Since his re-election in May 2019, Mr Modi seems to have clearly decided to polarize voters on religious grounds as a surefire way to win national elections. The revocation of Kashmir's autonomy, the Citizenship amendment act and the threat of implementing the citizenship register across India have helped him do precisely that. The issue was in doubt in early 2019 with the economy floundering and a resurgent opposition snapping at his heels, when the Pulwama terrorist attack which killed scores of soldiers, came as a godsend to him. Why rely on economic development, always an iffy proposition to retain political power, when the same can be achieved by constantly demonizing minorities and drawing the majority community behind him?
6
Violence in Delhi is the outcome of hate-speech by Modi and his stooge. If the protector himself dons to be a killer, none can save the victims. By praising Modi, Trump has given a wide message that killing of Muslims is not a crime.
6
This is sickening. Modi has destroyed the fabric of the country. Grave human rights violations are taking place under his watch and we are doing nothing. Can’t believe this is happening in the 21st century
24
This is horrifying. And why was Modi elected? He stood by as sectarian riots left more than 1,000 dead, and he's elected again? That's not a typo, right? 1,000 people dead. Good grief. No wonder Trump sees Modi as yet another of his role models. I'm guessing Trump's thinking: ah, my deplorables could do that. Only our deplorables are armed with AR15s and semi-automatics, not sticks and rocks. It could get ugly here, too.
3
The photo with the guy being beaten is at once powerful and sad. The broken, bloody stick and blood on him....wow. The photo needs an epilogue from the photographer as it's too intense to stand on its own. Did the photographer intervene? Did the man die? I would love to hear the thoughts of the photographer to provide some context, feelings, emotions...and to know what happened.
3
My heart breaks for India and New Delhi, the city of my childhood. The line from Gujrat 2002 to this moment in 2020, if entirely predictable with the election and reelection of Modi, is still tragic nonetheless. The land of Gandhi, Buddha and Mahavir is made bloody by the Hindutva thugs who roam freely and with the support of the current ruling party. This will end in more bloodshed.
25
The new citizenship amendment act (CAA) that is at the root of these protests would justifiably worry Muslim in India. It says that people from the sub-continent from any religion other than Islam would be entitled to Indian citizenship.
Even setting side the obviously discriminatory and anti-secular nature of this law which is being challenged in the Supreme Court, Muslims are worried that the next step would be a national citizenship register that would be implemented to essentially deprive Muslims of their citizenship (and everyone else weeded out would get it back through the CAA). So naturally Muslims are protesting.
The Home Minister and various BJP politicians have actually said this in so many words. The PM tried to backpedal a bit by saying that the national citizenship register will not be implemented, but obviously no one believes him.
I mention the above because I see some comments here that are either incredibly naive or downright dishonest where people ask why anyone should protest against the CAA as it only has the noble objective of helping refugees of neighbouring countries...!!! Indeed...
6
The streets in India did not turn violent on account of President Trump.
That should have been clearly stated by the biased authors of the article.
1
Mr Modi will always keep the country in the boils through sectarian violence and anti-muslim agenda.That's his party subterfuge to shift the focus of the public on the dwindling economy,where banks and business are shutting down,loan defaults on the rise,ease of doing business is almost zero.Jobless chaps will now have to get aligned to any of these fringe groups as a means for making money,while modi silently adds fuel to the fire and preserves his seat.It is under his blessings that these fringe groups get themselves empowered commiting such acts.It is time we people should stop beleiving people who pretend to be defending or protecting the religion and nation.Modi proudly shows Trump and other world leaders Gandhijis vision, his cemetary and sabarmathi ashram etc which still carries the legacy of non violence till date. But what do these fringe groups and hindutva hardliners can show in future when they become leaders ? Needless to be said, modi is a student of RSS.Only dead graves of minorities who these fringe groups killed triumphantly.
3
I saw the attack videos viewed over Trump's praise of religous freedom, a man who so obviously abhors Muslims.
I worked in Silicon Valley for over 20 years, and Indians were about 30% of my companies.
What wonderful people, Hindu or Muslim or what. I didn't know. I am Catholic. Nobody knew what anyone was.
We just worked together to make our companies good.
That is what you try to do to make things great, and well, fun.
3
This is what Trump terms “religious freedom”; that’s the ‘freedom’ members of one religion feel their government gives them to persecute members of another religion.
2
Tulsi Gabbard is a Hindu nationalist and Modi supporter. She is also friendly with Putin and Assad. I fully expect Bernie Sanders to choose her as VP if he gets the nomination.
2
I have to say that the demonstrators who have been protesting the Citizenship Act that Modi government introduced are wrong. These protestors are being egged on and encouraged by the opposition politicians by propagating wrong information about the Act. No Indian citizen will lose their citizenship with this Act. Even in this article the authors say nothing to correct the misrepresentation that has caused the protests. So I am at a loss of what people are protesting! Every neighbor of India has implemented their version of a Citizenship Act. Why is it a problem when India does it? There are millions of undocumented Muslims in India from Bangladesh, Myanmar etc in India who only want economic opportunities, not religious freedom. India with its own 1.3B people cannot keep taking in neighbors who can't make it in their own countries. These same theocratic neighbors assault, forcibly convert, kill and drive out Hindus and the authors of this story have nothing to say about that!
7
It would seem realpolitik has no place, at least in public comments, for calling a spade a spade. That goes for President Trump as well. It would be nice, once in a while, if only to affirm public faith in the decency of politics, to call a spade a spade, IN PUBLIC.
Modi implementing what worked for him in Gujurat in 2002. Turn a blind eye to sectarian violence and the majority (Hindu) votes will follow. As an Indian, I’m ashamed that we call ourselves a secular democracy!
67
This is sickening! It is the second time a religious minority is targeted in Delhi after hundreds of Sikhs were brutally killed in a state sponsored massacre in 1984.
63
@V State-sponsored? My impression was that it was RSS sponsored.
2
There is a long history of religious violence in India. The secular and inclusive vision of India is extremely recent. And the sad fact is Muslims have been the aggressors for the majority of that history, going back to the Jihad declared by the Umayyad Caliphate in the 8th century AD, which saw countless Hindus and Buddhists massacred and enslaved, and their holy places destroyed, with mosques built over their ruins.
For centuries afterward, Muslim rulers would invade India to pillage Hindu and Buddhist kingdoms and cities, each time destroying temples, statues, and icons.
The violence eventually started to swing the other way, as more Muslims settled permanently in India, the local Hindu rulers took their revenge upon them, committing their own massacres, and destroying mosques, and other atrocities.
The colonial rule of Britain did a lot to disrupt the struggle between Hindus and Muslims, but they did not forget their mutual hatred. How could they? The history of India is steeped in religious violence, a great deal of which was perpetrated by Muslim aggressors. It is very easy fuel for a populist demagogue.
72
@Joel
Great comment. With this huge population and both sides convinced that more children will overwhelm the other religion the outlook for India and Indians is horrible. China's effort to eradicate its Muslims should be seen in that light. What the US can do is increase migration from India to decompress the population. It would be wise to take the least educated and most downtrodden......the Dalits etc.
As an American of Indian origin and a Hindu, I am ashamed of the behavior of the Hindu nationalists in India. They are domestic terrorists. The Muslim people in India have the same rights and ownership of the country like every body else. Their behavior is totally against the foundation of the Hindu religion and the founding principles of the country.
207
@Climate Change - This is an example of why there must be separation of religion and the state. It is why the unholy alliance between Trumpistas and evangelical Christians is worrisome. True spirituality unites people. It is blind, fervent dogma that so easily slips over the line into hatred and reviling of the “other”.
Religion and politics are a potent and fatal brew.
34
@Climate Change I feel the same way!
11
Dear @Climate Change
I am of the same background. I am sickened by this social engineering spearheaded by Modi and Shah which is going on . Not sure how this is going to end.
14
India has a long history of political parties cultivating street thugs to carry out their dirty deeds. Religion is one of the incitements used by the parties to settle political and scores.
It’s unfortunate but there is a long history of such street violence.
3
This is sickening. It's certainly not the first time I am hearing about this ongoing violence, but it is clearly getting worse, under the Modi's government. That Trump is winking at Modi now, in public, we can all be sure that the violence will increase and that Mr. Modi will call for even more draconian laws against Muslim Indians, who have lived there for generations. Thank you President Trump, for once again fanning the flames of hatred wherever you go.
5
It's almost as if Modi got a green light from US to crush its own citizens, reaching an understanding that US will remain silent even if there is widespread bloodshed.
It is incredible how many tinpots have used the word "terrorism" to crack down ruthlessly on their own people (and sometimes, neighbors).
It's ok to trample liberty, because it's fighting terrorism, right?
5
as a teenager growing up with this vitriolic hate around me, I can assure everyone on this comment forum that there is a growing fervour of Hindutva Nationalism. Whether we would like to admit it to ourselves, which would require a basic acceptance of our failure in protecting our democracy, is another matter. My Muslim friends have grandparents, who have worked in the army or contributed to our nation in a myriad ways, who today have no proof of their citizenship. Given the imminent introduction of a nation wide NRC, the CAA would render them stateless.
Incidents of communal violence have increased 30% since 2014, when Modi first came into power. We have elected leaders openly propagating shooting university students who exercise their right to dissent, which subsequently led to a shooting.
I'm shocked, and hurt, that Indians are willing to refute these atrocities in a bid to protect our nation's "prestige" in global politics. Get over yourselves and your need for constant validation from more powerful countries.
13
@PJA
ncidents of communal violence have increased 30% since 2014.
Name just one. It is absolutely not true.
1
This is clearly a biased article, against Hindus and India. The Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) has nothing against Muslims who are Legal Indian Citizens. But there are folks who are politically motivated against India and hence all the wrong publicity. Folks commenting here against CAA, do you truly understand what this bill is all about? Most likely no. This is not any different from illegal folks in the USA. Yes, there is religion at play but its because minorities (Hindus, Sikhs, Christians and others) in the neighboring muslim-majority countries around India have been persecuted beyond recovery. And hence the idea of religion as part of this bill.
11
@Tom W you know very little about the CAA and, it seems, nothing about the undercurrents that make it so dangerous. Must be nice to sit in SF and opine! Here, we see the bodies and crushed limbs from this "debate."
1
@Tom W
The CAA, though it is based on religion, may seem innocuous enough. But the CAA coupled with the drive to create a National Citizenship Register (NRC) across India means it will legitimize the citizenship of all religions except Muslims. This has happened in the north-eastern state of Assam where 1.9 million citizens have been declared as illegal migrants, of which about 700,000 are Muslims. While the 1.2 million non-Muslims can apply for citizenship taking recourse to the CAA, the 700,000 Muslims will remain illegal migrants. This dire situation will get multiplied many times if the CAA / NRC is implemented across India. It is an existential threat to Indian Muslims who do not have the "right" documents, hence their protests.
2
Modi began fomenting pogroms against Muslims long before becoming Prime Minister. No wonder Trump loves him. And, isn't it interesting how Trump looks more and more like an old version of the cartoon character Dennis the Menace?
6
When Modi and trump visiting Sabarmati Ashram (belong to Mahatma Ghandi) one journalist asks to a common man who standing there and watching this visit, "how do you feeling this visit", he says "it's like two dons are togther"
8
The picture of the man in fetal position on the ground, being beaten by a cowardly mob, is so shocking for me to see. You always hear about the heartless nature of these acts, but actually seeing that captured in that photo is shocking. How can people have so much hatred for a man they likely do not know and who has done them no harm? A man who is defenseless on the ground, covered in his own blood?
12
Reply @Ethan Be
“Dennis the Menace “ wasn’t a bully.
He was an exuberant friend to all with fun ideas for kids to annoy adults.
All happy endings and lessons learned.
Trump is more like any “ Shirley Temple” antagonist that would torment little Shirley with their riches and wonderful toys.
If this is what had to be the fate Muslims in secular India ... I guess the partition of India was a very right decision though it left millions traumatised but the Muslim future generations here in Pakistan are not threatened to be stripped of their National Identity .
8
One fascist leader endorsing another. What a low point for our country, and theirs.
4
Always thought what beautiful religions/cultures Buddhism and Hinduism were - then along came Myanmar’s ruthless Buddhists and the even more ruthless Indian Hindus - if only both groups actually practiced what they preached.
17
I finally understand what "freedom of religion" actually means for the likes of Trump and Modi: "freedom from other religions."
8
Not going to say Trump has first hand responsibility for the blood letting there, maybe not even second hand. But given his record of bigotry and fanning the hatred of immigrants there is still the stench of culpability about his presence.
3
What a wonderful Country.
4
I hope they find a more peaceful way to end this conflict. Sad how some people attack others just because they believe in different religions.
1
And several Presidential candidates pandered to religionists on stage during the debate. No one spoke of E Pluribus Unum.
When the USA starts to take in refugees from anywhere and everywhere, their words can be taken seriously. The Indian CAA law allows religious minorities from Islamic Pakistan and Bangladesh to obtain citizenship in India, given they have no other county to give them so much as a chance. Why should India allow Muslims from those countries obtain citizenship in India when islam is exactly the basis those countries were founded.
7
The Citizenship Act is not about taking anything away from current citizens. A handful of Muslim leaders and opposition parties in India have scared the Muslims that they are about to lose their citizenship. They are orchestrating protests all over India. Pure politics.
A protest in Delhi has blocked a National Highway for the last 70 days making life miserable for more than one million people. Children cannot go to school or exams, businesses are closing down, commute to work is impossible. Starting Saturday, the protests started spreading and blocking train stations disrupting even more lives. Hey, you want to stretch the limits, right? This is also part of provoking the government to crackdown which again benefits the politics of the opposition parties.
Part of this is violence is from frustrated locals wanting to clear the protesters as the Police was not doing enough. The mobs who wanted to clear the protesters also resorted to beating people up. It is sheer frustration when your life is under siege for more than two months.
In the US, if a group blocks Interstate 35, in the middle of Austin city, how long will it take to break the protest? If the Police do not act, the citizens will do it in a few hours. Indians have too much patience. This crackdown in Delhi should have happened on day ONE.
7
The violence was not as one sided as the article seems to imply. But no doubt the government is responsible for failure to prevent this. I have a troubling feeling that this is just a start. With the kind of hatred thrown around, more violence is yet to come.
