Who is afraid of the Taliban?
The Taliban is just twelve kilometers away from Indian borders the headlines screamed yesterday on a news channel. Again and again they showed google earth pictures of how close Lahore is to the Wagah border.
The voice rising, the music soaring in the mad race to gather TRPs. The anchor seemed to be speaking almost from a war zone where a bomb might detonate any moment such was his tone and manner. All he was trying to say was that Pakistan has admitted that the siege of Police School close to Lahore was done by Taliban and that a second strike in Pakistan (earlier in the month we heard about the Sri Lankan team being attacked) so soon meant that the Taliban had gained tremendous strength in Pakistan and could strike in India too.
What made me wonder was his panic striken voice as if this is an unthinkable thought. What’s there to panic about I ask you if the Taliban were to strike?
Is their terror different from what we keep suffering every other day? Can their bullets harm more than the ones shot by our own terrorists?
In India we don’t just have extremist Islamic terror we also have extremist Hindu terror. Whether it is their involvement in blasts (Malegaon) or enforced modesty on women (Mangalore) the Hindus are not behind the Muslim at all in being able to unleash horrors.
Pakistan has only one kind of terror to fight with …..we have Muslim & Hindu extremists. We also had Sikh till some time back. Right now we also happen to have the Maoists, the Salva Judum and the various separatist outfits in the north east. We have the Kashmiri fighters who though they no longer know what it is they fight for continue to do so since it’s one of the easiest career choices in the valley and while it lasts, pays well too.
We also have Varun Gandhi who can fight without an opponent. By the way he reminds me of that ad line for cycles “Rebel without a cause” when I was a kid it really appealed to me, now I merely find it foolish.
So tell me then why does the news that Taliban maybe 12 kilometers away from us need such theatrics….we have enough terror of our own. Infact I couldn’t help contemplating if the great warriors of the Hindu faith would like to go and station themselves at the country’s borders to protect it from Taliban attacks. After all the memory of them avenging the Ram temple by demolishing the Babri Masjid is still strong. Surely they will not want the Taliban to come in and do something which will outshine their achievement.
But then I remembered that the great Maratha Raj Thakerey had been completely missing in action while the action at the Gateway of India lasted. He had resurfaced only when it was all over and those non-marathis from UP, Bihar and the rest of the country had gone and saved the lives of Mumbaikars.
It does bring to mind another question....allow me to digress...its not okay for Hindu women to frequent pubs but is it okay for hindu sadhvis to be publicly embraced by men? I seem to remember such a picture in the aftermath of the Babri Masjid demolition and the person embracing was none other than the new loh purush of Indian politics.
So there you must admit we have nothing to be afraid of the Pakistani Taliban. We have enough of our own.
The voice rising, the music soaring in the mad race to gather TRPs. The anchor seemed to be speaking almost from a war zone where a bomb might detonate any moment such was his tone and manner. All he was trying to say was that Pakistan has admitted that the siege of Police School close to Lahore was done by Taliban and that a second strike in Pakistan (earlier in the month we heard about the Sri Lankan team being attacked) so soon meant that the Taliban had gained tremendous strength in Pakistan and could strike in India too.
What made me wonder was his panic striken voice as if this is an unthinkable thought. What’s there to panic about I ask you if the Taliban were to strike?
Is their terror different from what we keep suffering every other day? Can their bullets harm more than the ones shot by our own terrorists?
In India we don’t just have extremist Islamic terror we also have extremist Hindu terror. Whether it is their involvement in blasts (Malegaon) or enforced modesty on women (Mangalore) the Hindus are not behind the Muslim at all in being able to unleash horrors.
Pakistan has only one kind of terror to fight with …..we have Muslim & Hindu extremists. We also had Sikh till some time back. Right now we also happen to have the Maoists, the Salva Judum and the various separatist outfits in the north east. We have the Kashmiri fighters who though they no longer know what it is they fight for continue to do so since it’s one of the easiest career choices in the valley and while it lasts, pays well too.
We also have Varun Gandhi who can fight without an opponent. By the way he reminds me of that ad line for cycles “Rebel without a cause” when I was a kid it really appealed to me, now I merely find it foolish.
So tell me then why does the news that Taliban maybe 12 kilometers away from us need such theatrics….we have enough terror of our own. Infact I couldn’t help contemplating if the great warriors of the Hindu faith would like to go and station themselves at the country’s borders to protect it from Taliban attacks. After all the memory of them avenging the Ram temple by demolishing the Babri Masjid is still strong. Surely they will not want the Taliban to come in and do something which will outshine their achievement.
But then I remembered that the great Maratha Raj Thakerey had been completely missing in action while the action at the Gateway of India lasted. He had resurfaced only when it was all over and those non-marathis from UP, Bihar and the rest of the country had gone and saved the lives of Mumbaikars.
