South Asians more lactose friendly than Middle Easterners?
Bangladesh ferry sinks: 200 feared dead
The passenger count must be the cruelest joke. Even the smallest raft in Bengal/Bangladesh is packed with dozens of people. There will be many more people who must have been on the ferry and now will remain unaccounted for.
Just like that so many innocent souls sent to their death due to (criminal) overcrowding of boats, as has happened many many times before (the disaster below is from 2009). Some people (South Asians especially) never seem to be able to learn from their mistakes (but they will remember their pet hatreds over centuries).
….
A Bangladeshi ferry with around 200 passengers on board
capsized in a river near the capital Dhaka on Thursday, with police
reporting that at least six bodies had been recovered with a rescue
vessel still on the way to the site.
The M.V. Miraj-4
ferry capsized in stormy weather in the Meghna river at Rasulpur in
Munshiganj district, 27 kilometres from Dhaka. The accident occurred at
around 3:30 pm (0930 GMT). The ferry had been going to Shariatpur from
Dhaka.
âWe are heading to the spot with rescue team,â said Saiful
Hassan Badal, Deputy Commissioner of Munshiganj district told Reuters.
He said the navy and coast guard were sending rescue teams and a ship
had been sent from Dhaka.
So far six bodies had been recovered, including that of a child, according to Oliur Rahman, a police officer at the scene.
……………
The death toll from the capsizing of a ferry over the weekend in
southern Bangladesh rose Monday to 77 after rescuers recovered an
additional 19 bodies.
Rescuers plucked 15 bloated bodies Monday
from River Tetulia, where the overcrowded triple-deck ferry capsized
late Friday, police official Mohammad Bayezid said. An additional four
bodies were found overnight in the river, he said.
Bayezid said
the bloated bodies were found as far away as three miles (five
kilometers) from the site of the accident. Rescuers used speedboats to
go farther downstream because some bodies may have been washed away
during high tide.
Authorities said the search for dozens of people still listed as missing was suspended for the night Monday.
“Our
divers have gone inside the submerged part of the ferry and found no
more bodies there today,” said Shahabuddin Ahmed, a fire brigade
official supervising the rescue work. “On Sunday we found bodies mostly
inside the submerged ferry. And on Monday, all the bodies were found
floating in the river.”
The M.V. Coco was packed with hundreds of
travelers leaving Dhaka to head home for the Islamic festival of Eid
al-Adha when it tilted and went down after reportedly hitting a river
shoal.
It started to take on water as it arrived at Nazirhat town
in the coastal district of Bhola, about 60 miles (100 kilometers) south
of the capital.
Authorities said there were no passenger lists,
so it was unclear how many people were aboard the vessel, but Dhaka’s
private ETV television station said it could have been carrying more
than 1,500 people. The boat was approved to carry 1,000 people.
…..
Link (1): http://www.dawn.com/news/1106503/bangladesh-ferry-capsizes-with-200-passengers-aboard
Link(2): http://www.komonews.com/news/national/78135097.html
………
regards
Another 2 states observation
First off I liked the idea of a dichotomy between the merchantile Arabian Sea ethnicities vs. The introspective Bay of Bengal ones. It’s something interesting to explore for sure.
However I can’t help notice just how unashamed 2 States was about Ananya being a Tam-Bram. What I was even more surprised is by how accepting I was of it, when I tell people that my fiancĂ©e is from chennai. The Indians almost always go “oh so she’s Tam-Bram?”
It’s an interesting thought that caste privilege is probably here to stay with us. The only way lower castes have of succeeding is to either blend into the higher ones (Modi may be OBC but he does look FC) or the caste itself to solidify into a powerhouse (like the Nadars in TN?)
Why 2 States works.
I went to see 2 States last night and my friend & I were the only ones in the cinema (surprisingly for the large desi population in Kampala Bollywood doesn’t have long runs).
My fiancĂ©e is from Chennai but is a Sindhi while I’m a BritPak. Since Pakistan is essentially the Punjab writ large in our own convulated way we have a 2 States (albeit international) saga.
I feel that Two states could work only because it pits extremes against each other; for instance if the boy had been Bengali instead of Punjabi the alliance with a TamBran family wouldn’t have been so difficult.
Essentially the Indus ethnicities (Punjabi & Sindhi) seem to function as the de facto Pakistanis of India, loud, ostentatious & undeservedly arrogant. 2 states serves as a metaphor for the divides of the subcontinent; North/South Aryan/Dravidian, ANI/ASI, Indo Pakistan, Abrahamic/Dharmic and the duality of how they are resolved. Interestingly it echoes the age old paradigm male invaders from the north marrying the southern native females..
Economy high priority (not hindu nationalism)
The Economist is kind enough to advise PM in waiting on matters related to economy and …political economy. In brief, Modi must be the toilet before temples person. Possible but not likely.