2
Anyone who followed the Delhi state election campaign (which the ruling BJP lost badly) knew this was bound to happen. Since the BJP didn't have anything to campaign on in terms of governance (as they were going up against a competent state government headed by the rival AAP party and as the BJP's record of governance in the central government is dismal - lowest economic growth rates in years, highest unemployment level in decades... etc) the BJP shamelessly resorted to a communal, anti-muslim election campaign.
One of the BJP's losing candidates, Kapil Mishra, decided he needs to try and stay relevant and he made a highly threatening speech, with a senior police officer by his side. Riots ensued. Home minister Amit Shah's record is unfortunately of starting riots, not stopping them. So with him in charge, the police are clearly not receiving instructions from their political bosses.
PM Modi is as usual silent. Thats his favourite mode in difficult situations. On the whole, the BJP govt has been a disaster for India. Low economic growth, poor governance, and a dangerous dose of communal polarisation that threatens to tear the country apart...
21
@LK Great summary; thank you.
1
The reality is quite farther from what’s described here. Until recently, India has enjoyed one of the highest growth rates. The stock markets are at their highest levels. The ruling party has been in power for the past 6 years. They were re-elected with larger majority than before.
While the standards for India are low, this government is the least corrupt India has seen in decades.
1
There is an interesting sub-text of the anti CAA protests.
Firstly, the youth from every corner and sub-corner of India is protesting. That is normal. But what they are protesting against is interesting. They are protesting against a “religious test” in any law because it violates the secular ethos of the Constitution.
That is deep!
What is more is that the youth have taken up the Preamble as a philosophical mirror of India. School Children in the assembly recite the constitution as a “National Prayer”. At many protests, the preamble is read out as support. A marriage took place swearing on the Constitution.
Anti-CAA protests began as a protest against religious-test but have morphed into a support of the essence of India.
I welcome this uprising of “civic nationalism”. This is a good thing for the future of the Indian Youth.
15
I am in Mumbai.
The welcome that POTUS received was indeed extraordinary - even by Indian standards.
The tv here has been wall to wall coverage with POTUS - though newspapers are reporting this violence.
It is all to be condemned.
But let's be clear about this so called citizenship act.
It does NOT take AWAY anybody's passport who is already an Indian citizen - regardless of religion or anything.
It BESTOWS Indian citizenship to folks who are fleeing into India from neighboring self described Islamic countries - ONLY because they are NOT muslims.
Government data show NO muslims are seeking refuge in India fleeing from these Islamic countries.
These riots - in my opinion - are more a manifestation of poor economy - largely mismanaged by the current government.
Despite his huge win in the national election just a few months back - and only on account of bad economy - the prime minister's party has since lost almost all regional elections.
It does not help that he himself is a very polarizing person.
11
Ignorance personified. The CAA act will impact Muslims the most. The reason being that it will be used in conjunction with NPR and NRC. The NRC exercise which concluded in Assam recently declared 1.9 million Assamese Indians to be foreigners. Incidentally half of these are Hindus. In order to circumvent the anger and the possibility that a lot more Hindus would not be able to prove their nationality if the NRC was implemented nationwide despite having lived in India for generations, the CAA law was implemented which could allow such Hindus to claim that they came to India facing persecution in neighbouring countries and thereby be awarded citizenship. Muslims would have no such cushion. A lot of Hindus have entered my country and it can be argued that they have taken up our jobs and businesses and are loyal to India. Is it your argument that they should be sent back to India?
1
I am in Mumbai.
The welcome that POTUS received was indeed extraordinary - even by Indian standards.
The tv here has been wall to wall coverage with POTUS - though newspapers are reporting this violence.
It is all to be condemned.
But let's be clear about this so called citizenship act.
It does NOT take AWAY anybody's passport who is already an Indian citizen - regardless of religion or anything.
It BESTOWS Indian citizenship to folks who are fleeing into India from neighboring self described Islamic countries - ONLY because they are NOT muslims.
Government data show NO muslims are seeking refuge in India fleeing from these Islamic countries.
These riots - in my opinion - are more a manifestation of poor economy - largely mismanaged by the current government.
Despite his huge win in the national election just a few months back - and only on account of bad economy - the prime minister's party has since lost almost all regional elections.
It does not help that he himself is a very polarizing person.
5
I am in Mumbai.
The welcome that POTUS received was indeed extraordinary - even by Indian standards.
The tv here has been wall to wall coverage with POTUS - though newspapers are reporting this violence.
It is all to be condemned.
But let's be clear about this so called citizenship act.
It does NOT take AWAY anybody's passport who is already an Indian citizen - regardless of religion or anything.
It BESTOWS Indian citizenship to folks who are fleeing into India from neighboring self described Islamic countries - ONLY because they are NOT muslims.
Government data show NO muslims are seeking refuge in India fleeing from these Islamic countries.
These riots - in my opinion - are more a manifestation of poor economy - largely mismanaged by the current government. And these riots ha[owned exactly where working class folks have suffered the most.
Despite his huge win in the national election just a few months back - and only on account of bad economy - the prime minister's party has since lost almost all regional elections.
It does not help that he himself is a very polarizing person.
4
I'm not entirely sure that I understand the position of India's muslims in all of this. They've agitated for decades about the need for muslim rule, yet they already have that insofar as India's partition led to the establishment of Pakistan for precisely this purpose. They proved more than willing to kill and discriminate against all manner of religious minority to achieve this partition, and yet they lack any amount of moral courage to live according to their convictions and go to Pakistan.
Don't get me wrong, I'm sympathetic to India's muslims insofar as it's obvious to anyone that it's better to live as a muslim minority in someone else's country, given that Islamic standards don't really allow for progressive governance or any kind of ability for people to prosper in the modern world.
This doesn't, however, mean that muslims are doomed. There are all kinds of religious options available to people that don't involve venerating a rapist warlord, and subjugating oneself to the backwardness that is required to be a muslim in today's current interpretation of what that requires. It's also well within their power to pursue a reformation of their religion to make their ideals something that people would actually want to be a part of and live in.
But to the degree that that's not possible, I'm afraid they should accept the inevitable conflicts they'll have with civilizations that people actually want to be a part of.
9
@detective
You got your history wrong. Please read the book on Hindutva by its founder in chief, Damodar Savarkar, first published in the early 1900s, well before Pakistan was born. You can get it on Amazon.in. The partition if the country was the result of Hindutva, not the cause of it. Most people making comments here do not seem to be aware of it.
The actions of these people are so alarming and disturbing. How could they hurt other people so passionately and be proud of it. Is there a way to solve their conflict without violence?
12
I wonder if they know that we are wondering how can you tell if it's a Hindu beating a Muslim or a Hindu beating a Hindu? In these photos they look the same. All dressed in different colors, no identifying hats or banners or arm bands. Can the foreign press really tell the difference. If so would you please educate me on how to identify the different teams. I can't even tell for sure which are police and which are demonstrators wearing protective gear. It all reminds me of a Star trek episode where the combatants are the same colors except on different sides, white on the left or white on the right. To TV viewers they were the same.
As another thought, if Muslims are citizens, have the documents, how is the India government protecting them? Do they get a special "I qualified for citizenship" name tag? If not then how are police providing equal protection for all it's citizens?
Just asking.
6
@Patricia Tawney
Number of muslims deported from India in last 5 years = 0.
So , all this talk of proving citizenship is just false. There is no law passed to require anyone to prove citizenship. The law against which the muslims are protesting is a law that applies only to refugees/religious minorities from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afganistan fleeing religious persecution by the majority muslim comunity there. The law grants the christians, jains, buddhists, sikhs and Hindus fleeing religious persecution a fast past to citizenship. Muslims are demanding that it be offered to the muslims of Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afganistan also!
6
@Patricia Tawney Your first sentence is excellent, precisely because it's so true. There is no difference. We are brothers, sisters, cousins, parents, relatives, and have a shared history and way of life, for all the good, bad, and ugly in that unified culture. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. This, like race, is an arbitrary, unscientific distinction that has absolutely no place in 2020. It's tribal and unbecoming, and we see the evidence of that thinking in the violence and mayhem this article describes.
Bottom line is there is no difference. The fictitious difference was created to divide and conquer.
3
But India is a democracy, so what else do you want? Trump is hardly America’s only huge embarrassment.
7
@John Doe - To be picky, India is a democratic republic. Athens was a democracy. And while on the topic of picky, Sanders is not a socialist but a democratic socialist.
2
A few people being killed in rioting is a tragedy in the west; not in India.
"Will replace the lost in 9 months"
2
I believe the book of revelation predicted that the antichrist would sow hatred and division wherever he went.
4
@Stephen - Yes, it does. But it also says that the believers will be raptured before any of the tribulation and either there are no believers in this country or its just a typical year on this planet with famines, locusts, war, poverty, and evil men.
Anytime religious fanatics rise to power, such as in the United States with the George W. Bush presidency, innocent people die. And other innocent people get involved, ruining their and their loved one's lives. Whether the religion is secretive or has mass appeal, it ends up co-opting the good message of the faith and twisting it so that what matters is not the belief doctrine but the power the inner group can obtain. And then the only thing that matters is your membership in the group and your proximity to the leaders. It becomes a violent, power-serving cult.
9
i dont disagree with the sentiment, but GWB was hardly a religious fanatic.
@Josh Please ask the Iraqis about GWB.
Modi's (usual) silence is deafening.
19
Just to break up the tension,
Trump’s Taj Mahal casino went bankrupt and returned three cents on the dollar to investors.
10
The timing of these riots cannot be ignored - without any new reason - clearly anti Indian forces are trying to create unrest and make india look bad. And looks like they are successful at it.
11
@Anonymous I think it's more of a case of Indians making Indians look bad. Everything that happens is not a conspiracy though some seem to want to find a conspiracy everywhere.
2
@Anonymous By anti-India forces, you mean the ruling BJP? Because they are the ones creating the riots and they are in charge of the police (who can stop it in a few hours if they want to - but clearly they dont have instructions from their political boss...Home Minister Amit Shah)
2
Trumpy would love to bring that behavior back home with him.
6
Obviously as the Indian economy is collapsing Modi was forced to incite sectarian violence to cast blame on Muslims for his own failure to manage the country.
21
This story immediately brought to mind the murder of a Hindu here in Kansas City some time back. A Trumpista barged into a bar, railing against Muslims and foreigners. Then, unable, uneducated and unwilling to discern a Muslim from a Hindu, he simply shot the Hindu. This is just the kind of thing that can be expected, giving we have a president who bestows medals on the likes of Rush Limbaugh and pardons war criminals. I feel sorry for the teachers, who are tasked with explaining this president to school children.
26
It is really amusing to read this article and the short memory.
Couple of facts:
1. CAA bill was passed by the Indian parliament more than 4 months back! There have been violent protests initially and then largely peaceful protest for four months till yesterday. Incidentally yesterday Trump started his visit. Can we not see the connection?
Coincidentally, the Congress party boycotted the Trump visit (remember Lion king and how Mufassa's brother and what he did later!).
2. A few days back this paper, the Congress party in India, and many other Indian intellectuals bemoaned that Modi had spent an enormous sum of money to beautify India ahead of Trump's visit. So, I would like to ask the same intellectuals and this paper, would then Modi and the BJP right on the day of Trump's visit, set fire to the nation's capital to besmirch all the work that that they did?? Were they trying to show pyrotechnics to Trump? Does that make sense? It is like a bride's father after decorating the house for a marriage, setting the house on fire right at the time of marriage !!!
3. If you read closely, all claims that Hindu mobs belonging to the BJP executed this violence is based on people having the Hindu tilak on their head of the rioteers. Really, this is almost a burglar leaving his visiting card behind!!! Hey, guys please note we are from the BJP, just for the record!
So please please do responsible fact based journalism. Please apply common sense.
17
If people had applied logic, demagogues like Modi and Trump would never have risen to power. People lack logic and make up for it with an inflated sense of ego and needless fervor and convert it into an appetite for destruction.
2
A state sponsored attack...To think Trump loves their leader. Wake up America!
7
India should build a wall
And make Pakistan pay for it.
12
BTW, the 3rd photo shows a Hindu being beaten by a Muslim mob (one of the guys is in white Islamic garb).
In any case, across the globe, the trifecta of rising nationalism, inter-religious warfare/terrorism and climate change/environmental degradation doesn’t bode well for our future as a species.
12
@Reader That trifecta has existed for centuries. For some reason, people act like religious or tribal strife didn't exist during the Obama years anywhere in the world. Such violence never went away. Trump being President didn't make it come back. Americans, particularly those on the Left who have never actually been to India or when they do they go to the touristy spots and ignore the other 99% of the population, fell in love with the idea that Indian society was stable, or at least "safe." It's safe enough for most Indians daily people but it has its very serious challenges, including a lot of sectarian violence on a scale we never see in the US.
3
How disgusting. I am sorry to say that I no longer have any plans to continue my extensive travels in the direction of India. Why visit a country that perpetuates the same type of hate, discrimination, and violence as the US?
8
@Blah India has been dealing with deep religious, caste, and tribal divisions for centuries. Gandhi died at the hands of a Hindu fanatic. Usually everyone in India gets along until they don't. Then the violence commences, a bunch of people are killed (women and children among them) and then everyone goes back to struggling to make ends meet.
@Blah
The US is a paradise compared to India or any other place, I know, I was born in India......but I agree with your premise, no need to go to India.
@Blah India has always been on my list of places not to visit.
A few months ago, the NYT reviewed a movie called Vivek. It's English-language version is called Reason. It is a documentary that lays out the cultural and political history of this right-wing movement in India. I highly recommend it. To get a copy, you have to email the director Anand Patwardhan.
6
More than the land,, for hindus and most other faiths, the idea of India is a land of philosophy, thinkers, and all knowledge.
The greatest of eastern thought originated there. Hinduis, Buddhism, Jainism, nihilism, Sikhism, and countless other faiths call that la d home.
Even muslims, that came with the sword melted in (Sufism).
The people suffered unspeakable cruelty at the hands of various muslim i vaders. Endured almost complete destruction of their temples especially in northern i dia.
Test, a few muslims decided at the time of independence from Britain that they could not live in a democratic, multicultural nation.
At the cost of over 5 million lives lost, Pakistan ("Land of the Pure" was born.
As is the case with all Islamic nations, within 70 years of its formation, ninnu Slim's that were about 25% are now reduced to a vaare 2% of the popolation.
