21 August, 2010

Security arrangements ahead of Babri verdict in UP


Kar Sevaks atop the dome of the Babri Masjid at Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh, which was later demolished by the vandals. The VHP's saffron flag was hoisted atop the dome. Photo: Hindu Photo Archives
THE HINDU Kar Sevaks atop the dome of the Babri Masjid at Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh, which was later demolished by the vandals. The VHP's saffron flag was hoisted atop the dome. Photo: Hindu Photo Archives

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20 August, 2010

AP Samachar - 20 August 2010

My wives may be Hindu but my kids will always follow only Islam: Aamir Khan

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Flash.... Flash.... 

RS approves foreign contribution regulation Bill __________________________________________ 


August 20, 2010

Shravan Shuddha Ekadashi, Kaliyug Varsha 5112

Know more about Love Jihad

O Hindu women, why do you fall prey into the 'Love Net' of the Muslims? Many Khans in Bollywood had married Hindu girls and then later they divorced them. There children practice only Islam and not Hindu Dharma. This is the case of many Hindu women who had fallen prey to Muslim lovers and has become victims of 'Love Jihad' and now they are living their life more worse than the hell !

Aamir Hussain Khan hails from a typically staunch, conservative and orthodox Muslim family originating from the Khan clan of Peshawar. Belonging to the Shia clan he has never hidden the fact that right from childhood he was quite liberal minded and moreover a rebel person at heart.

He has always made it very clear that more than believing in and having total faith in Islamic religion he has always and completely reposed his faith in 'Allah' (God), the one and only supreme power of the entire universe.

While his friends insist that he is not anti-religious at all but at the same time he is not a fanatic either. So sure enough eyebrows were raised when he married his childhood sweetheart a Hindu-Bengali lass named Reena Dutta and once again a Hindu belle Kiran Rao.

The first query on everyone's lips was would he go the Shahrukh Khan way as far as religious worship was concerned. But true to his words, Aamir Khan silenced his critics in this interactive session with Shaheen Raaj. Let's see how?

What does religion in general and Islamic religion in particular mean to you?

It may mean anything to me, that's secondary. I hate the division of religion in itself at the behest of mankind themselves. Like you just made a very uncalled for and a very discriminatory remark about religion!

In my eyes religion is religion. I really hate its classification. Anyways coming to the point, I would say that as far as I am concerned no I am not a highly religious person at all. I believe more in spirituality.

Moreover, I have always reposed my total faith in 'Allah' the only supreme power guiding and ruling this universe. I pray to him in my mind with every breath of mine. I don't have to seek out the particular 5 times only to offer him my respects.

In fact I have a direct conversation with him in times of happiness, in times of success and above all in times of sadness and failures too.

So what about the rituals and tenets of Islamic religion as preached by Prophet Mohammad (S.A.W), may peace be upon him, in the Holy book of Quran?

I am not saying that one should overlook this aspect of the Islamic religion. But I do believe in the principle of 'To each his own' what I elaborately mean to express is that whether I offer my 5 times 'Namaz' (5 times prayers) or not?

Whether I observe my 'Rozas' (Fasting) in the Holy month of 'Ramzan' or not? Whether I do the regular 'Tilavat' (Reading) of the 'Quransharif' (The Holy Book) or not? Whether I have performed my 'Haj' or 'Umra' (Both pilgrimages to Mecca and Medina) or not?

Whether I take care of the 'Zakaat' (2.5% of net yearly income to be disbursed to the poor and needy) the 'Fitra' (Protection of life of the widows and extremely needy people) and the 'Khairaat (Giving Alms to Beggars) or not?

All these are questions that I do not have to answer to one and all. No I am not answerable to anyone accept my 'Khuda' (God). Yes, I am also aware that when I take 'Rukhsat' (Good Bye) from this world I will have to face all the repercussions of all my 'Gunahs' (Sins).

So it could be 'Sawab' (Blessings) or it could be 'Ajaab' (Curse) considering the fact that 'Allah' ne mere hisse ki nekiyan bhi nazar andaaz na ki hogi (God has not overlooked the goodness in me).

