslims to Hindus and sometimes by Sunnis to Shias.
Then the media decide which are more important and which should be used to cause outrage.
And we dance to the tune which the media sing.
Maybe we could stop dancing?
As we all know, both India and Pakistan are nuclear powers and the possibility of a nuclear war is always there.
For the NYT to put incidents like this one in a prominent place is to increase the risk of war, whereby millions of Hindus and Muslims will die.
But hey, the NYT will have more to report and will sell more newspapers.
We are seeing again the point of Stalin's remark. "One death is a tragedy, a million deaths are a statistic".
More than 170 million Muslims live in India, most of them leading peaceful and good lives.
But bad things are bound to happen at times. Sometimes by Hindus to Muslims, sometimes by Muslims to Hindus and sometimes by Sunnis to Shias.
Then the media decide which are more important and which should be used to cause outrage.
And we dance to the tune which the media sing.
Maybe we could stop dancing?
As we all know, both India and Pakistan are nuclear powers and the possibility of a nuclear war is always there.
For the NYT to put incidents like this one in a prominent place is to increase the risk of war, whereby millions of Hindus and Muslims will die.
But hey, the NYT will have more to report and will sell more newspapers.
22
Once again, we see religion at work.
Religion, on balance, has been a curse and a plague on the human race.
Religion, on balance, has been a curse and a plague on the human race.
28
". It is unfathomable that the ancient Hindu horror at the taking of life, any life — the very same doctrine of ahimsa, or nonviolence,"
This is actually not true and if Aatish does not know this he should not be writing about Hinduism. The Bhagavadgita is essentially a dialogue between Krishna and Arjuna where the first tells the second that killing to protect the Dharma is the duty of a warrior.
Do Google "Kali images" and you will see how fierce a goddess she is - not exactly a practioner of ahimsa.
True, Ahimsa is an important value for SOME Hindus, but by no means for all.
Why on earth are YOU writing about Hinduism? Because you are a Muslim and the New York Times is practicing political correctness?
I do appreciate your feelings, it is the Times that I am angry with.
This is actually not true and if Aatish does not know this he should not be writing about Hinduism. The Bhagavadgita is essentially a dialogue between Krishna and Arjuna where the first tells the second that killing to protect the Dharma is the duty of a warrior.
Do Google "Kali images" and you will see how fierce a goddess she is - not exactly a practioner of ahimsa.
True, Ahimsa is an important value for SOME Hindus, but by no means for all.
Why on earth are YOU writing about Hinduism? Because you are a Muslim and the New York Times is practicing political correctness?
I do appreciate your feelings, it is the Times that I am angry with.
11
Aatish, you are now a resident of the Volunteer State. You wrote about some 9 months ago in the WSJ ("The day I got my green card") and gushed "And already I could feel the warmth of the American welcome. Here, at last, was a country where a document meant something! I was overcome by what must be one of the most unfashionable emotions of our time: boundless, unqualified love for America."
Now that you are living in Trump's America (with Bannon playing the evil priest and Sessions as the axe man). You should be careful because that sense of welcome has since eroded as Srinivas Kuchibhotla, Alok Madasan, Harnish Patel and Deep Rai found out.
When these incidents occurred, no one rushed out op-eds blaming all white people, Christians, Donald Trump or his cabal and certainly not the whole nation. You are a brown guy and you live in TN which lynched some 250 Black Men through 1968. You're in danger of being tagged an Arab or Iranian or whatever fevers the imagination of angry people.
In time, you will come to realize another more elevated American emotion: the ability to calmly wait for facts and justice before 'lynching' a religion, nation and its leaders. Talk to Roger Cohen.
Now that you are living in Trump's America (with Bannon playing the evil priest and Sessions as the axe man). You should be careful because that sense of welcome has since eroded as Srinivas Kuchibhotla, Alok Madasan, Harnish Patel and Deep Rai found out.
When these incidents occurred, no one rushed out op-eds blaming all white people, Christians, Donald Trump or his cabal and certainly not the whole nation. You are a brown guy and you live in TN which lynched some 250 Black Men through 1968. You're in danger of being tagged an Arab or Iranian or whatever fevers the imagination of angry people.
In time, you will come to realize another more elevated American emotion: the ability to calmly wait for facts and justice before 'lynching' a religion, nation and its leaders. Talk to Roger Cohen.
2
The tide of anti-Muslim cow-worship and mass hysteria is a monstrous perversion of basic standards of decency and tolerance. India under the BJP is a place of increasing horror which seems to want to prove Jinnah was right when he argued that Muslims would be crushed in a Hindu-majority India after Independence. Shame on Indians who connive at such horrors! (And for BJP fellow-travelers and trolls - this does not mean blind support of the policies of the Congress party either.)
13
I think I will not visit India
7
Shameful what happened. Cannot be condoned by anyone. However, I just reviewed Mr. Taseer's articles from the last 12 months. The theme is common - demonize the Hindus...
11
From 1864 to 1968, the paramilitary arm of the Democrat party, the KKK, lynched about 5,000 people -- 3,500 blacks and 1,500 white Republicans.
4
Shameful! coming from a nation that produced Gandhi.
5
Very amusing comment-- and we produced many great leaders but that doesn't mean the population follows their teachings. Just like we have Trump as our leader but most of us would not dare behave like him or treat people the way he does. India is a country with numerous ethnic and religious groups not to mention multiple languages and a very high poverty rate.
6
Heartbreaking article. And shame on those of my fellow Indians commenting here who ask why the author did not write about Pakistan. Why should he? Two wrongs do not make a right. Shame too on those of us who point out that he is a Muslim - if a Hindu did not feel like introspecting and writing such a piece, more's the pity. As for the commentator who claimed that the lynching did cause 'concern and consternation in India', isn't it true that no political leader has had the courage or integrity to condemn it? Condemnation as been left to journalists and common citizens. And thank God for them.
48
There are seven billion people on the planet and more than a billion of them in India.
Bad things are bound to happen now and then.
Some of these things will be done BY Muslims. Some TO Muslims. Some to Shias by Sunnis.
Now newspapers need to sell and they need to emphasize every bad thing that happens.
Did UAL behave badly? Surely worth a lot in increased publication.
Did Trump accuse Obama of spying on him? Yet another outrage.
The media play into our desire to have a perfect world and since the world is not perfect and never will be, the media have a lot to report.
But they might consider that they are doing harm. Or WE might consider that the media make themselves more important by scaring us all the time.
There are more than 170 million Muslims in India. A lot of psychological harm will be done to them by making them feel unsafe.
Bad things are bound to happen now and then.
Some of these things will be done BY Muslims. Some TO Muslims. Some to Shias by Sunnis.
Now newspapers need to sell and they need to emphasize every bad thing that happens.
Did UAL behave badly? Surely worth a lot in increased publication.
Did Trump accuse Obama of spying on him? Yet another outrage.
The media play into our desire to have a perfect world and since the world is not perfect and never will be, the media have a lot to report.
But they might consider that they are doing harm. Or WE might consider that the media make themselves more important by scaring us all the time.
There are more than 170 million Muslims in India. A lot of psychological harm will be done to them by making them feel unsafe.
7
Intel collected on people working for Trump DID indeed get circulated around the Obama administration and the innocent peoples' names WERE publicized. Each of those events was a felony, Susan Rice.
A mentality of mob violence has overtaken American colleges when conservatives speak.
6
Had one or two recent situations ended in the conservative speaker not protected by guards, we very easily could have seen an innocent beaten ot stomped to death, all recorded on progressives. smartphones.
In our coastal media, you won't hear of the recent fight involving dozens of people in Berkeley having street fights watched by relaxed policemen sitting in squad cars. you can tell the Democrats because they all had ISIS-style head coverings.
Maybe one Democrat fighter in ten was arrested.
In our coastal media, you won't hear of the recent fight involving dozens of people in Berkeley having street fights watched by relaxed policemen sitting in squad cars. you can tell the Democrats because they all had ISIS-style head coverings.
Maybe one Democrat fighter in ten was arrested.
2
Thing is Garz, those "conservatives" aren't being killed are they? Your comment is, to put it euphemistically, less than thoughtful -- and well wide of the mark.
3
Right. Your sense of proportion is breathtakingly bad. I suppose shooting people in a black church, and shooting people for being Muslims or from "over there" is not mob violence. After all these were "isolated individuals" who had nothing to do with the alt-right racism that has taken over the internet and the U.S. government.
7
I looked at a lot of comments- generally they are lamenting that there is too much violence in the world today. I say: lets have more respect for all people including both sexes: Then lets have rational family planning for everybody to decide for their own body. If this were done, there would be less population, more care and respect for the children that are born - less poverty - humans who are enjoying life committing less violence.
4
My Grandfather emigrated apparently from Brest-Litovsk circa 1914. When Leo Frank was lynched circa 1917, he supposedly perceived a "pogrom" and thus fled from newly adopted Atlanta home. His relatives apparently weren't as fearful, and today descendants are distant cousins. Note is posted to explain an impact of lynching.
3
Lynchings in the South occurred much more recently than a century ago, and in many cases, the law was complicit, not paralyzed.
25
I guess Mr Taseer succeded in his objective - creating the mass chest-beating and sweeping demonization of hindus and indians - with statements like "india slipped beyond pale". This is pretty much what we see happening over and over again in western media. Demonization of the hindu continues unabated - often By the very same people who holler loudly against sweeping generalization of their own muslim community that happens in western political discourse these days. The hipocrisy is breathtaking.
This lynching is a criminal act by a bunch of goons. There is no conspiracy. No trend. No majoritarianism. India continues to be sea of tranquility for muslims given whats going on in middle east and rising islamophobia In the west.
Yes. The chief minister of the state where it happened should have spoken up against the lynching. Even if she didnt that does not mean entire india is slipping beyond the pale.
Now lets flip the topic the other way. Who speaks up when hindus are subjected to atrocity? Nobody spoke up when 59 hindu pilgrims are burnt in gujrat 2002. Nobody spoke when hindus are driven out of kashmir the only muslim majority state in india. Nobody speaks about terrible atrocities against hindus in pakistan and bangladesh.
Warts and all - Hindus have done good by the minorities and will continue to do so. But they are also very aware how the world is treating them. They are always accepted fair minded criticism but Sweeping demonizations got to stop.
This lynching is a criminal act by a bunch of goons. There is no conspiracy. No trend. No majoritarianism. India continues to be sea of tranquility for muslims given whats going on in middle east and rising islamophobia In the west.
Yes. The chief minister of the state where it happened should have spoken up against the lynching. Even if she didnt that does not mean entire india is slipping beyond the pale.
Now lets flip the topic the other way. Who speaks up when hindus are subjected to atrocity? Nobody spoke up when 59 hindu pilgrims are burnt in gujrat 2002. Nobody spoke when hindus are driven out of kashmir the only muslim majority state in india. Nobody speaks about terrible atrocities against hindus in pakistan and bangladesh.
Warts and all - Hindus have done good by the minorities and will continue to do so. But they are also very aware how the world is treating them. They are always accepted fair minded criticism but Sweeping demonizations got to stop.
18
To all those who have found an easy target in Modi, do some research first. Does the term "triple Talaq" mean anything to you?
If not, read up and then comment.
If not, read up and then comment.
2
Interesting how the only examples of lynchings the author can find are in the American South. let's all just forget the public murders that occur daily in Muslim nations. Let's forget the massacre of the jews of Grenada, the Christians of the Levant prior to the First Crusade, the deaths of Hindus under the Timurids, and a whole slew of other atrocities committed by Muslims.
Of course (And I can't believe I have to say this) past atrocity never justifies current atrocity. Ever. But the author should have taken this as an excellent opportunity to talk about the dangers of religious fundamentalism regardless of origin. We have seen religious extremists promote horror and violence for generations, be they Muslim or christian, hindu or buddhist. The references to the American south simply serve to signal the authors virtue to an American audience. And I am not convinced.
Of course (And I can't believe I have to say this) past atrocity never justifies current atrocity. Ever. But the author should have taken this as an excellent opportunity to talk about the dangers of religious fundamentalism regardless of origin. We have seen religious extremists promote horror and violence for generations, be they Muslim or christian, hindu or buddhist. The references to the American south simply serve to signal the authors virtue to an American audience. And I am not convinced.
12
"...whether in the American South a century ago."