We imagine Modi’s goal would be to broaden the playing field not through compromise (as the Economist wisely suggests) but by having a vote consolidation plan for West Bengal and Kerala. If he can manage to get up to 20% in either state, the BJP will achieve the status of the Muslim League (IUML) – a pocket of votes and seats that nobody can ignore.
………………………
But even the most pessimistic (for the BJP) forecast suggests the
party led by Mr Modi will be the biggest and will get more seats and
votes than at any previous election in India. It has made inroads among
voters in areas (such as Kerala or West Bengal) where it had no
impression before. An estimated record turnout of 66.4% of voters also
buoys the BJP, adding to the strength of its likely mandate. It looks
inconceivable that any other party, whether Congress or some combination
of regional outfits, could form a government.
Thus the BJP, with Mr
Modi in charge, is preparing to rule.
To get control of the
lower house of parliament, and thus to form a government, Mr Modi needs
272 seats. Higher estimates by the pollsters suggest he could pass that
figure with only the support of the closest allies of the BJP, without
reaching out to coalition partners such as Jayaram Jayalalitha in Tamil
Nadu. Yet even if these turn out to be accurate he may prefer to build a
broader coalition, for two reasons.
First, to rule effectively Mr Modi
needs to project power beyond the lower house of parliament. Legislative
changes require consent of the upper house, where he has no majority.
And any prime minister must find ways to co-ordinate work of the central
government with powerful state governments. A wider coalition could
help in both areas.
Second, Mr Modi presumably dreams that his party can
be in office for more than one five-year term. That requires limiting
the clout of the (soon to be) opposition Congress party. The more
coalition allies that the BJP can attract today, the more isolated
Congress will be. Yet if Mr Modi is to manage a broad coalition, he will
have to change style from the rather aggressive figure on the campaign
trail who traded insults with opponents, sneering at rivals. As a chief
minister he could rule his state, Gujarat, with no consideration for
power-sharing; now he should adopt such skills quickly.
What
will come first for Mr Modi? The transition in India can be fast, with
Mr Modi likely to be installed within a week or so of the official
results (and a replacement chief minister for Gujarat named too). He is a
man who exudes impatience, and whose campaign has often emphasised the
need for efficient, decisive government able to implement policies with
speed. Indiaâs stockmarkets are rallying, investors expect measures to
be taken quickly to encourage investment, economic growth, job creation,
better infrastructure and a broad return of confidence in India.
At the same time, Mr Modi will have to find
the voice of a statesman who represents all of India, not only the
victors. He rose first in the Hindu nationalist movement, the Rashtriya
Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), which leant heavy organisational support in
this election to its protégé. It would be natural if it, and other such
bodies, now hope that Mr Modi will promote their values (broadly
equating being an Indian with being a Hindu). Mr Modi should disappoint
them. Many in India, including Muslims, Christians and more secular
Hindus, expect Mr Modi to make clear that his priority is not Hindu
nationalism but economic recovery. The clearer he can be about that, the
better.
…………
Link: http://www.economist.com/blogs/banyan/2014/05/indias-election-exit-polls
………
regards
Blasphemy and its discontents..
some random news items.
A “liberal” doctor said something to a pharma rep (he probably said “I dont want to prescribe your overpriced medication to patients who don’t need it“) and the pharma rep told his buddies that the local GP is a liberal and is not properly respectful of religion. His buddies happened to be graduates of the vast network of Islamic Purification Factories one can find all over Pakistan. Mom (Pakistan’s far-sighted armed forces) and Dad (Saudi Arabia and the USA, in that order) got together to make this baby in the 1980s, but as in humans, the germ cells within mom were born a generation earlier. Lovingly cradled in the Islamic Republic and brought to maturity in anticipation of the arrival of Daddy’s little swimmers. Anyway, the local graduates were quick to grasp the necessary implications of having a “liberal” doctor in Jalalpur Jattan. They went and shot him dead.
Junaid, a “liberal” student from the remote borderlands of Punjab went to America on a Fulbright scholarship and came back to teach at Multan University (yes, I know, Bloody Fool, so close to a Green card and he returns to teach!). His “conservative colleagues” were unhappy. So they asked the local chapter of the Islamic Chatra Shibbir to put a stop to this menace. A pamphlet was circulated, saying that Junaid was a blasphemer who wrote blasphemous things about the wives of the Holy Prophet on Facebook under the pseudonym “Mullah Munafiq”. The police sprang into action and arrested the man from a 100 miles away. They prepared an indictment without bothering to involve the cybercrimes wing or otherwise find evidence connecting Junaid to Mulla Munafiq. No evidence? No problem. He is still in prison, 14 months later.
Junaid’s family had a hard time finding a lawyer for him, until the local representative of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan took the case. He was threatened in court by fellow lawyers for daring to do so. He reported the threats to the police. A few weeks later, he was shot dead. Junaid no longer has a lawyer and faces a mandatory death penalty. Mulla Munafiq is still happily posting on FB 14 MONTHS after Junaid was arrested and put in high security prison. The ways of the infidels are indeed mysterious.