To sum it up, I would say that meri nekiyaan aur meri badiyaan (My good deeds and my bad deeds) is something that is strictly an affair to be dealt with and considered by my 'Allah Miyan' alone.

So how do you observe the Holy month of 'Ramzan'?

Just as every true 'Mussalmaan' (Muslim person) does. But my policy is that ke main dikhawa karne yaa apne 'Allah' ki raah mein ki gayee ibaadat ki badayee maarne mein yakeen nahin karta hoon. (I do not believe in showing off my prayers and practices to the world).

Sorry to say but the mentality of some people in general is still very conservative. So at the slightest pretext they bother more about others 'Imaan' (Faith) and 'Aamaal' (Worship) rather than their own.

So it's not really surprising when you hear people making nasty comments behind my back, of course. For them Aamir Khan 'Namaz' nahin padta (does not offer 5 times prayers) ya Shahrukh Khan 'Roza' nahin rakhta (does not observe fasting) is more of a sensation than a food for thought.

Does anybody even bother or stop to give a thought that being a celebrity we do have a lot of limitations and other problems. And by this statement I am not at all justifying my stand on my own principles of religion.

Did you face any religious dilemma while you were married to a Hindu lady Reena Dutta and later on to Kiran Rao?
No, none whatsoever. We never practiced each other's religion neither did we force each other to do so. But, of course, I had made it very clear that my kids will always follow only Islamic religion.

Source: Santa Banta

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    19 August, 2010

    AP Samachar - 19 August 2010

    Cases of insult of National Flag on Independence Day

    August 18, 2010

    Shravan Shukla Navami, Kaliyug Varsha 5112

    ‘National Anthem’ started even before hoisting of National Flag at Navapur (Dist. Jalgaon)

    Navapur(Maharashtra): The local police informed that main Flag-hoisting program was organized on behalf of the Government on the Police Parade Ground on Independence Day. A peon, Rulji Gavit from Tehsil office had tied a knot of the Flag before the program; but the knot did not open on time and flag could not be hoisted by Tehsildar. During this, the National Anthem was also started when the flag was not hoisted on the post. Then, Gavit brought the flag down and opened the knot and again raised it on the post. A case has been filed  against Gavit by Tehsildar Sudam Vasave at Navapur Police Station for dishonour of the Flag under clause 2 of Preventive Rules 1971. Assistant Police Inspector (ACP) Sudhir Patil is investigating the case further.

    In Urdu School, the Flag was wrapped around a stick

    Khandbara(Maharashtra): There is Urdu secondary school in ‘Kombdibazar’ area in Khandbara. On the eve of Independence Day, the National Flag was tied to a stick instead of a post and was kept on the top of the school. (This is a slap in the face of both the Congress who are showering Government grants on Urdu schools paying total disregard to Marathi Schools ! – Editor SP) The local residents informed the police as soon as they came to know about the incident. (Congratulations to the Khandbara residents for taking prompt acting against insult of National Flag ! – Editor SP) Police Superintedent Neelkanth Mhaske went to the place of incident and talked to the locals. A case has been filed against the Principal of the school, Nasreenbano Ahmad Haji Allakhan based on the complaint of a policeman Nijamsingh Padavi. ACP Ashok Devare is conducting further investigations in the matter.

    Thane church involved in denigration of National Flag

    Thane(Maharashtra): Hundreds of Christians had gathered in ‘Our Lady of Mercy’ church in Thane in the morning on Independence Day. The National Flag was displayed at the back side of the stage with the words ‘To Freedom’ written on it. Mr. Rocky Hindustani, a member of Bajarang Dal was present there who realized that it was denigration of National Flag. (Only Mr. Hindustani, out of hundreds of Christians realized the insult of National Flag. Don’t the other Christians have love and respect for their Nation? – Editor) Before the start of  prayers, he brought the mistake to the notice of Fr. Xavier. (Congratulations to Mr. Hindustani for taking prompt action against insult of National Flag ! – Editor SP) Xavier assured that the said Flag would be taken out. Everybody left after the prayers. In the evening, Mr. Hindustani went to the church along with Mr. Ram Masurkar of Sreeram Sene, Mr. Rajesh Murthy of Hindu Mahasabha, Mr. Abhijit Bhojane of Hindu Janajagruti Samiti and other devout Hindus when it was observed that only the ‘Ashok-chakra’ (made of thermacoal) was removed and the Flag was as it was. (What right such churches have to remain in India when despite bringing the insult of National Flag to their notice, they do not rectify their mistake? – Editor SP) The enraged Mr. Hindustani and other devout Hindus lodged a complaint with Vartaknagar Police Station about insult of National Flag by the church. (The patriots who take action in lawful manner against the insult of National Flag have true devotion towards the Nation ! – Editor SP)     