Get your facts straight, Mr. Taseer. A man, Michael McDonald, was lynched in the US as recently as 1981, in Mobile, Alabama. and there were lynchings a-plenty in the 50s and 60s.
Get your facts straight, Mr. Taseer. A man, Michael McDonald, was lynched in the US as recently as 1981, in Mobile, Alabama. and there were lynchings a-plenty in the 50s and 60s.
11
Yet another example of the horrors caused by systems of religion.
5
Religion... ugh.
3
Just goes to show that Religions are all bad and make their believers into evil people.
To all those whitebread yuppies who embrace Hinduism as a sage religion, know you are supporting people who murder others over cows.
Ill probably never visit India because Im transgender and they treat Hijras like me like garbage. In the Hindu religion, all Im good for is prostitution and dancing in peoples homes until they pay me to leave. NYT can talk about transgender Hindu goddessess all they want, I know that people like me are less than cows in the minds of Hindus.
If I ever do visit though, I plan to eat a big burger right in front of their made up Gods. They treat my people like garbage, and I dont respect people who treat my kind like garbage.
To all those whitebread yuppies who embrace Hinduism as a sage religion, know you are supporting people who murder others over cows.
Ill probably never visit India because Im transgender and they treat Hijras like me like garbage. In the Hindu religion, all Im good for is prostitution and dancing in peoples homes until they pay me to leave. NYT can talk about transgender Hindu goddessess all they want, I know that people like me are less than cows in the minds of Hindus.
If I ever do visit though, I plan to eat a big burger right in front of their made up Gods. They treat my people like garbage, and I dont respect people who treat my kind like garbage.
2
Looking forward to reading something from this gentleman on the killings by the ISIS and
2
India is turning into a Hindu version of Saudi Arabia.The same smug right wing loonies are at the same time desperate to flood the West.The hypocrisy of people who claim to be the guardians of the purity of Indian culture.Watch the comments here from Indians who will flood this comment board.They will go after the authors origin,the NYT and everything except the evil inside them.This is a country that thrives on exploitation,attacks Africans in India and at the same time dons the mantle of the victim everytime so it can blaming the West for everything to squeeze out more aid.Like Saudi Arabia and Turkey it should be shamed and shunned.
3
Don't worry your fears are not grounded in reality. There are enough checks and balances in our democratic, legislative , judiciary and executive systems for moving away from secularism.
3
How 'bout that religion, eh!?!
Meanwhile, are cows in India still dying because they are eating plastic bags in the garbage in the streets and their intestines become blocked?
[[Non-implementation of plastic waste rules chokes cows to torturous death in India]] http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/environment/flora-fauna/Non-impl...
Just checking.
Meanwhile, are cows in India still dying because they are eating plastic bags in the garbage in the streets and their intestines become blocked?
[[Non-implementation of plastic waste rules chokes cows to torturous death in India]] http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/environment/flora-fauna/Non-impl...
Just checking.
3
what do you to this Roger Cohen of "Ample India"?
1
Amazing how anything in the NYT can be twisted to be anti trump. He was not "rejected by most", he was actually selected by a majority of the electoral college, which is the only thing that matters in a presidential election.
When the indian engineer was killed by a racist drunk in a bar, we heard how the Indians were now gonna stay at home. Maybe that would be for the best. We don't need this kind of stone age barbaric behavior from a people like this
THis has been going on for years in India. When was a governor he sanctioned similar mob scenes where muslims were hacked to death.
When the indian engineer was killed by a racist drunk in a bar, we heard how the Indians were now gonna stay at home. Maybe that would be for the best. We don't need this kind of stone age barbaric behavior from a people like this
THis has been going on for years in India. When was a governor he sanctioned similar mob scenes where muslims were hacked to death.
Sanctioned mob scenes..... Can you provide any evidence ? Highest judicial court of India acquired him of all charges framed by other political party in power.
3
If some Hindu is not blowing hot air up NYT's third rate journalism, that lied to its own people, suddenly there is all this news about mob lynching, blah, blah. After all it is NYT that supports war on Muslims in Islamic countries...but focuses on some mob violence in India. What a bunch of hypocrites you guys are. Write about the growing alliance between Israel and Saudi Arabia...and see if those journalist lives Taseer, or has his or her reputation ruined for life (with gossip and innuendos).
Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Israel with NYC and NYT as foot soldiers...Is that a triad or pentapoly?
Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Israel with NYC and NYT as foot soldiers...Is that a triad or pentapoly?
4
There are other examples of this sort of public degradation and persecution.
The first one that comes to mind is some of what happened after Germany and Austria merged in the infamous Anchluss. (Most people say Germany took over Austria, but Austria was severely Nazified and most Austrians wanted to become part of the Third Reich.) Jews were forced to scrub the streets with toothbrushes as non Jews cursed them and ranted with manic rage. I remember the case of a Jewish kindergarden girl who was not allowed to go to the bathroom. She accidently urinated in the classroom. Her teacher screeched: "This is how the filthy Jews relieve themselves." The beards of Jewish men were torn off in public. Of course, these were only the sadistic preliminaries and were nothing compared to the poisen gas that Sean Spicer isn't aware of.
The first one that comes to mind is some of what happened after Germany and Austria merged in the infamous Anchluss. (Most people say Germany took over Austria, but Austria was severely Nazified and most Austrians wanted to become part of the Third Reich.) Jews were forced to scrub the streets with toothbrushes as non Jews cursed them and ranted with manic rage. I remember the case of a Jewish kindergarden girl who was not allowed to go to the bathroom. She accidently urinated in the classroom. Her teacher screeched: "This is how the filthy Jews relieve themselves." The beards of Jewish men were torn off in public. Of course, these were only the sadistic preliminaries and were nothing compared to the poisen gas that Sean Spicer isn't aware of.
5
Idiot religionists, spreading their superstitious idiocy and willing to murder for it, too.
2
1
india is responsible for their nation...as is the US...but for the most influential country to elect an illiterate mean-sipirted unevolved human being as a leader sets the worst example
8
Another mediocre piece from a pseudo intellectual, no wonder ultra sub-mediocre like Tump accuses the NYTimes for "fake news". It is difficult to find a nuance and objective account from your opinion piece. This writer needs critical thinking 101 to avoid his bad reasoning. He has poisoned his thesis before giving any evidence.
5
Ah for a world of peaceful, tolerant agnostics!
6
One wonders if the erudite columnist Cohen has read this after favorably comparing India's assimilative heroics to America's. Judging from his attitude of superiority - a common failing of globalists, NYT columnists and functioning psychopaths - reading it would not provoke thoughtful introspection. Perhaps his next column could deal with the subject of keeping one's mouth shut before their brain wakes up.
4
If this had been an Arab Muslim country, missiles would have been flying towards it. A country with a leader accused of the massacre of thousands of minorities would be placed under heavy sanctions. But Hindu India gets a pass, while our latest armaments are tested out on the hapless Arabs while the NYT cheers on.
1
.........Thousands of minorities? Article clearly mentions 6 lynchings from 2015. India is a country with population of 1.2 million people. Do the maths instead of propaganda.
5
Once again we are reminded that religious belief is a testimony to the ignorance, stupidity, fear, primitivism and backwardness of the human race.
6
Look, too, at Alabama....
1
Modi in India. Putin in Russia. Erdogan in Turkey. Netanyahu in Israel. Trump in America. Ethno-Nationalists. They win elections. Scapegoat minorities. Exaggerate legitimate internal and external threats. Demonize all opponents. Seek to destroy independent media to control all information. Seek to restore the glory - always a false narrative - days of the majority. Foster an illiberal democracy that erodes and destroys democratic institutions and civil society. The promise of better times, safety and economic prosperity for the real citizens - the majority. A majority rule that is tyranny of the majority and trampling of minority rights - at times justifying the killing of the other, the enemy within. A cult of personality. The only leader, a strongman, capable of Making Their Country Great Again. India or is that Saffron robed Modi's Hindustan First. Russia or is that Czar Putin's Soviet Empire First. Turkey or is that Sultan Erdogan's Ottoman Empire First. Israel or is that King Bibi's Jewish State First. America or is that Emporer Trump's White America First.
34
And now, Pakistan has threatened to hang a Hindu. Is this the way civilized societies should act. Whether either man in Hind or Muslim, or Buddhists, Jew, Christian, etc, shouldn't matter.
Making a spectacle--a TV/Internet "must see" just makes it all that more obscene. Thee ae men, could be a woman another time, and hey might have spouses, children, parents, etc. Have they been given a fair trial--in eit=hre country?
https://thetruthoncommonsense.com
Making a spectacle--a TV/Internet "must see" just makes it all that more obscene. Thee ae men, could be a woman another time, and hey might have spouses, children, parents, etc. Have they been given a fair trial--in eit=hre country?
https://thetruthoncommonsense.com
3
" A lynching is a majority’s way of telling a minority population that the law cannot protect it." How long before this either leads to home grown terrorism or actual genocide? Sooner or later, Authoritarianism leads to the death camps. All over the world Fascism is gaining power. If it isn't stopped we will see the killing fields all over again.
8
Don't you worry about isolated incidents of malfeasance. India has a strong judiciary to take care of anomalies, and vibrant democracy to take care of dictatorship.
2
Did you read the article. One of Taseer's main points was that Modi was encouraging, or at least, looking the other way at mob violence. I deliberately quoted his statement: "A lynching is a majority's way of telling a minority population that the law cannot protect it." The problem is if you have the head of a national government indirectly encouraging, and looking the other way in the face of lynching and mob violence then your "strong judiciary" and "vibrant democracy" are proving to be not up to the task.
1
This situation mirrors Muslim murders of individuals who do not respect their sacred symbols, such as the Charlie hebdo journalists or the filmmaker Theo van Gogh, not to mention the fatwas on Salman Rushdie or the Danish cartoonists.
21
Absolutely not. State-sanctioned mob executions (lynchings) are completely different from terrorist acts.
Terrorism is condemned by a vast majority of people in any community, including those on whose behalf it purportedly is committed.
Lynching, to the contrary, sends the message that the majority and the powerful support murderous acts against a minority.
Terrorism is condemned by a vast majority of people in any community, including those on whose behalf it purportedly is committed.
Lynching, to the contrary, sends the message that the majority and the powerful support murderous acts against a minority.
2
Many wrongs don't make any rights they just make the situation worse and encourages government to sanction mass hysteria and murder.
1
what's your point?
"India is slipping beyond the pale." I fear America is too...
5
This is extremely shameful of India
4
This type of violence is common throughout India. The culpability of the current PM Modi in mob violence against Muslims that resulted in mass murder kept him on a no visa list of US immigration for many years. Add that to the everyday gang rapes of women, children, and tourists, rampant terrorism, and general abuse of lower caste Indians, you'll understand why India has a long, long way to go before becoming a developed nation, no matter how well it does economically in the future.
10
Ofcourse he is on no visa list, untill US realised their error when highest judicial court in India exonerated the current PM of all charges based on evidence and facts devoid of political rhetoric and narrative.
4
"... Mr. Khan, a Muslim, stood accused of smuggling cows, which are sacred to Hindus. ..."
Religion is an insult to human dignity. With or without it you would have good people doing good things and evil people doing evil things. But for good people to do evil things, that takes religion. -- Weinberg
Can we, will we ever ditch religion? Cows are sacred? Why aren't other mammals such as humans considered sacred? What adult thinking person thinks a cow is sacred? What does that even mean? What adult thinking person thinks some alleged creator of this immense universe over 10 billion light years across cares whether or not if women wears a hijab?
Islam and Hindu (as well as every other organized religion) are extremely silly man made constructs used by the few at the top to herd and manipulate the many suckers at the bottom. One of the dangerous side effects is the legitimacy provided to extreme lunatic fundamentalist fringes that are associated with every religion. It is acceptable to strap on a suicide vest and light it off in a crowd, or it is acceptable to murder a guy for maybe, and without a shred of evidence, stealing a 'sacred' cow, etc.
To be fair to Hindus, I should state that Christians in America lynched countless blacks for trying to make some kind of move on America's sacred cow - white women.
Religion is an insult to human dignity. With or without it you would have good people doing good things and evil people doing evil things. But for good people to do evil things, that takes religion. -- Weinberg
Can we, will we ever ditch religion? Cows are sacred? Why aren't other mammals such as humans considered sacred? What adult thinking person thinks a cow is sacred? What does that even mean? What adult thinking person thinks some alleged creator of this immense universe over 10 billion light years across cares whether or not if women wears a hijab?