India cannot and will not allow another partition on the basis of religion.
Citizenship for people that fled persecution from the neighboring Islamic could tries that have been waiting with valid papers si ce 1970 ought to be given citizenship.
Perhaps NYT will begin an honest reporting on the subject?
15
Sounds like Religious Nationalism is poisonous and destructive.
5
Headline in one Indian newspaper: Neros dine as Gujarat Model reaches Delhi. The title Nero was bestowed by the Indian supreme court. Potus is here in India selling weapons. Flotus is attending a class on happiness. Could you and I with fate conspire?
5
Modi et al is evil personified. State sponsored terrorism toward
a country's own people. Horrific. What a tragedy for India.
9
Yet another chapter in Hindu Muslim violence. Dates back to well over 1500 years ago. Why? The Muslim's conquest of the area just like they did in other parts of the world. In spite the the Left's claims they were not peace loving people. At best, if one did not convert to Islam, one could live a life of fear, hidden in the shadows.
Worse case the Muslim's would go after the non-believers like the Catholics in the newly discovered West or the Nazi's in in Germany.
In the material world for every action there's an equal but opposite re-action. And that applies to human interactions as well.
12
Don't spread Hinduphobia. What about Owaisi brothers, Warris Pathan, Sherjeel Islam, Amantulla Khan, Yogendra Yadav, Kanhiya Kumar, Umar Khalid, Sheila Rashid, Swara Bhaskara, Dr.Kafeel, Arfa khanum, Rana Ayyub, The Wire, Maulanas etc there role should be investigated. Ever since the Parliament passed the CAA bill opposition leaders, Secularists, Communusits, Islamists, Radical Islamiic journalists, Fringe Islamiic elements, radical Communusit journalists, NGO mafia, left activists and liberals, etc were busy in spreading rumors and hate about CAA bill, Modi government and the Hindus. All this has resulted in these riots and loss of lives. Anybody can check the records and the system behind these riots. They all started after the Friday Namaz and they are guided and controlled from mosques, madrasas and other Muslim institutions. Among the students they have found the easy fodder. So students of JNU, Jamia and AMU etc are most active in all these disturbances. The illegal squatters and blockade by Shaheen Bagh fringe Islamiic groups have made hell of the lives of the Hindus. For the last three months their movements, roads, business, employments, livelihood etc have been hit by these elements but Hindus remain calm and tolerant. Radical Islamiic journalists and fanatic Communusit journalists are must active in provoking and instigating Muslims and students. They must be identified and arrested.
15
In New Delhi the echo (foreshadowing?) of Trump is unmistakable. Trump's very fine neo-Nazis have also claimed it was all about the statues. Like here, Trump's white conservative racist base believes that they are the only real, hard working, patriotic Americans. Are Trump's own racist actions toward Muslims pouring fuel on this fire in New Delhi?
4
We now have militant Buddhism, Angry violent Hindu nationalist's, (what the heck is that?) Isis, all examples of how beautiful spiritual practices are corrupted by mankind into religion's. As log as there are religion's, people will continue to die and be murdered in the name of god. Modi may be a Hindu in name, but he certainly does not practice the spiritual beauty of those who understand. Kinda like our Evangelical's completely distorting the teaching's of Jesus for their own self righteous, pious Purely disgusting ego driven humanity. This is all done by gov't and "religious" leader's. What a joke you fools are.
6
@Hal Paris
Equating the teachings of Hinduism to the teachings of Islam is like comparing apples and elephants. Two totally different things. Absolutely no equivalence.
5
@Hal Paris LPA you missed the whole point, so i'll state it again. Beautiful spiritual practices that are inclusive of all humanity are turned into ego driven religious ideal's that divide, not unite us as one humanity. Doesn't matter what religion it is, it divides us.
2
@Hal Paris Hal, you are right - don't listen to the haters. Speak your truth. I'm from India and I "got out of Dodge" while the going was good.
Call out the army.
So sad, why not work together with each other. Religion has been killing millions for centuries. Whatever God you choose would not want this. Maybe the COVID-19 will unite people, but will probably just just make everything worse.
3
99% of the religious riots in India are instigated and started by RSS which nurtures present ruling party and provides ideological and organizational support to it. Prime Minister Modi and his deputies spent their formative years in this party whose sole aim is religious apartheid in India. Do not get carried away by their hypocrisy when they talk about religious tolerance and freedom. It is for international consumption to fool the international community.
They have a well oiled and deeply funded machinery with plans in hand how to and where to create trouble. They also have list of marked Muslim men and their businesses and also outspoken secular Hindus.
Their modus operandi is to open up small local organizations under different and various names which they use to start riots so they have cover of deniability.
Nehru right from 1947 had warned Indians against such forces and repeatedly said these forces are the biggest threat to India’s unity and peace. No wonder why Modi and his cohorts spread lies against Nehru and present totally falsified versions of Indian history. Even SARDAR Patel had warned against them whom they have hijacked to discredit Nehru and other reason is that RSS played no role in the freedom struggle so hijacking of Patel provides them an association with him to fool people they too were part of independence movement.
And they talk of securing India. Their brain dead followers should ask how can alienating 200 Muslims can secure India?
14
@RSB
False. Its Hindus who have been subject to genocide by muslims in south asia. The demographic extermination of Hindus in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Kashmir valley in India stands mute testimony to it , while muslims population in India has in contrast swelled, doubling in % terms in last 75 years.
8
@IdoltrousInfidel
So why India is still 80% Hindu.
At the time of independence India was 12% Muslim and now it is 14%.
You are an example of how brainwashing of RSS works. I am a proud Hindu but do not have the size of a peanut
1
@IdoltrousInfidel You need to read Arundhati Roy before you come out with lies. She is published - don't know if you are. Population is an issue in all communities in India. That's why I don't have kids, but I'm not a hypocrite - you have kids while throwing stones at Muslim's choices.
1
The sooner humans give up the poison of religion, the better.
The foolish conceit that one group of people has some god’s favor because they mutter different prayers than others has resulted in untold bloodshed and suffering.
Most human causes of conflict are amenable to rational analysis and negotiation. Not so once the clerics stir up the uglier emotions of humans and claim divine will requires the slaughter of others little different than themselves.
4
@T Good luck with that, with RSS types in the comments' section! You are right but only a select few understand.
It is hard for Americans (me) to appreciate the horror going on in India. One million killed in partition - merely a statistic. One million killed in 1971 East Pakistan war. A statistic. A million here a million there. When today’s news says ten thousand killed it goes right over our heads.
Cut to the chase: Nehru was wrong about most things, but he was right insisting that India be secular. M A Jinnah was wrong to insist on segregation. Pakistan will never be secular but India must be secular or will perpetually be a third world country.
I trust that my wisdom has forever put this Hindu / Muslim problem to rest. Sorry it took me so long.
Seriously though, the Hindus and Muslims are equally intolerant. If one could wipe out the other they certainly would.
10
@William R. Smith Actually you cannot say that Hindus and Muslims are equally intolerant. Note that the new bill offers refuge ALSO to Christians and Sikhs and many non-Hindus. And it is also true that non-Muslims do encounter discrimination in many of India's Muslim neighbors. So it is a complex situation. But Hindus are NOT generally intolerant.
I hope Modi will have the generosity to reach out to Muslims. And I hope that "secular" westerners will stay out of a troublesome situation.
1
I thought religious people were supposed to be peaceful, loving, tolerant people...just like the American evangelicals...God may help us all if Trump wins again!
6
Once again, India has been plunged into another round of religious violence. No thanks to Narendra Modi and his supporters.
It is amazing that in 2020, people still kill in the name of religion.
India, a country that is vying to be among the world’s largest economies, should not be involved in this.
But then, what do I know?
4
@Saheed Okerayi This is an isolated incident that occured as Trump was visiting India. The journalist and photographers did'nt mention this. This is unfortunate but is not shared by the majority of Muslims and Hindus in India.
There are a host of socio-economic problems occuring in India as the economic disparity between the rich & poor grow. The same thing is happening in Nigeria. Muslims and Christiams sometimes attack each other for the stupidest reasons.
What I'm concerned about is what precipitated this incident. I'll tell you. A group of muslims criminally vandalized Mandirs (temples). This infuriated segments of Hindus who wanted immediated retribution-they should've waited for the police authorites to investigate this matter.
6
It is easy to rend apart. Difficult to stitch back. I hope this phase of governance, that seems to thrive on religious differences ends soon. This can prove extremely costly for India. Most Indians have grown up in an era of mostly peaceful coexistence. I hope they are not taking this for granted. This can go really bad.
4
Ahh, religion! Is there anything you CANNOT do?!?
7
Take a good look at that picture America. Reelect Trump and that is exactly what you'll get. Hate unleashed.
26
@Stefan Ackerman Trump is definitely an abrasive man. But I have seen far more hatred from Democrats against Trump and Republicans than vice versa.
3
@Stefan Ackerman
Very sorry to hear you say that. I hope that the Left behaves if President Trump is re-elected. Considering the derangement that this country has witnessed since 2016, I am concerned that instead of randomly shooting congressmen, harassing people out of restaurants and beating of journalists by masked thugs, I fear that another four years of President Trump will push them over the edge. I hope the police will be ready.
To all you "nationalists" (as in the nationalists v. "globalists" nonsense), this is what you will produce, as has been proven countless times in history and is being proven today.
8
@Uxf As a nationalist, I will take national sovereignty, control over immigration, trade deals favoring our workforce over bankrupt globalism where we are force fed free trade, open borders and cultural assault with no protection from those with fundamentally different values that are allowed to immigrate to our country.
7
@Uxf This kind of sectarian violence has been going on in India for centuries. It went on under the Mughals, and then the Brits took over. The Brits spent a lot of time and effort trying to keep the various sides (India is not just Hindus and Muslims) from killing one another, then gave up and agreed to a partition demanded by the Muslims who feared being dominated in a majority Hindu country. Modern nationalists have nothing to do with this current version of the same old theme.
1
Look at the timing, and connect the dots. This is the back-end operation of the ISI and its money being funneled to radicalization of Muslim youth across the border.
Imran had declared Jihad, and its his intent to force another partition, so his folks can move into his country from India, and replenish the manpower loss they endured, when Bangladesh split.
20
@Gyns D - Amen to that.
5
The anti-CAA protests have been going on for months and it’s got both Hindu and Muslim protestors. There were dozens of deaths before also.
When a man without much education but oodles of anti-minority hate and whose only skill is false propaganda of a mediocre state and Self promotion becomes PM then this is to be expected.
The Indian economy is in shambles, unemployment is at the highest, climate change is slowly destroying livelihood and institutions are attacked. How best to divert but to create attacks on minorities and fake nationalism?
10
@Gyns D
You are probably even crazier than I think you are if you come up with a conspiracy theory like that. I am hindu but I am ashamed of my countrymen who are responsible for this. We will have to hang our heads in shame in front of people like Imran Khan - shame on us !
2
"As the president tours India’s capital, at least 11 people have been killed ... ".
It's a pity he was not one of them.
10
@Philip
I'm sorry. This comment is altogether unacceptable. The last thing we Democrats should do is act like Trump.
5
Only another partition of India, where non-Hindus, Sikhs, lower-class Dalits, Christians and Muslims can live together, peacefully apart from the extremist Hindu majority, is a solution for this region. Mohammad Ali Jinnah, the great visionary and Sir Mohammad Iqbal, the poet-philosopher, realized very early in their political struggle that it is impossible for Hindus and non-Hindus to live together in South Asia in peace. Hence they fought for and created a separate homeland for Muslims. It is time again to create another homeland for the Indian minorities.
5
@Syed Abdulhaq
You are among those spreading the poison of hatred again. This thinking led to the partition of India by Muslims in 1947.
Name an Islamic nation where minorities are granted the same basic rights Muslims demand in the West.
The truth is Muslims want to convert non-Islamic lands into Darul Islam (where both rulers and ruled are Muslims.)
The current protest is the product of the same mindset.
30
@Syed Abdulhaq
What is happening in India is sad but Mr Jinnah was not visionary. He was as megalomaniac as Modi and Trump are. In March 1948 he asked the East Pakistani Assembly in Dacca to give up Bengali and adopt Urdu which all the experts claim seeds of separatism and was the beginning of the creation of Bangladesh.
Jinnah’s ego was so big he wanted a monument to himself which is Pakistan.
And he was popped up by British because he promised them military bases which Nehru has denied before 1947. Look at where Pakistan is today which is due to this visionary.
And his demand for Pakistan gave more fuel to the extremist Hindus.
5
Dear @Syed Abdulhaq
I would be accepting of your hypothesis but in that case why is Pakistan in turmoil; why are all the islamic countries in the middle east always in turmoil ? Please answer that question before spreading more hatred around.
6
Thank you for covering this when most of the Indian and International media is silent. I just want to point out though this is NOT a clash. It is a state-sponsored attack on muslims. It is a pogrom and it is continuing to happen.
882
A brilliant and crucial observation.
71
@Amrita Thank you for putting it in black and white.
60
@Amrita :
Please do not spread lies. Why should the Citizenship Law be divisive, when it is not taking anybody's citizenship? CAA is for persecuted minorities of neighbouring countries. Why should it pain the Muslims?
If the government wanted a heavy-handed response to the anti-CAA protesters, it would not have waited for more than two months. The Supreme Court appointed interlocutor is mediating between the protesters and the government, so why are the protesters resorting to violence?
A policeman, Ratan Lal, a Hindu was killed this morning.
36
Oh, I get it now...THIS is why Trump says Americans love India.
From one erstwhile democracy to another, lessons in an effective takeover by arrogant religious partisans, a model we here in USA! USA! are preparing to follow in short order.
I'd be shocked if there aren't already Evangelical interns cruising the streets of New Delhi learning to wield hoe handles and gas pipes in the name of Christ and a newly moral America.
From Hobby Lobby to consecrated blood on the pavement, we are truly blessed.
290
@John Excellent post.
7
@John I'm curious, but when exactly has "such a takeover by religious partisans" leading to such violence happened in America in the last 4 years? Do you see so called state sanctioned or Trump sanctioned Christian religious violence against atheists or other religions? The current Indian government has a strong stance against non only Muslims, but liberals and Christians as well.
4
@John. The "evangelical interns" you describe would wield guns.
4
How has any organized religion anywhere ever done more good than bad? The evidence of the perils of religions is everywhere.