    Source: Dainik Sanatan Prabhat
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    18 August, 2010

    AP Samachar - 18 August 2010

    This is an Advertisement Hording, belongs to Belnders Pride Wishky Company, had arranged at Secunderabad, Andhra Pradesh.





    Blenders Pride A Multi National Wisky making Company has abused our Holi Siva Linga like this. In this Advertisement, an Young woman stand at Holi Siva Linga and put her Knee on the Holi Siva Linga.



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    16 August, 2010

    Kiwi Shoe- polish in Shiva-Lingam shape

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    AP Samachar - 16 August 2010

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    12 August, 2010

    AP Samachar - 12 August 2010

    Indian scientist proposes solution to math problem


    Shyam Ranganathan 

    CHENNAI: A mathematics problem with a $1-million prize attached to it and one which has major implications in computer applications, like security and machine intelligence, is claimed to have been solved by an Indian working in the United States.
    Vinay Deolalikar, a scientist working at HP Labs in California, has proposed a solution to the problem, commonly called by mathematicians as ‘Is P=NP?,' in a paper he has published online. The problem is one of the seven listed by the Clay Mathematics Institute for the Millennium Prize worth $1 million, which will be awarded to the successful solver of each problem.
    The problem refers to the possible equivalence of two classes of problems. ‘NP' problems refer to those that may take different amounts of time to solve, based on the size of the data. But each solution suggested can be checked easily. An example given on www.nature.com is the solution of jigsaw puzzles — it is easy to verify if a solution is correct but to solve the jigsaw puzzle itself may be very difficult.
    ‘P' problems are those that scale in polynomial time with the size of the data. An example is the problem of alphabetically sorting a list of names. A computer can be programmed to sort the names very fast; and adding many more names will make the task difficult only to an extent and it will still be possible for the computer to handle it.
    Mr. Deolalikar's solution, a 100-page proof published online, says ‘P' is in fact not the same as ‘NP.' This means computer security systems in their current form may be pretty robust to conventional computer-based attacks, but this also means some problems cannot be solved by simply throwing a lot of computer power at them.
    The proof has generated a lot of interest among mathematicians, and some have started looking at the proof to see whether it will hold. But as Richard Lipton points out, quoting mathematician Yuri Manin, on his blog rjlipton.wordpress.com: “A proof becomes a proof after the social act of accepting it as a proof,” and Mr. Deolalikar has to wait for the paper to be published in a refereed journal after mathematicians vet it.
    Interestingly, in March this year, another of the problems — the Poincare conjecture — was declared solved by Grigoriy Perelman, but the mathematician refused to accept the $1-million award.

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    11 August, 2010

    AP Samachar - 11 August 2010

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    10 August, 2010

    AP Samachar - 10 August 2010

    Panipat to Paris: Muslim women and the veil 

    Syeda S. Hameed
    France, historically the upholder of the rights of the marginalised, will marginalise at least some French citizens with its decision to ban the veil.
    — Photo: AFP