Islam and Hindu (as well as every other organized religion) are extremely silly man made constructs used by the few at the top to herd and manipulate the many suckers at the bottom. One of the dangerous side effects is the legitimacy provided to extreme lunatic fundamentalist fringes that are associated with every religion. It is acceptable to strap on a suicide vest and light it off in a crowd, or it is acceptable to murder a guy for maybe, and without a shred of evidence, stealing a 'sacred' cow, etc.
To be fair to Hindus, I should state that Christians in America lynched countless blacks for trying to make some kind of move on America's sacred cow - white women.
13
India must do a lot of self-examination of its violent underbelly. It’s not only Muslims who are at risk there, but also Africans who are under attack due to racism:
Attacks Against African Students Rise in India, Rights Advocates Say
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/29/world/asia/african-students-india-mob...
Attacks Against African Students Rise in India, Rights Advocates Say
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/29/world/asia/african-students-india-mob...
4
I seriously dont get it! Its not OK to kill a cow but its OK to kill a man that killed a cow.
69
It is not okay to kill a cow because it is illegal in many Indian states.
It is not okay to kill a man that killed a cow because it too is illegal across India.
I think now you will understand.
It is not okay to kill a man that killed a cow because it too is illegal across India.
I think now you will understand.
1
"Its not OK to kill a cow but its OK to kill a man that killed a cow."
Blame it on the mental illness popularly known as religion.
Blame it on the mental illness popularly known as religion.
3
Therese, read the story again. The guy was smuggling cows across state lines - the same as people in America smuggle cigarettes across state lines.
2
Mr. Modi’s India is shifting back toward unbridled Hindu nationalism as the media is now finding note worthy but it is also under intense courtship by both of the major world powers, China and America. However ugly those practices may become they will not find censorship from these two either, Mr. Taseer.
It was a Hindu nationalist serving his master who laid down Mahatma Gandhi.
It was a Hindu nationalist serving his master who laid down Mahatma Gandhi.
4
What is happening with the world? If religion cannot be used for an individual's spiritual upliftment and to move away from the wretched, violent instincts of humans, then religion has no purpose in the 21st century.
And to see how vicious narrow-mindedness destroys all, it is enough for South Asians (and others) to watch Pakistan. The terrifying blasphemy laws of Pakistan have been used for decades to persecute and kill minorities (Christians, Hindus), then to persecute minority Muslim sects like Ahmedis and Shias and then now apparently even applied by mobs to lynch Sunni Muslim university students - and as the author rightly states a lynching is much more than a murder, especially a religiously motivated lynching, like this horrifying one that Pakistan's leading newspaper Dawn discusses.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1326729/mardan-university-student-killed-alleg...
In the 21st century, whether in the 57 self-identified Islamic countries or in the nominally secular countries of the West, India, Japan etc., religion can either contribute to peace and harmony for all (which at their core, I think, is what all religions set out to do, in different ways) or accelerate the destruction of human civilization. I still hope it is not the latter.
And to see how vicious narrow-mindedness destroys all, it is enough for South Asians (and others) to watch Pakistan. The terrifying blasphemy laws of Pakistan have been used for decades to persecute and kill minorities (Christians, Hindus), then to persecute minority Muslim sects like Ahmedis and Shias and then now apparently even applied by mobs to lynch Sunni Muslim university students - and as the author rightly states a lynching is much more than a murder, especially a religiously motivated lynching, like this horrifying one that Pakistan's leading newspaper Dawn discusses.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1326729/mardan-university-student-killed-alleg...
In the 21st century, whether in the 57 self-identified Islamic countries or in the nominally secular countries of the West, India, Japan etc., religion can either contribute to peace and harmony for all (which at their core, I think, is what all religions set out to do, in different ways) or accelerate the destruction of human civilization. I still hope it is not the latter.
2
While traveling in India as a participant of a cultural exchange group I met with many Hindu professional businessmen. Members of our group asked if any of our hosts had traveled to the US and if so what was their favorite American food. They all replied pizza,KFC and steak. When we expressed surprise saying"your cows are sacred how can you eat steak"? They replied "their cows were sacred but our cows were delicious.
10
"the silence ......., which all have witnessed" .This speaks of the entitlement of the minority community to be appeased. Every time a extra judicial act affecting muslims is involved, they make a huge issue out of it. Did media and press remain silent ? On the contrary they highlighted the issue. Take a judicial recourse if you are not satisfied with the state apparatus or take a democratic route through elections.
"whole nation, through its silence, is complicit". By this logic muslim ummah should be out there protesting and fighting the ISIS and other radical Muslims who practice perverse interpretation of islam!.. Can't you see the silly argument of calling whole nation complicit through its silence , for acts committed by few?
"whole nation, through its silence, is complicit". By this logic muslim ummah should be out there protesting and fighting the ISIS and other radical Muslims who practice perverse interpretation of islam!.. Can't you see the silly argument of calling whole nation complicit through its silence , for acts committed by few?
1
No.
1
Mr. Aatish Taseer is between a rock and a hard place.
He can either live in his mother's India, which he has just described, or he can live in father's Pakistan, which has been described here
https://www.dawn.com/news/1327277/we-the-evil
He can either live in his mother's India, which he has just described, or he can live in father's Pakistan, which has been described here
https://www.dawn.com/news/1327277/we-the-evil
2
Ah, the religiously intolerant always judging and actively seeking the destruction of those who don't interpret things in the same manner. Unfortunately these folks seem to be taking over the world, including in America where the zealots want everyone to march to their tune, and who in God's name, justify a dictatorship of belief.
3
India is embarking on a dangerous path to regain a sense of Hindu pride. Let us hope it doesn't finish in tears as it did for Europe a century ago
2
Terrible. Murder in the guise of morality. Justice demands that this be stopped.
2
What do we call it when a gang member walks into a cafe and guns down four associates/members of the rival gang which killed the gunman's fellow gang member the day before? Is that not a lynching, or do you need a mob to conduct a lynching? Do three shooters make a lynching? Aren't the shooters sending a message? Isn't it a lynching anytime we go outside the law to impose punishment?
While I cannot condone an extra-judicial killing in principle, at least not in polite company, viscerally and even intellectually I understand it. Our government does it everyday, except a lot of those killed are completely innocent of any crime--they were just standing too close to the bad guy. Sound familiar?
While I cannot condone an extra-judicial killing in principle, at least not in polite company, viscerally and even intellectually I understand it. Our government does it everyday, except a lot of those killed are completely innocent of any crime--they were just standing too close to the bad guy. Sound familiar?
1
A comment about lynchings in the US. This article states that lynchings took place a century ago in the US. However, according to Digital History http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/disp_textbook.cfm?smtid=2&psid=3178, the last official lynching of an African-American was less than 50 years ago (1968), unless you count the dragging to death of James Byrd in Texas by 3 white men, which was less than 20 years ago (1998).
I do not know the data for lynchings of transgendered people, or others, in the US.
I do not know the data for lynchings of transgendered people, or others, in the US.
3
Where to begin on this horrible story. Earlier in the month there was a story on Modi cracking down on nongovernmental organizations that help the poor. In particular Modi does not want Christian religious organizations to run charities in India. Really so you would rather shut down schools that help the poorest of the poor because they are not Hindu?! This is madness.
Modi is a Hindu fundamentalist. Being Hindu myself it saddens me to hear my relatives defend him and ignore abhorrent behavior. But then again this venerated head of India instigated mob violence against muslims. Mobs burned muslims alive. A reckoning will be had for Hindus that participate in such evil violence perhaps in another lifetime. Hindus need to start speaking up and condemning this violence. Where are the Hindu religious leaders? Sickening.
Modi is a Hindu fundamentalist. Being Hindu myself it saddens me to hear my relatives defend him and ignore abhorrent behavior. But then again this venerated head of India instigated mob violence against muslims. Mobs burned muslims alive. A reckoning will be had for Hindus that participate in such evil violence perhaps in another lifetime. Hindus need to start speaking up and condemning this violence. Where are the Hindu religious leaders? Sickening.
23
"But then again this venerated head of India instigated mob violence against muslims. Mobs burned muslims alive"
An another case of selective amnesia? Commentator gladly ignored to mention it was muslim mobs who burned Hindus and Hindus retaliated back burning Muslims.
I regret and will never support mob justice.But both Hindus and Muslims should learn to live and let live
An another case of selective amnesia? Commentator gladly ignored to mention it was muslim mobs who burned Hindus and Hindus retaliated back burning Muslims.
I regret and will never support mob justice.But both Hindus and Muslims should learn to live and let live
3
Regarding charities, every one is welcome as long as they abide by the laws of India while in India. All charities (Christian, Muslim and non-religious like green peace) which flouted indian laws are asked to ether comply or close shop.
Are Christian charities above indian lawwhen they operate in India?
Are Christian charities above indian lawwhen they operate in India?
1
Taking a larger view, I think the very conservative and lethal religious stance among many Hindus reflect the existential anxiety that afflicts people whoever they are. Would people kill each other in such horrific fashion if they didn't harbor the need to take their misbegotten convictions to the ultimate end? Apparently, do anything in order to cling to the convictions that get you through this life. Ever try talking to anyone who has ideas are so transparently wrong but chained to those ideas? If you give up those ideas, who are you? Naked in this world and having to struggle to find a new path. Many do not relish that path.
1
Lynching of a Muslim in Rajisthan is tyranny of the majority , evident from the fact that central government of India tried to cover it up. Even the CM of the province minced the words by double talk. Indian constitution based on secularism is gradually taking the shape of Hindutva, the doctrine of absolute , dominant Hinduism.
2
The doctrine of absolute , dominant Hinduism?. Tell me country which in which Muslims are a minority, but enjoy the privileges of polygamy, state funded trips to Meccah for the poor to name few?
Why does majority tax payers money spent for minority community religious obligation? Be sensible?
Why does majority tax payers money spent for minority community religious obligation? Be sensible?
4
This is very sad mob mentality, and leaders have to step in to arrest this immediately. One cannot win votes from a vote bank and not deliver. The problem is arriving at a solution where the cow and the human can be saved. NY Times has given this cow issue the maximum coverage over the last several years, without describing the complexity of the problem
Thank you for this. Unfortunately, Mr. Roger Cohen after amplifying on the ampleness of India (NYT April 14) from the lushly verdant hills and crystal waters of Kerala is already at his next stop: Paris. This should be a must read for him, perhaps resulting in an emendation of his earlier thesis.
1
I am horrified and saddened to hear this. The India I grew up in was a better place than this. All over the world, it seems tribalism is flourishing resulting in brutality and madness. My question: Where are the good people, the good Hindus in this tragedy? I wish they'd stand up and say "enough" and defend the humanity of the Indian Muslims.
4
Good Hindus condemn these acts of mob justice and does not participate and try to stop if they are present.
What else do you expect? Leave their day job and protect the humanity of indian muslim?
What else do you expect? Leave their day job and protect the humanity of indian muslim?
1
Vigilante justice is deplorable. But many nations have customs and regulations and laws on what food is allowed and what is not. Many countries in the middle east ban pork. In 2015, a US-Israeli soldier almost went to jail in Israel for eating a sandwich with pork.
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/israeli-soldier-given-prison-time-for-eating...
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/israeli-soldier-given-prison-time-for-eating...
4
Mr. Taseer's concluding point -- Hinduism is being used as a justification for murder -- is not supported by his argument. . Rather, his point is something like this: Hindus should know better, in light of certain doctrines they promote.
But why should Hindu's know better? Buddhist's also should know better, yet they slaughtered Hindu's in Sri Lanka. Christian's should know better, yet they persecuted Jews, and one another to boot. A clue to how this works may be gleaned from Thailand, where Buddhism is the state religion. Therefore, to fight against communists, the religious establishment looked into the matter and concluded that communists were not humans, it was okay to remove communists from the protection of the law, and no Buddhist would lose merit for killing a communist.
Human beings have been up to this sort of thing since time immemorial, under one guise or another.
The question here, then, is Modi, and his eagerness to exploit the worst in his followers, who are simply human. He's not the first or the last to do this. He is well on his way to joining the gallery of the worst of humanity's leaders. His wickedness will live in memory. I wish for Mr. Taseer that he may live to see the day when the Hindus of the world are ashamed of Modi, and ashamed to have succumbed to his machinations.