Faisal, a generous, loving, hard-working doctor had served his community for 25 years. He happened to be a Shia and made no bones about it. This was not a problem in the old, impure Pakistan, but by now a “Muavia colony” has grown up near his home (how fast they grow up!).
Muavia colony. As they say in Urdu “naam hi kafi hai” (“the name says it all”). Someone from Muavia colony sent him (and his brother and his cousin) threats, warning them to stop polluting the clean air of Hasan Abdal with their “Rafidhi” religion. They stayed in town, providing medical care to thousands. So Dr Babar Ali was shot dead on his way home from work in March 2014. And 2 months later, so was Dr Faisal Manzur. The police remain clueless.
A group of lawyers protested against police high-handedness. The police officer involved is named Umar Daraz. He was verbally abused during the protest. His name happens to be the name of the second caliph of Islam (and of a few million other people). 60 lawyers have been charged with blasphemy.
A poor Christian woman working in the fields drank water from a “Muslim” cup. The local Muslim women (“superior” to the Chrisitan lady in terms of status) complained and they had an argument. A couple of days later she was charged with blasphemy. She was duly sentenced to death in 2010. She is still on death row. Hearing about this, the Governor of Punjab said he thought this was a bit much and she should be set free.
His own guard gunned him down. Hundreds of lawyers volunteered to defend the killer. Thousands rallied in front of the killer’s house to support the noble family and to praise their glorious son. A judge sentenced him to death and then ran away from the country because of death threats. A mosque has just been named in honor of the killer. Local Barelvis (so-called “Liberal Sufi Muslims” in the discourse of Western and Westernized Desis) are delighted that one of their own has restored their honor by killing the governor.
Subhanallah. Everything is going according to plan.
Only an armed force can stop these armed purifiers of Pakistan. But the army has other priorities (linked less to Islamic purification and more to permanent and over-riding “strategic” aims like the conquest of Afghanistan and the eventual defeat of India; but its all connected anyway). Liberals will either have to convert the army to their cause or move to the US to try and invent counter-propaganda for use after the apocalypse.
Theoretically, there is another option: the liberals, Shias, Pakhtoon Nationalists, Baloch Nationalists, Sindhi Nationalists, Ahmedis, Hindus, Free Thinkers, malcontents, etc. could, separately or together, invite another army to enforce order. For various reasons, I think this is not possible at this stage. But after the apocalypse, all bets are off...
For background on the blasphemy law, see here.
I am posting this excellent column from Gul Bukhari in full. It sheds some light on some aspects of state collusion in this saga.
Silent onlooker? No, Sir
May 12, 2014
Just yesterday someone tweeted that the state is a silent onlooker in the context of HRCP regional coordinator and advocate Rashid Rehmanâs murder. Progressive souls increasingly frustrated and angry at these blasphemy related murders so foul, point to the failure, silence or paralysis of the state in dealing with the crime.
But there is something wrong with even the nomenclature we use to describe what is happening, or to express what we want the state to do. A silent onlooker implies someone simply detached from proceedings, neither helping nor harming. Thus when we accuse the state of being a silent onlooker, we are implicitly asking it stop âonlookingâ and do something, to take some action.
Implicit to the term failure is an unsuccessful attempt at success, and therefore blaming the state for having failed means we are imputing an attempt by the state to put things right in which it failed. Similarly, when we criticize the state for apparent paralysis where blasphemy related killings are concerned, we are assuming a will or desire to do something, something good that is, but a bodily or physical inability to do so.
This language clearly indicates that we are not clear about what is going on, or what needs to change. The state is not a silent onlooker. No, the state is an active participant in blasphemy killings. It is not paralyzed at all, but actively complicit in the accusations and arrests. The state has not failed; it has been enabling incarceration of innocents, and aiding unfair trials of accused.
Though a cursory look at most blasphemy cases in Pakistan will demonstrate the same principles at work, just one horrifying example of Mr. Rehman and his client Mr. Junaid Hafeez should suffice here.
Firstly, it is the state that provides the open and alluring prospects for spurious and malafide accusations of blasphemy to be entertained seriously by the courts in shape of the blasphemy laws. The state made the laws, and the state remains responsible for not amending or repealing laws, especially at the time the 18th amendment was introduced to clean up the constitution of Pakistan during the previous governmentâs tenure. Thanks to the state, the blasphemy laws of the country continue to take the lives of innocents with increasing frequency in this country. It is ironic, every time anyone is lynched or murdered, everyone looks to the state to bring perpetrators to justice. It is almost laughable.
After an accusation has been made, the next state instrument, itâs law enforcement agencies, swing in with their role: the most ridiculous and nonsensical FIRs are registered without a shred of investigation, evidence or even exact description of the crime. Alleged acts or words of blasphemy are not even described. Yet, such FIRs are deemed sufficient to proceed against anyone accused of having committed a crime punishable with death.