    A woman protests in Tours, France, against the government's plan to restrict Muslim women from wearing full-face veils in this February 6, 2010 file photo.
    In 1947 my mother and other women of the family decided to shed the burqa. Our family comes from Panipat, which was at the time a flourishing district of Punjab with a large population of Muslims.
    The distinguishing feature of this erudite, Sufi-dominated town was the primacy of women. Our homes were known by the name of the woman of the house; for example, Bi Maimuna ki Haveli (much later I was pleasantly surprised to see in Marrakesh the same formulation: Riad dar Maimuna). The decision of these Panipat women to remove the veil was accepted and respected by the men of my family. They were agents of their own fate. When several of these women reached Pakistan (per force they had to migrate), they did not revert to the veil. They were not asked to wear them or remove them, either by the state or their families.
    Sixty-three years later, on July 13, 2010, France's Lower House of Parliament voted to ban the wearing of face-covering veils in public places. The vote was passed 336 to 1, with the Left parties abstaining. In its report, the French parliamentary committee said that requiring women to cover their faces was against the French Republican principles of secularism and equality and deemed such practice as a “a symbol of the repression of women and of extremist fundamentalism.”
    What is the link between Panipat and France on the issue of Muslim women and burqa?
    France is the classic upholder of human rights. I, as many of my generation, grew up on stories of the French Revolution, the Storming of the Bastille, ‘Liberty Equality, Fraternity', Montesquieu', Robespierre, Louis XVI, Marie Antoinette, and the ubiquitous guillotine.
    Panipat was the place where caravans of Sufi scholars migrated to from Afghanistan and Iran to spread their teachings among a populace which was ready and willing to learn. Many schools of Islamic jurisprudence flourished there; people openly debated religion and followed their own maslak, each according to his or her light.
    Today, Panipat is a flourishing town where all the obvious signs of development hit you in the face. But the very fact for which it was distinctive has become its greatest bane; its neglect of gender issues gave it one of the lowest sex ratios in the country. From the high regard in which women were held, it has become the district with one of the worst CSR in the country.
    And France, the upholder of the rights of the marginalised, has decreed that of the quarter million Muslim women, the 1,900 who use the face veil will be fined $190 if they emerge in public wearing the veil. Men who force women in their family to wear full face veils will be fined $37,754 and jailed for a year. If this Bill is cleared by the Senate, it will become the law of the land. In this manner, it will irretrievably ‘disempower' at least some French citizens. In the 1960's when its economy was booming, France waived all visa requirements and opened its doors to immigrants from its erstwhile colonies. These immigrants contributed cheap labour to France's service industry and, as is convenient and customary, were concentrated on the outskirts of the capital in ghetto settlements.
    There were relatively few opportunities for social and economic integration. Many of these immigrants were Muslims. It is the women from these areas — the poorest — who will be hard hit by the ban. Muslim women in France will, thus, be caught between two hardships: the hardship at home, where they prefer to adhere to “traditional” dress codes for a variety of reasons; and the hardship outside, where the state requires them to throw off the very same dress code. This fallout is certainly not going to fulfill the avowed objective of the French government of empowering and dignifying Muslim women.
    The assumption is that Muslim women wear the burqa always as a result of coercion. Such a construct strips women of all agency. Sometimes, Muslim women choose to veil themselves not as a symbol of their religious identity (nor in protest against western imperialism) but because they want to become more pious. The body becomes a site for action. Is it not possible that the act of veiling is reflective of an inner dialogue with the self (whether we agree with the finer points of the dialogue is quite another matter)? Is it not a coercive state which quells that inner dialogue? Is it also not a rather ignorant state which interprets bodily embodiments in such simplistic ways? If a Muslim woman's conscience impels her to wear the veil as an act of piety, the veil is no longer a symbol; it becomes an integral part of her. What role does the state have in violating her integrity? There is the experience of the Muslim doctor in Amsterdam. She is one of the thousands of veiled women of Europe. After she donned the burqa, she noticed that everyone around her became more patronising. Shop attendants spoke to her slowly, repeating words as to a child. If she went to return a faulty gadget to a shop, she was scolded by the manager for her inability to operate something “modern”. While the manager's Islamophobic attitude will remain untouched, it is the woman who, if she stays true to herself, will be unable to go to the shop. One of France's few Muslim politicians, Senator Bariza Khairi, fears that some of the women thus targeted will withdraw into themselves, stay in the house. “Instead of doing education projects, we are doing a ban, which I regret,” she has said.
    As a believing, practising Muslim woman, I choose not to wear the burqa, hijab or veil. It is my choice. Islam is very clear in its injunction La ikrafiddin. There is no compulsion in religion. There is no dress code in Islam. Its only injunction is that women and men should dress in a dignified manner. I, therefore, protest any edict imposed by any body or organisation about my practice or dress code.
    If a Muslim woman chooses to practise Islam within the hijab she should be free to do so, if she wants to practise without the hijab, there should be nothing preventing her.
    Hazrat Ali, the Fourth Caliph of Islam said: “Be wary of him/her who has nothing to lose.” These women who are being deprived are the poorest Muslims; they have nothing to lose. Their sensitivities are being needled by such discriminatory legislation. The state needs to engage with those who wear the burqa as well as with those who abhor the burqa. A culture of engagement might be more empowering than a decontextualised recourse to human rights and secularism.
    The example of Panipat, that place of religious engagement and debate, is before us.
    (The writer is Member, Planning Commission)
     