It must be added that the nationalism animating Modi is a fairly recent phenomenon. India caught this particular disease from the West.
But why should Hindu's know better? Buddhist's also should know better, yet they slaughtered Hindu's in Sri Lanka. Christian's should know better, yet they persecuted Jews, and one another to boot. A clue to how this works may be gleaned from Thailand, where Buddhism is the state religion. Therefore, to fight against communists, the religious establishment looked into the matter and concluded that communists were not humans, it was okay to remove communists from the protection of the law, and no Buddhist would lose merit for killing a communist.
Human beings have been up to this sort of thing since time immemorial, under one guise or another.
The question here, then, is Modi, and his eagerness to exploit the worst in his followers, who are simply human. He's not the first or the last to do this. He is well on his way to joining the gallery of the worst of humanity's leaders. His wickedness will live in memory. I wish for Mr. Taseer that he may live to see the day when the Hindus of the world are ashamed of Modi, and ashamed to have succumbed to his machinations.
It must be added that the nationalism animating Modi is a fairly recent phenomenon. India caught this particular disease from the West.
2
This is a very shocking and I am horrified this happened in modern india!
1
This is just a one sided article. India is the 2nd most populated country with a population of 1.3 billion people in the world and these incidents can happen as they do in America too. But this not supported by either the Government or the Hindu majority and the culprits will be caught and punished. India is probably the only secular democracy which has permitted its Muslim minority to govern itself by Sharia including polygamy and instant divorce. No other Western nation such as US , UK or Western Europe has allowed that.
Hindus have been one of the most persecuted people for the last 900 years. It is estimated that during the seven centuries of Muslim rule of India over 500 million Hindus were killed or forcibly converted to Islam. Countries including Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Malaysia were all Hindu countries at one time. The Muslim population of these countries including over 220 million Muslims in India is over 700 Million.
Instead of publishing these anti India articles, NYT should also investigate the persecution of minorities in neighboring Muslim Pakistan where the anti- blasphemy law is used not only to persecute the Christians, Sikhs and Hindu minorities but also a Muslim like Mr. Mashal Khan who was recently killed in Pakistan by a mob of fellow students for expressing his views.
Hindus have been one of the most persecuted people for the last 900 years. It is estimated that during the seven centuries of Muslim rule of India over 500 million Hindus were killed or forcibly converted to Islam. Countries including Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Malaysia were all Hindu countries at one time. The Muslim population of these countries including over 220 million Muslims in India is over 700 Million.
Instead of publishing these anti India articles, NYT should also investigate the persecution of minorities in neighboring Muslim Pakistan where the anti- blasphemy law is used not only to persecute the Christians, Sikhs and Hindu minorities but also a Muslim like Mr. Mashal Khan who was recently killed in Pakistan by a mob of fellow students for expressing his views.
7
India is not the equivalent of Pakistan, a much much worse off country. India needs to look ahead not backwards. Shame.
"Too cowed to speak"? Good one. I guess.
2
Yes.
Completely unpardonable. I am as concerned as you are about excesses in India.
As are the lynchings that go on in Pakistan and elsewhere in the world.
Aatish - how about occasionally talking about those as well? Including that fact that they have built a shrine to Quadri?
Justice does get delivered in India - and a very vibrant press does hold people accountable.
Completely unpardonable. I am as concerned as you are about excesses in India.
As are the lynchings that go on in Pakistan and elsewhere in the world.
Aatish - how about occasionally talking about those as well? Including that fact that they have built a shrine to Quadri?
Justice does get delivered in India - and a very vibrant press does hold people accountable.
4
The Indian PM dutifully responsds to most minor events that can be blamed toMuslin andywhere in the world. He immediately twweeted for the stockhom "We condemn the attack in Stockholm. My thoughts are with the families of the deceased & prayers with those injured. " However in his own nation he has been completely silent. In last event of Dadri Lynching , it took him one year to make a statement after lots of international pressure. It took him 12 years and natioanl election to commnet about the massacre of Muslim in his watch in 2002 to say ing "we all feel sorry when puppy comes under the car"
In India there is increasing concern that minorities are being told they exist merely on the goodwill of the majority. Mr Modi’s BJP is full of religious zealots. He himself claimed plastic surgeons in ancient India grafted an elephant head on to a human thousands of years ago.
In India there is increasing concern that minorities are being told they exist merely on the goodwill of the majority. Mr Modi’s BJP is full of religious zealots. He himself claimed plastic surgeons in ancient India grafted an elephant head on to a human thousands of years ago.
3
How ironic that the Times ran an article by Mr. Douthat this morning exalting religion, and then ran this article about a horrific lynching, an event that shows the stunning stupidity and dangers of religious superstition. Cows are holy? People should be sadistically murdered because of them? Holy cow indeed. How dumb and backwards can people be.
These "cow-loving" protests are animated by anti-Muslim hatred exclusively. Indian pharma companies use gelatin in medicine production, and millions of people of all faiths consume gelatin capusles, yet no one attacks pharma companies for doing so, or even tries to address the issue. Plenty of people use leather and eat beef, even Hindus in some parts of the country. So this movement is not pro-cow, but anti-Muslim.
45
Is this another baseless conflict
created by religion?
Freedom of religion.
Freedom from religion.
created by religion?
Freedom of religion.
Freedom from religion.
2
Making India great again.
The attitude is trending worldwide. Another conflagration is coming.
The attitude is trending worldwide. Another conflagration is coming.
3
Unfortunately India's neighbour Pakistan had a case of lynching only two days back in a university where the students killed a fellow student for alleged act of blasphemy. Killers and the victim were Muslims. In case of India, the hatred is directed against minorities particularly the largest Muslim minority. Governments of both the countries have to answer for the crime.
4
For NYT readers, it should be pointed out that Aatish Taseer is the son of a Pakistani father, a politician who was assassinated in Pakistan in January 2011, and an Indian mother, a journalist who lives in Mumbai. In July 2011, Mr. Taseer wrote an op-ed for the WSJ titled “Why My Father Hated India.” Mr. Taseer, who is British-born and a U.S. green cardholder, projects a seemingly balanced viewpoint on India-Pakistan matters but his previous NYT op-eds have also been very critical of India.
Nonetheless, it would be only fair to hear the other side of the story in this instance – someone to counter what Mr. Taseer condemns as, “India is slipping beyond the pale.” I hope the NYT will invite Taseer’s childhood acquaintance, Vasundhara Raje, who is now the chief minister of the state of Rajasthan – where this lynching occurred – to respond. The B.J.P., which is the ruling party in Rajasthan and at the national level, must be given an opportunity to answer to Mr. Taseer’s perennial lynching of India.
Nonetheless, it would be only fair to hear the other side of the story in this instance – someone to counter what Mr. Taseer condemns as, “India is slipping beyond the pale.” I hope the NYT will invite Taseer’s childhood acquaintance, Vasundhara Raje, who is now the chief minister of the state of Rajasthan – where this lynching occurred – to respond. The B.J.P., which is the ruling party in Rajasthan and at the national level, must be given an opportunity to answer to Mr. Taseer’s perennial lynching of India.
5
This is a story of religion: Violence against a Muslim for an imagined offense against nonsensical Hindu beliefs. Tomorrow it will be violence against a Hindu for an imagined offense against nonsensical Muslim beliefs. The day after that it will be violence against someone else for an imagined offense against nonsensical Christian beliefs. The fundamental purpose of religion has always been to divide people. WE believe in the one true god and are good people. THEY believe in a false god and are evil. And -- oh, my! -- how good it feels to smash our tomahawks into their faces! Or, as the Psalmist says so eloquently, "Happy shall he be, that taketh and dasheth thy little ones against the stones." Amen.
2
Organized religions live by coercing their members into a community. Often stepping outside the narrow minded superstitions means death to the one leaving his group. India had for millennia a finely regulated socio-religious system where a large part of the population were slaves, hemmed in the lowest casts. Break-out was not possible until India was overrun by Muslim Mongols, the Moghuls. These new rulers encouraged the conversion to Islam and of course for the low casts converting to Islam was a ticket out of the Hindu cast trap. It helped to be supported by the rulers and whole swaths of society dropped Hinduism for Islam. A counter revolution, reconquista of sorts started early, but the Brits exploited the internal strive of India and planted themselves on top. And still today the BNP has a grudge against the large Muslim minority and would like to remake India as a Hindu country again. But since it is near impossible to convert anyone to Hinduism because of a dizzying array of invisible gods and half gods and half animals and ghosts and spirits, and a plainly unbelievable lore, the Hindu chauvinists resort to bare knuckle suppression.
There is no hope for humanity unless we discard all the forced respect for religions and let enlightened secularism guide mankind out of these dark ages. Our founding fathers tried to create such a new republic but still after 240 years a strong segment is clamoring for the USA to become a 'Christian' nation.
There is no hope for humanity unless we discard all the forced respect for religions and let enlightened secularism guide mankind out of these dark ages. Our founding fathers tried to create such a new republic but still after 240 years a strong segment is clamoring for the USA to become a 'Christian' nation.
2
When cows fly.
1
How many of you in this comment section have opinions on Hinduism and other Religious traditions, Islam included, without any scholarly reading/understanding. I am now convince most of the readers of the NYTimes are not sophisticated as NYTimes would like us to believe.
2
This is horrifying, and it is of critical importance that justice be served in the most visible way possible. The perpetrators and witnesses should be tried and jailed. The authorities and the politicians who sanctioned it, sat by or minimized its importanve should be removed from office and shamed. And the crime should be remembered constantly, visibly, loudly. The last recorded lynching in the US was not a century ago, but occured in Alabama in 1981. Three KKK members were convicted of the murder and lynching of Michael Donald, a 20-year-old African-American college student. Never forget.
2
Another reason to be highly vigilant when religion invades public life.
1
I'm a Hindu, but I'm personally in favor of beef consumption, as it's illogical to worship a dumb animal and deprive an already anemia and stunting beset nation of protein and iron.
Yet I cannot muster much sympathy for these individuals on account of their religion. This is because an observation of current affairs and history leave little doubt that when the boot is on the other foot, Hindus and others are systematically discriminated against and reduced to a pitiful second class status.
As evidence, see the state of religious freedom in various "moderate" Islamic countries:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_of_religion_by_country
Algeria: "The law does not recognize marriages between Muslim women and non-Muslim men; it does however recognise marriages between Muslim men and non-Muslim women. By law, children follow the religion of their fathers..."
Egypt: "...some laws (e.g., the 19th century Hamayouni Decree, which requires that the President of Egypt must approve any permits to build or repair any church in Egypt) still aim at persecuting the Coptic Orthodox Church."
Nigeria: "In 12 states of Nigeria which have a sharia-based penal code, conversion from Islam to another religion is illegal and often a capital offense."
Jordan: "The Government prohibits conversion from Islam and proselytization of Muslims.."
And so on and on. While those lynched aren't culpable in these policies, there's no doubt which side they'd be on.
tarkmarg.blogspot.com
Yet I cannot muster much sympathy for these individuals on account of their religion. This is because an observation of current affairs and history leave little doubt that when the boot is on the other foot, Hindus and others are systematically discriminated against and reduced to a pitiful second class status.
As evidence, see the state of religious freedom in various "moderate" Islamic countries:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_of_religion_by_country
Algeria: "The law does not recognize marriages between Muslim women and non-Muslim men; it does however recognise marriages between Muslim men and non-Muslim women. By law, children follow the religion of their fathers..."
Egypt: "...some laws (e.g., the 19th century Hamayouni Decree, which requires that the President of Egypt must approve any permits to build or repair any church in Egypt) still aim at persecuting the Coptic Orthodox Church."
Nigeria: "In 12 states of Nigeria which have a sharia-based penal code, conversion from Islam to another religion is illegal and often a capital offense."
Jordan: "The Government prohibits conversion from Islam and proselytization of Muslims.."
And so on and on. While those lynched aren't culpable in these policies, there's no doubt which side they'd be on.
tarkmarg.blogspot.com
3
" cow vigilantes ". An OLD twist on the good ole Boys with a confederate flag hanging off their pick-up truck. Religion- the affliction and burden of the human race. Thousands of years of suffering, punishment and exclusion, so that some may gain great power, wealth and smug superiority. Well, NO thanks. IF there is a GOD, SHE may need to consider an upgrade. Particularly of one gender. Just saying.
