bomb blasts was October 1997 – two months before he went on first and last trip to Pakistan . “……
“… Aamir has his own questions : “ madamji ”, he asks me , “ If at 18 , I became a dreaded mastermind with so many aliases , surely I would have been but a child when I started out ?” And also , “ I spent 14 years in jail for allegedly causing five deaths . What about the policemen who shot dead so many Muslims in cold blood in hashimpur ? What about Gujarat 2002 ?” It ends ….
Yet in another article published in the same daily ( The Hindu – February 8 2012 ) Ravinder kaur – Associate professor of Modern South Asian Studies , University of Copenhagen , concludes “ Thus , simulated images of a world with people happy , well – nourished , cheerful and skilled Indians who are ready to work long hours at low wages has its limits . These limits become apparent at a time when India no longer seems to be the only high profile actor engaged in the art of image making . Nations like South Africa and Brazil have been quick to move into the field , followed closely by yet another newly minted group of nations , N11 , the termed coined by the imaginative Goldman sach bankers . The idea of ‘ India Everywhere ’ has instead become a case of “ Everyone Everywhere ,” as one Indian anchor covering Davos put it . As the novelty of dazzling image campaigns levels out , India might need to rework its agenda – To focus on actual production of a prosperous and equitable nation , rather than producing images of it .” Again so it ends …..
When it comes to Justice and security and particularly secularism of Indian state , Praveen swami writes in The Hindu – January 21 2012 , “ leaving aside the question of whether India ’ s religious traditions are in fact tolerant – a subject on which the tens of thousands of victims of communal and caste violence might have interesting opinions – this spurious secularism has served in the main to institutionalize and sharpen communal boundaries , It has also allowed clerics to exercise influence over state policy – insulating themselves from a secularizing world .”
“ The strange thing is this : India ’ s people notwithstanding their religiosity , aren ’ t the ones pushing the state to guard god ’ s cause . India ’ s Poor send their children to private schools hoping they will learn languages and sciences , not prayer , Indian Politics remains focused on realworld issues : no party campaigns around seeking more funds for mosque domes or temple elephants .”
While calling for decline of scope of religion in civil society , Mr . Praveen swami asserts “ no sensible person would argue that school curriculum ought to discourage eight – year olds from discovering that tooth fairy does not exist . No sensible person ought to argue , similarly , that some purpose is served by buttressing the faith of adults in djinns , Immaculate Conception , or armies of monkeys engineering trans-oceanic bridges . It is legitimate for individuals to believe that cow-urine might cure their cancer – not for the state to subsidize this life threatening fantasy .” Mr . swami calls for “ Indian secular democrats to assert the case for a better universe : a universe built around citizenship and rights , not