175
@Bob
Clearly, organized religion has it's fair share of problems, however, to say that it is an overall negative in society seems misplaced. Countless people all over the world have benefited from the charitable acts of giving by organized religion in the way of food, shelter, clothing and schooling. These benefits likely far outweigh the negatives that do come along with belief systems.
The average person is not going to engage in violence over a difference in opinions. Based on this article, we have no real understanding of what percentage of the people in India are participating in the violent portion of these protests. It is very easy to generalize and say that organized religion, as a whole, is bad. The truth is probably much more nuanced than that conclusion.
13
@Bob I don't think we'd be in any kind of secular nirvana if there were no religion. People are people whether religious or atheist.
14
@Brian, I cant think of any amount of religious do-gooding that can outweigh the millions of deaths caused directly by organized religion or in the name or god by condoning religious institutions. Helping some people feel good about themselves does not undo centuries of brutal violence.
31
It sickens me that the President of the USA is hawking weapons to a country that's ruling party has been practicing class and religious war against its own people.
540
@HL Really? Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have done far, far worse, and yet have been receiving US arms for decades. Why is it ok to sell weapons to Islamic dictatorships but not secular Hindu-majority democracies fighting constantly against Islamic terror attacks?
42
@KM - Who said it was okay. FYI there are 2 Hindu majority democracies in the world. Neither one of them can even provide clean water to their Hindu majorities.
48
@HL India has declared war on his lower castes for centuries. They will use the weapons trump lets them have on credit to destroy more of its own...Hindu & Muslim. Then they will spread out & attack their neighbors.
27
This is heartbreaking, as a frequent visitor to India there is no doubt in my mind that this conflagration is being promoted by the Hindu nationalists, politicians who hire goondas, as thugs are known in India to attack peaceful protesters. The secular India of the past, particularly in the North appears to be disintegrating, & Modi & his right hand man, Amit Shah who was banned from making speeches in Uttar Pradesh because of his anti Muslim incitements are responsible.
181
@pburg do consider boycotting India for a while. genocide of minority is imminent.
I wonder who gets all of the H-1B visas given to India? My bet is its the Hindus in greater proportion than their numbers in India.
Difficult to believe that over seventy-five percent of the H-1B visas go to India. Two problems with that:
1. Lack of diversity in H-1B visa awards.
2. Perpetuates poverty among the poorest in India who may be qualified, but will never be sponsored because of their religion (often revealed by surname).
39
@NorthernVirginia Indian Muslims were the ruling class for centuries and make up much of the middle class while Hindus make up the vast majority of the population.
8
@NorthernVirginia H1b is an employer sponsored visa where us companies sponsor folks from other countries to come to US for work. How does religion matter in this case provided the US firm sponsoring is not discriminating. So question for you to introspect. Another thing is H1 requires a higher ed degree and relevant experience for each particular job. Again religion doesnt play a role unless some bigot has this notion.
5
This was a state sponsored pogrom. There is no other way to put this event. You had Bajrang Dal, RSS inspired radical youth rampaging Muslim working class neighborhoods, setting ablaze mosques and targeting anyone wearing a skull-cap.
The Delhi police simply stands there allows Hindu rioters to amass huge quantities of rocks, stones only to be thrown at Muslim businesses and Homes. There was a truck load of bricks brought into neighborhoods there.
This was a state sponsored pogrom. US must sanction Amit Shah and RSS, now before hundreds of Muslims die in India.
30
@John
You need to read this.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/delhi-clashes-man-who-pointed-gun-at-cops-face-detained/articleshow/74293670.cms
5
@Albela Shaitan Times of india is Biased. Read actual scholarly articles and you will realize how blind you are.
2
@Albela Shaitan They don’t want to see this. They want to yell pogrom because it serves their agenda. There are 150 million Muslims in India. Their population has steadily grown. Muslims from Bangladesh and even Rohingyas from Myanmar want to come to India. Why, if there is systematic discrimination against Muslims in India, one wonders? We are wasting our time explaining reality to this ignorant, willfully or otherwise, cabal.
2
All H1-B Hindu nationalists in the US should stop practicing hypocrisy and go back to India. It’s easy to enjoy freedoms in the US. The freedoms they had nothing to do with. Yet at the same time preach Hindu nationalism in order to displace minorities in their home countries. Shameful.
33
@True Norwegian
That is true but so should all US citizens of Norwegian origin if they support scandinavians in any fashion. No double standards allowed in this great country!
1
Indira Gandhi was a dictatorial leader and she paid for her actions by being punished in the elections. Modi has failed to deliver on his promises of economic growth -- which is what got him elected in the first place -- and fully deserves to lose power in the next elections. But distressingly, people may never learn about his dismal performance. Misinformation is so alarmingly rampant that there is not even a single reliable news source like the New York Times or the Washington Post in Indian media. I can only hope that people will be smart enough to separate fact from fiction and punish Modi like they punished Indira.
10
These mobs are a shameful reminder that everything is not hunky dory in secular India and that not all Indians are beneficiaries of the religious harmony and freedoms. India has one of the largest Muslim populations in the world and for most part there is optimal harmony and peace. This kind of lynching needs to investigated and the guilty severely punished and those inciting violence should be held accountable. Facial expressions on these attackers suggests bitter anger as though street justice is somehow justified or the trust in the police or the law does not exist.
13
Secular? Really? Cows are sacred deities?
This one picture at the top of the story showing Hindu mob in India, beating a Muslim is sufficient to counter a million pieces of propaganda by Modi government to prove its " secular" credentials. Kudos to the photographer for exposing the communal nature of the Indian Hindu mobs supported by the Indian police. Time to put economic sanctions on India.
11
Very sad Trump praised the man (Modi) whose militant ideology is creating havoc on the streets. How could Present Trump ignore religious intolerance under Modi? Unbelievable! The persecuted communities around the world look up to the United States with high hopes to safeguard their lives and interests...but the Super Power looked away while Delhi burnt.
15
I understand the Hindus fear. There is no Muslim nation that’s secular and inclusive. Muslim women are only respected in western nations. In their own countries women second class citizens.
32
@Frank Thomas
I see. So, its right that mobs of Hindus roam the streets and beat Muslims bloody. And Its right that the Modi government does nothing about it.'
'
And you're worried about women's rights?
How about you tell us how the Muslims in India have suddenly become a threat? Facts please.
36
@Frank Thomas
"India is perceived as having the worst record for sexual violence, harassment from cultural and traditional practices and human trafficking, meaning it is now considered the least safe country in the world for women." That's from the Business Standard (https://www.business-standard.com/article/current-affairs/femicide-rapes-culture-of-violence-make-india-the-worst-country-for-women-118062700112_1.html). Almost 80% of Indians are Hindu; 14% are Muslim.
25
I think you are generalizing. Indonesia is a secular nation, and it is has the largest Muslim population in the world.
12
The report does not mention what started it all. Muslims are blockadating roads at severel places in Delhi, curtailing freedom of movement of Hindus , in a brazen display of Islamic power. India has been extraordinarily kind to muslims in India, even after muslims perpetrated genocide of Hindus in Pakistan after division of India along communal lines in 1947 on islamic demand.
51
@IdoltrousInfidel
Thank you fro providing the Hindu nationalist position.
49
@idoltrousinfidel
Thanks for your articulate justification of the unfolding genocide in India, the land of Gandhi.
29
@IdoltrousInfidel
India has not been ‘kind’ to Muslims. India BELONGS to Muslims as much as Hindus.
And frankly, we are less worried about Pakistan and it’s citizens, than you.
55
CAA does not curtail rights of ant Indian citizen of any religion. Period. So muslims living in India,protesting it are demanding rights for muslims citizens of Pakistan and Bangladesh to be able to get Indian citizenship, just like the oppressed minorities fleeing the islamic states of pakistan and bangladesh to India.
That is unacceptable and exposes the muslims living in India as fighting for muslims of Pakistan.
32
@IdoltrousInfidel CAA mentions all religions, except Islam. It gives a blaring loud message that Islam is not Indian. Sorry. Unacceptable, medieval message in a seeking-to-be progressive and secular state.
24
@IdoltrousInfidel
An outstanding overview of the Hindu nationalist position.
Your last line is particularly revealing. Very "stabbed in the back", a la Germany in the 30s.
16
@IdoltrousInfidel
As an Indian Hindu living in the US my understanding is that the Muslims in India are worried about how this law can be misused in the future. They are worried that just as in Assam, Muslims will be asked one day (may be 5-10 years from now) to prove their ancestry and heritage at the fear of losing their Indian citizenship. As a religious minority in a country I would be concerned about such a law being passed as well. And frankly, Mr. Modi and his bff, Mr. Shah, have given no reason for Indian minorities to trust them that they will never do what the minorities are worried that they will.
46
In my lifetime India has rose from a young nation with many third world problems such as extreme poverty, inadequate health care for the general population, education access only available to the wealthy elite, & infrastructure problems considered to be a nightmare compared to western standards.
Today India is a net exporter of food. It has gleaming city skylines found in Mumbai, New Delhi, Ahmadabad,& Calcutta. Indias health care is second to none. Many westerners visit India for world class health care that is affordable compared to where they live whether it be Canada, United States England and so on. India's space industry is the envy of the world. India has a middle class of 700 million people which make domestic industries lucrative because there is a ready market for there product. India is the largest democracy in the world.
Narendra Modi was democartically elected with a majority electorate. Previously he was the premier of Gujurat where he brought foreign investment to record levels. Gujurat has experienced and still continues unparrelled success.
It's unfortunate that there are violence between Hindus and Muslims populations in neighbourhoods in New Delhi. However, you cannot vandalize institutions sacred to Hindu populations. Had Muslims maintained peaceful protests there would'nt be a need for condemation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government.
There are over 200 mill. Muslims in India. I'm sure many have more rights & liberties comp.to Pakistan
6
@Deepak
"We are better than Pakistan" is no justification for persecuting muslim minorities.
Open your eyes. Wrong is wrong and you are taking a side whether you believe you are or not.
Where is your paragraph about the discriminatory actions being taken against the muslims of india?
2
@Saadia Memon
As a Hindu Canadian, I'm ashamed that there are communal violence in poor neighbourhoods between Muslims & Hindus. The tragic result is that there are isolated deaths.
If you look closely at the pictures photographed by the New York Times photographer you will see scores of Muslims confronting Hindus in a feudal way where each group crudly confronting each other by throwing rocks at each other. It shows that both groups are equally to blame.
Regarding your assertion that Muslims are being persecuted. Where is your evidence. India has a proud history of protecting it's minorities. It has 200 million Muslim citizens. There are more Muslims living in India than Pakistan, Egypt Saudi Arabia, Bangladesh etc.
It's one thing to peacefully protest against the CAA act. It's another thing to destroy infrastructure and prevent law abiding citizens to live peacefully by the terrorist actions of a violent fringe group of thugs as you witness in Kashmir & New Delhi.
1
The world is being desensitized to a Muslim holocaust taking place.
- Hundreds of thousands killed by a serial killer in Syria with Russia’s backing
- Thousands killed in Bosnia and Chechnya
- Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya killed
- Many thousands killed in India and in Kashmir
- Palestinians stripped of their rights
- Over 500,000 civilians killed in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars
- Many deaths in the China camps which could get worse with coronavirus
3
As an Indian American physician, I find this picture deeply disturbing on many levels.
I am embarrassed to say that I am of south Asian heritage.
The India of Gandhiji and Nehru’s dreams is no more.
13
I am so sorry.
I know how it feels when your country falls so low before your eyes.
I hope the tide turns back towards peace and justice for both the USA and India.
6
@CardioDoc
I would suggest you read local (Indian) newspapers and a verity of them. Then you will realize there is lot more beneath this accusations that Hindus are burning and beating the Muslims. Hindu-Muslim clashes and anti-Muslim clashed are just overblown.
India is VERY tolerant society.
Have faith.
1
Religion is the root of all evil. Although religion has a premise of love, it's conveniently been used to incite fear and hate and divisiveness. There is never a shortage of fallible followers who go to extremes.
3
"Some people say this is the greatest greeting ever for a foreign leader in any country in the world" - Trump
Trump is too wrapped up in his own fantasy about breaking world records of greatness to notice the violence and death just a few miles away.
The only official business to come out of this trip, without irony, is a deal to sell billions of dollars in weapons to India.
3
Is anyone going to have the courage to state the truth?
Whether it is India, Israel, China, the U.K., or Europe, there is a common denominator here that is obvious to anyone with eyes.
India deserves credit for living with this for centuries and still being alive to tell the story.
2
To be fair and balanced.
Buddhist monks in Myanmar are treating Rohingya Muslims in the same fashion.
5
I thought from the headline they were protesting against Trump's visit. He may have wondered though.
This violence against Muslums has been going on for a long time. Tying it to Trump's visit, and I am not a supporter, is disingenuous.
3
I remember reading about a European expedition to Africa in the 19th century. One of the Europeans mentioned to a guide he wondered how the cannibalism he had heard about that occurred where they were, worked. The guide went over to a local and paid him some money and he grabbed a child on the street and killed and ate her.
I'm glad India is similarly so inviting to Trump by showing how real anti-Muslim bias works.
3
@Steve
If you are not very informed about a subject, it is better not to comment. Anti-Muslim bias in India is a myth, not a fact. If you really follow the events from local media, you will know that these riots have no basis than to ferment trouble. Unscrupulous politicians has been using these to their benefits for decades and the media loves them.
Did you know that In Pakistan before partition there were 22% Hindus, now there are fewer than 4%. In India the number Muslims has increased (~ 14% from 8%).
But I do not think you will take me seriously anyway.
3
@Surendra Sharma
Once again, to all my indian friends commenting here.."we treat our Muslims better than pakistan treats its Hindus" is no justification for persecution of muslim minorities. Wrong is wrong. Wake up.
4
Trump bringing his message of hate everywhere he goes.
9
Just like our cultural abuse gun sickness is an aberration re the rest of the advanced world, so is religious violence in India, the Middle East.
It seems Trump is not satisfied with just one in America, gun sickness, he wants to pit Jew vs Gentile, immigrant vs non immigrant etc in America too.
3
People in Kashmir have seen worst atrocities at hands of Indian security forces, it is just that there is no media coverage.
