Opinion God Particle

Taking a dim view of science’s efforts to explain the origin of life,Shakeel Shamsi,editor of the daily Inquilab wrote on July 10: “Scientists are happy to claim that they have discovered a particle that will help them figure out the secrets of the creation of the universe… But all the hullabaloo is not about the scientists’ search for God. Instead,it is an effort to prove that there is no God… There is no need to dig an underground tunnel to search for God. What is required is to keep the windows of the mind open.”

Veteran journalist Ahtesham Qureshy,in a commentary in Delhi-based daily Jadeed Khabar (July 15),writes that “the secret of (the) creation of the universe is still a puzzle for scientists”. He says that “a clue to the creation of universe is contained in the Quran”. He quotes from Islamic scholar Maulana Abdul Majid Daryabadi’s that “before creation,the land and the sky were joined together. Allah,with his hand of nature created plurality in singularity and separated the sky from the land”.

Obama-speak

Reacting to US President Barack Obama’s comments on the state of the Indian economy,Inquilab wrote in a July 17 editorial: “The condition of the American market is not hidden… American industrialists are looking at a market like India where they can sell their products easily. That is why Obama specifically mentioned the retail sector… America wants to use India for its own interests. Profiteering is its distinguishing characteristic!”

The daily Sahafat,in its editorial on July 18,writes: “The trading community in India is big and there are countless small traders. If retail trade is opened up to foreign direct investment,it will result in a huge loss for domestic traders. The government is in a dilemma. No government can risk the opposition of the trading community.”

Rashtriya Sahara writes in an editorial: “Obama’s statement can serve a useful purpose for Manmohan Singh. The BJP and Trinamool Congress will have to clarify if there has been any change in their position on this issue. Following Obama’s statement,their opposition (to more FDI in retail) would send a negative signal to the urban middle class and to rural farmers.”

Best Bakery verdict

Commenting on the judgment of the Bombay high court on the Best Bakery case related to the Gujarat riots of 2002,Rashtriya Sahara in its editorial on July 11 writes: “Even though the Bombay high court has honourably acquitted five accused,the significant thing is that the real culprits have been sentenced. The high court deserves praise… It is significant that the court has criticised the Gujarat police,saying that if investigations were conducted in the right manner,evidence could have been gathered against the accused… Teesta Setalvad also deserves praise.” The daily Siasat in its editorial on the same day writes: “Despite the presence of evidence and witnesses,the arms of the law could not reach the Narendra Modi government. This is clear proof of political dominance over the law…” Jamaat-e-Islami’s biweekly,Daawat (July 13) has described the verdict as “nothing but the murder of the law.”

Compiled by Seema Chishti