Communalism Watch

Full transcript: I'm returning to India, deal with it - Salman Rushdie to NDTV

2012-01-27T20:24:00.000+01:00

Full transcript: I'm returning to India, deal with it - Salman Rushdie to NDTVNDTV.com, Updated: January 25, 2012Read more at: http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/full-transcript-im-returning-to-india-deal-with-it-salman-rushdie-to-ndtv-170122&cp

Why Salman Rushdie's voice was silenced in Jaipur

2012-01-27T18:36:00.001+01:00

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2012/jan/26/salman-rushdie-jaipur-literary-festival?newsfeed=true

Boyd Tonkin: A new chapter for the Verses

2012-01-27T18:28:00.001+01:00

From: The Independent (UK)Not even Sir Salman Rushdie's image on video managed to appear at the Jaipur literary festival this week. What a dismal saga this has been. First, a non-existent "plot" against his life concocted by the Rajasthan security forces led to his withdrawal from the programme – sparing the organisers the hassle of protests, but compromising their reputation.Then – the one

Gujrat: “Substantial evidence” to prosecute Modi: Sanjiv Bhatt to SIT

2012-01-27T17:15:00.002+01:00

The Hindu, 25 January 2012“Substantial evidence” to prosecute Modi: Sanjiv Bhatt to SITby Vidya SubrahmaniamThe suspended Gujarat cadre IPS officer, Sanjiv Bhatt, has strongly urged the head of the Special Investigation Team, R.K. Raghavan, to proceed with the prosecution of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi as there was “substantial direct evidence as well as overwhelming circumstantial

Madhya Pradesh: Right wing Hindtva groups trying to revive Bhojshala controversy

2012-01-27T10:31:00.003+01:00

From IBN LiveHindu outfit seeks to revive 'Bhojshala' controversyPTI | 01:01 PM,Jan 27,2012Bhopal/Dhar, Jan 27 (PTI) Notwithstanding the ban imposed by Dhar district administration, a right wing organisation is seeking to revive the controversial issue of 'Bhojshala' by taking out a Palki Yatra up to the ASI protected monument on the occasion of the Basant Panchmi festival tomorrow. 'Bhojshala'

Homophobic attack in New Delhi gallery - Hindutva groups maybe involved

2012-01-27T10:22:00.001+01:00

From: The Art NewspaperHomophobic attack in New Delhi galleryAssault on gay artist sparks fears of a new fundamentalist campaignBy Gareth Harris and Anubhav Nath. Published online: 26 January 2012The artist Balbir Krishan was attacked at an exhibition of his homoerotic paintings in New DehliA homophobic attack on a gay artist earlier this month at a gallery in New Delhi has prompted fears that

India’s political blasphemy

2012-01-25T20:40:00.002+01:00

From: International Herald TribuneJanuary 25, 2012, 9:51 amIndia’s political blasphemyBy DAN MORRISONVARANASI, India — The current storm of censorship and intimidation over Salman Rushdie at the Jaipur Literature Festival is nothing more than a dodge by India’s politicians and Muslim leaders to cover their failure to improve the dreadful conditions in which many Indian Muslims live.The flap is an

Goon with the wind (Jug Suraiya)

2012-01-25T10:00:00.001+01:00

From: Jug Suraiya's Blog on The Times of Indiaby Jug Suraiya24 January 2012Goon-in-Chief: Not only did we stop Rushdie from coming to the Jaipur Lit Fest but we also chased out those four guys who had the brass golis to read out bits of his banned book. A small slap for Salman; a giant leap for goon-kind.Chamcha Goon : You said it, boss. I haven't enjoyed myself so much since we smashed up that

Amul Ad on Salman Rushdie not being allowed at the Jaipur lit fest

2012-01-25T09:55:00.002+01:00

In the Amul ad, Rushdie is shown on a magic carpet with the tagline: "No Salaam Rusdhie". The writer's visit was thrown into doubt due to security concerns caused by protests from Islamic seminary Darul-uloom Deoband, which says that the Man Booker prize-winner should not be allowed to enter India.

