Opinion Mangalore pub attack
Reacting to the attack on a pub in Mangalore by volunteers of Shri Ram Sene,Urdu papers have expressed their views on the broader context of Indias culture.
Reacting to the attack on a pub in Mangalore by volunteers of Shri Ram Sene,Urdu papers have expressed their views on the broader context of Indias culture. In an editorial,written in anger and entitled,Samaji thekedari ka mausam,Rashtriya Sahara (February 5) says: It is true that whatever is happening in our country in the name of progressivism and modernism does not match with the culture of our country. With the winds of western culture many things have come here that are considered not virtuous by us all. But any civilisation,howsoever old it might be would certainly be a victim of changes with the times and there is no possibility of it being static. It goes on to ask if drinking alcohol,smoking or wearing jeans are bad,why they are so for girls only and not boys? The paper says: The country has gone so ahead that the urge for becoming Miss India,Miss World and Miss Universe is part of every beautiful Indian girls heartbeat. Now,the conservative class cannot suppress these heartbeats.
While describing young men and women going to pubs wrong,Delhi-based daily Jadeed Khabar,in its editorial entitled,Tehzib ke muhafiz goondey (Goonda protectors of culture) writes: Western culture is raising its head all over the world. But this should not be responded with resort to goondaism in the name of protection of Indian culture. An editorial entitled,India needs Ram-bhaktas in Hamara Samaj,published from Delhi (January 29),says that if volunteers of Shri Ram Sene had respect for Shri Ram Chandra,they would have done something to project the real ideals of Ram to the world. It writes: Today,to get back its lost prestige and greatness,India is in search of true Ram-bhaktas and not goondas of Ravana.
CEC controversy
The recommendation of the Chief Election Commissioner,N. Gopalaswami,for the removal of Election Commissioner Navin Chawla has generated immense comments,largely critical of the CEC. Jamaat-e-Islamis organ,biweekly Daawat (February 4),has traced the history of differences between the CEC and Navin Chawla and described the current controversy as a constitutional crisis. It has also raised the question regarding the legal position of the CECs recommendation,and whether the government is bound to accept the recommendation or has the power to reject it. According to the paper,the government is looking for a legal escape to reject the recommendation.
Hyderabad-based Siasat,in an editorial entitled,Political Use of Constitutional Bodies (February 4) has expressed the opinion that if Gopalaswami had any complaint against Navin Chawla,he could have raised this issue much earlier. But with the demand of,or recommendation for (Chawlas) removal near the general elections,the entire political system of preparations for the elections becomes topsy turvy. In such a situation,giving strength to the crisis too is not proper. In totality,the CEC has taken an unconstitutional step,so he himself should quit his post.
Delhi-based daily Jadeed Khabar in its editorial on February 4 has expressed the option that in view of the timing of the CECs recommendation,the CECs action is not only wrong; it also proves that he has taken this step not because of his constitutional responsibilities but owing to his political links. Therefore,the question that is being raised about Navin Chawla can be raised about him as well.
Slumdog Millionaire
The great success of the film,Slumdog Millionaire,on the international circuit has been hailed by papers in general. While praising the film for its all round cinematic qualities and debunking the view that it glorifies poverty,well-known writer and Hindi film lyricist,Hasan Kamal,in his column in Hamara Samaj (February 10) has touched on some very sensitive aspects of the film. He has discussed the appropriateness or otherwise of the films title. Refusing to accept that associating dog with slum dwellers was insulting,he goes back to Mahabharata where Yudhishthirs dog is of considerable significance along with the belief that the dog would enter heaven before Yudhishthir. According to Kamal,Quran too mentions a dog along with some holy men. Kamal writes that there has been some criticism that poverty in India has been shown in the film through Muslim characters,implying that Daniel Boyle has tried to convey that most of the slum dwellers in India are Muslims who are very poor. Can this be treated as quite a wrong presentation of the reality? Are not large numbers of slum dwellers Muslims? And,do they not dream of a better future?,Kamal asks.
Compiled by Seema Chishti
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