It does bring to mind another question....allow me to digress...its not okay for Hindu women to frequent pubs but is it okay for hindu sadhvis to be publicly embraced by men? I seem to remember such a picture in the aftermath of the Babri Masjid demolition and the person embracing was none other than the new loh purush of Indian politics.
So there you must admit we have nothing to be afraid of the Pakistani Taliban. We have enough of our own.
Comments
There are some amongst us who are even justifying what Varun Gandhi said in his speech... and in response to review of Firaq there is a barrage of hate filled comments. Where do we go from here?
So this post comes like a breath of fresh air.
if someone hates fanatics they should hate fanatics of their own religion also ...its either all are right or all are wrong .....and terrorism by all means is wrong ...forcing your views /killing people on the name of religion /faith /culture are such absurd thoughts when we have so much more to do ...but then as u say ..its an easy career ..
all these guys are interested in is quick and complete power.
Iya, am reacting because i strongly beleive in the current days responsibility is high for these channels to air news in a balanced manner not create upheavels where none is needed.
Yeah Sindhu, sadly we choose to ignore the terrorists around us and point fingers at those who are far away.
though i am not really bothered by the media... oflate they have proved it multiple no of times they just bother abt TRP and nothing else
You are right. We already have enough to be scared living in our own country. You don't know when someone would question your rights. You don't know when you would be stopped on the way and harassed all in the name of preserving culture. With each year, we seem to be going from worse to worst.
As for Talibans near our borders, the issue is not just that. The issue is also about how fanatics can easily control our neighbor's atomic bomb because they are tuned to be indifferent to everyone.
Hopefully we as in entire humankind not just Indians, never have to witness a Hiroshima or Nagasaki.
It is only when there are multiple causalities that sufficient attention is drawn towards terrorist attacks. The statistics are a bit old ...but in 2006, 2,765 people dies in terrorism-related violence, yet how many of these found space in the public consciousness.
So the point that you raise is very valid. But do you think only the media is responsible?
The government has a major role to play too. It seems to awake from its deep slumber only when there are indications of a foreign hand. While the internal security machinery is in shambles.
By any chance if you do manage to find the Loh Purush pic do put it up somewhere.
Yes ideal conditions say that the 4th pillar is suppose to be the most unbiased and responsible system, but in the present scenario all they are concerned about is generating TRP with shock journalism...
But you are right, fascism has nothing to do with religion and everything to do with one's world-view.
I am what I am: exactly my thoughts
Jagjit: terrorists are terrorists...we need to condemn one and all without fail.
Solilo: thanks for visiting...you are right about the atomic power getting into the hands of those lunatics...sadly thats something the reports failed to mention.
Akshaya...long time no see....thanks for the approval
Preeti...thanks
Sujoy...if i find it...will surely put it up...am on the hunt.
Iya...sanjay dutt gets pupular support so does Varun for his hate speech...that is why these things scare me.
sucharita: whats "targetting special kinds of victims and not all and sundry innocent people?"
are you telling me that killing a certain kind of people is acceptable as long as we dont happen to fall in that category ourselves?
Beware...you and your kind will be next.
Suggest u read Mila 18 by Leon Uris and see for yourself what i mean.
found your blog from IHM's blog and I agree with what you had to say about terrorists. Terrorists and religious fanatics come in all shapes and sizes and no religion has any monopoly over them. But I think your comment about Islam
"those that kill in the name of islam have no clue about the Koran and the amazing far sightedness of the man known as Prophet..."
is probably repeating what we have heard from the media and muslim apologists who try to project that islam is a "religion of peace". That is just blatantly false propaganda by media and muslim apologists. Nothing can be further than the truth. In fact, one who has read the quran and the hadiths (I know because I have)know very well that Muhammad was no prophet and was himself a terrorist. In fact I think Islamic terrorists are the ones who are trying to lead their life literally according to the Quran. If you don't have time to read the Quran and hadiths, you may want to read this by Dr. Ali Sina who is an ex-muslim. faith freedom is probably one of the most famous site run by ex-muslims and gives a clearer picture of islam
http://www.faithfreedom.org/the-challenge/
Btw, I am not a muslim-basher or a hindutva supporter. I think Indian muslims like hindus hardly read their religious texts and only believe what they are taught by their mullahs/babas.
Well, I guess my comment was a little too long and I can discuss more about it if you want:-).
Nice post. Good to see people who challenge established notions.
as for my comment on the prophet I will still stand by it. I believe everyone who has been declared a Prophet or God's man has had something good to say thats the reason people of hi/her age have followed the person.