In the case of Mr. Junaid Hafeez, he was accused of being the administrator of a Facebook page that is run by a pseudonym, and allegedly contains disrespectful commentary on the prophetâs wives. Reportedly, the police did not even check whether the IP address the Facebook page is being managed from, belongs to Mr. Hafeez or not. And reportedly, while Mr. Hafeez remains behind bars presumably without access to the internet, the Facebook page continues to be operated and updated. It might be useful to mull over whether thus far in this absurd saga, it is the state at work or the accusers of Mr. Hafeez.
Next, the state is obliged to ensure a fair and free trial of all accused, even of those it has facilitated in landing in this envious position. As in Mr. Hafeezâs case, neither are most lawyers willing to take on blasphemy cases, nor judges of junior courts will to stick their necks out to return fair or just verdicts. Once again, it is because the state will not provide them with the security that they deserve. Nor will the state prosecute those that threaten or perpetrate violence on lawyers and judges in these cases. Only after several months of trying to convince different lawyers, was Mr. Hafeezâs family able to engage Mr. Rashid Rehman as defense counsel. And only personal courage and strength of his convictions caused Mr. Rehman to take up the case, not any protection offered by the state.
Indeed, Mr. Rehman was threatened repeatedly, including during one of the hearings and in the presence of the presiding judge. Indeed, Mr. Rehman asked the judge to take notice. Indeed, Mr. Rehman asked for security. But the representatives of the state had discharged their duties: the police had registered the FIR and arrested the accused. The magistrate had remanded the accused. The judge sat on the bench listening to the case and the threats. Neither were aggressors apprehended, nor protection provided to Mr. Rehman.
Whilst the petitionerâs lawyer and other lawyers from the Multan bar are on record having threatened to kill Mr. Rehman, with several of these personsâ statements together with their photographs having been recorded in newsprint, the FIR registered for the murder of Mr. Rehman is against the usual âunidentified personsâ. On the other hand, a Facebook page is run by a pseudonym, alleged insulting remarks unspecified, yet the FIR is registered against one Mr. Junaid Hafeez.
At every step, the state provided and facilitated the incarceration of the one and murder of the other. Neither was the state âsilently onlookingâ, nor paralyzed, nor failed. It succeeded very well.
But there is something wrong with even the nomenclature we use to describe what is happening, or to express what we want the state to do. A silent onlooker implies someone simply detached from proceedings, neither helping nor harming. Thus when we accuse the state of being a silent onlooker, we are implicitly asking it stop âonlookingâ and do something, to take some action.
Implicit to the term failure is an unsuccessful attempt at success, and therefore blaming the state for having failed means we are imputing an attempt by the state to put things right in which it failed. Similarly, when we criticize the state for apparent paralysis where blasphemy related killings are concerned, we are assuming a will or desire to do something, something good that is, but a bodily or physical inability to do so.
This language clearly indicates that we are not clear about what is going on, or what needs to change. The state is not a silent onlooker. No, the state is an active participant in blasphemy killings. It is not paralyzed at all, but actively complicit in the accusations and arrests. The state has not failed; it has been enabling incarceration of innocents, and aiding unfair trials of accused.
Though a cursory look at most blasphemy cases in Pakistan will demonstrate the same principles at work, just one horrifying example of Mr. Rehman and his client Mr. Junaid Hafeez should suffice here.
Firstly, it is the state that provides the open and alluring prospects for spurious and malafide accusations of blasphemy to be entertained seriously by the courts in shape of the blasphemy laws. The state made the laws, and the state remains responsible for not amending or repealing laws, especially at the time the 18th amendment was introduced to clean up the constitution of Pakistan during the previous governmentâs tenure. Thanks to the state, the blasphemy laws of the country continue to take the lives of innocents with increasing frequency in this country. It is ironic, every time anyone is lynched or murdered, everyone looks to the state to bring perpetrators to justice. It is almost laughable.
After an accusation has been made, the next state instrument, itâs law enforcement agencies, swing in with their role: the most ridiculous and nonsensical FIRs are registered without a shred of investigation, evidence or even exact description of the crime. Alleged acts or words of blasphemy are not even described. Yet, such FIRs are deemed sufficient to proceed against anyone accused of having committed a crime punishable with death.
In the case of Mr. Junaid Hafeez, he was accused of being the administrator of a Facebook page that is run by a pseudonym, and allegedly contains disrespectful commentary on the prophetâs wives. Reportedly, the police did not even check whether the IP address the Facebook page is being managed from, belongs to Mr. Hafeez or not. And reportedly, while Mr. Hafeez remains behind bars presumably without access to the internet, the Facebook page continues to be operated and updated. It might be useful to mull over whether thus far in this absurd saga, it is the state at work or the accusers of Mr. Hafeez.
