The Freethinkers is a vibrant Facebook group run by atheists catering to users speaking malayalam language in India’s Kerala state. It’s open to all and is a space for vigorous debates on varying topics like religion, politics and atheism. It has a huge membership and was mass reported and closed several times but came back with a vengeance.
Now an anonymous Jihadi malayalam blogger has directly threatened the admins of the group with violence.
They were arrested in 2006 for their alleged part in three bomb explosions that took place in Malegaon in India’s Maharashtra state. The blasts took place on 8th September, 2006 , close to a mosque immediately after the time of Friday prayers. 37 people were killed, mostly Muslims.
After 10 years, on April 25, 2016, they were set free by the court saying there is no evidence against them.
With in few weeks of the blast in 2006, the state Police had arrested them. They were 9 men, most of them members of banned Students Islamic movement of India, an Islamist organisation which had played its part in trying to radicalize Indian Muslims and also in some terrorist activities. Police claimed that those arrested had close links with Pakistani terror groups. The investigation was later handed over to India’s premier investigation agency, the Central bureau of Investigations (CBI). CBI also confirmed what the state Police claimed.
After the Mumbai Islamist terror attack of 2008, a separate National agency was set up by Indian government to investigate terror attacks. The National Investigation Agency, NIA , while probing other cases caught hold of one Swami Aseemanand. In 2010 he confessed before a magistrate that he and some of his Hindutva activist friends of a group called Abhinav Bharat were responsible for the 2006 Malegaon blasts. Later the NIA came to a conclusion that Hindutva groups were probably responsible not only for Malegaon 2006 blasts, but also for blasts in Indo-Pak Samjhauta Express (February 2007), the Mecca Masjid in Hyderabad (May 2007), the Ajmer Dargah (October 2007), and then Malegaon once again in September 2008.
Aseemanand – Image credit Vivek singh for the Caravan
In 2011 the NIA did not oppose the bail plea for the 9 men. Thus after 5 years they were able to get out of jail. In 2013 NIA told the court that there is no good evidence to incriminate them. Now after another 3 years the court has pronounced them not guilty.
Many a time Indian Police has been accused for “manufacturing” terrorists in high-profile terror cases . With a Hindutva supporting government in Delhi and many of the states this may not be the last time that innocent people are put in jail for terrorism while real culprits roam free. Also there is a question mark on the future of terror cases in which members of the Hindutva outfits are the accused. Still this judicial verdict give us hope that though delayed, justice will be delivered in the end.
The killings in Bangladesh continue.
Xulhaz Mannan and a friend were hacked to death in Dhaka today at Mannan’s residence. He worked as a protocol officer of former US ambassador Dan Mozena for a long time. He was also associated with USAID.
Xulhaz Mannan. This photo is taken from his Facebook page.
BBC identified Mannan as senior editor of Bangladesh’s first LGBT magazine.
The attackers tricked Mannan to open the door saying they have brought him a courier.
Islam like most other religions forbids homosexuality.
It seems no one can stop Islamists in Bangladesh.
After the success of the struggle of Hindu women to enter the Lord Saturn temple in Maharashtra with the help of judiciary, a historical Sunni mosque has opened its doors to Muslim women.
The mosque at Tazhathangady in Kottayam town of Kerala is supposed to be as old as 8th century. It is famous for its beautiful architectural style and exquisite wood carvings.
Thazhathangadi Juma Masjid. Photo: Maya Menon
An international Rationalist conference is under way at Tallinn. You must be wondering, like me, where in the world is this Tallinn. It is in Estonia, which was a part of erstwhile USSR. It is jointly organised by Rationalist International, Helsinki, Finland and Rationalist Association, Estonia. A galaxy of humanist-atheist speakers from all over the world are attending.
No, this is not an old news. It happened again.
A progressive secular professor of Rajshahi University in Bangladesh was hacked to death early on Saturday.
The Charlie Hebdo editorial did create a lot of confusion among Left liberals. Many liberals in the west thought it was Islamophobic and racist. But for those who had directly witnessed the fascist nature of the religion,, there was not much confusion. May be real life experience determines our perspective.
Here listen to what Eiynah, the Pakistani atheist, now living in Canada, have to say in her podcast.
She says :
We must be wary,,careful to walk that very thin line between Islamist apologist parts of Left and the anti Muslim parts of the Right. True secularism resides somewhere in between those extremes. Somewhere I think Charlie Hebdo hits perfectly. Which is why it causes scurrying panic among false rebels who for some reason wish to hold anti liberal religions in high regard.
“Why are you begging on the street ? Why can’t you do a proper job ? ”
This question is often asked at Hijras of India. The answer is always this.
“Who will give me a job? Who will give people like us jobs ?
Hijras are transgender women of India. They are shunned by society at large. Usually they are disowned by families and are forced to live in ghettos under a leader (Guru). They earn money by begging on the streets and trains. They also get some money by singing and dancing during certain ceremonies and many end up in sex work.
Under current policy, the university investigates students who report sexual assault for violations of the school’s strict honor code, which bans premarital sex, same-sex dating, alcohol consumption and being in the bedroom of someone of the opposite sex, among other things. This means a student who reports a sexual assault could end up being placed on probation, suspended or expelled if the university finds them to have been in violation of the honor code.
An honor code in a university? Must be in an Islamic country or a culturally conservative Asian or African country.
Sushama Swaraj , the external affairs minister of India, visited Iran recently. From Tehran she went to Moscow for a joint meeting between foreign ministers of India, China and Russia.
From Twitter feed of Sushama Swaraj
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj pose before their meeting in Moscow, Russia, (PTI)
The irony is many a time Islam imposes dress code even on non-Muslim visitors but claim Muslim women follow dress code as a choice. And some people fall for it too.