5
I'm horrified to see that lynching is alive and well anywhere in the world. Lynching is the coward's way of dealing with issues. It doesn't give the victims a chance to speak for themselves, to receive justice, or to survive in one piece. What it does do is exemplify our tendencies to gang up on those who are different and that is something that is unjustified since, as humans, we all need the same things.
India prides itself on being a democracy. I guess they, like the current version of America, are in the camp that says democracy with a small d is not worth pursuing because Democracy is only for those who have the money to influence things.
India prides itself on being a democracy. I guess they, like the current version of America, are in the camp that says democracy with a small d is not worth pursuing because Democracy is only for those who have the money to influence things.
3
Some of the worst communal riots in India occurred during Congress's 67-year rule. Congress had a chance, but failed, to bring out substantial changes to the standard of living of millions of Indians. I do not or will not condone what the BJP-supported religious zealots are doing currently in India. Nevertheless, it's the duty of fair journalism to put things in perspective. For the first time in independent India, a government is bringing about substantial changes in the way Indians live and feel about their country. This is a positive change. In Upper Pradesh, troves of muslim voted for the BJP in recent elections! The BJP-led government constantly reminds the general public about what their aim is: "Subka vikas" or development for everyone. BJP has started so many incredible initiatives that are designed to help the common Indian. Why doesn't NYT ever, ever mention any of this?
1
Mr. Taseer, a few observations:
1. The office doesn't change a person, it reveals the person. (Same for Trump). Everyone knew that Modi had played a pivotal role in the Gujarat riots against the Muslims. But, what did they expect him to do? Ignore his roots and power base?
2. We see what we WANT to see. Everyone focused on Modi's business friendly policies, as opposed to the totality of what he stands for and his mental make up. Did people not see the growing intolerance against difference of opinion? When writers and artists were threatened, beaten up and doused in ink?
3. It's too easy to bring the parallels of what's happening in India with the shameful lynchings in America, but there's a difference: where are the institutional protections in India against such actions? In the US we had the Feds who'd step in to investigate when corrupt local and state officials would look the other way.
4. I'm disappointed that you confuse smoking and drinking as a proxy for liberal values. I understand the correlation between these traits and liberalism in the Indian society but liberalism furthers progress, equality, and protection of political and civil liberties. It would be best to evaluate Ms. Vasundhara Raje, the Chief Minister, based on the totality of her policies, initiatives, and successes - not superficially observable behavioral traits.
Lastly, for India to overcome this strain of intolerance - Indians must refuse to be cowed down... pun intended.
1. The office doesn't change a person, it reveals the person. (Same for Trump). Everyone knew that Modi had played a pivotal role in the Gujarat riots against the Muslims. But, what did they expect him to do? Ignore his roots and power base?
2. We see what we WANT to see. Everyone focused on Modi's business friendly policies, as opposed to the totality of what he stands for and his mental make up. Did people not see the growing intolerance against difference of opinion? When writers and artists were threatened, beaten up and doused in ink?
3. It's too easy to bring the parallels of what's happening in India with the shameful lynchings in America, but there's a difference: where are the institutional protections in India against such actions? In the US we had the Feds who'd step in to investigate when corrupt local and state officials would look the other way.
4. I'm disappointed that you confuse smoking and drinking as a proxy for liberal values. I understand the correlation between these traits and liberalism in the Indian society but liberalism furthers progress, equality, and protection of political and civil liberties. It would be best to evaluate Ms. Vasundhara Raje, the Chief Minister, based on the totality of her policies, initiatives, and successes - not superficially observable behavioral traits.
Lastly, for India to overcome this strain of intolerance - Indians must refuse to be cowed down... pun intended.
5
Woodrow Wilson didn't step in when there were lynchings during East St. Louis race riot that erupted on July 2, 1917. This lack of action is beyond redemption.
2
Modi and his party were elected for economic growth, not religious intolerance/bigotry. The majority of hindus did not sign up for this divisive form of governing. The BJP is nuts if they think this sort of image is conducive to people wanting to invest in india.
1
The silence of chief minister of Rajasthan, Vasundhara Raje, brings to mind Haile Selassie's quote:
"Throughout history, it has been the inaction of those who could have acted, the indifference of those who should have known better, the silence of the voice of justice when it mattered most, that has made it possible for evil to triumph."
Sad, indeed!
"Throughout history, it has been the inaction of those who could have acted, the indifference of those who should have known better, the silence of the voice of justice when it mattered most, that has made it possible for evil to triumph."
Sad, indeed!
2
It's remarkable and enlightening to see the racial script play out somewhere else, divorced of the usual emotional hot buttons (for an American non-Hindu) Racial wedging is a tried and true strategy. By highlighting an issue- any issue- that is indicative of the low moral character of the 'out group', demagogues achieve the twin objectives of mobilizing the populace while marginalizing the other side, all while maintaining plausible deniability.
2
Man's ability to hate and murder those who are viewed as being the other has always been our greatest sin. We persecute minorities who are different either because of religion or race for sport. Yet we act all superior and develop amnesia regarding our own history.
Strong leadership is needed to push back against intolerance and hate. Public awareness and disgust also helps.
In the United States the South got away with public lynchings until Emmett Till's mother refused to hide what was left of her son's body from public view. His funeral was attended by thousands and pictures were seen nationwide. The public was no longer able to look away and say they didn't know about the violence faced by black men in the South. The white men who killed him may have been acquitted but his death was the catalyst for the civil rights movement.
India has a reputation for being a tolerant country because of the influence from the Hindu religion. This incident calls that reputation into question. Now we will have to wait and see what the people of India are going to do about it. Will they continue to downplay this death or will they realize that a civilized society cannot condone such violence against minority groups who don't share the majority religion.
Strong leadership is needed to push back against intolerance and hate. Public awareness and disgust also helps.
In the United States the South got away with public lynchings until Emmett Till's mother refused to hide what was left of her son's body from public view. His funeral was attended by thousands and pictures were seen nationwide. The public was no longer able to look away and say they didn't know about the violence faced by black men in the South. The white men who killed him may have been acquitted but his death was the catalyst for the civil rights movement.
India has a reputation for being a tolerant country because of the influence from the Hindu religion. This incident calls that reputation into question. Now we will have to wait and see what the people of India are going to do about it. Will they continue to downplay this death or will they realize that a civilized society cannot condone such violence against minority groups who don't share the majority religion.
2
The thing that seems so absurd about religious killings, be they hindu or moslem or Christian, is the complete opposite of religious feeling and brotherhood that is shown by the individuals claiming to be religious. Where are the religious leaders to turn the murdering sinners into true practitioners of brotherhood as taught by all the major religious saints?
When we give basic jobs to everyone that needs one, and see that no one goes without medical care and education, we will have a religious and just society. When we skim off the wealth and give it to the already wealthy individuals instead of making sure there is a basic job, medical, and educational opportunity for each citizens, it is hard to see where we can call ourselves a religious country or a reasonably fair one.
The Trump royal family and its hangers-on gives no hope that our country will have a greater emphasis on brotherhood for any citizens other than themselves.
When we give basic jobs to everyone that needs one, and see that no one goes without medical care and education, we will have a religious and just society. When we skim off the wealth and give it to the already wealthy individuals instead of making sure there is a basic job, medical, and educational opportunity for each citizens, it is hard to see where we can call ourselves a religious country or a reasonably fair one.
The Trump royal family and its hangers-on gives no hope that our country will have a greater emphasis on brotherhood for any citizens other than themselves.
Public lynching or mob violence has been going on for a long time in different parts of India. Be it stone pelting mobs in Kashmir killing security personnel, unlawful possession of someone else's property or the gutting of police stations. The hand held phone-camera and other fast communication methods have enhanced their visibility. Appointment of a Hindu priest in saffron robes as the Chief Minister of a major province is a new thing and that has emerged just as a reaction to many years of bad governance and moribund party system perpetuated by the middle ranking backward caste leaders and the leaders of the so called Scheduled Castes (the former untouchables). In Uttar Pradesh and the neighboring Bihar, these leaders were given power by regular elections on the promise that they would do a lot better than their predecessor upper caste led political parties. But unfortunately, they proved worse. After nearly a quarter of a century, there has been a backlash against them just as the so called Whitelash in the USA led by Donald Trump. In the past, sidelining the upper caste led Hindu nationalist or the mainstream Congress parties, the leaders of the majority backward castes in coalition with the Muslims had made their side electorally invincible for ever. This time around, the members of the backward castes defected in droves and placed their trust in the current prime minister. The extremist Hindu nationalists in the ruling party are trying to extract extra advantage.
2
It is shocking what's going on in India, a land of supposed spirituality and serenity, but with billions of people living in hot close quarters, tensions between groups will invariably rise. Trivial as it swells to a mass of terming humanity made of nobodies who now have become the powerful mob. The average Indian wants his ego to manifest, a childish infantile dominating ego and what better than to beat up a minority. Islam, usually has the hidden lone terrorist, the Hindu, the vortex of a screaming mob. Can these roles ever change is a psychological Paradox from which role playing characters can cruelly never escape. Intolerance and economically poor young Hindu fanatics often of lower social caste compose the Mob and often their intractable underlying issues lead to a permanent base from which the flash Mob arises from.
For thousands of years, the Hindu has wrestled with the question of beef from Emperor Ashoka to Emperor Akbar, but it seems that one, especially India and including the rest of Asia can never really escape this Caste Reality, no matter how much Microsoft invests there, or if Science finds a meager home in India. It makes me think of the Iron chains of Karm and Karma. Are we bound and destined for looping behavioral genetic patterns and the movie Looper, only cruelly existing and extending to thousands of years of haunting Loops. In summary, I think this Loop defines the great Indian destiny.
For thousands of years, the Hindu has wrestled with the question of beef from Emperor Ashoka to Emperor Akbar, but it seems that one, especially India and including the rest of Asia can never really escape this Caste Reality, no matter how much Microsoft invests there, or if Science finds a meager home in India. It makes me think of the Iron chains of Karm and Karma. Are we bound and destined for looping behavioral genetic patterns and the movie Looper, only cruelly existing and extending to thousands of years of haunting Loops. In summary, I think this Loop defines the great Indian destiny.
1
May be you are not familiar with cities in southern India. Though caste is visible now, it is loosing its value and viability in progressive India. Give a generation or two, I guarantee it will vanish for good.
1
Here we go again. Take isolated incidents, paint a broad brush over hindus and india for a imagined bad "trend" that is never there, invoke gandhi and ahimsa, write emotional and chest-beating articles that sky is falling. Rinse, repeat. We have seen this several times already. Fake news on "widespread" church attacks that was never there. Another attack on christian nun that turned out to be done by muslim criminals. The manufactured "intolerance" debate... and so on so forth.
From the very day the new center-right govt has been given a big mandate by people, the leftwing has been gone on overdrive to delegitimize and demonize this govt - even though this new govt continues command high approval rating after on virtue of their performance and continues to win elections based on their anti-corruption and development agenda and continues to increase their vote share from minorities and women.
The leftwing in India has been in continously in power for 60+ years with terrible rule of corruption and sloth - and they are not able to accept the fact that people have turned away from them. They are not able to accept the fact that days of feeding from the govt trough is also over.
From the very day the new center-right govt has been given a big mandate by people, the leftwing has been gone on overdrive to delegitimize and demonize this govt - even though this new govt continues command high approval rating after on virtue of their performance and continues to win elections based on their anti-corruption and development agenda and continues to increase their vote share from minorities and women.
The leftwing in India has been in continously in power for 60+ years with terrible rule of corruption and sloth - and they are not able to accept the fact that people have turned away from them. They are not able to accept the fact that days of feeding from the govt trough is also over.
5
Surgically separated twins, India and Pakistan are, after all, not that much different from each other. In ways, good as well as terrible.
A mob of murderous cow protection vigilantes lynched a poor Muslim, Pehlu Khan, to death in full public view as few weeks back. India watched and much of it stayed silent.
And earlier this week, thousands of students at a Pakistani university lynched to death a bright student scholar from a poor family on the allegation of blasphemy. Pakistan watched and much of it stayed silent.
Shame on India and Pakistan but I guess, if we start adding to the list, every nation will end of on this list. All countries, all societies have demons in the collective consciousness. And they can be exorcised only though evolution of collective consciousness.