Abrogation of article 370 in Kashmir ( the only muslim majority state in India), decision on construction of temple at the former Babri Masjid site, CAA, NRC, and now this violence. Nobody should be surprised as the current leaders of India are running the country on RSS Hindutva ideology.
10
Modi needs to withdraw the nonsensical bills that his party has introduced and the opposition should not embarrass him in order to prevent further unnecessary violence.
4
India needs a Mohandas Gandhi to bring harmony and political maturity back to the country being torn apart by religious factionalism egged on by Mr Modi's immigration policies. Instead they got a visit by Donald J. Trump, Trump has already shown how skilled he can be at dividing Americans. Trump should have been the first visitor the Indian nation should have prevented from entering the country.
3
I hope someone has informed Trump that there is no need to rush home. Perhaps he and Melania can take a nice cruise on one of the quarantined ships, or pay a visit to China to discuss tariffs and plagues.
8
So the New Delhi street turned into a battleground before Trump's visit and the battle has nothing to do with Trump.
4
That might be true but make no miisstake that Nationalism is the root cause of this violence.
@Wilbur Clark
Yes. Trump just wanted to visit and give Modi support in his policies towards Muslims.
@patriot It's not nationalism. You're projecting a Western view onto the complex relationships between India's sectarian, caste and tribal communities. It is a complex mix of religion, tribal/ethnic identity, etc. Indian, whether Hindu or Muslim, "nationalism" is not what we have seen in the West and should not be viewed in those terms.
1
I recently learned that Genghis Khan, if one can bypass the fact that he was an infamously ruthless warlord, was praised for upholding freedom of religion during the early periods of his rule. This was not what we think of in modern times as the right to practice our religion, but then use it to attack others not aligned with our choice.
Khan declared that everyone had the right to choose what they wished to practice, but under no circumstance is anyone allowed to force, subjugate, convert or harm another of a differing religion. Anyone who did was punishable by death.
The images of mobs descending upon a single person in support of religious dominance is heartbreaking and difficult to see.
Whatever Kahn’s motivation or intent I’m seeing great value (not in the consequences of course) of his maybe idealistic, maybe achievable attempt at surpassing intolerance.
2
Delhi Police fall under the central/federal government. The newly elected government of Delhi has no control over the security of the city. This unfortunately does nothing to reassure Delhi’s citizens that the Police will be allowed to do their duty. It doesn’t help that Modi’s party, the BJP, was soundly drubbed in the local elections in Delhi a couple of weeks ago.
The authors need to further delve into facts before they start echoing the mainstream media in India which no longer acts as a watchdog and is popularly characterized as a lapdog. Depending on the same sources used by the major media outlets will have the same lop-sided result.
Remarkably, the ‘sit-ins’ organized by the protestors have been led by women with the men playing a supporting role as a visit to any of the sites where these demonstrations are taking place will show.
The ‘supporters’ of the newly minted law which runs contrary to the Constitution, have brought in truck loads of stones and mobs.
As to the peculiar beliefs and hate towards Muslims displayed by a section of Hindus, they are amply demonstrated by many commenting on this article.
4
Trump is a nemesis to the world.
3
India under Modi is on the path of self destruction.
8
Like US and Britain.
1
Our arms-dealer-in chief is making this world a whole lot more dangerous. What will he ask of Modi in return? Maybe Modi has the "Ukranian" server that he 's looking for. He is unfit, unhinged, petty, narcissistic - frankly a very poor representative of the human race, let alone our country. His pettiness is already legendary from his raising of the flags to full staff before McCain was buried to his perp walk of Lt. Col. Vindman to his persecution and prosecution of his perceived enemies. Micky Mouse would win the upcoming election but for the democrats again grabbing defeat from the jaws of victory.
6
Very inaccurate reporting, with a deliberate picture that is yet another example of the extreme bias NYT has long had against India and a bias which has become even more pronounced since the BJP won the election in 2014 and again in 2019, the largest free and fair election ever held anywhere in the world.
17
It may be free and fair but that doesn’t make it good for India. The BJP is a Hindu Nationalist party with bigoted ideology intent on “purifying” India of the non Hindus.
7
@Vijay Agarwal you mean the man wasn't being beaten?
12
Which part of the report is inaccurate?
10
This has been happening in India for many centuries, since the Muslims invaded India and began demolishing sacred Hindu temples they considered pagan idolatry.
12
@CJT
The Muslim invasions were in the 12th-16th centuries.
So, the last was 500 years ago.
It would appear that you're justifying the beating of Muslims with clubs for events that took place a very long time ago. With a period of peaceful coexistence in between that lasted hundreds of years.
You'll need to do better than that.
5
This is called “whataboutism,” and it doesn’t change the fact that a mob beating people because of their religion is a pogrom.
Justifying religious hatred and violence has no place in a civilized society.
India is moving backwards at lightning speed.
5
Yes, historical Islamist is ugly and evil. But none of today’s Hindus in India were alive in that period. These are the ignorant part of India’s populace. Just like American neo-Nazis. Don’t make excuses.
4
If you can be comfortable and live with having a banquet in plush surroundings while citizens of the country you lead are slaughtering one another a mile or two away, you certainly have scaled the pinnacle of insensitivity, viciousness, and social disharmony. Listening to Modi’s speeches it becomes abundantly clear that the man harbours a great deal of hatred in his bosom, due to his inability to shake off the complexes arising from the disadvantages of his early beginnings. His treatment of dissenters, his inability to surround himself with independently minded individuals, his serial attempts to dilute the democratic institutions, all point to a highly insecure individual who believes he can only survive by destroying a great of good that he has inherited. In a country which houses 200 million Muslims and various other minorities in significant numbers, desensitising yourself from their well-being and welfare is a sure path to severe civil distress.
15
@Lakshman Pardhanani Thank you for your honesty.
I have printed out this headline and story to show my journalism students what is disinformation.
10
@Shamrock Why is it disinformation?
5
@shamrock, can you please clarify which part of this new is disinformation. My sister lives in Delhi and the conditions there are much worse then what this report depicts.
1
When you have to evil individuals and criminals together, you can only have evil on the streets. If these were normal individuals, they would seek to unite and provide peace. But they’re not. These are two characters (notice i never call them “men,” they’re not!) of small and weak stature and moral and ethical standing, and deep evil in their minds! They cause pain and divide and they’re cowards. They are evil, they sow evil, and reap evil wherever they go! These two will be remembered as the evil they’re! Evils reminiscent of past evils, who cause division and hate!
4
And our president, who likely has no real understanding of the long-standing conflict between the two religious factions in India, least of all the role Modi has played in that conflict in the past, walks in and throws gasoline on the fire in his speech yesterday by blurting out one of his favorite phrases: radical Islamic terrorism.
A nice meaty bone to his host and, of course, to his base back home.
8
Not surprised by this fake news article with distorted facts. Riots, violent demonstrations, stone pelting had started by about 2 months ago, when the Indian parliament passed CAA (citizenship Amendment Act) by 2/3rd majority. This acts provides a one time "act" to grant citizenship to religious minorities from three countries (Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan), where Islam is "State Religion". This act "does not" affect any citizen of India (of ANY religion).
I have been monitoring the Indian media very carefully for the last few months and have never heard of a Muslim being beaten by a Hindu Mob. Using CCT camera Delhi Police is trying to identify the rioters who burnt buses, shops, cars motor bikes etc. Most reports suggest that the most rioters are Muslims. Please do spread fake news that Hindus are beating Muslims.
13
@Surendra Sharma
We have no way to judge what you say you've seen in the Indian press. Maybe you confine yourself to Hindu nationalist papers? Maybe the Indian press is afraid of Modi? Maybe you're just fibbing, because you want us to think the NYT gets it all wrong (unlikely).
And its not just the Times. Google "Hindus beating Muslims" and you'll get a litany of papers from all around the world who are reporting on the violence.
Apologists for Modi are all over this thread. You're one of them.
4
@surendar, you must not be following the Indian media closely. Google and you will find clips showing security forces pelting stones at mobs in Delhi, and a mosque being vandalized. The reports are not fake and it has happened today.
2
Facebook responsibility for allowing ethnically and religiously charged postings?
1
Yet another example of how Modi allows the divisiveness to continue in India. Hindus and Muslims animosity is at an all-time high because Modi is allowing the extremists in his party to act.
7
Amazing how much violence continues to be perpetrated - pretty much everywhere - in the name of religion.
5
@MH
It seems mostly in the name of one religion these days.
3
Perfect. Trump supports and promotes violence and revenge at his rallies. Maybe he's trying to show other would be autocrats how to gin up violence against minorities?
He and his Natasha may continue to tour the world in their gaudy tacky manner to promote his failing hotels, but he'll be remembered by the bloodshed he inspires.
Let's keep our Orange Jim Jones at home so that we can contain the damage.
4
You only have to look at the recent Indian government treatment of the population in Kashmir.
8
To balance the narrative, here is account of Hindus killed by the muslim mobs , from Indian papers.
Vinod Kumar, resident of Brahmpuri, was stoned to death on Monday night, his family said. His son Monu said that the two had gone out to the street when stones were thrown at them. “Nobody came to help us,” said the son who also sustained injuries.
Hari Singh Solanki, Rahul’s father, a resident of Dayalpur, said he called the police control room around 3 p.m. after he sensed tensions escalating in the area, but no one turned up. “I called all the police officers whose numbers I had but no one turned up. My son died when he had gone to buy milk just around the corner. He was shot,” he said.
There are not many countries where a minority repeatedly indulges in violence against the majority with such brazen impunity, as in India. Atleast 1/2 the dead are Hindus as per reports in Indian papers. I appreciate NYTimes publishing my comments to show the other side of the picture.
11
I think the article does go to some lengths to state clearly that Hindu and Muslim gangs are responsible for the carnage. The descent into violence must be condemned on both sides. When the numerical majority in any society, which also happens to hold the reins of power, subverts the machinery of government to rewrite laws and change the character of a heterogeneous society, the slide to genocide is only around the corner.
1
@S.C. Democracy is exactly that - a government elected by a majority writes rules that they campaigned for. You are either for democracy or you are not. If you don’t like it, campaign against it and win the next election.
1
@IdoltrousInfidel
Give us links.
And tell us how lawless mobs beating peaceful protesters is the correct method to deal with the deaths you mention.
1
Nothing, no one, no people, no country is immune from the heartbreak the impeached one brings, wherever, whoever or whatever he visits for he is King Midas in reverse.
2
Why does Trump want to weaponize a country, India, that is beating up on Muslims? Why did Trump go there now? Why did the incurious Trump visit the Taj Mahal when he created his very own Taj Mahal, albeit a fallen and bankrupt casino, in Atlantic City? Did he have deja vu when he saw a copy of his Taj Mahal?
3
The photos are horrifying. We are all human. Religion is not a reason for hate or violence.
5
Where ever Trump goes, whatever he says, whatever he does, chaos and hate follow.
This is what comes from America First and Humanity Last.
3
Trump talking geopolitics? That's like my dog discussing the Michelin star rating system.
But he and Modi seem to know much about bigotry, politics of division, and self-preservation. Trump is no doubt upset that he may have to share headlines with a real news story of consequence.
5
The photo of the man being killed by Hindus in New Delhi is the face of Modi's India.
A once-easy-going country is now openly corrupt, enthusiastically brutal and in the midst of an environmental collapse.
Modi is India's Trump. Trump is our own.
7
Religious and immigrant hatred always rise when there is economic problems and income wealth disparity. A corrupt man, full of lust for greed and power, uses these tools of hate to divide and conquer his people. Just look at history and our current world and you will see this is so. The necessity to create a more equitable society through just wealth and corporate taxes, universal healthcare and well-funded public education would do much to solve religious divides in India, the US and the world. We need leaders who aspire to help all people and not divide us to rule. Hinduism teaches selflessness, that all people are the same God and that one should treat each person one meets as God. That includes Muslims and immigrants. I pray that the lawsuit against the citizenship law filed by the state of Kerala in south India is successful.
3
This story no doubt wants to make a connection between President Trump's visit to India and this sectarian violence. Even with three authors they could not offer anything remotely connecting the two. Ironically they cite fears that the violence will get worse when President Trump leaves. I wonder if it will even be covered after the president leaves.
3
The photos are so terrifying. Thank you New York Times for reporting how and what division really works in neighborhoods where every day people have to live with each other.
Americans, save democracy from the likes of Trump, who use divisiveness and hate to get elected. Use your vote.
3
Surprise, surprise, Trump brings harmony and happiness wherever he goes.
1
A central tenet of Hinduism is that all paths to God/the Universal soul are equally valid. This is why Hindus don’t proselytize. It is tragic to see this gentle, pacifistic religion that brought the world yoga, meditation, the Buddha, and Gandhi be weaponized for political gain.
The British broke India up along religious lines, setting the stage for today. Given the high rates of illiteracy and poverty, and the anger and frustration among the general public at growing Islamic terrorism, it’s easy for religious tensions to flare in India, especially with some political impetus.
In a culture that is thousands of years old, it’s a hope that this ugliness will be a short-lived phase.
6
Modi is another autocratic leader that is representative of Trump’s model for leadership. Modi is dividing his nation much as Trump would like to do here in the US. “Patriotism is easy to understand in America; it means looking out for yourself by looking out for your country.” (Calvin Coolidge). This is not one of Trump’s mantras. Trump is dangerous to our government’s health, make no mistake.
6
A sad illustration of how a leader can turn their people against each other.
Trump and Modi certainly seem to have that in common.
5
This is awful on every level. When will we separate religion from politics?
1
Several Hindu men said they felt Muslims didn’t belong in India.
————
Hindutva as defined by RSS is based on the etymology of the word. Persians referred to all Indians as Hindus, sans religious connotation. The word Hindu is of more recent origin and used officially by colonial and now Indian administration in terms of religious identity.
This confusion has been used opportunistically by BJP as a dog whistle for communal polarization. The party is hesitant to break free, since the attempt made once earlier by former PM Vajpayee led to losing elections.
The choice is stark for BJP; opt for Bharatiyata expounded by Vajpayee to unify India and put development on a higher track but risk losing elections. So far it has not been India first.
3
Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.
– Martin Luther King Jr.
The endless tale of man’s inhumanity to man. My parents started taking me to a progressive Baptist church when I was 5, even though they didn’t go themselves. I really learned to “love my neighbor”....ALL my neighbors....the Golden Rule.....the example of the Good Samaritan. That has stayed with me all my life. This kind of violence and intolerance, including the fraud I see in facets of the Christian church in the US, is so sad and shameful. Too many hearts need the light of love.