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    06 August, 2010

    AP Samachar - 6 August 2010

    Efforts to tarnish Hindu institutions
    Jitendra Kumar 
    First Published : 05 Aug 2010 11:28:00 PM IST
    Last Updated : 06 Aug 2010 12:29:57 AM IST
    In India, a secular country where there is no shortage of pseudosecularists, Hindus and Hindu Organisations are generally presumed guilty unless they prove their innocence. Intentionally created recent sensationalism of Hindu terrorism amounts to witch hunting. It seems that these efforts are intended to tarnish the image of the RSS and maybe to justify Islamic terrorism. Due to its mission of organising Hindus in a national sense and not a religious sense, (RSS always defined Hindus as those who consider India as their motherland), the entities, interested in appeasing so-called minorities (RSS never supported the concept of minorities as it considers all Indians equal) have been trying to “finish off” the RSS. These efforts started soon after India attained independence.In 1948, the murder of Mahatma Gandhi provided such elements an excuse to malign RSS and without proving this allegation in any legal forum, rendered the judgment and banned RSS. As the allegations were never proved before any judiciary authority, the ban had to be lifted.  Again, after the Babri structure’s destruction, there were efforts to blame RSS for the demolition. However, to date, no court has found RSS guilty.  After every Hindu-Muslim riot, efforts are made to blame RSS and Sangh Parivar organisations for the riot, and again, no one has been able to prove any such allegation in any court.Blinded pseudosecularists have been trying hard to persecute Narendra Modi for Gujarat riots using every possible means.  None of these peace loving folks have ever bothered to speak about a large number of riots in the non-BJP ruled states in which thousands of Hindus and Muslims have been killed.  They keep mum about the killings of thousands of Sikhs in Delhi in 1984 and over 15,000 Hindus in Kashmir and displacement of over 200,000 Hindus from Kashmir. India is the only country in the world, where its own people are forced to become refugees. What about Bhopal gas exposure which caused more than 15,000 deaths, mostly of Muslims, Dalits and poor?Since the Congress party, as a dominant part of the UPA, came to power, there have been constant efforts to target Hindu institutions. First, Shankracharya was arrested and then allegations were made against Bapu Asa Ram.  Again, no court has found them guilty.  Instead of effectively handling the terrorism by Islamic fundamentalists, Maoists and Naxalites, who strike at will, there are vigorous efforts to find Hindu terrorism and involve RSS with the alleged Hindu terrorism. So far, no concrete proof has been found and I doubt the government will be able to convict anyone for the alleged Hindu terrorism.  However, neither I nor the RSS is opposed to punishing anyone found guilty as terrorism is absolutely wrong for any reason or cause.There have been a few stories in the news media about Indresh Kumar of RSS being an ISI agent.  I also heard of sinister efforts in process to target even the RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat in order to damage RSS.  Again, no case or formal allegation has been filed against Kumar.  The news media has ignored the published allegations of CIA’s payment to Indira Gandhi and KGB’s payments to Rajiv Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi.  The media is also silent about the payments by Russia and China to Communists and linkage between dozens of politicians and Dawood.  No one asked for finding three CIA moles in the PMO mentioned by Jaswant Singh.Instead of controlling and averting on- going terrorist attacks by Islamic fundamentalists, Maoists, and Naxalites, CBI is devoting its valuable resources to vigorously pursue  baseless accusations against Hindu terrorism and RSS. CBI has become subservient to the interests of Congress and Sonia.  CBI allowed Quattrorochi to slip away with billions of dollars:  gave a clean chit to Jagdish Tytler and Sajjan Kumar; and threatens Mayawati, Lalu Yadav and Mulayam Singh Yadav with an inquiry in order to force them to support UPA government. There have been recorded incidents of about 5,000 encounters, 800 in UP and 400 in Maharashtra. Then, what is special about the Soharabuddin encounter? CBI has been ordered to get Modi by any means. Sooner or later he would be arrested and/or may be forced to step down pending some “cooked up” charges.  Amit Shah is being framed as a stepping stone. I hope the Congress Party follows this script so that it sets a ground for its loss in the next election which would provide an opportunity to the next government to straighten out the CBI bosses who are merely carrying out “orders”.  In spite of his hatred, Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru never doubted the RSS’ nationalist credentials.  During his discussions with Chinese on the border dispute, he stated that he could not make any concessions mainly due to the opposition by RSS and Jan Sangh.  After the Chinese war, he invited RSS to participate in the January 26 parade.  In fact, when it comes to the interest of Hindus and India, most look towards RSS.  Let us not needlessly harm a nationalist and dedicated organisation. Finally it should be pointed out that a political party, media and the CBI have no constitutional right to find anyone guilty. Only a duly appointed judicial body can pronounce a judgment. A long standing convention, that everyone is presumed innocent unless proved guilty, should also be applied to Hindus and Hindu organisations. Jki73@hotmail.com