A mob of murderous cow protection vigilantes lynched a poor Muslim, Pehlu Khan, to death in full public view as few weeks back. India watched and much of it stayed silent.
And earlier this week, thousands of students at a Pakistani university lynched to death a bright student scholar from a poor family on the allegation of blasphemy. Pakistan watched and much of it stayed silent.
Shame on India and Pakistan but I guess, if we start adding to the list, every nation will end of on this list. All countries, all societies have demons in the collective consciousness. And they can be exorcised only though evolution of collective consciousness.
2
I am not surprised by mob mentality. We wear it well in the United States. It is so easy to blame others, while not looking at ourselves.
3
The state and central governments in India must move with alacrity to put a stop to vigilante “justice”. Otherwise even thousand acts and myriad polices to support and help minorities come undone with one ugly incident. Punishments to the miscreants and murderers must be swift and severe. Otherwise India is no better than Pakistan that stands by idly when false blasphemy is used routinely to torment and kill minorities and bomb churches.
2
As someone born and raised in India, and a hindu, I am alarmed at the lynchings of several men of muslim faith who are alleged to have committed the act of illegally smuggling / butchering cows. To begin with, why is ban on cow slaughter unconstitutional in a secular nation? And, there can be no excuse for the state to allow such an heinous act go unpunished. The mob incitement laws should be modified to allow everyone involved in perpetrating the lynching be tried for murder. I fear for India's future if the government is unable to ensure the rule of law.
2
"...shades of Kristallnacht."
shading is a darkening of a hue a (tinting the opposite)...always easy to toss in those nazi era words, even if grasp is lacking, they get attention.
kristalnacht itself may be seen as a darkening of its american prototype, if you will, the destruction of the shops of german americans, one episode of which included an actual hung-from-a-tree lynching...
to be sure there is an element of hate, a malignancy that grows in any situation where the nutrient is ignorance, whenever a mob chooses violence, but it is the ignorance that sustains it, that justifies it, and instills fear in the rest who keep silent, members of the audience.
shading is a darkening of a hue a (tinting the opposite)...always easy to toss in those nazi era words, even if grasp is lacking, they get attention.
kristalnacht itself may be seen as a darkening of its american prototype, if you will, the destruction of the shops of german americans, one episode of which included an actual hung-from-a-tree lynching...
to be sure there is an element of hate, a malignancy that grows in any situation where the nutrient is ignorance, whenever a mob chooses violence, but it is the ignorance that sustains it, that justifies it, and instills fear in the rest who keep silent, members of the audience.
"Ignorance is strength," or alternatively, "...but some animals are more equal than others."
Lynching is a crime, but justified for a long time in many parts of this 'suffering world', when a mob is incited to act extrajudicially, to torture and kill anybody perceived to have done something against a given culture. The U.S. has its story of course, fortunately relegated to an odious past. In India (as in other countries like Bolivia, where rural peasants do, on occasion, lynch anybody suspected of stealing), Modi has blood on his hands, especially when it comes to discriminating Muslims, and he must be hold responsible. This must stop before it becomes more frequent and out of control, as India's history attests. Silent complicit of a majority is abhorrent as well. Of note, we humans are the only ones, in the animal kingdom, with the dubious privilege of torturing our victims...before the kill. No room for redemption, I guess.
2
What leads you to state that this has been "relegated to an odious past"? What about blue on black, to say nothing of black on blue? Tribalism, admittedly, but tribalism and religious fundamentalism have only a few degrees of separation.
India is a multi-cultured country, few of which are close to being civilized. Their continued barbarism should make us wonder about their appropriateness for allowing them into the United States, regardless of their skills.
1
Please do as you see fit. Your country your rules. Who are we to stop you from making such rules?
1
India can no longer be called the land of Gandhi. Under the Modi government, or any BJP led government, we see minorities and women being attacked with no consequences. When I speak with my Indian family and friends, most don't seem to care about such news, or tend to change the subject about how bad muslims are. It is terrifying. Absolutely terrifying. We already saw one genocide under Modi when he led the state of Gujarat, and the next one is coming up.
28
In order for mass atrocities to occur, two different kinds of people must work together. First are the psychopaths, who aren’t really capable of compassion or empathy; they generally instigate and spearhead these sadistic carnivals to acquire or maintain political power.
The second group – the much more numerous “apaths” – are indeed capable of compassion and empathy; they just decide to turn these things off at “inconvenient” moments. Some of them get swept up by the crowd, overtaken by the collective emotions of revenge, self-righteousness, and ecstasy. The rest of them – the bad Samaritans – remain more passive from a combination of fear, inhibition, and deference.
(The third group - the "empaths" - oppose the psychopaths and apaths but too often are not strong or united enough to stop them.)
Humans have evolved to be social, empathetic, and cooperative animals. But we have also evolved to be self-interested and tribalistic. Without just laws, a government actively enforcing these just laws, and citizens generally respecting the authority of these just laws and the government enforcing them, people’s self-interest and tribalism will override their empathy. And that’s how we get the kind of meaningless, tragic, heart-wrenching cruelty described in this op-ed.
The second group – the much more numerous “apaths” – are indeed capable of compassion and empathy; they just decide to turn these things off at “inconvenient” moments. Some of them get swept up by the crowd, overtaken by the collective emotions of revenge, self-righteousness, and ecstasy. The rest of them – the bad Samaritans – remain more passive from a combination of fear, inhibition, and deference.
(The third group - the "empaths" - oppose the psychopaths and apaths but too often are not strong or united enough to stop them.)
Humans have evolved to be social, empathetic, and cooperative animals. But we have also evolved to be self-interested and tribalistic. Without just laws, a government actively enforcing these just laws, and citizens generally respecting the authority of these just laws and the government enforcing them, people’s self-interest and tribalism will override their empathy. And that’s how we get the kind of meaningless, tragic, heart-wrenching cruelty described in this op-ed.
27
This is truly horrifying and not well covered by the western media. Thank you for sharing this harrowing tale. I am saddened to learn that the world's largest democracy has reached such a point. It reminds me of how fragile democracies and the rights of minorities are and how hard we must work to protect them.
3
A lynching for the person killed is terrorizing and horrific, as it is for the person's family and community. The presence of the mob - at the lynching and those who can now witness it virtually in our modern world - fuels the terror and horror. But as the author points out, what makes it fully terrorizing and horrific is when the state is either silent or worse complicit and even worse encourages the lynching. India is a great nation in many ways - the world's largest democracy with a diverse and rich culture, talented people and poised for a bright future. There are many serious issues to overcome also - just like all nations face. But Modi, BJP, RSS - while they are modernizers, economic free market types who try to broaden India's economic gains, who challenge Congress Party's old, dynastic and often corrupt and at times cynical use of minorities' rights position - play at times with the fire of Hindustan for Hindus and gain popularity by scapegoating and demonizing minorities. Staying silent about or being complicit in or encouraging lynchings is never acceptable and will not make India live to its true potential.
15
Melinda Gates - married to Bill Gates- they both are active in world issues. They started out wanting to provide vaccines around the world but she noted that women were most interested in family planning. The men are less likely to support family planning -some say this is due to wanting to control the wife but others say it is for the sake of security in the future- the men believe that having a lot of children will mean the parents will be protected by these many offsprings - as there are no reliable police in many poor countries. Melinda has changed her focus to family planning instead of vaccination as she concludes that women who are able to get an education and a job and not having a large family will allow the smaller family to beat poverty.
Poverty may also play a role in violence. Fighting poverty maybe more important as it will lead to increased violence. However, of course politicians who take advantage of violence to get power themselves- deplorable!
Poverty may also play a role in violence. Fighting poverty maybe more important as it will lead to increased violence. However, of course politicians who take advantage of violence to get power themselves- deplorable!
It is time to put to rest the idea that India is a peaceful country. As a tourist I have seen many people killed in India. The first time was a result of a traffic accident. A rickshaw peddler was injured in collision with a car, and the car driver fled. A mob ran him down and quickly beat him to death. What struck me was how normal it seemed. The police standing nearby did nothing. Afterwards they pulled the body away and pushed back the crowd. Nobody looked crazy or murderous. Rather, they were well -dressed, educated people performing their civic duty. They knew that there would be no justice if the driver went to court. A few hundred rupees would be paid to bribe a witnesses and a few more to bribe the judge. I have walked through the aftermath of ethnic riots where bodies were mutilated. "Sending a message". This happens frequently. Outside of the major cities there is no law. The police are outnumbered. The courts are jammed. The first priority for the police is simply to keep the peace and if that means letting the crowd blow off steam by killing someone, so be it. I have seen many bad things in the USA also when things break down. But in India it seems to be part of what makes things work. Election time is particularly bad and no one is going to stop a politically motivated mob. Tourists are becoming less popular every year. They have heard too many stories about how poorly Indian workers and immigrants are treated here in America.
3
Shame on you India. What cruelty we humans have inflicted on others in the name of religion, in the name of nationalism, and preserving us, and obliterating the other. We see this all over the world. Good journalism must continue to call out injustice and corruption wherever it sees it and good people must rise and speak out against such atrocities, be they politically motivated or otherwise.
2
How do these world religions end up in these very dark places? How do people who adhere to some belief system behave in ways that are actively opposed to the principles of that belief system? I am not a religious person, but, in my observations of some really devout relatives, I see a correlation between deep beliefs and deep intolerance.
4
This is deeply troubling in many ways
That Indian leaders are unwilling to speak up for the defense of minorities, is an act of moral cowardice.
That the perpetrators may not be brought to face justice is reprehensible
My fear it may encourage more such acts because there would be no fear of retribution
That Indian leaders are unwilling to speak up for the defense of minorities, is an act of moral cowardice.
That the perpetrators may not be brought to face justice is reprehensible
My fear it may encourage more such acts because there would be no fear of retribution
2
The US is not far behind. The evil that lives in the hearts of man, lives in our present leaders. It is expressed in their antipathy toward the less fortunate among us.
1
While I was a child, my mother was an executive for a company that did a lot of business in India. Twice to three times a year, a group of Indian businessmen would come to the U.S. for a visit. Without their wives. While they were here (without the wives), all they would even think about eating was beef, beef, and more beef with a side order of beef. Then they'd go to McDonalds for cheeseburgers. When their1 wives would arrive they would instantly become the strictest vegetarians you've ever seen. That reality has formed the basis for my understanding of both vegetarians and religious fundamentalists to this day.
21
This is a despicable crime. But what is more despicable is that it is being used to score political points. This was a rare incident which was a result of criminal mob violence that's being blown out of proportion. The hysteria being created around this is hypocritical and has strong political under currents. Reality is that India is one of the largest exporters of beef. The BJP government has earned people's trust by giving a government with virtually no corruption at the top, focusing on country's development and consciously avoiding anything religious. But its critics would drag them and want to fight them in the religious arena. But Indians are seeing through this trick which has worked for quite a while but not anymore. Aatish Taseer should perhaps explain to his western readers about social cruelties like Triple-Talaq that are institutionally enforced for centuries instead of being creative with his inferences drawn out of a uncommon criminal incident and deluding his readers.
3
It is a tragedy the country that gave the world Mahathma Gandhi can tolerate this brutality. Politicians continue to exploit people's weaknesses to their advantage. Unfortunately, change will not come until religious and caste prejudices are broken down.
2
Twenty five years ago, an earlier generation of BJP leaders plucked an obscure issue and brought it to national prominence in a cynical ploy to rile up their base. This was the Babri Masjid controversy in which demolishing a five hundred year old mosque because it was allegedly built on the exact spot that marked the birthplace of the Hindu god Ram became the most urgent order of the day.
After that had been played out and milked for all the vote getting potential, they had to think of something new. It is chilling to realize that they sat around a conference table and came up with this new issue of cow slaughter to further exploit religious hatreds. Much like a bunch of advertising executives planning a campaign to launch a new product. And the result is that they are in power and people are being lynched while the police look the other way.
After that had been played out and milked for all the vote getting potential, they had to think of something new. It is chilling to realize that they sat around a conference table and came up with this new issue of cow slaughter to further exploit religious hatreds. Much like a bunch of advertising executives planning a campaign to launch a new product. And the result is that they are in power and people are being lynched while the police look the other way.
