Logging life

I watched some of the games of Sony Ericsson Open in Mimai, going on these days. Watch Sania Mirza and Leander Paes win their first round doubles. Other players that I watched were Roger Federer, Andy Roddick, Serena, and Williams. Some photos are here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/94592664@N00/sets/72157615918363603/show/

Over the weekend I was in Boston, invited by IMC's Boston chapter for a presentation on "The Impact of Terrorism and Counter-Terrorism on Muslims." I was really a great program, put together by Boston folks in a very short time. Met some good people. Presentation slides are below, not much revealing except that it has all been put in one place. For those Indian Muslims who have been in the US for some years now, seems to lose connection with India though they may still have relatives there but are not aware of what is going on in India. So for them it was eye opening experience. As always, I try to end in a positive note and give people ideas about how they can do something about it.

Migration has been a consistent features of humanity. Groups of people, one time or another moved from one place to another in search of food, shelter, or better life. Nomads like Gypsies, Gujars, and Bedouins continue to roam around on the earth. But the modern nation states with well-defined borders have made it difficult for people to freely migrate resulting in limited mobility for the population. Still migration continues even with all border protection, it is called illegal immigration, and a source of great political tension. In India, right wing parties have made a big issue about Bangladeshis coming to India in search of employment. Interestingly enough, they don’t make the issue of Nepalis having free access to Indian jobs including Indian Army. Bangladeshis on the other hand, get menial jobs like construction labours, rickshaw drawing, cleaning and jobs of this nature. There is really no evidence that any of them have been involved in terrorism cases even though media contin...

Yes, you read it right, Hindustan Times paid for a shoddy piece of journalism. But I do have to give credit to HT for inspiring the title of this post. Source of inspiration for this post and its title comes from a very creative piece of journalism as exemplified by an HT story titled ‘ Yahoo! paid for Peerbhoy’s training to hack networks ‘ In case you are wondering why should you care about this news and why is this a news anyway? First line of the story brings you upto speed: Mohammed Peerbhoy, the alleged media chief of the Indian Mujahideen (IM), has told investigators that an Italian expert taught him hacking. Now that you have been briefed, let’s read the second line: The 31-year-old’s employer had apparently sponsored him to learn cyber security skills against hacking from the Internet security expert in Hyderabad two years ago, but Peerbhoy instead used his acquired expertise to hack Wi-Fi networks to send terror emails. whoa, whoa, wait a minute is HT suggesting that Yahoo! ac...

Talking about torture meted out to the detainees, the report says, “the physical wounds have left an indelible impression on the psyche of the persons.” The investigation was ordered by the Andhra Pradesh State Minorities Commission after allegations of torture of Muslim youth surfaced in 2007, but now the Commission itself is dragging its feet failing in its constitutional obligation of protecting the minorities. On August 25th, 2007, two bombs exploded in Hyderabad killing 42 people. Lumbini Amusement Park and Gokul Chat Bhandar were targeted in twin blasts killing Hyderabadis of different backgrounds, including women and children. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy, after an emergency cabinet meeting said that “the available information points to the involvement of international terrorist organizations in Bangladesh and Pakistan.” Media dutifully quoted security agencies and blamed Harkat ul Jehad Islami (HuJI) for the blasts. Many Muslim youth were picked up for inv...

As you all know that for going for Hajj or Umrah, all Muslims are required to take visas. Now read this verse from quran and do you think requiring visa and permission from the Saudi government is against this Quranic verse. Verily! those who disbelieved and hinder (men) from the Path of Allâh, and from Al-Masjid-al-Harâm (at Makkah) which We have made (open) to (all) men , the dweller in it and the visitor from the country are equal there [as regards its sanctity and pilgrimage (Hajj and 'Umrah)]. And whoever inclines to evil actions therein or to do wrong (i.e. practise polytheism and leave Islâmic Monotheism), him We shall cause to taste from a painful torment. Hajj: 25 [English translation by Dr. Muhsin] See, Quran doesn't exist in vaccuum, it was revealed not at once, all verses have context of time and place. Of course, message of Quran is universal and true for all times and places but its application will depend on circumstances and that's why wisdom is important. I...

Title: 25 years on… Nellie still haunts Author: Hemendra Narayan Contact: hemennarayan@gmail.com Price: Rs. 80 Year: 2008 We Indians have a very poor sense of history. We have not yet completely understood the importance of documentation and investigation. It is no surprise then that most of events and incidents of life are simply forgotten. One can argue that forgetting is one way of dealing with events but this leads to new interpretations later on with dangerous consequences. We thank British historian for finding and preserving history of India but lot of our conflicts of today – religious, linguistic, regional, caste- can be traced to the problem they created by their look at India through Western eyes. Journalist Hemendara Narayan witnessed the Nellie massacre of February 18th, 1983. He saw the death of hundreds if not thousands killed in a matter of hours. The memory of dead and those who survived haunted him for years and after 25 years he prepared this booklet to preserve the ...

Recently, when going through Urdu Book Review magazine of Oct-Dec 2008, I was suprised to see mention of one of my articles in the review of one book. Read the full review here: page 1 page 2 The article mentioned in the review was written for AFMI 2008 NY Convention: We need a second freedom struggle By Kashif-ul-Huda Badruddin Tyabji, Rahimtulla M. Sayani, Nawab Syed Muhammad Bahadur, Syed Hasan Imam. Hakim Ajmal Khan,Maulana Mohammad Ali, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, Dr. M. A. Ansari. All these great leaders of India’s freedom movement made their mark as Congress’ past presidents. Where are the Muslims leaders now? Our friends in Dalit movement, environmentalist, peace activists, members and movements of all hues and persuasion are looking for Muslim representation in their movement, but they fail to find any leaders that seem to be of some stature on the national scene and have credibility within their community. All leaders of national stature are either attached to a political party...

Title: Pracheen bhartiya vigyan ke itihaas ke kuchh pahlu Author: Mohammad Naseem Publisher: Zarnigar, Varanasi Price: Rs. 120 Year: 2006 Dr. Mohammad Naseem is a teacher of ancient Indian history at Banaras Hindu University (BHU). Though this book break no new ground when it comes to the history of Indian sciences but it brings lot of important information about sciences in pre-medieval India in one book. Written in Hindi, this valuable information about our scientific past is made accessible to a vast number of people in North India. This book lists important discoveries made in the field of Mathematics, Astronomy & Astrology, Agriculture, Life Sciences, Medicine, and Metallurgy in Ancient India. There is lot of knowledge contained in India’s ancient books like Vedas that needs to be studied in a scientific way. Even with all the claims about India’s glorious tradition not much work has been done to bring it closer to the masses. We know more about Aristotle, Socrates, and Newton...