Do we want fear or hope in these eyes!
That’s a lesson political parties which preach secularism but practise communalism will have to learn quickly before 2014 closes in on them.The DAP has rubbished the efforts of its opponents to reignite the debate on the aims of PAS’ hudud law,
2013 election will be fought between “secular and radical fundamentalist forces, fear meanwhile is Muslim vote polarization that will work against it in the next general election. But the Muslim vote bogey is just that – a bogey. while deeply religious themselves, have moved beyond wanting to see religion used as a political tool.
Datuk Johari Abdul Ghani said that Islam was being hijacked by some people in Pas who were trying to strip it of its spirituality.
Rich electoral dividends have flowed from such fear mongering. In the process, over the years, regional parties have grasped the fraudulent
Impact of Communalism
What affected the secular character of Indian society most decisively was the intervention of Hindu communalism, which has a long history dating to the 18th century even though riots became frequent only during colonial rule. By the 20th century, communalism had made inroads among both Hindus and Muslims, considerably undermining the secular ethos in society and, finally, leading to Partition.
The assassination of Mahatma Gandhij by a Hindu fanatic was a severe setback to secularism. After this Hindu communal organisations were rather dormant, which, however, did not mean they were inactive. The Gandhi assassination did not dampen their spirits, and under the leadership of the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) they soon regrouped and reinvigorated their cultural work and physical training.
The communal organisations were aware that communalism could thrive only by undermining secular consciousness. As a result, the main thrust of the communal agenda was to eliminate the fairly powerful secular hegemony present in most domains. The communal attack on secularism was, therefore, intended to delegitimise it, accusing it of being an alien ideology without roots in Indian soil.
Moreover, secular activists were physically intimidated and secular artists and intellectuals were defamed. The purpose was to ensure that the public prestige and acceptability that secularism enjoyed was tarnished so that communalism could occupy the secular space. The campaign was not without any impact.
In the face of communal aggression, secularism considerably lost out politically in the 1990s. Martha Nusbawm, an American scholar, observed that during this period India slipped into religious terrorism but managed to slip out of it. This ‘escape’ from the possible continued communal subjection was mainly, though not exclusively, because of the strength of its secular tradition.
Middle class Titiwangsa has few heroes. Once in a while we find someone. But even before he can settle in, we are disenchanted. Either he fails to live up to our high‘Hudud an agenda in PAS struggle’ PAS Ahmad Zambri said’Hudud an agenda in PAS struggle it will be implemented in The Federal Territories in Malaysia comprise three territories: Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya and Labuan, governed directly by the federal government of Malaysia.. He said this in response to reporters pressing the PAS vice-president Salahuddin Ayub on whether … Read more
To be born, raised and schooled in Sentul always herd together in their ethnic enclaves, whether at work, play or in the neighbourhood. Ahmad Zamri here’s something seriously wrong with you. You cannot impose patriotism on people. It must come from within. There was a time when our hearts swelled with pride every time we saw the tricolour wave or heard the national anthem play. That pride has gone out of our lives today. What remains is but a gaping void and a shining rage. We are angry with everything with PAS. But, above all, we are angry with ourselves. How could we have allowed the rot to set in so deep? Why were we blind for so long? Why did we not protest before protest itself became an ineffective tool?Few things excite us more than lies. We constantly lie to ourselves. We lie to those around us, particularly those close to us. In fact, the closer they are, the more we lie to them. We lie to perfect strangers as well. Entire professions and industries have grown around the art of the lie. The more we lie, the better we lie, the more brilliant we are seen to be Not only is fiction more attractive, more popular, in fact sexier; it’s more enduring. Even great actors are remembered more by the roles they played. Marlon Brando is remembered more as Stanley Kowalski or Terry Malloy or Vito Corleone, the Godfather, than as Calcutta-born Anna Kashfi’s husband or Christian’s father. The lie has outlived the truth.the battle for the 2013 election will be fought between “secular and communal forces”. But is – for instanceSomeone from somewhere must come out and take p119 Titiwangsa out of this insensible dark PAS box of despondency and self-flagellation is giving a false dose of some hope. Are we are neither cowards nor aggressors?. Then why should we doubt our win? The present crisis, the Chinese belligerence, fifth tent after the fourth … Read more
In Malaysia, an inclusive vision is often the product of a gregarious individual’s interactive experiences across the country’s racial and religious divides.If we are to fight the rot, we must stand up, each one of us, and try to reclaim our India. We must reclaim ourP119 Titiwangsa from Pas.We must find our dreams again. We must look in every nook and cranny where beauty, talent, faith and hope lie. We must reclaim our imagination. We must challenge ourselves to rise above the faithlessness around us and seek that courage which we have ignored while drooling over instant success.
Tien Chua another wolf in sheep’s clothing
Racially diverse inexperiences
These days Sentul comes under the parliamentary constituency of Batu, a PKR-leaning constituency where the party’s vice-president Tian Chua holds the fort.readmore
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