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    03 August, 2010

    AP Samachar - 3 August 2010

    1/6th America jobless, 5/6th doesn’t care

    August 3rd, 2010
    Paul Krugman , NYT
    I’m starting to have a sick feeling about prospects for American workers — but not, or not entirely, for the reasons you might think.
    Yes, growth is slowing, and the odds are that unemployment will rise, not fall, in the months ahead. That’s bad. But what’s worse is the growing evidence that our governing elite just doesn’t care — that a once-unthinkable level of economic distress is in the process of becoming the new normal.
    And I worry that those in power, rather than taking responsibility for job creation, will soon declare that high unemployment is “structural”, a permanent part of the economic landscape — and that by condemning large numbers of Americans to long-term joblessness, they’ll turn that excuse into dismal reality.
    Not long ago, anyone predicting that one in six American workers would soon be unemployed or underemployed, and that the average unemployed worker would have been jobless for 35 weeks, would have been dismissed as outlandishly pessimistic — in part because if anything like that happened, policymakers would surely be pulling out all the stops on behalf of job creation.
    But now it has happened, and what do we see? First, we see Congress sitting on its hands, with Republicans and conservative Democrats refusing to spend anything to create jobs, and unwilling even to mitigate the suffering of the jobless.
    We’re told that we can’t afford to help the unemployed — that we must get budget deficits down immediately or the “bond vigilantes” will send US borrowing costs sky-high. Some of us have tried to point out that those bond vigilantes are, as far as anyone can tell, figments of the deficit hawks’ imagination — far from fleeing US debt, investors have been buying it eagerly, driving interest rates to historic lows. But the fearmongers are unmoved: fighting deficits, they insist, must take priority over everything else — everything else, that is, except tax cuts for the rich, which must be extended, no matter how much red ink they create.
    The point is that a large part of Congress — large enough to block any action on jobs — cares a lot about taxes on the richest one per cent of the population, but very little about the plight of Americans who can’t find work.
    Well, if Congress won’t act, what about the Federal Reserve? The Fed, after all, is supposed to pursue two goals: full employment and price stability, usually defined in practice as an inflation rate of about two per cent. Since unemployment is very high and inflation well below target, you might expect the Fed to be taking aggressive action to boost the economy. But it isn’t.
    It’s true that the Fed has already pushed one pedal to the metal: short-term interest rates, its usual policy tool, are near zero. Still, Ben Bernanke, the Fed chairman, has assured us that he has other options, like holding more mortgage-backed securities and promising to keep short-term rates low. And a large body of research suggests that the Fed could boost the economy by committing to an inflation target higher than two per cent.
    But the Fed hasn’t done any of these things. Instead, some officials are defining success down.
    For example, last week Richard Fisher, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, argued that the Fed bears no responsibility for the economy’s weakness, which he attributed to business uncertainty about future regulations — a view that’s popular in conservative circles, but completely at odds with all the actual evidence. In effect, he responded to the Fed’s failure to achieve one of its two main goals by taking down the goalpost.
    He then moved the other goalpost, defining the Fed’s aim not as roughly two per cent inflation, but rather as that of “keeping inflation extremely low and stable”.
    In short, it’s all good. And I predict — having seen this movie before, in Japan — that if and when prices start falling, when below-target inflation becomes deflation, some Fed officials will explain that that’s OK, too.
    What lies down this path? Here’s what I consider all too likely: Two years from now unemployment will still be extremely high, quite possibly higher than it is now. But instead of taking responsibility for fixing the situation, politicians and Fed officials alike will declare that high unemployment is structural, beyond their control. And as I said, over time these excuses may turn into a self-fulfilling prophecy, as the long-term unemployed lose their skills and their connections with the work force, and become unemployable.
    I’d like to imagine that public outrage will prevent this outcome. But while Americans are indeed angry, their anger is unfocused. And so I worry that our governing elite, which just isn’t all that into the unemployed, will allow the jobs slump to go on and on and on.