Next, the state is obliged to ensure a fair and free trial of all accused, even of those it has facilitated in landing in this envious position. As in Mr. Hafeezâs case, neither are most lawyers willing to take on blasphemy cases, nor judges of junior courts will to stick their necks out to return fair or just verdicts. Once again, it is because the state will not provide them with the security that they deserve. Nor will the state prosecute those that threaten or perpetrate violence on lawyers and judges in these cases. Only after several months of trying to convince different lawyers, was Mr. Hafeezâs family able to engage Mr. Rashid Rehman as defense counsel. And only personal courage and strength of his convictions caused Mr. Rehman to take up the case, not any protection offered by the state.
Indeed, Mr. Rehman was threatened repeatedly, including during one of the hearings and in the presence of the presiding judge. Indeed, Mr. Rehman asked the judge to take notice. Indeed, Mr. Rehman asked for security. But the representatives of the state had discharged their duties: the police had registered the FIR and arrested the accused. The magistrate had remanded the accused. The judge sat on the bench listening to the case and the threats. Neither were aggressors apprehended, nor protection provided to Mr. Rehman.
Whilst the petitionerâs lawyer and other lawyers from the Multan bar are on record having threatened to kill Mr. Rehman, with several of these personsâ statements together with their photographs having been recorded in newsprint, the FIR registered for the murder of Mr. Rehman is against the usual âunidentified personsâ. On the other hand, a Facebook page is run by a pseudonym, alleged insulting remarks unspecified, yet the FIR is registered against one Mr. Junaid Hafeez.
At every step, the state provided and facilitated the incarceration of the one and murder of the other. Neither was the state âsilently onlookingâ, nor paralyzed, nor failed. It succeeded very well.
Anti-India(s): Bengal, Kerala, Tamil Nadu
The exit poll data is all over the place, but there remains little doubt that there was a Modi wave and that BJP has fared much better than expected (by neutral observers). This success can be attributed to polarization (on both sides) wherein the Hindu-first coalition simply out-voted the Ummah-first coalition.
This is a remarkable coalition centered purely around brand Modi (are you with him or against him?). Long time NDA partner like Nitish Kumar who misjudged the political atmosphere had to leave (and got crushed). In Maharashtra and in Punjab (as well as many other states) we saw not only coalition of Hindus (across castes and even out-castes) but an alliance of Dharmics (Jains, Buddhists, Sikhs) contributing to the majority vote. BJP has a few Christian (local) alliances in Goa and in the North-East (Purno Sangma and National People’s Party) and the Syrian Church has stood up with him. Amongst the Muslims, minorities such as Shias and Bohras are expected to vote for Modi.
The above groups are presumably OK with the concept of a Hindu-majority, Hindu-first India that Arundhati Roy has always warned us about. David Cameron has recently noted that Britain is a Christian country
and British culture is Christian in the main, Narendra Modi will no doubt make the same claim for a Hindu India.
So how about the anti-India(s) – Bengal, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu are the most prominent- that were able to resist the Modi wave? Anti-India is the (expected) re-labeling of Anti-Hindu/Hindutva sentiment in the coming Modi raj.
In each case fingers will point to early child-hood vaccination programs- in Bengal/Kerala the pervasive influence of the left (there is a hidden communist inside every Bengali/Malayali), while in Tamil Nadu the combination of language chauvinism (there is a little bit of that in B/K as well) and the self-respect movement.
So, how will the future expected to unfold for the anti-India(s)? If BJP is re-engineered as an India-wide Shudra dominated alliance under Modi, the Tamils (under Amma) will fit in very comfortably, even as they maintain their distinctiveness. In Kerala it is difficult to imagine the Ezhava-shudras switching loyalty from the Left. Bengal which is closest to the Hindi belt will be the most vulnerable to a switch of loyalties from the Left and soft-Left (Congress) to the BJP.
A wide discrepancy in Exit Poll numbers will surely go some way to lift the gloom in the Congress camp. It is not over yet till the lady in saree (there are so many of them, formidable leaders all) sings.
Our own estimate of the total seats won by the BJP will be 230 (NDA overall 260)- slightly short of outright majority. The only question in that event will be: will Amma be ready to play ball? We will find out very soon if this is the case.
regards
The Martyrdom of Dr Faisal Manzoor
I first met Faisal Manzoor in 1975. I was one year senior to him in high school and then in Medical School (where he was one of my students when preparing for physiology and pharmacology exams). I have been in touch ever since and the last time I met him was in August 2013.
When we graduated from medical school, most of us moved to England and the US to “improve ourselves” or some such shit. In those days, one did not leave Pakistan because one was Shia or even liberal (though some other minorities had already got the memo, starting with Sikhs and Hindus in 1947). That started later. Still, a lot of people left or were encouraged to leave by parents and elders who were surprisingly pessimistic about the future of the great nation they had created and whose “real” half they continued to rule.  But not Faisal. Faisal moved back to his small hometown and built a modern hospital there. It grew and prospered and provided round the clock service in a dozen different specialties. And it was right on Sher Shah Suri’s Grand Trunk road, so every friend going towards Peshawar or Abbotabad or points North (where the ISI in its infinite wisdom liked to locate their training camps for Jihad and other needs) would stop by Faisal’s hospital and get infinite hospitality at any time of the day or night.