India: Politicians in bed with extremists for electoral gains (Salman Rushdie)

2012-01-25T07:30:00.002+01:00

From: The Times of IndiaSalman Rushdie: Politicians in bed with extremists for electoral gainsTNN | Jan 25, 2012, 01.02AM ISTSalman Rushdie, whose Jaipur Litfest video conference was cancelled on Tuesday, expressed disappointment that politicians are in bed with religious extremists groups and hence unwilling to oppose or stop them.NEW DELHI: Salman Rushdie, whose Jaipur Litfest video conference

Thugs of Muslim Right Stiffle Freedom of Speech; Salman Rushdie videoconference cancelled

2012-01-24T18:15:00.003+01:00

Video conference cancellation awful, tweets Salman Rushdie[. . .] "Salman on screen was an issue. Even seeing his face was intolerable," said Roy quoting the protesters.[. . .].TNN | Jan 24, 2012, 06.56PM ISThttp://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Video-conference-cancellation-awful-tweets-Salman-Rushdie/articleshow/11617572.cmsRushdie video discussion cancelledPTIhttp://www.thehindu.com/news/

Mr. Rushdie is entitled to a full apology (Editorial in The Hindu)

2012-01-24T18:00:00.002+01:00

From: The Hindu, January 23, 2012EditorialA national shameIn a speech delivered last year to a gathering of India's finest scientific minds, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh invoked Nehru to point to the organic “link between humanism, tolerance, reason and progress.” “The practice of science,” he said, “is based on both the search for truth and the adventure of new ideas.” Precisely a year on, the

Petition to India's Prime Minister seeking to unban Satanic Verses

2012-01-23T20:18:00.001+01:00

Reconsider the ban on Salman Rushdie’s ’The Satanic Verses’We the undersigned support the right of all artists and writers to freedom of expression and we strongly urge the government to reconsider the 23-year-old ban of the Satanic Verses.http://www.sacw.net/article2516.html

Why I quoted from The Satanic Verses (Hari Kunzru)

2012-01-23T19:43:00.001+01:00

From: guardian.co.uk, Sunday 22 January 2012Why I quoted from The Satanic VersesI wanted to give a voice to Salman Rushdie, a writer silenced by a death threat, not offend anyone's religious sensibilitiesby Hari KunzruOn Friday, over lunch, I heard the news that Salman Rushdie would not be attending the Jaipur Literature Festival. His visit had been in doubt for some time. Initially we had been

The jelly-legged war over Salman Rushdie (Shoma Chaudhury)

2012-01-23T18:32:00.001+01:00

From: Tehelka. 28 January 2012The jelly-legged war over Salman RushdieThe State’s failure to ensure the writer’s visit to Jaipur is indefensible. But the noise he generates may have other lessonsBy Shoma ChaudhuryMisplaced anger People in Lucknow protest against Salman Rushdie’s proposed visit to the Jaipur Lit FestPhoto: Indian Photo AgencyIN A moment of rapier irony, MF Husain — who died in

Officials of All India Milli Council, Muslim Mahasabha and BJP are the complainants against those who read Rushdie at Jaipur Lit Fest, 2012

2012-01-23T17:19:00.005+01:00

From: The Times of IndiaJaipur Literature Festival: Rushdie row turns ugly, suspense over video conferencePTI | Jan 23, 2012, 09.24PM ISTJAIPUR: The row over Salman Rushdie deepened on Monday with five complaints being filed against the four authors who read out passages from his banned "Satanic Verses" at the literature festival and its organisers, as suspense grew whether his video address will

Hindu Mahasabha fields Malegaon blast accused in UP elections from 2 constituencies

2012-01-20T20:24:00.001+01:00

From: Indian ExpressMalegaon blast accused in fray from 2 seatsManish Sahu : Lucknow, Wed Jan 18 2012, 01:21 hrsThe Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha has decided to field retired Major Ramesh Upadhyay, an accused in the Malegaon blast case, in the forthcoming Assembly election from two seats of Uttar Pradesh — Ballia’s Bairia and Meerut Sadar.Upadhyay, 60, is lodged in Taloja Central Jail in Raigarh,