3
During the violence in Northern Ireland I kept wondering how the two sides could tell each other apart. Reading this article makes me ask the same question.
12
One wonders how long it'll be until violence like this begins to take hold in American cities where our president, a heathen, encourages religious discrimination against anyone who isn't an "oppressed" Christian and the Louboutin-shod wealthy have become accustomed to stepping over people who have no shoes at all.
39
@Randy Sanity prevails in these United States of America.
I am not saying it can not happen here, but I assure you my countryman, and my neighbors are the best. This is from a Muslim living in in US for past 35 years.
We see through hate mongers among us.
God bless America
1
Sorry to dissapoint you, but with unemployment at an all time low you won't see anything like this in the US.
2
@CJT
the real unemployment number is never told
The law muslims are violently protesting against is the identical copy of the Lautenberg Amendment passed by US congress
"The Lautenberg Amendment, first enacted in 1990 as part of the U.S. foreign operations budget to facilitate resettlement of Jews from the former Soviet Union, allowed HIAS to bring tens of thousands to safety. As the worldwide refugee situation changed, the Lautenberg Amendment was expanded to include persecuted religious minorities in other countries, such as Jews, Christians, and Baha’is from Iran."
Now imagine, muslims in USA of Iranian origin, violently protesting the Lautenberg act, demanding that the preferences being offered to Jews, Christians, and Baha’is from Iran, be offered to the 99% majority muslims of Iran too.!
I presume, the reactions in US would be quite different to such a demand.
28
This law is not about refugees, it’s about people whose families have lived in India for decades and who lack records demonstrating this history because India only institutionalized these records recently.
3
@IdoltrousInfidel
These nuances are lost on the American reader. It is so easy to just label Modi/India as Anti-Muslim.
Just like Foxnews out here, the independent media in India spun this Anti-Muslim narrative so well that the majority of world buys it.
5
@IdoltrousInfidel : Exactly.
Also what NYT is trying to portray as one side pogrom by the Hindu mob is actually a clash between a Muslim and Hindu mobs. The Muslim mobs are encouraged by the opposition political parties.
4
This is exactly the kind of behavior Trump is encouraging here. He would not criticize this, he would support it.
27
@MorningInSeattle
There would be "good people on both sides, on both sides really good people. the best."
I agree Trump is encouraging it, when he plays the victim of impeachment and the Mueller report he is pandering to his ill-informed, uneducated, gun toting redneck base. He knows they will take his side if they feel he has been wronged.
He has even openly said so
"I can tell you I have the support of the police, the support of the military, the support of the Bikers for Trump – I have the tough people, but they don’t play it tough — until they go to a certain point, and then it would be very bad, very bad,"
He is strongly hinting that all he has to do is say the word and they will be unleashed.
A POTUS that can get away with openly making threats and inciting insurrection is someone to be very, very afraid of.
I don't know if he is serious, or if he is totally deluded - or both.
I guess we will find out in November.
1
We should be used to it by now. Where Trump goes, chaos follows. I'm sure India's hostile neighbor and alleged U.S. ally Pakistan is simply thrilled about Mr. Art-Of-The-Deal selling military equipment to Modi.
15
This is suddenly a front page story only because Trump is there?
This has been going on for a very long time. These people hate each other and there is nothing we can ever do to change that.
17
@JSS
Yes, but the president was there and did not discourage the hate. If fact, he said Modi was doing a fine job on the issue of religious freedom, while the rest of the world says the opposite.
Muslims and Hindus have coexisted for centuries before British colonialism. I would avoid making blanket statements that perpetrate this dangerous perception if I were you.
@JSS The headline to this story is the epitome of disinformation.
“It rained during Obama’s visit; sunbathers complain.” Can you imagine such a headline?
1
Make no mistake, this is government sanctioned activity, to punish Muslims (or anyone that doesn't agree with Modi's ideology), similar to what happened in Gujarat riots earlier.
Indians (Mainly Hindus) need to realize how dangerous and corrosive this is. Today it is Muslims at the short end of the stick. It is matter of time when some sections Hindus will be discriminated against. How would you feel when you can't have support from Law enforcement or your own elected representatives? Remember, the smallest minority is, INDIVIDUAL.
24
Remind me, how many people were killed in violent attacks and protests when Obama went on state visits? I can't recall.
12
He sent in predator drones to achieve that, including a wedding party in Pakistan called collateral damage.
1
After casting off nearly a century under the British Raj, India established a pluralistic democracy. Modi has taken that model and trashed it. He and closest advisors hold extremist views when it comes to the treatment of Muslims. They would like nothing better than to purge Muslims from India. Passing laws to deny Muslims rights and with a nod and a wink towards violence in the streets that supports the effort.
Modi knows how to massage our President. Give a big rally, where the President can claim millions came to see him. Then take to the replica India built of his failed casino in Atlantic City. Surround him with meat on the hoof in the streets. Tease him by feeding him vegetarian at state meals but have his minibar stuff with pepperoni, cold cuts and fried chicken. The President is taking notes of the techniques that Modi uses so he might use when he comes home.
13
“This kind of communal violence has left a lasting mark on Mr. Modi’s legacy. In 2002, when he was the chief minister of Gujarat State, sectarian riots left more than 1,000 people dead”-NYT
The Clash Within: Democracy, Religious Violence, and India's Future-by Martha C. Nussbaum and the reports from Hindustan Times Feb 27,2017 have pointed to the certainty of the fire in the train originating from within the train entirely occupied by the Kar Sevak ( Religious constructors ) returnees . Muslim of the local area had nothing to do it.
Using this fire and accident as excuse government allowed the airwaves full of Muslim hatred and the conspiracy of other country’s( Pakistan ) involvements to run amok .Gujarat descended into riot and killings .The promptness of the Hindu rioters ,open reluctance of the administration to impose law and order and the inactivity of the police prove one thing that the riot was planned and premeditated .
9
This is nothing new. Pakistan ISI causes these disturbances during the visit of a U.S. President. They did even worse during the visit of Bill Clinton by killing 35 villagers of Sikh community in Kashmir. That one to bring Kashmir issue to the attention of U.S President. This time, during Trump visit they want to show that Modi is a Hindu ideologist. Only innocent people die. That wouldn’t matter to terrorists.
17
You are badly mistaken when you say that ISI was responsible for the killings of innocent Sikhs at Chattisingh Pora in Kashmir when Bill Clinton visited. If you do some research you will be surprised with what you will find out. Hint : it wasn’t ISI and it wasn’t Kashmiri militants.
I am ashamed that this is happening in the land of Gandhi.
Horrible!
Violence begets violence! The vicious cycle never ends!
6
Ah, great. Western media with its judgments again. *yawn*
12
@Cygnus
What do you mean? Should western media not report atrocities that happen in different parts of the world? Anti-colonialism, when ridiculous, holds no credibility! I am a practicing Hindu originally from India and I am REVOLTED by this violence from Hindu zealots. They do not represent me at all. I am grateful to western media for covering these atrocities with scientific accuracy!
5
@DM Report by all means. But report fairly. At least half the dead are Hindus.
Quite awful
Men are getting angrier and angrier
It’s like that 28 days later disease.
2
The law and order of Delhi is managed by a local non-BJP government. So let’s not jump to a conclusion government pogroms.
5
@Chetan Saiya Wrong. Delhi police are under the central government.
1
@Chetan Saiya No it is not. The law and order is under central BJP government.
The law and order in Delhi is NOT under local government. Delhi is a union territory.
The pictures accompanying the article are sad and paint a one sided false narrative. In the violence , muslim mobs have killed Hindus, including policemen and threatened them with guns. The pictures are widely available but the report chose not to show any such pictures. This serves no purpose to further a biased narrative.
18
@IdoltrousInfidel When confronted by a photo of a man--crumpled before circle of bat-wielding brutes, bloodied and possibly broken--this is what you choose to invoke, cheap both-sidesim? Disgraceful.
15
@Daycart Why do you automatically assume the man is innocent? You're just as biased as the people you're criticizing.
There are too many people in India. There are too many people in the world. The proximate causes of this sort of thing vary by location and time. But the ultimate cause is ever clearer, and the problem is trying to solve itself because we dither about it and wring our hands.
There is a default solution to overpopulation. We see it in India, Myanmar, Syria, the Sahel, and at our southern border. It is what happens when we let overpopulation happen and even help it along by increasing our lifespans and the percentage of children who survive childhood and our agricultural productivity -- all good and noble things, but . . .
6
That’s the face of populist rightist politics. Pompous and divisive leaders fomenting murderous civil strife with gleaming eyes, like wolves sighting prey.
9
" … the Hindu crowd chanted religious slogans." … you really can't witness a greater hypocrisy than this!
8
@Rev Bates You must have missed Republican Senators during the recent impeachment proceedings and the ensuing aftermath of vengeance invoked by the impeached one.
Looks like trump's favorite kind of place. Division, racial hatred, religious prejudice, chaos and insanity...No wonder they gave him a large rally...I expected more from India, the home of Gandhi.
13
This is the rise of fundamentalist hindu terrorism, though it is in India but will grow in south east asia to achieve its goal of greater india, as it targets to its neighborhood countries.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akhand_Bharat
6
Americans need to wake up to the changing and more dangerous international environment. Right-wing leaders are increasingly in power enacting troubling policies across the world.
Russia is more empowered than at any point in the last 30 years. Xi in China has declared himself dictator for life. Modi is showing that even the world's largest democracy is willing to reignite old flames and embrace such an outlook. But it does not end there, look at Erdogan in Turkey, Bolsanro in Brazil, Duterte in the Philippines, or Orban in Hungary.
With Trump at the helm here, Brexit in full swing, and Europe incapable, there is little reliable global leadership.
These are dark days for western liberalism.
Yet they may grow darker still, as the number of right-wing governments grow, politicians whose political futures rely upon a perception of strength will have little room for maneuver in a crisis. Such a situation on a global scale is one most of us younger folks have never witnessed before outside of history books.
20
The people in general are not the problem but some of the people really are preventing any reasonable addressing of this issue. Republicans. Right now Republicans will not criticize right wing politicians who are following the ways of the fascist dictators of the twentieth century because they think of liberals as their true enemies.
4
Well so much for visiting India. I had always thought of it as a peaceful place to be.
4
@Rob Brown
With the exception of meditation retreat centers, India is anything but peaceful!....but it’s incredibly fascinating, colorful, amusing, heartbreaking, sometimes surreal, often exasperating. I wouldn’t trade my memories and experiences in that country for anything.
5
The world is in a flux, reorienting itself to a changed global order. It does not take rocket science to see that the repercussions are being felt at local levels across the globe. Many pluralistic societies experience the pain of social reorientation at national and regional levels. India is no exception.
In some scenarios across the globe, the fault lines have been racial, in others socio-religious or socioeconomic.
As with the history of emergence of lasting global leaderships, societies will learn costly lessons to realise that for lasting polities, polarisation of electorates is just as ineffectual in the long-run, as sectarian appeasement. The true genius of nation-building lies in recognizing and nurturing the pragmatic path.
What is at test is nothing less than the collective political and intellectual genius of the country, and only time will reveal the extent of the idea of Indian nationhood.
5
India, we are a democracy only in name,
Cry, my countrymen, cry with shame,
Here Gandhi lived and Gandhi died,
But now we hear him vilified,
Sadly, it’s just a political game.
When I was young, I never knew,
If my friends were Hindu, Muslim, Jew,
But now, in this apology for a state,
Lines are drawn, lines of hate,
Tolerance now, is a word to eschew.
Will this phase pass, I do not know,
Hate now, like a cancer doth grow,
But to survive, I must believe,
(In human goodness, or my country leave),
And the lamp of Tolerance, again will glow.
115
Very, very beautiful. And very sad.
13
@Milind
To what degree are Hindus, Sikhs, Christians, and Jews “tolerated” in Pakistan and Bangladesh?
Why do you think these non-Muslims are seeking Indian citizenship?
12
@Milind
the poem reflects the ignorance that has resulted in exterminatuion of Hindus, Buddhists, Jains, Sikhs from entire countries and regions in south asia, by invasive Islam, that branded native Indian faiths as infidels.
16
Muslims in India demanded, and were granted, a sovereign state (now 2 sovereign states) carved out of India in 1947.
No doubt, the minority Hindu population that remained in Pakistan and Bangladesh are also victims of routine violence, discrimination, and ethnic cleansing.
Muslims and Hindus have a long history of discord, to put it mildly. Their respective religions and culture are essentially incompatible. Sometimes separation is the right course of action.
22
@Susanna
Have you ever visited Bangladesh to examine Hindu-Muslim relationship? It saddening to see how we make Trumpian conclusions based on hyperbole or lies.
18
@Hasan
The population of Hindus have declined over the years in Bangladesh.
According to the 1951 census, Hindus were 22 per cent of the population, in 1974 the figure came down to 14 per cent and the last 2011 census suggests the followers of faith consists only 8.4 per cent of the population.
3
@Susanna
Your comment is shockingly distracting from the horrific violence against a Muslim man by a Hindu mob. All this history is meaningless before the here and now of this keen historical moment captured by this photo of a mob bullying one man in an act of pure sadism. This photo demands of us a non-partisan, humanitarian, universal stance and deep inquiry as to why Hindu youth (especially boys) become violent. Why are they spoilt rotten? How can they be raised to respect others -- especially those different from themselves?
1
India is an ancient Country, Centuries ago invaded by Muslim rulers from Persia , who became Indians after generations.
Later Brishsh invaded India and looted it.
After that Indian nationalism became inclusive of all its people, despite their diverse ethnic, linguistic and religious backgrounds.
What Modi is doing to India is destroying the Country, holding trumps hand will not solve the severe problem he created..
26
Brings back memories of an excellent book I read decades ago, dealing with the aftermath following partition of India and Pakistan: Freedom at Midnight. What a gruesome, violent beginning.
2
Modi and Trump are two autocrats cut from the same cloth. Modi just "erased" Nehru from the country's history textbooks due to Nehru's mandate for a secular India. Is revisionist history to indoctrinate kids with his incoherent message next in the Trump playbook? Ignoring history is the first step into chaos.
12
Why does he bring out hate in people? He doesn’t make you want to be a better person.
