Indian Muslims are also Hindus…

Before we get into this provocative debate, we need to define a Hindu and Hinduism. When some one in America asked me if I was a Hindu, my answer was “Since I am definitely not a Muslim or a Christian, I must be a Hindu”. This was a question asked by a black girl in my class in 1982. She was in the process of converting to Islam. My detailed answer to her question made her rethink her decision but I did not pursue the topic and Ann Vivian converted to Islam within a few months. Akbar defined Hinduism as a nationality whereas Gandhi described it as a philosophy. It was Pandit Nehru who inadvertently divided the Indian Civilization into Hindu-Muslim-Sikh and Christian religions. Nobody since has challenged his misguided interpretation!

What is Hinduism? Is it a nationality, a philosophy or a religion? If Hinduism is a religion then what exactly is their faith? Who do they pray to, what is acceptable and what is prohibited in Hinduism? Who sets the rule for Hindus? Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh are considered to be the ‘Trimurti’ of Hinduism but do people in South identify with them the way people in North do? Arya Samajis do not pray to any deity instead they perform ‘Havans’. Does it mean they are not Hindus? People in West Bengal worship Durga and Kali and many other deities, are they not the real Hindus? Guru Nanak was a Hindu Khatri, do his followers stop being Hindus? Sindhis pray to ‘Jhulelal’, are they not Hindu enough? Marathis pray to Ganapati and Shiva is the god for people in Kashmir, Himachal and Uttarakhand. Who is a genuine Hindu and why?

Sixty percent of the population in India does not really pray regularly. Muslims by and large do perform Namaz every day but celebrate all Hindu festivals with equal aplomb. They are gainfully employed during the so called Hindu ceremonies. Christians do not attend church every day but again celebrate all Indian celebrations, Diwali as well as Christmas. Sikhs are even less distinguishable. It is only the die-hard zealots who are eager to separate each other and make hateful and hurtful comments. What Varun Gandhi said was deplorable so were the comments from Syed Ali Geelani or Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale. Anybody making any excuses for anyone of these bigots is neither a Hindu nor an Indian. We the people need to purge all of them now!

Globalization my ass…

What is Globalization? Thomas L. Friedman has a definition for it and so does Noam Chomsky. In simple words, it is supposed to be International Integration in all forms. But ask the 3.4 million refugees of Zimbabwe, millions of Tibetans and followers of Dalai Lama, or the ruffed-up Monks of Burma (Myanmar). They would find this question a very bad joke. I do not apologize for the decade-old success of Brazil, China, India or Russia. On the contrary, more power to all these countries and more. But to call this Globalization is a stretch. At best one can agree to identify this recent global phenomena as ‘International Economic Integration’.

What was the purpose of creating the “United Nations”, a term coined by Franklin D. Roosevelt (US President) in January of 1942? The stated aims of the United Nations were to prevent any future war, safeguard human rights around the world, establish some form of international law, promote social and economic justice, improve the living standards of people in all the countries and to fight deadly diseases. Have we achieved any of that? If yes, how much? It will be 63 years since UN was formed.

The United Nations was officially created  on October 24, 1945. Representatives of 50 countries met in San Francisco to draw up the United Nations Charter. It replaced the League of Nations, created in 1919, after the First World War. The UN Charter was ratified by China, France, Soviet Union, United Kingdom and the United States. These five countries became permanent members of the UN Security Council, each with a veto power on any UN resolution. Today, there are 192 member states, representing almost every recognized independent country in the world. Unfortunately, the UN Security Council represents less than 30% of the world population. There is no representation from the continents of South America and Africa or for that matter any part of Muslim world or the Indian sub-continent.

The road to Tehran goes via New Delhi!

This is not my recommendation. It was suggested by Shashi Tharoor (former UN Under-Secretary General) to Fareed Zakaria on June 22, 2008. I just happen to agree with it. Tharoor was Zakaria’s guest on his newly minted TV show “Fareed Zakaria-GPS” on CNN. The other two guests were Christiane Amanpour (chief international correspondent for CNN) and Walter Russell Mead (Henry A. Kissinger senior fellow for US foreign policy at the Council on Foreign Relations).

Just THINK about it!

It is not such an outlandish idea after all. India has the second largest Shia Muslim population in the world, after Iran and also the second largest Muslim population in the world, after Indonesia. Iran and India have had long and traditional relations for over a millennium. India is the only country that Iran would probably trust. Instead you have America (a traditional tormentor of Iran), pushing Briton and Russia (both former invaders) in their face. Is this the way to negotiate an agreement with an adversary? When nothing worked, they invited China (a stranger to Iran) for a joint blind date. Can there be something even more ridiculous than that?

The Pathans of India…

Yusuf Khan (born on November 17, 1982) and Irfan Khan (born on October 27, 1984) are the two Pathan brothers who have fired the imagination of Indian Cricket in the 21st century. Born to Mehmood Khan and Shamim Bano, the brothers grew up in a mosque in Baroda. Mehmood Khan worked as the muezzin. The impoverished Muslim family wanted their sons to become Islamic scholars, instead the brothers took interest in cricket. The family had no welfare checks coming. Like so many millions in India, they had their grit, determination and simple hard-work.

Although Yusuf is the older one, Irfan made his Test debut in the Second Test against Australia at the Adelaide Oval in December 2003. He was introduced as a left-arm fast-medium swing bowler, reminding some of the legendary Wasim Akram of Pakistan. Irfan improved his batting skills to become a bowling all-rounder. This was the birth of ‘Irfan Pathan’ the Indian pride after the renowned all-rounder and former skipper Kapil Dev. How did Irfan Khan become Irfan Pathan? Shamim Bano, his mother, laments “Tum logo ne uska naam badal diya hai” (you media people have changed his name). Does it matter? It suits him, anyway.

Yusuf Pathan, the elder brother (half-brother) is a hard-hitting right handed batsman and a right-arm off-break bowler. He was selected for the Indian Squad for the inaugural Twenty20 World Championship, held in South Africa in September 2007. He made his Twenty20 international debut in final against Pakistan. His performance was hardly noteworthy, but India pulled off the last ball victory and the rest is history. Yusuf Pathan became a part of history-making win for India. Subsequently, because of a good domestic season, he was signed by the Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League for $475,000. In the 2008 IPL season, Yusuf scored 435 runs and took 8 wickets. Shane Warne, the captain for Rajasthan Royals, placed great faith in Yusuf Pathan. He was the Man of the Match in the final against Chennai Super Kings. Yusuf Pathan has arrived.