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    02 August, 2010

    AP Samachar - 2 Aug 2010

     
    Fakhar Zaman , noted Punjabi writer-politician from Pakistan, founded World Punjabi Congress (WPC) to bring together two Punjabs and promote the divided region's culture at the height of India-Pakistan tension during the Siachen crisis in 1984. Zaman, a key aide to late former Pakistan PM Benazir Bhutto and the only Pakistani to receive Indian Punjab's Shiromani Sahitik Award, spoke to Sameer Arshad about the need for greater cultural exchanges to bridge the India-Pakistan gulf: 

    How important are the two Punjabs to the India-Pakistan peace project?

    The key to improving ties lies in greater exchanges between the two Punjabs. There are around 110 million Punjabis on the either side of the border and a whopping 65 per cent Pakistanis speak Punjabi. The focus on shared culture and heritage could be a vital binding force between the two Punjabs and eventually the two countries. WPC has so far organised 24 international conferences in India, Pakistan and across the world with the emphasis on improving the ties between the two countries as well as promoting Punjabi language, culture and the shared Sufi heritage.

    How difficult has the road been so far?

    We've made a historical contribution but faced difficulties as well. I've been under the fanatical threat and my house in Lahore was attacked in 2001. The organisation has made a historical contribution in bringing the two countries together starting with its foundation in Lahore in 1984, which didn't go down well with the fanatics. The conference came in the backdrop of the Siachen conflict. WPC played a prominent role in promoting good relations when it organised a conference in 1986, even when the rapprochement seemed difficult.

    WPC talks about Punjabiyat. How would you define the concept?

    Punjabi culture or Punjabiyat is the ethos of tolerance. We need to revive Punjab's rich Sufi legacy. It's because of this legacy that Punjab historically stood up to bigotry. It's also about celebrating our heroes. Every year, WPC organises a march to commemorate Bhagat Singh's supreme sacrifice in Lahore on March 23. We lay a wreath on the spot on Lahore's Shadman Chowk, where the prison Bhagat Singh was hanged once stood. We've also decided to build a memorial for the Punjabi hero. We're also lobbying to rename Shadman Chowk as Shaheed Bhagat Singh Chowk. We expect that heroes from Pakistani Punjab would similarly be honoured across the border. We can have a Dulla Bhatti Road in Amritsar and what a great binding factor this could be. Bhatti was one of the great sons of the soil, who led a peasants' movement and was killed during Mughal emperor Akbar's reign.

    We've a common past, history, struggles and heroes. Let them be the binding force. We've so much in common to be friends and very little of what divides us.

    What can be the cultural confidence-building measures between the two countries?

    I think we've taken a lead in this. After i took over as the head of Pakistan Academy of Letters (Pakistan's equivalent of Sahitya Academy), we published a large volume on Amrita Pritam's poetry. We've also begun to translate Indian languages poetry into Urdu. Let intellectuals take the lead and isolate terrorists and not allow them to hold the subcontinent's overwhelming peace-loving people to ransom. 

    The New Indian Express
    The Times of India
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