6
Do you really think it was Trump who brought about these riots? Do you know the history of India and the Hindu Muslim divide. Read up before you speak.
9
I am very well acquainted with the history. I was a senior congressional foreign policy adviser for 20 years and chief foreign affairs advisor to a governor before that. I’m talking about trump to be clear. Trump brings out the worst in people.
2
This dispiriting news on top of the ongoing violence of Muslims versus Christians, Muslims versus Jews, and Muslims (Sunni) versus Muslims (Shia) might, in the minds of the simple-minded and/or bigoted, suggest that there is something inherently violent about Islam. However, as history shows, the ongoing violence between Muslims and Hindus in India has nothing directly to do with past violence perpetrated by Muslim conquerors and their successors, the Mughal emperors who generally ruled the Hindus who refused to covert to Islam with acceptance and peace, and therefore respected them and their temples.
Of course the hatred fueling the current violence has its roots in our species' tribalist nature. But in India that tribalism was nurtured, manipulated and exploited by the British, first by its East Indian Company and mercenary forces, and later by the British government. Like gold-seeking European conquerors in the New World and later land-grabbing Americans who played tribes/indigenous peoples against each other, the Brits exploited the religious/tribal differences of the native inhabitants to control and profit from its Indian colony.
However, Britain's cave-in to Jinnah's Partition demand did more to produce today's hate and violence. Whether it had no other option is for historians to say. But I can say that the violence and bloodshed unleashed by the 1947 Partition is the most likely explanation for the anger and hate on the faces of those in the accompanying photo.
5
@Jamie Nichols
It’s hardly simple-minded or bigoted to acknowledge reality. Most of organized religion has evolved beyond totalitarian theocracy...except one.
3
@Susanna: Why must Americans paint Islam with such a broad brush? Try meeting and talking to Muslims, or better yet traveling to Muslim countries. I have been as critical as one can fairly and honestly be about the hijacking of Islam by Muslim radicals/terrorists, and the need for a robust reformation of Islamic doctrine to bring it into modernity. But to suggest that all or most Muslims still believe in or desire a "totalitarian theocracy" can only be described as simpleminded in its conflation of all Islam with Wahhabism and therefore bigoted.
Wahhabism or salafism is a puritanical, ultraconservative, far-right form of Sunni Islam that does arguably ascribe to a totalitarian theocracy. According to Wikipedia citations the majority of Sunni and Shia Muslims worldwide disagree with the Wahhabists' interpretation of Islam, and many Muslims denounce them as a "vile sect", including Islamic scholars from the Al-Azhar University who regularly denounce Wahhabism with terms such as "Satanic faith". It is only due to the Saudi's outsized support of Wahhabism and bin Laden's terrorist revolution that Wahhabism gained popularity, mainly among the disaffected and angry, most of whom died young for their idiotic beliefs.
Perhaps once those who hold views that all Muslims think and act monolithically actually meet and speak with Muslims, they can learn most of them are just like us: they enjoy freedom and democracy when their militaries and despots we support permit it.
@Susanna
Most organized religion such as Christianity are still relics of past. Thanks to largely secular and liberal forces, the daily life of the modern world is free from religion and its absurdities. Isolating Islam is not useful as all religions are guilty of stagnation and discrimination against vulnerable.
Maybe Trump should hold one of his rallies to promote socialism in that district. He's already in India why not?
1
Can't Trump take this opportunity to preach love and harmony to India? How ab out some brotherly love to spread around? Has Trump noticed yet that most of India does not look, think, or act like he does?
3
When oh when will humans figure out that we need to eradicate formalized religions from the planet? Religion poses and creates far far more problems, brainwashing, radicalism, prejudice and hate than anything else. No one 'needs' religion in order to be good or to do good. Religion is for the ignorant and the uneducated, as these particular Hindus are showing.
8
Lisa - your wish is in vain.....unfortunately humans need some form of religion.... Europe these days is dumping Christianity for the Green Religion (which is corrupting the much needed Green Movement), communism and fascism replaced all old religions and turned Stalin, Mao and Adolf et al. into gods .... with the story going on like this.
The reason for this dilemma ? Nobody can make true sense of our existence, although we are screaming for it. Hence we have all kinds of leaders taking advantage of the situation and offering a shaky and brief relief from this frustration - the mostly harmless types (sports and Hollywood idols), cynical philosophers (Sartre et al), technology gurus (think of how Facebook et al can manipulate the masses .....) and some horrific ones (see above).
But not to worry - in a few hundred million years the sun will burn this planet down and put an end to this aberration of evolution and suffering.
“What made it even worse, he said, was that police officers encouraged the mobs to burn down Muslims’ property.”
Coming to a theater near you, America!
7
Fully one sided report..this is not true story.. Many Hindus house were vandalized
11
When I saw the front image of this news, i 'm furious as striking an umarmed man is thoroughly a coward behavior. Why people carry out babarian riot in the name of religion? It is peace and love that reglion brings to us,is't it? The violent mobs and the brainless government is the cultprit of all of this ,and people always pay the toll.
5
Modi, like Trump, is using scapegoats to manipulate the population and stay in power.
Ghandi must be rolling in his grave.
407
@Bikebrains, @Jerseytime - who are Ghandi and Gandi?
5
@Bikebrains Sadly true. Ghandi himself was assassinated by a Hindu nationalist, Nathuram Godse, because Godse believed Ghandi was too conciliatory towards the Muslims. And now Godse’s spiritual descendant is in prime minister.
Incidentally, in Modi’s India, the man who killed Ghandi is starting to be openly revered as a hero.
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@Jerseytime
Easier said than done, his ashes are in a number of places.
But, yes, it's quite the insult.
4
So much hate in the photo. On this Pale Blue Dot.
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@Jolt
There were elections in Delhi few days ago and the party opposing Mr. Narendra Modi won 62 constituencies out of 70, BJP, the party of Mr. Modi won rest 8.
The politics of Hindu-Muslim hate, an election strategy fanned by the Home Minister Amit Shah,did not work for BJP in Delhi nor in other state elections since Modi came to power for the second time. Mr. Amit Shah was also the President of the Pary until very recently.
PM Modi believes in the politics of Development. He was born in a family roiled in utter poverty and of depressed caste. He aspires to modernize India.
The new President of BJP who received his schooling in St Xavler's, a Catholic School, comes from highly educated family. Expect he will put the party back in rails and deliver a political ethos that is focused on prep-work for development, in the true Hindu spirit of Nishkama Karma, i.e. work for the sake of doing good work, not motivated by rewards only. When good work really gets done, people will notice it and make BJP win.
4
@Jolt Like the reference to Carl Sagan's Pale Blue Dot. The absurdity of human beings!
15
@second Derivative Sorry, but all evidence suggests that PM Modi knows only the hate-filled politics of ‘Hindu-Muslim-Pakistan’
24
This is utterly devastating and heart breaking. I would think that India by now would realize that there is strength in unity. There is strength in being a secular democracy. Violence and fascism has no place in modern society.
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@Californian—I would not assume all of the BJP’s followers want a modern society.
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@Emiliano Z, true. They resemble 45's followers that way.
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@Californian Modi has made more secular moves than the previous, supposedly secular administrations. He ended the infamous triple-talak divorce injustice, he ended Kashmir's special status and made it a normal part of India. It is Modi's opponents who are anti-secular and want special treatment purely because of their religion.
14
I’m sorry but why is any of this a surprise? Has the world really forgotten Modi’s track record with Hindu-Muslim relations when he ran Gujarat?
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@Matsuda
It has been hushed up. Even his court case was sabotaged by the timely death of the judge, followed by finding him innocent.
7
@Matsuda ,
On "last week tonight" with Steve Oliver we were reminded of the history of the Hindu Nationalist movement. It's the same as all Nationalist movements. Pick a group to villianize and act like a victim and you will find losers to vote for you. Everyone who ever voted for a nationalist candidate was someone who was a coward and a failure who needed someone else to blame for their sad lot in life. They have a selfish nature and even if the are wealthy now they live in constant fear of losing their status.
That the POTUS doesn't know the father of India is Mahatma Gandi isn't as awful as him not knowing why Gandi would receive such a label and why the current leader of India doesn't deserve any compliments.
7
Thanks to my parents who migrated to Pakistan in 1947 or else I would be living in fear of the Hindu mobs in India.
3
The law muslims are violently protesting against is the identical copy of the Lautenberg Amendment passed by US congress
"The Lautenberg Amendment, first enacted in 1990 as part of the U.S. foreign operations budget to facilitate resettlement of Jews from the former Soviet Union, allowed HIAS to bring tens of thousands to safety. As the worldwide refugee situation changed, the Lautenberg Amendment was expanded to include persecuted religious minorities in other countries, such as Jews, Christians, and Baha’is from Iran."
The Indian law , similarly gives preference to Christians, Buddhists, Jains, Hindus and Sikhs fleeing persecution from muslim majority Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afganistan. That is the truth. Its sad to see so much false narrative against CAA.
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@IdoltrousInfidel
The protests are based on the American-like paranoia about increased immigration watering down the preferred ethnic make up of certain regions, and the pointed exclusion of Muslims from the benefits of the act (basically, a shorter waiting period for citizenship).
Its hard to imagine why you seek to present this as some kind of neutral, or even compassionate act.
It specifically disadvantages Muslims.
So, yes, CAA benefits the group you mention, and it specifically makes pariahs of Muslims. As the photos here demonstrate clearly, its working as intended.
8
@IdoltrousInfidel
It's not an identical copy of the Lautenberg Amendment.
The US law also allowed citizens of Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos on non-religious grounds (most likely benefiting minorities based on some other criteria). The beneficiaries being people belonging to different religions and other social groups from a diverse set of countries such as former SU, Iran, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos just seems a lot more conceptually different than benefiting people solely based on religion, excluding just the Muslims, from the only 3 Muslim-majority neighbors of India. If anything, it's much closer to Trump's Muslim ban than the Lautenberg Amendment.
The Indian law is also particularly jarring given the Myanmar situation. If the true intent is to be a benevolent state providing refuge to persecuted religious groups in neighboring countries, India could have stood up to Burma's ongoing genocide and extended the same kind of welcome to Rohingyas.
This exposes the underlying interests/motivations. India will go out of its way to exclude Muslims from the 3 countries, even in the face of so much internal unrest. But it won't make even a token gesture towards the appearance of being protective of people belonging to Islam from another neighboring country. That sends a strong message to adherents of that religion within the country.
6
@IdoltrousInfidel Very naive to say CAA doesn't do anything harmful. CAA shows true colors when NPR and NRC gets completed. Ultimate game is to make group of people stateless in their own country especially the poor and downtrodden who can't proof their citizenship.
1
Fear mongering as a political tool is at work in this country as well. To think that our society is incapable of such violent demonstration is to forget history, recent history.
A fully functional democracy guided by the rule of law is a good way to avoid societal degradation.
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There is a lot of misunderstanding about the Citizenship Amendment Act ( CAA) of India.
Indian Muslims are no way affected by this act and it is ridiculous to argue that Muslims coming from Pakistan and India should be considered for Indian citizenship. Muslims in Pakistan and Bangladesh cannot argue that they are being persecuted unlike Hindus and Sikhs in Pakistan
Pakistan is not allowing Rohingya Muslims to enter their country.
The persecuted Hindu and Sikh minorities in Pakistan and Bangladesh have no place to go other than India, that is why the CAA accepts only Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, and Christians but not Muslims.
If Indian Muslims believe that they are being persecuted in India they can migrate to Pakistan or Bangladesh just like the Hindus are migrating from there.
Hindus and Muslims have been fighting in India ever since 1947 when the subcontinent was partitioned on the basis of religion. These communal clashes are not anything new. The timing was expected since the president of the USA was visiting Delhi, these thugs started fighting to put up a show.
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@Padman India has a wealth of shrines to Muslim saints, and accompanying communities of devout law-abiding communities. The shrines are actively involved in feeding the poor, and educating their children and young adults to lead productive lives. Youth everywhere becomes polarized with half-digested ideas, particularly nationalistic ones. Let's not be apologists for laws like this, which are justified by excuses about fairness, but are based on religious bias. I am neither Indian nor Muslim, but I am appalled by the justifications, having been a guest at dargahs (shrines) in Delhi, Ajmer, and Hyderabad, and seen the good work they do, without any extremism or radicalism.
6
@Padman
In Assam,Muslims were rounded up from home after being found lacking in documents-proof of citizenship. These people were not caught at borders sneaking into the country of India from Bangladesh .
Many Muslims and many Hindus don't possess the proof of citizenship despite living there for generations.
This explains the fears of Muslims and unfortunately for some Hindus also.
India and Pakistan separated on the basis of religions. The partition was not fair to Muslim inhabited area . Kashmir Junagaudh and Hyderabad ,and Assam prove that Muslims were not given the geographical percentage of the areas that their numbers would have justified .
But at no time it was never explained or demanded that Muslims should leave India or Hindus should leave Pakistan. It was never offical positions of either country .
4
@Padman What you have said is true- but only half. And that is why it is so dangerous. The other half is the NRC, The National Register of CItizens, in which every Indian has to prove that they are Indian Citizens through documents. And in a country like India, there are many millions without these documents, and they stand to lose all the rights. Now, based on CAA, all of them, except Muslims, will be admitted as Indian citizens. What about the Muslims?
Please let me know your thought on this.
5
I was born in India and immigrated USA like many others who did so in last 30-40 years. We enjoy the bounty of this great secular country.
Imaging in next 5-10 yrs., if Christian conservatives start questioning our citizenships due to loopholes or future interpretation or change in the laws. And when we protest, we would be beaten like the pictures show. This thought raises the hair on my back. But I do very little when it is happening in India. I am ashamed of myself.
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Seems like you are misrepresenting the situation in India by this comparison. CAA is not about stripping any Indian’s citizenship.
A better analogy would be to compare with illegal immigrants in US.
3
@Chetan Saiya
And yet if a law against illegal immigrants clearly stated that it was targeted at those of one particular religion or race, then legal immigrants of that race would not be wrong to fear that the law would be misused in the future to include them as well.
And what positive actions have Messrs. Modi and Shah ever taken that Indian minorities should believe them and trust that they will not misuse this law a few years from now?
2
@Chetan Saiya
Unlike in USA, where we do have proper documents of legal immigration, in India the documents don't exit even if someone was a legal immigrant (e.g. marriage). So, to label them all "illegal" is not fair.