5
A conspiracy of silence is what leads to the rise of dictatorships, of majoritarian rule. The State, through its silences encourages the rule by a mob, the opposition through its silence acquiesces in the shutting out of dissident voices.
As a practicing Hindu, I grew up believing that Hindu majoritarianism was unlikely because the diversity of the religion, the ways of worship, the gods , the different philosophical schools, food habits, meant that Hindus form small minorities who come together to form the great mass that is Hinduism. I, no longer believe in that. Without us, the missionary school educated lot, noticing, the agglomerate that was Hinduism has become the conglomerate called Hindutva.
Which is why the majority feels empowered to tell the minority that the minority needs to live, if at all, on terms set by the majority. And, the majority would probably rather that the minority was not there at all. That would, after all, make available lebensraum . This has also been institutionalized through laws such as the Enemy Properties' Act.
But it is the conspiracy between fear and silence that will destroy the idea of India. On social media, when someone posts against something done by the security forces or the cow-protectors, rarely do people with similar views say anything, its only the ultra-nationalists. And that is happening on the ground as well. I only hope that we do not have cause to live Pastor Niemoller's prayer.
As a practicing Hindu, I grew up believing that Hindu majoritarianism was unlikely because the diversity of the religion, the ways of worship, the gods , the different philosophical schools, food habits, meant that Hindus form small minorities who come together to form the great mass that is Hinduism. I, no longer believe in that. Without us, the missionary school educated lot, noticing, the agglomerate that was Hinduism has become the conglomerate called Hindutva.
Which is why the majority feels empowered to tell the minority that the minority needs to live, if at all, on terms set by the majority. And, the majority would probably rather that the minority was not there at all. That would, after all, make available lebensraum . This has also been institutionalized through laws such as the Enemy Properties' Act.
But it is the conspiracy between fear and silence that will destroy the idea of India. On social media, when someone posts against something done by the security forces or the cow-protectors, rarely do people with similar views say anything, its only the ultra-nationalists. And that is happening on the ground as well. I only hope that we do not have cause to live Pastor Niemoller's prayer.
4
Thanks for publishing this article.
In spite of what Marx said, people do not act solely on economic consideration. Deep emotions and / or psychological issues such as fear and hatred often play a larger role in their supporting somebody than pure economics. Demagogue and dictators know this well. So does Narendra Modi.
Arthur Koestler said it best in his analysis of faith in politics and religion in God That Failed (to explain his joining the communist party ) "A faith is not acquired by reasoning. One does not fall in love with a woman, or enter the womb of a church, as a result of logical persuasion. Reason may defend an act of faith - but only after the act has been committed, and the man committed to the act. Persuasion may play a part in a man's conversion; but only the part of bringing to its full and conscious climax a process which has been maturing in regions where no persuasion can penetrate. A faith is not acquired; it grows like a tree. Its crown points to the sky; its roots grown downward into the past and are nourished by the dark sap of the ancestral humus."
Hatred of others (real of perceived) is now the dark sap of the ancestral humus for a large section of Hindu Indians esp. in the cow belt of the North. The depressing fact is that a significant portion of the majority do not care. Indian newspapers mention such horrors for may be a day then go back to their usual routine of cricket, Bollywood and new fancy weapons of the army.
In spite of what Marx said, people do not act solely on economic consideration. Deep emotions and / or psychological issues such as fear and hatred often play a larger role in their supporting somebody than pure economics. Demagogue and dictators know this well. So does Narendra Modi.
Arthur Koestler said it best in his analysis of faith in politics and religion in God That Failed (to explain his joining the communist party ) "A faith is not acquired by reasoning. One does not fall in love with a woman, or enter the womb of a church, as a result of logical persuasion. Reason may defend an act of faith - but only after the act has been committed, and the man committed to the act. Persuasion may play a part in a man's conversion; but only the part of bringing to its full and conscious climax a process which has been maturing in regions where no persuasion can penetrate. A faith is not acquired; it grows like a tree. Its crown points to the sky; its roots grown downward into the past and are nourished by the dark sap of the ancestral humus."
Hatred of others (real of perceived) is now the dark sap of the ancestral humus for a large section of Hindu Indians esp. in the cow belt of the North. The depressing fact is that a significant portion of the majority do not care. Indian newspapers mention such horrors for may be a day then go back to their usual routine of cricket, Bollywood and new fancy weapons of the army.
2
Thank-you for keeping this story in the news, your lucid analysis and your bravery! I admire your writing* and trust your take on Muslim and Hindu political realities. Hypocrisy, paradox, barbarism, mix of modern and ancient, are not new to any religion, and we must remember this fact.
The latest anti-Muslim eruption involving citizens leaders who are escalating the madness and are unable to condemn and punish such horrific events is really SCARY.
Will the revolution be televised?
Who will speak out? Who will stand up to this hate? Will any of the millions of people who watched this lynching on viral video start a new GoFundMe site for the victims' families or organizations speaking up? Or will they remain voyeurs?
We know the crowds standing nearby the lynching aren't planning on a new crowdfunding site or condemnation.
I hope India's concerned celebrity, dignitary and religious factions (etc) can respond publicly with many reminders that we must not descend to barbarism. There is a difference between religious hatred and religious tensions and we all need to learn to ride the divide.
*In particular, I like your books "Stranger to History: A Son's Journey Through Islamic Lands" and The Way Things Were.
The latest anti-Muslim eruption involving citizens leaders who are escalating the madness and are unable to condemn and punish such horrific events is really SCARY.
Will the revolution be televised?
Who will speak out? Who will stand up to this hate? Will any of the millions of people who watched this lynching on viral video start a new GoFundMe site for the victims' families or organizations speaking up? Or will they remain voyeurs?
We know the crowds standing nearby the lynching aren't planning on a new crowdfunding site or condemnation.
I hope India's concerned celebrity, dignitary and religious factions (etc) can respond publicly with many reminders that we must not descend to barbarism. There is a difference between religious hatred and religious tensions and we all need to learn to ride the divide.
*In particular, I like your books "Stranger to History: A Son's Journey Through Islamic Lands" and The Way Things Were.
Yes, indeed. A democracy protects individual, and especially minority rights. India has been moving steadily away from democracy for years now. This has been bound up with an ugly rise in religious intolerance and bigotry. That the Indian government not only cannot guarantee the safety of its own minorities, but has virtually no desire to even acknowledge the problems which exist, is shameful.
1
I agree, lynching, is public murder done by a majority group to show a minority group it isn't protected by law enforcement. If India wishes to call itself the world's largest democracy, it needs to address the hateful BJP polices that actively lend support to "vigilantes," before it loses it's credibility.
But what I find so saddening is that the world seems to have turned it's collective back on Muslims simply because of the bad actions of a few so-called Muslims. Every life is precious.
But what I find so saddening is that the world seems to have turned it's collective back on Muslims simply because of the bad actions of a few so-called Muslims. Every life is precious.
2
If India wants to be leader in protecting animals especially cows from violence, it has to find more tolerant ways to doing it. Violence by lynching of humans perceived as committing violence against animals without a proper judicial process is not the answer. Two wrongs do not make a right. The leaders of India from the ruling Bharitiya Janata Party (BJP) should condemn the violence and warn any crazy fanatical Indians that taking the law in their hands and committing violence against fellow Indians will not be tolerated. BJP needs to realize that the resounding mandate it has received in state elections has not been for advancing extremist ideology but for the unifying issues of advancing development of the masses. PM Modi should use his bully pulpit to right the wrong and enforce laws to protect all life from violent lynching mobs. These kinds of incidences however rear in a country of a billion plus people besides being grossly wrong, provides fodder to the critics and will harm the good that the current incorruptible government is trying to do. I agree with this author Aatish Taseer that, PM Modi and chief minister of Rajasthan promptly condemn such lynching and sympathize with and compensate the family of Mr. Pehlu Khan and others who may have met the same fate and ensure no such incidences take place in the future and that the secular nature of India is maintained and laws are upheld.
2
Many Hindus do eat beef; it has nothing to do with beef.
All politicians need to maintain a devoted support base; but how does one pay for them? Extortion is the key: they have become the state. But you can always offer them some money and get away with...
All politicians need to maintain a devoted support base; but how does one pay for them? Extortion is the key: they have become the state. But you can always offer them some money and get away with...
2
Lynching described in the column is horrific as are all lynchings. Only the mass protests by the good citizens can bring justice to the victim. The column loses its message when it diverts its attention to the Prime Minister Modi as a cause. Mr. Modi, since he came to power has not uttered a single word against any minority, in public or private. None of his campaign speeches ever advocated vigilantism of any kind. During my last visit to India, I didn't see India slipping backwards to the level of US South. In a Billion people, local skirmishes affecting no more than a 100 persons will happen, but that is not a national movement!
2
America is the home base of lynchings. Why would anyone be upset at a society bent on emulating American mores, if that society were to stoop to lynchings? The federal government has never enacted a law against lynchings and so lynchings continue in America to this day. There has never been an accounting for the thousands of victims of lynchings in America. Remember were are a society of LAWS - crazy laws that nevertheless permit lynchings.
1
Can you illuminate us on what laws "permit lynchings"? I'm pretty sure that murder is outlawed in all 50 states.
3
The focus of Mr.Taseer's musings is a bit surprising. While it goes without saying that this event was beyond condemnable; one would have thought Taseer would cast his roving eye over India's neighbor, Pakistan - which is not just a domestic; but an A class international threat.
Just 2 days ago there was a lynching of a student for blasphemy against the religion 'which shall not be named' by university students ( hence the educated ) in Pakistan. These students by all accounts either stood by or actively participated in the anti blasphemy proceedings. Not to be personal; but since it is relevant- Mr. Taseer's father has been a victim of assassination for protesting against blasphemy laws in Pakistan and his killers - as in the case of killers of the university students - are being hailed as heroes. International terrorists meanwhile roam free and more are being actively trained as we speak https://www.netflix.com/title/80075914
I, therefore, find this column a convenient case of finding easy targets. While conservatives are constantly chided for labelling all followers of the religion which shall not be named with a broad brush; Mr. Taseer has no trouble in labelling a country of 1.2 billion people as "beyond the pale" on the basis of incidents which are already the cause of serious concern and consternation, in India's free albeit chaotic media.
Just 2 days ago there was a lynching of a student for blasphemy against the religion 'which shall not be named' by university students ( hence the educated ) in Pakistan. These students by all accounts either stood by or actively participated in the anti blasphemy proceedings. Not to be personal; but since it is relevant- Mr. Taseer's father has been a victim of assassination for protesting against blasphemy laws in Pakistan and his killers - as in the case of killers of the university students - are being hailed as heroes. International terrorists meanwhile roam free and more are being actively trained as we speak https://www.netflix.com/title/80075914
I, therefore, find this column a convenient case of finding easy targets. While conservatives are constantly chided for labelling all followers of the religion which shall not be named with a broad brush; Mr. Taseer has no trouble in labelling a country of 1.2 billion people as "beyond the pale" on the basis of incidents which are already the cause of serious concern and consternation, in India's free albeit chaotic media.
21
India is slowly becoming another Pakistan, where the state turns a blind eye to atrocities committed on the minorities. In India you are told what to eat, how to dress and God forbid if you disrespect the cow. Recently in Goa a young woman was senselessly beaten because she shooed a cow who was grabbing her food at the beach. This video has gone viral in Mumbai. Education is next and this is slyly being changed to suit the fascist force which actually rules this country. All right thinking Indians are now under the shadow of communal forces and are too afraid to voice their feelings. Satyameva Jayathey (Truth will triumph)
8
For his "musings" here, I believe Mr. Taseer was simply comparing two countries. The U.S. and India.
He could have made many other comparisons. It is obvious that you are not Pakistan's friend at this time. And that is fine. Just let HIM deal with just the two examples that he has chosen.
YOU are free to write your own piece. No?
He could have made many other comparisons. It is obvious that you are not Pakistan's friend at this time. And that is fine. Just let HIM deal with just the two examples that he has chosen.
YOU are free to write your own piece. No?
3
the deficiency of Pakistan is no excuse for how India treats Muslims or any other minority.... your comment is a weak, off topic attempt at distraction from the repugnant racism of the BJP.