When an earthquake struck Northern Pakistan, Faisal loaded up a truckload of blankets, tents, food and medicines and headed North. He camped out there, distributing help to all and sundry. Some of them, unfortunately, were already members of the great Pakistan Islamic Purification initiative, but of course at that time we still did not know where that purification would head next.
Well, as we all know now, it headed for the Shias. Or maybe it was already heading that way, but we didnt really see it till years later because every cancer needs time to grow…. And Faisal and his family were Shia. In fact, they supported the local Imambargah. They were not just Shia, they were prominent Shias. They were also prominent philanthropists, prominent doctors, prominent helpers of those in need, prominent hosts of distant cousins of friends of friends..and prominent friends of all and sundry. But being prominent Shia was what got them targeted…..and all the other prominences did not help one bit when the motorbike boys came looking for targets.
2 months ago, Faisal’s older cousin (a doctor at his hospital and the deputy director of the local polio campaign) was shot dead while coming out of the hospital. He was shot dead on main GT road. At 8 pm or so. Nobody was caught. Pakistan moved on. Â Shit happens. What can one do? it is the will of Allah. Or at least the will of Allah’s little helpers in Pakistan.
We asked Faisal if he was thinking of “getting out”. In fact, some of us specifically advised him to get out. He said where would I go and what would I do? my life and my work are all here. My family is here. My friends are here. My patients are here. My home is here. How can I leave? I will get some guards. This or that friend who is a senior police officer or a senior civil servant or a senior army officer has promised that this time, the culprits will be found.
But they found him first.
He was shot dead at 8-20 pm, leaving his hospital for home. Â He was shot at the same spot where they shot Babar. He had not proven hard to find.
Another light has gone out in Pakistan. The darkness is descending faster than we thought.
Very sad.
Tomorrow the Attock branch of the Pakistan Medical Association will pass a condolence resolution and maybe they will also conduct a token strike. The chief minister may “order the police to apprehend the culprits” (we all know they never move without orders). Sometimes, these things can get noticed, even by a busy man life Shahbaz Sharif. And surely the blessed army will promise to relentlessly defend the ideological frontiers of Pakistan. While you sleep in peace, ISI is awake (as recent expensively printed posters have told us all). Indeed.
But unfortunately we also know that the culprits will be back. If arrested, they will be freed. If convicted, they may escape. Shit happens.
This is murder number three in the last 15 months, just in our close circle .
Dr Ali Haider, Eye surgeon, only son of the legendary Professor Zafar Haider and Professor Tahira Bokhari. Shot dead along with his son in Lahore.
Dr Babar Ali, Faisal’s cousin, an exemplary gentle soul who literally had no enemies. Shot dead in Hasanabdal 2 months ago.
Dr Faisal Manzoor, shot dead today.
Its getting closer. Strategic depth has come home to roost.
Giving away prizes at the local school:
Are you wondering what pre-genocide propaganda looks like? Wonder no more. Here are the proud students of the University of Sargodha
Meanwhile in Gujrat:
http://www.dawn.com/news/1105756
Doctor was killed by extremists over liberal views
Published about 22 hours ago
A reliable source in a law enforcement agency told Dawn that three militants, recently arrested in connection with the target killing incidents in Gujrat, had revealed during interrogation that Dr Attaur Rehman, a known medical practitioner of Jalalpur Jattan, had also been a victim of their target killing besides many others last year.
The law enforcement agency had arrested the suspects in a kidnap-for-ransom case. During investigation, they revealed their involvement in target killing of seven people, including Professor Shabbir Shah of the University of Gujrat (UoG), a religious figure Fazeelat Shah alias Phul Shah in Jassoki area of Kunjah police and a policeman Sarfraz. They had also attacked a Sara-i-Alamgir-based businessman belonging to Ahmadi community who sustained bullet injuries but survived two attacks on him.
Though officials are terming the arrests as a major breakthrough in the investigation of target killing cases, the revelation of Dr Attaur Rehman being targeted by the banned outfit had really shocked them as they had earlier considered involvement of extortionists in the incident.
The militants told investigators that they had killed the doctor due to his liberal views he used to express publicly at his clinic and it was a medical representative of a pharmaceutical company who had connived with the suspects, telling them that the doctor often gave, what they termed, provocative remarks about religion and the information had been the sole reason for targeting him.
The revelations came as the investigators were probing the suspects in a kidnap-for-ransom case. All the three arrested suspects, including two real brothers Abrarul Haq and Anwarul Haq, residents of Dedhar village of Gujrat Sadar police precincts and Asif Maqsood of Jhandewal village, Gujrat, were arrested by a joint raiding team of Jhelum and Gujrat police a few weeks back in a case of kidnap-for-ransom of Haji Iqbal, a British national. They also confessed to being involved in four other major incidents of target killing in Gujrat district during the later half of 2013.
