A, >From Shabnam Hashmi's Timeline, on West Bengal communal violence. Shabnam Hashmi 8 hrs · New Delhi · Hundreds of people came out in protest against the communal mob lynching of Muslims. But how will we deal with the large bunch of moronic, violent, medieval and intolerant Muslims who are burning public property, engaging in arson and violence simply because somebody posted something about their prophet? Why are Muslims so easily mobilized when you comment on the prophet but not so for other secular reasons? If a Muslim or a non-Muslim wants to have an opinion on the prophet or draw a cartoon of him, what is the big deal? Why so intolerant, Indian Muslims? And this a pattern. Rushdie, Nasreen, Danish cartoonist, Kamlesh Tiwari, etc. If the larger Muslim masses do not approve of these mindless yet dangerous protests in the name of the prophet, they must clarify so. If not, it shows the Muslim society as regressive and bigoted. It alienates the majority community but also puts the well-meaning sympathizers of Muslims in an awkward position. -Omar Rashid [The author is a young journalist with the Hindu. The comment is available also at <https://www.facebook.com/omarrb7/about…>.] Two other significant comments on Shabnam's timeline, under this thread.
I. Shama Zehra Zaidi [an eminent theatre/vultural activist; filmmaker M S Sathyu is her husband]The Saudis destroyed the Prophet's houses and want to remove his tomb but these adherents of the Prophet won't utter a word in protest! And when various maulanas make insulting remarks about other religions and their gods and symbols the lovers of the Prophet don't object. So why object when others denigrate your Prophet. Answer them with facts not mindless violence. II. Jawed Naqvi [a senior journalist] Shabnam do you think muslim extremists care about Hindutva getting strong because of their rabid activity? Hindutva is answer to their prayers, and don't be surprised if they have a common minimum programme to undermine us. B. Sukla Sen <https://www.facebook.com/sukla.sen?fref=nf> 1 hr <https://www.facebook.com/sukla.sen/posts/10213409308212310> · <https://www.facebook.com/sukla.sen#> So very sensible and appropriate. <https://www.facebook.com/prasenjit.bose.908/posts/463452580675329> Prasenjit Bose <https://www.facebook.com/prasenjit.bose.908?fref=nf> 7 hrs <https://www.facebook.com/prasenjit.bose.908/posts/463452580675329> · Arrest the Culprits of Communal Violence in Baduria-Basirhat The communal violence witnessed in the Baduria-Basirhat region of North 24 Parganas since last Sunday has exposed the deteriorating socio-political situation in the state. The fact that the mainstream media has widely covered the situation today is welcome, because black out of such news regarding communal violence, in order to check it from spreading, is no longer effective in the times of instant messaging via Whattsapp, Facebook etc. The mainstream media coverage, however, remains vague and does not help in evolving a clear picture of the sequence of events and identifying those who are responsible for violence. Neither has the Chief Minister's press conference yesterday fully clarified the facts. >From what we know so far: 1. A Facebook post was made on Sunday (July 2) by a teenager Souvik Sarkar, resident of Rudrapur, which comes under the jurisdiction of Baduria P.S. and Municipality. It was an outrageous, deliberately inflammatory FB post which contained a morphed, sexually explicit and derogatory image of the Prophet Muhammad at the Kaaba. It cannot be mistaken as a mere prank. It was meant to incite and provoke. 2. Local Muslim residents of Baduria started protesting against the FB post from Sunday evening, demanding action against the provocateur. The matter was initially diffused with the intervention of the local police, which promised action. 3. The provocateur was arrested on Monday (July 3) evening. By that time, violence had spread in the neighbouring areas of Basirhat, Deganga and Swarupnagar. Angry mobs of Muslims blocked the roads, vandalised shops and houses, attacked a police station and set police vehicles on fire. A mob gathered outside the Baduria police station and demanded that the provocateur be handed over to them. Souvik Sarkar’s house was also attacked and torched. There was counter mobilisation by Hindu mobs too who set up road blockades and vandalised shops. 4. The violence continued unabated till Tuesday (July 4) afternoon. After that, paramilitary forces were deployed and the situation has improved somewhat, but the atmosphere remains tense. In the light of these incidents, the State Government must ensure the following: a. Criminal charges of incitement, provocation and spreading enmity between communities should be filed against Souvik Sarkar and there should be a speedy trial. It should also be probed whether other political elements had a hand behind his Facebook post. b. The criminals who attacked the police station in Baduria and torched Souvik Sarkar’s house should be identified and arrested. c. The fundamentalist elements within the Muslim community, who utilised the situation to spread violence in the neighbouring areas of Basirhat, Deganga and Swarupnagar should be identified and arrested. d. The fundamentalist elements within the Hindu community who have organised violence in the neighbouring areas should also be identified and arrested. If these criminal miscreants from both the Hindu and Muslim communities are not identified and arrested, the society will never know who exactly are responsible for the violence which continued for over 48 hours. Both communities will remain divided and look at each other with suspicion. It is the failure of the State Government in conducting fair and impartial investigations in successive cases of communal violence that is emboldening the criminal elements among Hindus and Muslims alike, and is leading to the recurrence of such incidents. If the State Government fails in its responsibility to identify and arrest the culprits of Baduria and elsewhere, it will be unpardonable. Sd/- Prasenjit Bose Kolkata, 05.07.2017 -- Peace Is Doable -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. 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