Time to introspect

Time to introspect

The rally in Mumbai by MNS leader Raj Thackeray to protest against the Azad Maidan meeting by some Muslim organisations, has earned criticism. It is argued that while Thackeray had claimed the objective was to provide moral support to the policemen following the attack on them, he refused to accept the police's plea not to take out a march to Azad Maidan.

Many newspapers have criticised the idea of Muslim organisations demonstrating against the violence in Assam and Myanmar. Lucknow-based journalist, Hisam Siddiqui, in Jadeed Khabar, on August 25, writes: "Some deceitful Muslims (dhongi Musalmaan) have committed the crime of defaming the country's Muslims and Islam by holding demonstrations... in the month of Ramzan on the pretext of oppression on Muslims... but actually with the objective of getting cheap popularity and receiving financial benefit... Some maulvi-like persons have... given the excuse that some persons with caps on were sent to the processions as part of a conspiracy... This is a very big lie. Their identification is very easy in images on CCTV and still cameras. They are young Muslims. It is another matter that some conspirators had brought them over..."

Noted columnist Khalid Sheikh in Inquilab has blamed the organisers for "giving an undertaking to the police to restrict the crowd to 1,500 whereas it actually turned out to be 15,000. And, the electronic media was targeted. The miscreants forgot that it was the same media that had brought to light the oppression and injustice meted out to Muslims at the time of demolition of the Babri Masjid and the riots in Mumbai and Gujarat. Leave alone the media, what was the crime of the police whose members were attacked and what type of exhibition of manliness was it that even women constables were not spared?"

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