Earlier, the then Gujrat DPO Ali Nasir Rizvi had claimed the arrest of seven extortionists of a gang of Jalapur Jattan during a news conference on August 28, three weeks after the killing of the doctor, saying the extortionists had killed the doctor for extortion. Police had framed charges against seven suspects for anti-terrorism court of Gujranwala where the trial of alleged gangsters continued despite repeated statements of the complainants in their favour.
A police official said the heirs to Dr Rehman had formally asked the court in writing that the seven alleged extortionists were not his killers. The suspectsâ release was likely after the legal formalities.
Police sources said DPO Rizvi, under pressure from the agitating medical fraternity of Gujrat chapter of the Pakistan Medical Association, had declared the seven alleged gangsters as killers of Dr Rehman just to pacify the concerned voices in Gujrat over the rise in extortion incidents.
It was also revealed that DPO Rizvi himself had also been a prime target of the arrested terrorists for belonging to the Shia community. The security of Mr Rizvi had been higher than routine security of a DPO and two Elite Force vehicles used to move with him instead of one mobile van while a concrete security wall had also been constructed outside his house.
The three alleged killers of Dr Attaur Rehman had been in Jhelum police custody for their involvement in abduction of Haji Iqbal who was released by them after payment of Rs3.5 million ransom.
DPO Jhelum Afzal Mehmood Butt confirmed to Dawn that the arrested suspects had confessed to killing of Dr Rehman and they had been on physical remand of six days until May 15 in a kidnapping case of Haji Iqbal. Efforts were being made to bring Iqbal back to Pakistan to pursue the legal formalities of the case, he added.
DPO Gujrat Rai Ijaz said three arrested militants were yet to be brought to Gujrat from Jhelum for legal proceedings in target killing cases. Two more suspects, Qari Afzal and Zakriya Khalid, of the same network are already in custody of Gujrat police on physical remand whereas the law enforcing agencies had been making efforts to arrest the remaining members of the gang.
Congress free Andhra
PM elect Narendra Modi dreams of a Congress mukt (free) India. How does a 128 year old party die at the hand of one man? Ground zero is in Seemandhra (current Andhra Pradesh province – Telengana), a good place as any to observe why/how the GOP was crushed to zero.
It was the cynical way that Congress went about the whole Andhra/Telengana division that doomed it at the voting box. It was instrumental in launching CBI cases against Jaganmohan Reddy son of the late and ex-Chief Minister (Congress). Just like with Lalu Yadav, Mulayam Yadav, and Mayawati, Congress uses the CBI stick to keep the B-team in line.
The thinking was that Congress will swamp Telengana (orange) in collaboration with Telengana Rashtra Samity of TRS- the Telengana freedom party and form a post-poll pact with Jagan Reddy in Seemandhra (yellow) as well to defeat the main opponents Telegu Desam Party (TDP) and the BJP..
What happened instead is one for the pol science text-books. Congress vacillated till the last minute and made everyone (and his mother) angry. It should have launched a mass campaign in Seemandhra to explain that they would not lose out due to state division (primarily loss of Hyderabad). Indeed the best solution would have been to make Hyderabad an Union Territory and for the two states to share a capital (till an alternative was developed for Seemandhra).
The wages of sin are now due and Congress is finished for ever in Seemandhra. It is already finished in large belts of North India (due to the first family managing to sabotage the rise of local leaders) and now it will only remain strong in Telengana and Kerala (with the Shudras of Karnataka are likely to move slowly but steadily into the BJP camp).
…….
The ruling Congress in Andhra Pradesh today suffered a major blow in the
urban civic body polls in Seemandhra region, where opposition TDP put
up a stellar performance, but stole the show in Telangana for whose
statehood the party claims credit.
Congress, which has ruled Andhra Pradesh for 41 of its 57 years of
existence, faced a near wash-out in Seemandhra, which comprises the
coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions, largely because it was seen as
the villain of the piece for its role in the impending creation of
Telangana, which will next month become a separate state.
The former Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu-led TDP has bagged over 60
municipalities out of more than 90 of them in the Seemandhra region. YSR
Congress of YS Jaganmohan Reddy, who is staunchly opposed to the
bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh, was placed second with 17 municipalities
so far in its kitty.
In Seemandhra, TDP bagged five corporations, including Vijayawada, while
YSRCP clinched two among which was Kadapa, the native district of
Jaganmohan.
Congress, which was almost decimated in the coastal Andhra and
Rayalaseema regions, has so far won more than 20 municipalities out of a
total 53 in Telangana, which would come into being as a new state on
June 2. Congress has pushed Telangana Rashtra Samiti of K Chandrasekhar
Rao to the second position.
TRS, which was in the forefront of the agitation for a separate Telangana state, has so far bagged eight municipalities. TDP, which was once a major force in the Telangana region, has been
relegated to the margins after winning just three municipalities so far.
BJP bagged two municipalities.
Several urban bodies in both the regions threw up hung verdicts.