2
Thank you for sharing this shocking glimpse into yet another way extremism is taking hold in democracies around the world in recent years, sadly even here in the US. I also appreciate your comparison to this same sad history of lynching in the US. I would add that lynching, however, is precisely a form of terrorist attack. Terrorism doesn't depend on maximizing loss of life. It depends on maximizing fear through a minimum of loss of life as an alternative to conventional warfare to gain power and control.
Lynching came into prominence in the US after the Civil War. When the Union forces prevailed, many Confederates were punished with disenfranchisement, and all slaves were freed and given full rights of citizenship, which made up 70% of southern GDP in 1865. So in short order, the entire socioeconomic order was up-ended in the South; Blacks could vote, and many whites had lost that right, along with their economic advantages. Their political and economic power base was gutted.
The KKK was founded in 1865, the year the Civil War ended. White men who had lost their political (and economic) power after losing the war, turned to terrorism to restore the balance of power they had lost. And at least in the US, the law was not so much paralyzed as complicit - which seems to be the case in India as well. I will refer you to Bryan Stevenson and the Equal Justice Initiative for the most updated research on lynching in America. Great article. Thank you.
Lynching came into prominence in the US after the Civil War. When the Union forces prevailed, many Confederates were punished with disenfranchisement, and all slaves were freed and given full rights of citizenship, which made up 70% of southern GDP in 1865. So in short order, the entire socioeconomic order was up-ended in the South; Blacks could vote, and many whites had lost that right, along with their economic advantages. Their political and economic power base was gutted.
The KKK was founded in 1865, the year the Civil War ended. White men who had lost their political (and economic) power after losing the war, turned to terrorism to restore the balance of power they had lost. And at least in the US, the law was not so much paralyzed as complicit - which seems to be the case in India as well. I will refer you to Bryan Stevenson and the Equal Justice Initiative for the most updated research on lynching in America. Great article. Thank you.
28
My dad grew up in the Midwest, and when his dad retired, he became a cattle rancher in Colorado. I spent summers on that ranch, up at 5am to set irrigation dams and days herding cattle, weeding, shooting prairie dogs, or bailing hay. But in profession, they were both agricultural specialists, and traveled widely. Grandpa to Iran, Dad to everywhere else. Literally. I once ran across a newspaper clipping of my Dad leading a tour in India, in the 1950's. It was a tour for Dwight Eisenhower, and my Dad was part of the American AID. I later saw a photo of my Dad sitting with a group of ag folks just a few feet away from Indira Gandhi. She lost her life a few months later. My Dad never talked about these experiences, I literally just collided with their photographic evidence in his study. I think India is headed, today, toward a well-deserved greatness. I would just ask that she not make the mistake, as has happened so often before, of thinking that her greatness is because of her 'special' relationship toward the almighty. She may owe more than she knows to those who would commit the 'ultimate sin'. I remember sitting down to a grilled 2 inch T-bone from my Grandpa's ranch. It may not have been God, but it was Heaven.
2
What do your culinary preferences have to do with scapegoating Muslims in India?
Anyway, bee production - one of the biggest sources of water and air pollution in the USA, and a contributor to heart disease,
Enjoy your romanticization.
Anyway, bee production - one of the biggest sources of water and air pollution in the USA, and a contributor to heart disease,
Enjoy your romanticization.
1
The author indicates that a modern-thinking chief minister is too afraid to speak up regarding a vigilante atmosphere where a minority group is being oppressed.
At the very least, she should advocate for the rule of law and denounce the taking of human life. For good leaders, forward-thinking or otherwise, complete silence is not an option.
At the very least, she should advocate for the rule of law and denounce the taking of human life. For good leaders, forward-thinking or otherwise, complete silence is not an option.
14
Agreed. The author lives in a parallel universe, however. According to him, "She is aristocratic ..." It is surreal to read about talking heads wax-poetic about a killing. Aren't these well-connected talking heads playing a a role in creating and sustaining the culture of hierarchy and corruption?
1
A mob has emotional power. It is strange the first time you feel it.
I remember being in my dorm room as a loud angry march went by. I did not even know it was out there -- I was studying. The sound of people, of chanting, of rhythms, grabs at something in a person.
Connected to that is that strong emotions are contagious, fear, but not just fear. We get swept away.
A mob is a living thing, not a bunch of people. The members are not quite people anymore.
I've read these things here and there, conventional wisdom. I repeat them here as personal experience. I've felt it. It is true. It is powerful.
How could people do these things? People didn't. A mob did.
Mobs actually have leaders. The leaders often lose control, but they get it started and shape it. Loss of those leaders can break up the mob, as it loses focus.
The secret here is not the members of the mob, but dealing with the leaders, preferably before it gets rolling as a full on mob.
By the time a mob exists, things are wildly beyond the safe zone. The rules have changed.
This is really about the deliberate creation of a mob by some, and the failure of our leaders to lead well enough to head that off.
I remember being in my dorm room as a loud angry march went by. I did not even know it was out there -- I was studying. The sound of people, of chanting, of rhythms, grabs at something in a person.
Connected to that is that strong emotions are contagious, fear, but not just fear. We get swept away.
A mob is a living thing, not a bunch of people. The members are not quite people anymore.
I've read these things here and there, conventional wisdom. I repeat them here as personal experience. I've felt it. It is true. It is powerful.
How could people do these things? People didn't. A mob did.
Mobs actually have leaders. The leaders often lose control, but they get it started and shape it. Loss of those leaders can break up the mob, as it loses focus.
The secret here is not the members of the mob, but dealing with the leaders, preferably before it gets rolling as a full on mob.
By the time a mob exists, things are wildly beyond the safe zone. The rules have changed.
This is really about the deliberate creation of a mob by some, and the failure of our leaders to lead well enough to head that off.
27
Excellent advice for our current president who tells his supporters to throw peaceful protestors out the door and then denies that he's fomenting violence.
11
Mob violence is the animal where wisdom is naughty. It shook me in Ghana recently; transcending, what a word.
1
Mr Thomason:
You remember being in your dorm room, I remember being in Bangkok and on another occasion in Kathmandu, when mobs gathered and ran en masse through narrow streets. It was terrifying.
More recently, I remember our present president inciting his crowds of supporters to mob violence. It was terrifying. I remember reporters herded into pens, while the mob leader incited his followers to shout at them and wave their fists. I remember our president Trump saying he'd pay for the legal defense of a mob member who might punch someone.
We have, right now, a experienced mob leader at the head of our government. He's publicly incited mob violence many times already, and should he do this again, we must not also be "a whole nation" which "through its silence, is complicit."
You remember being in your dorm room, I remember being in Bangkok and on another occasion in Kathmandu, when mobs gathered and ran en masse through narrow streets. It was terrifying.
More recently, I remember our present president inciting his crowds of supporters to mob violence. It was terrifying. I remember reporters herded into pens, while the mob leader incited his followers to shout at them and wave their fists. I remember our president Trump saying he'd pay for the legal defense of a mob member who might punch someone.
We have, right now, a experienced mob leader at the head of our government. He's publicly incited mob violence many times already, and should he do this again, we must not also be "a whole nation" which "through its silence, is complicit."
3
Mob lynching is a sign of state abdication of authority in favour of the lynching mob. This turns the state into an instrument in the hands of the ruling group, and the law subservient to the wishes of the power wielder. Such a perversion of law and erosion of authority is reinforced by the attendant conspiracy of deafening silence that's born out of the prevailing widespread fear in society.
55
Agree that lynching is perversion of law and erosion of authority. Deafening silence and prevailing wide spread fear? India is a country with 1.2 billion, with absolutely independent judiciary (often overreaching into executive policies) , working democracy with its inherent faults and fairly independent media and robust civil society. Every society inherits some ugly elements, but given the strength of above mentioned, any anomalies (which this case of lynching is) will be corrected in due course time. Lynching is an anomaly not anomy, as the author and commentators like to project.
1
Surely the Hindu majority in India recognizes the fact that non-Hindus around the world eat beef. Why, then, should they attempt to impose their own religious convictions upon Muslims (and Christians and Buddhists) in their own country who don't share that faith? Was it not the Mahatma, the father of the Indian nation, who referred to himself as a Hindu, a Muslim, a Christian and a Jew? How should one suppose that others will respect their faith when they're willing to take the lives of non-believers simply because they don't subscribe to those same beliefs?
94
Mr. Freeman:
Read the Hindu Scriptures, According to Hinduism, the present Human evolution is the Fifth such Evolutionary Cycle on Earth out of Twenty One that has to be acted upon Earth. So four such Evolutionary Cycles have already happened. The remaining Sixteen more evolutionary cycles why is it there? Is because, working Karmas that are physical is also part of Spiritual Evolution. My understanding is by the end of the Twenty first and last Evolutionary Cycle on Earth, All agencies involved in the Creation, Sustenace and Dissolution of Life would have attainted Salvation. Which means it is a very elaborate, time consuming and convoluted affair. We are reaching the end of the Fifth cycle. Thats why the World is going down.
Read the Hindu Scriptures, According to Hinduism, the present Human evolution is the Fifth such Evolutionary Cycle on Earth out of Twenty One that has to be acted upon Earth. So four such Evolutionary Cycles have already happened. The remaining Sixteen more evolutionary cycles why is it there? Is because, working Karmas that are physical is also part of Spiritual Evolution. My understanding is by the end of the Twenty first and last Evolutionary Cycle on Earth, All agencies involved in the Creation, Sustenace and Dissolution of Life would have attainted Salvation. Which means it is a very elaborate, time consuming and convoluted affair. We are reaching the end of the Fifth cycle. Thats why the World is going down.
PA: You might want to share that comment with someone like Steve Bannon who would no doubt appreciate it...
3
Let me explain this way. Various states in US have restrictions on production of dog meat - should that be changed because our belief of "mans best friend" is violating eating habits of some of the east asian people who like dog meat? Cow the animal goes at the least in "best friend" category in India, hence the restriction.
Beef from buffalo is still available everywhere in India.
Beef from buffalo is still available everywhere in India.
11
The significance of this article cannot be underestimated. It doesn't speak just to the brutality of those who murdered Mr. Kahn. It speaks to the brutality of all people. We in America have committed similar acts. Americans are not less primitive than Indians. We all carry the same demons inside us.
We homo Sapiens are a tribal species that kill to compete and survive. We are capable of immense cruelty. When sanctioned, we call them wars. When not, we call them genocide. As personal acts, we call them murders. Perhaps this innate barbarity is what the biblical scribes referred to as "original sin". The cruelty that human beings are capable of is without bounds.
Since we all possess this capacity for this cruelty, this original sin, it is of paramount importance that leaders, people in position of societal and political power, do not make public statements that incite these demons. The leader essentially functions as the tribal chief. Nature has programmed us to follow the edicts of the chief. We want to believe what the chief says. We are willing to go to war for the chief. We are willing to kill our neighbors for the chief.
Here in the US, we have reached a dangerous point. Our tribal chief (rejected by most) has used these types of hate techniques to attain power. He has also been relatively silent when such brutality occurs. He condemns those that oppose his implementation of political cruelty and now drops gigantic bombs. The mob cheers.
We homo Sapiens are a tribal species that kill to compete and survive. We are capable of immense cruelty. When sanctioned, we call them wars. When not, we call them genocide. As personal acts, we call them murders. Perhaps this innate barbarity is what the biblical scribes referred to as "original sin". The cruelty that human beings are capable of is without bounds.
Since we all possess this capacity for this cruelty, this original sin, it is of paramount importance that leaders, people in position of societal and political power, do not make public statements that incite these demons. The leader essentially functions as the tribal chief. Nature has programmed us to follow the edicts of the chief. We want to believe what the chief says. We are willing to go to war for the chief. We are willing to kill our neighbors for the chief.
Here in the US, we have reached a dangerous point. Our tribal chief (rejected by most) has used these types of hate techniques to attain power. He has also been relatively silent when such brutality occurs. He condemns those that oppose his implementation of political cruelty and now drops gigantic bombs. The mob cheers.
182
I want to clarify one point. Genocide is not war, but war is often genocide. They both get to the same place. Lots of dead people. Some wear uniforms. Some do not. Some are targeted for their ethnicity. Some are not. They all end up dead.
63
Our history is one of continuous genocide against the native population a genocide that has never been acknowledged in the history books, and a genocide undertaken to acquire native's lands. Can you imagine the chicanery of the homestead act barring Native Americans from participating?
8
We do not have original sin. Humans are not inately cruel. We are raised to be this way. We are taught.
14