The key here is killing people because they protesting... breaks my heart. And like @SM commented below why the law mentions only one religion. It shows bias.
1
I remember listening to Akshay Khumar making his speech in "Namaste London" about India. I was so proud for them. It sounded beautiful. To read this story made me sad again. I hope that all the nations that strive against one another come to understand that we can't move forward without allowing change to occur.
3
Oh if the world could know peace. How the sun and moon would shine down on us. Oh if the blood soaked streets could cease. How the sun and moon would shine down on us.
2
I cannot recall the last time an article made me weep. I am weeping. Mahatma Gandhi is also. This is not the India he so bravely and peacefully fought for. Or sought.
There is a way to preserve heritage, religion, the integrity of one's traditions, and value systems while maintaining respect and regards for others.
A multitude of diasporas creates communities. Division creates nothing.
16
Why was the blockade permitted in the first place? Why was that permitted in the first place? Why did that go unchecked?
5
Horrifying.
A better U.S. president would speak to India's need to resolve violent conflicts based on religious prejudices and say our friendship with India is based on govt. attempts to resolve this.
Leave it to Trump to love Modi. This is so predictable.
Trump does not care how this violence affects the Indian population. This visit is just an excuse for Trump to have pictures taken at the Taj Mahal and Trump enjoying pomp eye-candy. Nothing is being accomplished in this desperate place.
32
@fast/furious Mr T is himself a divisive politician and infact his presence if probably fueling or empowering a faction.
1
@fast/furious
Nothing is being accomplished?
You are correct, however it has NOTHING to do with Trump, Obama, Merkel, etc
This is a centuries old issue that only they can solve.
But in the middle of all that mire... The business of business still marches on.
Photo ops are a part of it.
Grow up already.
1
This is a deliberate attempt to show just the one side of the story.There is no mention about a muslim boy pointing a pistol and threatening the police officers .I condemn these actions .I condemn both Hindus and Muslims who took to streets and demonstrated violence .But what I don't like is showing just one particular faction in bad light when there is equal fault from both sides.
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@Vibhas Ah, the many sides argument. Trump would love you.
6
@Vibhas The difference however is that the prejudice against Muslims is institutionalized from the top (Modi) down.
11
@Vibhas , Modi is the one who has not only stood by, but actually promoted violence and discrimination against Muslims. There is no "equal fault" when the leader of the country shows clear bias against a particular sect.
10
While the American media criticize Trump for failing to bring up India's human rights abuses, the reality is that Trump has formed alliances with multiple anti-Muslim governments who have made discrimination a policy. The media also criticize Trump in not condemning China's discrimination and harassment of the Uighers, China's Muslim minority. Israel has engaged in a brutal campaign against Palestinians in the name of self-defense. Trump has blocked Muslims at the border, directly showing all the world that Trump can flout the Constitution. All of these countries send the unspoken message that it is open season on Muslims.
41
@Debra Muslim countries haven't said anything about China either. They've also stopped criticizing Israel, since they never really cared about the Palestinians and were only using the issue to distract from domestic problems. Muslim countries have horrific records on human rights, so the world has stopped caring when they complain.
3
The folks committing this violence need to be arrested, charged, tried and punished swiftly. Mr. Modi is making a very big mistake by not standing up to these people, and it increasingly looks like he is supportive of their activities. A whole generation of Indians is looking to him to fix the injustices in the Indian economy and, by extension, Indian society. He is failing on all counts, and only his sycophants can claim he is on the right track.
When it comes to leading, he started with the promise of being a visionary leader, who could inspire young people to dream big, work hard and make a great future. But whether it is his lack of imagination/vision, or the mediocrity of the people who surround him, he is on track to be a charismatic jerk with a big following of greedy, intolerant opportunists. The same people who were rioting in 1930s turned into the non-violent millions fighting for freedom with Mahatma Gandhi. What changed there? The leadership. Mr. Gandhi's steady and sincere example. Mr. Modi should try to tap into that greatness intellectually and not merely in the attire and appearances.
BTW, this rioting, is it happening in every state?Or are there certain regions that have a mental disorder when it comes to living in harmony? Identifying this will help address it more sensibly and effectively.
13
The photos and videos of the violence are especially saddening. The whole Trump-Modi meetup is basically a bromance photo-op between nationalist leaders who want to portray strength and progress as they complete weapons deals and sow more division in their respective countries.
13
This is not it, news reporters were beaten for reporting , people who are on the road were asked to remove their pants to verify the religion (male only)
Endless videos are there , where delhi police is helping a specific group of rioters.
Hindu and both were killed in this violence and it is shameful for democracy like us(india). The situation is worse this it is looking in this picture. May God bless this world
7
The scene the first picture depicts is horrible. The poor man got beaten so hard the wooden baseball bat of one of the attackers broke in half.
This is what racial and religious hatred does. Brutal. Anyone who encourages it has blood on their hands, even if they are not the ones personally wielding a baseball bat.
Respect for the photographer as well. That must have been hard to witness, and yet so important to capture.
74
@Lisa - Problem is, pictures can project one sided and biased views. It is sad to see a Muslim man beaten by a Hindu mob. The exact opposite also happens at the same time and no one says a word about that. Worldwide, many Muslims form mobs and intimidate and threaten others violently. Somehow everyone feels for them like poor souls. Muslims started the protest for something that is not an issue at all. And they have caused severe strain to the public around and the traffic. Police and the government are afraid of dealing with them. At some point frustration builds and things like this happen. Immediately there is an army of "liberal" minded Western media outlets ready to project it as a Hindu violence on poor minorities, Modi is a tyrant etc. Truth is not anyone is interested in. They just want a projected image that they like to see.
4
@Mauryan You might have seen such images on Whatsapp university. Otherwise why don't you see it in media if indeed it has happened.
2
@Mauryan
I cannot believe that you are resorting to both-sideism despite the keen brutality of this photo that captures pure sadism in the Hindu mob! One has to be VERY selfish, to want to see the other side under such circumstances. Instead all Hindus -- especially good hearted ones, should atone for the violence done in their name against a lone Muslim man, crumpled before the mob!
4
There is not much coverage of this in the Indian media.
This is disturbing on so many levels.
Democracy burns.
8
God is good.
On the other hand, free will was His biggest mistake. I thought He loved all of us.
1
Humanity at its best!
1
Trump should of had a Muslim representative at his side at all "events" so as to represent the ideals of America, instead he cozies up aside a similar, historically racist leader, appealing to the majority racist bent. What a wonderful diplomatic representation for the United States to the international community, and with Trumps stance; Death
I'm still waiting for the aliens to show up in their ships and tell us a thing or to, either that, getting along across cultural divides, or the new "Us vs. Them" event; World vs. Alien.....moving in either direction can't arrive soon enough........
5
Well done, Don!
It’s the Trump-effect where everything he touches goes sour, at home and abroad. India has been a tinder box before and after the partitioning in 1947, attempting to separate the Hindu and Muslim citizenry. There were well documented massive slaughters and retribution. Other minority religious sects within India’s borders continue to suffer from disadvantages, the same attitude Trump encourages here at home.
Visiting there often, two decades ago, a senior military officer and scholar told me of his family’s move from what is now Pakistan to India as a boy. They were told it was temporary and they would return. Their Muslim neighbors would watch their house during the absence. He believed that the politicians fanned the flames of religious zealotry for their own purposes. Economic and political pursuits are often disguised within religions. When hasn’t it been true?
8
Hindu bigotry at full display, yet again. What a cruel and hateful society. Under Modi rule it has regressed and will likely join the ranks of banana republic if it continues to march down this path. This level of state sanctioned violence against minorities is not conducive to long term development and prosperity of a nation.
113
The problem is that Modi WANTS this. And trump is playing into his desire.
If Ghandi were alive today his assassin would be a government employee.
121
What's a Hindu-nationalist "worldview?"
7
@Dennis Byron
See:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hindu_nationalism
@Jerseytime Think about the word "worldview" and try to get info some place other than Wikipedia
1
It is worse then this, the india facebook pages are filled with videos where police is helping rioters to collect the stones.
People are killing others after verifying their religion. If there is any doubt the they asked to remove pants as well.
The title of the artical should be Burning Democracy of India. I always suggest my friend in other countries never visit india if they are not hindu.
May God bless victims.
78
Modi has made a long career of state-orchestrated violence against Muslims and political rivals and in support of returning the caste system.
The American politicians and celebrities who have continued to praise him over that career disgust me.
221
Yesterday we were treated to something which only happens now when Trump travels: an old fashioned presidential press conference.
Asked about the violent unrest and deaths, our president claimed he and PM Modi had had just talked about "religious freedom," and offered up another depressing example of post-democratic-values, believe-the-despot, American global leadership:
“The prime minister was incredible in what he told me. He wants people to have religious freedom and very strongly. He said that, in India, they have worked very hard to have great and open religious freedom. And if you look back and you look at what’s going on, relative to other places especially, but they have really worked hard on religious freedom....“We talked about it for a long time and I really believe that’s what he wants."
[Source: The Hill 02/25/20 08:47 AM EST]
39
@ThatJulieMiller He always uses so many words to not answer questions. Maddening.
19
From Heather Heyer to children at the southern border to deaths in India, trump is again bolstered about what is left in his wake.
22
Ah yes. The religious freedom that Trump praised Modi for. Hindus are free to beat up the Muslim minority under Modi.
223
@Chrisinauburn
Just another example of how Trump is jealous of all these
new strong men.
8
Just one more example of how since the beginning of time religious beliefs have caused more mischief and sorrow and wars than any other phenomenon. This is what having 'imagenary friends' will get you. Sickening...
60
@Russell C. There's been plenty of wars that had nothing to do with religion.
4
Trump and Modi are both bigots-perhaps that is the reason they are so friendly.Fourteen per cent of India is Muslim and Modi has enacted a Citizenship Law making it difficult for Muslims to become Indian citizens-meanwhile Trump has a Muslim travel ban.Both men are fanning the flames of discord instead of looking for accommodation and justice.They do not serve the democracies they represent.
155
What this so called leader inspires wherever he goes.
18
Battleground- really? It’s a program against Indian Muslims. Please don’t “both sides” this
153
This is deplorable!
6
I would have liked to see some more in depth analysis in the Times reporting, or at least some links to other articles doing the tough job fo a serious analysis of the situation. What are the long-rooted sources of the tension? What structural grievances has Mr. Modi tapped into, that allowed him to take and maintain power, and make his agenda, so abhorrent to Western observes, so popular with the majority in India? Why does the old, secular, Indian establishment appear to have completely collapsed in recent years? How much of this has to do with contemporary, global, trends (populism, social media, fake news etc.) and how much is very local, Indian, rooted in the aftermath of decolonization etc.? Simply reporting the current riots hardly helps us understand what is going on, or why.
72
@Peaceman
Search for “partition of India 1947” for historical background. As for why the current descent into even more violence than “normal” in India, look no further than politicians fanning the flames of hate.
6
@Peaceman You might start here: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/12/09/blood-and-soil-in-narendra-modis-india
11
@Peaceman
The smart phone arrived in the hand of a billion people with ZERO education, who have been taught only one thing in their life: do as told by your superiors, your religious leaders and the cast above you. That is WHY.
4
It would be like the Rohingya genocide on steroids. The international community needs to take action to condemn these laws, and to put economic and political pressure on India to cut this nonsense. Very scary stuff going on.
32
@Chris Please understand the law first before asking for international condemnation. It provides for a faster track to Indian citizenship for persecuted religious minorities of Islamic countries that were carved out of India. The religious minority population in these countries - Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan has come down drastically since 1947. It does not affect the right of any Indian citizen, Muslim or otherwise. But that did not stop protestors from blockading roads. And now riots.
7
@Jay Please understand the law(s) before apologizing for Hindu nationalism and India's abandoning of its secular history. The fact that religion is now a qualifying factor (excluding Muslims) for citizenship is itself against the concept of a secular nation. If the bill was really about religious inclusion and upholding minority rights, why not include a provision for the Rohingya?
@Chris Why should India take in Rohingya who committed genocide of Hindus? Do a cursory search. There are BBC reports about that. Also, Burma was never a part of erstwhile India.
How terribly sad to consider that the president has just laid a wreath on a memorial to Mahatma Gandhi. What would Gandhi say about this?
99
@Francie Maybe we should ask Trump WWJD and see what he says.
2
I am confused about how this is being called a "clash." As I read through the reports of what is actually occurring, there appears to be a series of violent acts being perpetrated against Muslims with the support of the police and government forces.
273
@HD The media in the US appears to treat violence toward Muslims differently depending on whether it occurs in Europe or India. It's looks like double standard.
17
There are two major factions in BJP, Mr. Modi's party. One is focused on religious assertion of Hindus. The other is focused on economic development. It is similar to Social Conservatism Fiscal Conservatism divide in the pre-Trump Republican party.
Until last year PM Modi delivered on economic growth, but the pace has slowed down since 2019. The natural instinct of the part strategists have been to rely on religious assertion but they lost all provincial elections since their second victory at the Federal level. Hopefully, the second rung leadership in the party will not be roiled in Hindu-Muslim divide and derail the Narendra Modi vision of research oriented economic development.
7
It appears some interpret this visit as a tacit nod to cultural hegemony.
12
@Daniel Kauffman Hindu-nationalists and Nazis have historically been close allies.
42
We have a photographic evidence. Will Indian government take against those folks in the image? It is shameful that it is from New Delhi, the nation's capital. As Hindu I am ashamed of the actions these folks.
200
The same thing will happen here because of trumps racism. Our country has always been racist not just in the south but the north as well.
43
@Dr. B
What strikes me about these photos is that it would never happen in the US in this way. We have come a long way since beating each other with sticks.
3
did you not here about the Unite the Right rally??? maybe do a little google search for images. google Jacob Scott Goodwin
4
@Jackman
Correct,
Here in these United States,we shoot people and not use sticks to beat them up
15
Very fine people, I imagine, on both sides.
A president of the United States needs to condition a warming relationship on promoting American values like religious pluralism and peaceable assembly.
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@Jim U
Until recently, those were also Indian values.
10
@Jim U
"A president of the United States needs to condition a warming relationship on promoting American values like religious pluralism and peaceable assembly."
That certainly doesn't describe our current "president". #45 would be out there urging on the nationalists.
14