The polls to 145 nagar panchayats and municipalities and 10 corporations
were conducted on March 30 against the backdrop of the passage of the
contentious Telangana Bill in Parliament.
…….
Link: http://news.outlookindia.com/items.aspx?artid=840546
…..
regards
BJP: CVoter 289, ABP 281, CNN 276, Cicero 272
India made history in this elections: 551 mil Indians voted over a period of 5 weeks. Awesome!!The
overall turnout in all the nine phases of polling this year stood at
66.38 per cent, posting the highest in the history of Lok Sabha
elections, surpassing the previous best of 64.01 per cent in 1984 in the
wake of the assassination of the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. The turnout in 2009 was 58.19 per cent.
It gets a bit complicated but 272 seats are required for a simple majority. If the smallest tally of 249 (Times) is taken as a floor, BJP/NDA will have no problems in forming a stable five-year govt.
Bottom-line, India is getting ready to welcome her first Shudra Czar (long overdue), we look forward to when the Dalit Queen will find her way to the throne (perhaps next elections)
Shocking BJP wins predicted in Karnataka and Axom, states which
were expected to hold the line for Congress. Massive BJP victory in Uttar Pradesh. UPA
sweeps Kerala. AIADMK conquers Tamil Nadu. Mamata faces
defeat in West Bengal, Mayawati loses big in Uttar Pradesh. Nitish Kumar wiped out in Bihar, Left routed in Kerala but scores surprisingly well in Bengal. Congress
fares better than expected in Maharashtra, Punjab and in Haryana, decimated in Rajasthan and
Gujarat.
It may be wise not to place too much faith in the
exit polls (there were massive goof-ups in 2004 and in 2009- on
both occasions pointing to a BJP victory). Having said that this
exercise was a major victory for democracy and for the republic of India
with the Election Commission achieving (almost) national treasure
status.
exit polls (there were massive goof-ups in 2004 and in 2009- on
both occasions pointing to a BJP victory). Having said that this
exercise was a major victory for democracy and for the republic of India
with the Election Commission achieving (almost) national treasure
status.
Since most of us here at BP take a jaundiced view of Hinduism/Hindutva (justifiably so given the excesses committed in its name), it is a fair point to add that nothing in the Buddhist (Thailand) and Islamic (Turkey, Indonesia) universe comes close to what Hindu-majority India has achieved in terms of vesting political power in her citizens. Even Christians in the third world (South Africa) cant really hope to compare. And the beauty of it is this has happened with the co-operation of citizens of all stripes: Jains, Buddhists, Muslims, Christians and Hindus have achieved it together with mostly good cheer and harmony. It is such a remarkable thing that it is not remarked upon most of the time (which is how it should be).
Axom:
BJP predicted to win (8) out of (14)
BJP predicted to win (8) out of (14)
West
Bengal: Trinamool (20), Left (15), Congress (5), BJP (2)
Bengal: Trinamool (20), Left (15), Congress (5), BJP (2)
Bihar:
BJP 28 out of 39
BJP 28 out of 39
Alternate (ABP): BJP+LJP (21), RJD
+ Congress (14), JDU (2)
+ Congress (14), JDU (2)
Alternate (CVoter): BJP (26)
Jharkhand:
BJP (7), Congress (6), JBSP (1)
BJP (7), Congress (6), JBSP (1)
Chattisgarh:
BJP (10), Congress (1)
BJP (10), Congress (1)
Uttar
Pradesh: BJP (52), BSP (6), SP (12), UPA (10)
Pradesh: BJP (52), BSP (6), SP (12), UPA (10)
Punjab:
BJP (7), Congress (6)
BJP (7), Congress (6)
Delhi:
BJP (7) out of (7)
BJP (7) out of (7)
Himachal
Pradesh: BJP (4) out of (4)
Pradesh: BJP (4) out of (4)
Haryana:
BJP+ (3), Congress (7)
BJP+ (3), Congress (7)
Rajasthan:
BJP (22), Congress (2)
BJP (22), Congress (2)
Gujarat:
BJP (22), Congress (2)
BJP (22), Congress (2)
Madhya
Pradesh: BJP (16), Congress (11), BSP (2)
Pradesh: BJP (16), Congress (11), BSP (2)
CVoter:
BJP (26), Congress (3)
BJP (26), Congress (3)
Maharashtra:
BJP (27), Congress (21)
BJP (27), Congress (21)
Telengana: TRS (8), TDP + BJP (2),
Congress (4), Left (2)
Seemandhra:
BJP + TDP (17), YSR (8)
BJP + TDP (17), YSR (8)
Karnataka:
BJP (18), Congress (9), JDS (1)
BJP (18), Congress (9), JDS (1)
Tamil
Nadu: AIADMK (31), DMK (7), Congress (1)
Nadu: AIADMK (31), DMK (7), Congress (1)
Kerala:
Congress + IUML (18), Left (2)
Congress + IUML (18), Left (2)
regards