What they said needs to be seen in the perspective of their geography, history and social conditions.
As for learning about Islam I would rather learn about anything from someone who loves it than someone who hates it and will therefore only highlight its bitter points.
I hope you see what I mean.
what scares me most is the nonchalance with which we accept the internal terrorists.
an ex-colleague of mine said "taliban are terrorists and the hindu extremists are fighting for OUR rights. how can you say they're terrorists?"
when someone who's educated... (as compared to the populace which goes by what the media tells them) to say this.. is outright scary!
i wonder what they teach their children. wonder if they know they could be next? i wonder HOW they cannot see that terrorism is terrorism... that there are innocent ppl losing their lives while these so-called elite debate on terrorist or freedom-fighter!
I understand your good intentions and I don't want to hijack this thread for something else. I will address your comments in a future post on my blog and I will send you the link when I post it.
However, I only wonder ..when you say
As for learning about Islam I would rather learn about anything from someone who loves it than someone who hates it and will therefore only highlight its bitter points.
would you have said the same thing about Nazism /Fascism or even the extremist Hindutva movement if I tried to point it out to you? Would you have said the same thing if I had pointed out the inhumanity of cannibalism?
Would you listen to Modi or Hitler or anyone who love/support race based extermination about the glories of genocide? Would you listen to people who love eating humans about the health benefits of human meat? I doubt it.
I just hope you can look at both sides of an argument and then reach your conclusion. If after reading the arguments against Islam you feel they are baseless then I would respect your decision and say that at least you have given it a fair hearing.
Thanks for your time.
Admittedly talking about the Hindu terrorists is no more or less important than tha islamic or other ones - there is no excuse for the behaviour of our own homegrown monsters. And before anyone says it, no one is more important, each is equally bad in their lack of compassion, tolerance and twisted morality.
Dear Nitwik, will await your post with interest. In the meantime to answer your question....you have given some extreme examples...yet let me answer...I did read Mein Kampf in an attempt to understand the man called Hitler.
Cannibals normally dont eat their own they just eat outsiders who to them are game like any other animal. It may seem like a big thing to us but they dont kill because of any brutal thoughts they simply kill to eat. So an isolated cannibalistic society would not disturb me however a case like Nithari does for the people doing it are completely aware of their action.
As for Islam I am aware of the many arguments against it...being born a Hindu how can you escape that? However i still find many good things in it.
By the way so does my 84 year old brahmin father in law.
glad to know a few like us survive the onslaught of the extremists...
and i dunno if i shud b scared, but i think i have had enuf of that!
Keshi.
I have been seething at the mention of Sri Ram in their Manifesto and I am amazed at how the nation is tolerating "THE HYPOCRITE for PM" slogan.
Last Sermon Of Prophet Mohammad:
All mankind is from Adam and Eve, an Arab has no superiority over a non-Arab nor a non-Arab has any superiority over an Arab; also a white has no superiority over a black, nor a black has any superiority over a white- except by piety and good action.
Mahatma Gandhi, speaking on the character of Muhammad, (pbuh) says in (Young India):
"I wanted to know the best of one who holds today's undisputed sway over the hearts of millions of mankind....I became more than convinced that it was not the sword that won a place for Islam in those days in the scheme of life. It was the rigid simplicity, the utter self-effacement of the Prophet, the scrupulous regard for his pledges, his intense devotion to this friends and followers, his intrepidity, his fearlessness, his absolute trust in God and in his own mission. These and not the sword carried everything before them and surmounted every obstacle. When I closed the 2nd volume (of the Prophet's biography), I was sorry there was not more for me to read of the great life."
People keep saying Pakistan is a safe haven and is doing nothing against terrorists, we are suffering the most in the hands of terrorists, why don't they mention that around 2000 Pakistani army soldiers have died, over 1800 Pakistani civilians have died in just two years and about 780 civilians have died thanks to the US drone attacks. Our economy is suffering thanks to the war on terror. We are dragged into a war which wasn't even ours it was America's war.
As for media I think it creates way to much hype as you said TRP's even we overseas Pakistanis keep thinking that situation is out of control but when we visit Pakistan it's Alhamdullilah not that bad. The pictures that are shown are always of Burkha clad women and men with beards and turbans, yes this is there like any other Muslim country (religious Muslims/moderate Muslims and naam ke Muslim =P) but does anyone know or show there are women westerly dressed in spaghetti tops and mini skirts walking around in streets of Karachi/Islamabad/Lahore, there are night clubs and pubs operating openly.
It is best for both the countries as you said to first worry about the terrorism within our countries as long as we keep wasting our time on pin pointing on each other we will continue to suffer in the hands of our own terrorists.
but i guess they have been given the thumbs down by the Indians...