Memorial to a Genocide (Gujarat 2002 - 2012) Nationwide Call to participate

2012-01-20T20:02:00.002+01:00

Citizens for Justice and Peace, along with victim-survivors, and social activists from Gujarat are planning a week-long Memorial to the 2202 genocide in Gujarat, 10 years later. Those of you who could join in Gujarat are most welcome to do so. For those who cannot, the suggestion is that on February 28, you organise your own programmes in your own towns and cities and get connected with the Live

M.P. Pathway to Hindu Rashtra

2012-01-20T10:19:00.001+01:00

by Ram PuniyaniRecently (December 2011) M.P. Government’s Gau-Vansh Vadh Pratishedh (Sanshodhan) Act (Bill for Protection of Cow Progeny) got the Presidential clearance. As per this act punishment for slaughtering the cow or its progeny, transporting them to slaughter house, eating and storing beef, is punishable with a fine of R 5000 and prison term up to seven years. States like Gujarat,

Stand up for Salman Rushdie (editorial, The Hindu)

2012-01-18T22:35:00.001+01:00

From: The Hindu, January 19, 2012Stand up for Salman RushdieSalman Rushdie is one of the world's great novelists. It is a disgrace that an unlawful fatwa, issued by the seminary Darul Uloom Deoband, has created a haze of uncertainty over his participation in the Jaipur Literature Festival (JLF). Instead of dismissing the fatwa with the contempt it deserves and declaring that adequate security

Playing the communal card (editorial in The Hindu)

2012-01-18T22:32:00.002+01:00

From: The Hindu, January 19, 2012Playing the communal card In the age of Baba Ramdev and countless other copycat dispensers of yogasanas, it will hardly be seen as an aberration if school and college administrations decide to promote yoga among students. However, when yoga as a popular trend becomes yoga by diktat, as happened recently in Madhya Pradesh where the Bharatiya Janata Party government

Hate speech the Congress forgot about

2012-01-18T22:26:00.001+01:00

From: The HinduJanuary 19, 2012Hate speech the Congress forgot aboutEven as Facebook and Google face prosecution today, police records show how older cases against the Shiv Sena's Bal Thackeray for his inflammatory writings withered for lack of official interest.While Union Minister for Communications and Information Technology Kapil Sibal wants to crack down on hate speech over the internet and

Satanic Versus Moronic : How Salman Rushdie Lost the UP Election

2012-01-18T22:04:00.000+01:00

From: Kafila.orgSatanic Versus Moronic : How Salman Rushdie Lost the UP Electionby Shuddhabrata SenguptaOh, It's silly season again. (Has it ever NOT been silly season? Silly me for making a silly rhetorical opening to this post). Anyway folks, aam aur khas janta, baba log and bibi log, it's time, once monotonously again, for quarantines and piety, for bans and shoe-throwing contests, for

Time to come out strongly in defence of secularism and freedom of expression

2012-01-18T21:43:00.002+01:00

From: The Times of IndiaCommentTake a standJanuary 19, 2012Freedom of expression is simply the flip side of the coin of freedom of religion. And the Indian political establishment, constitutionally bound to be secular, needs to uphold both. But the creation of a controversy over Salman Rushdie's participation in the Jaipur literary festival once again gives us cause to ponder the robustness of

Human rights activists slam attempts to scuttle Salman Rushdie's participation at Jaipur Lit Fest

2012-01-17T18:21:00.006+01:00

[. . .] “This is an opportunistic stand. The Chief Minister has given in too easily,” charged Kavita Srivastava, general secretary of People's Union for Civil Liberties, Rajasthan. Ms. Srivastava, along other human rights activists staged a rally at Jaipur Ambedkar Circle here on Tuesday in protest against attempts at stopping Mr. Rushdie.“We condemn such protests against Mr. Rushdie's visit. The