Apostasy troubling global Islamic order increasingly

Dear Janaab Ali Sina,

My real name is Qadir Sheikh, I am an Indian and I was a Muslim till 7/7. I tried to find out what prompted these 3rd generation Muslims in Britain to kill themselves and others, in that quest I went to my local Maulvi in the mosque and in a bizarre twist of arguments and counter arguments led to angered arguments and freely flying abuses and insults from the Maulvi. My kuffr was that the Maulvi did not like the questions he also did not have the answers and called it a highly unislamic behaviour to ask forbidden questions which challenge the validity of the Quran. One of my questions was that whom should a person owe more allegiance to, his maadr-e-watan (motherland) or the Ummah (Nation of Islam)? Which led us to argue how much a true Muslim each of us was and since how many generations? In the end I was called a "kaafir" (some who commits a kuffr [balsphemy]) and physically thrown out of the same mosque, where I had offered my namaaz (obligatory prayer) for the last 37 years, by the Maulvi's assistants.

That led me to investigate the land records of my family and led me to the identity of my Hindu ancestors (just five generations back) and I have since decided to come back to the Hindu culture if not the religion. I feel that my Hindu ancestors were subjected to torture and humiliation and also had to pay jaziya taxes which they could not afford due to drought in the region which finally led them to accept Islam. Though I continue to keep my Muslim name (due to records in many places like my school certificates, driving licence, bank a/c etc.) I have stopped practising Islam and I have become a murtad (apostate), kaafir or both, as Islam classifies me. I have added 786 to my email name because I believe there is something magical and special about it as I believe that Allah (God) has as many names as there are languages in this world. Allah means Bhagwaan/Ishwar in Hindi and God in English. But the local mullahs anywhere in the world are still required to call for azaan in Arabic language only. "Allah-u-Akbar" means "God is great" or "Ishwar mahaan hai". This is nothing but cultural dominance and imperialism of the Arabs via the vehicle of religion.

But many Hindus think in India that "Allah-u-Akbar" is a war cry and a call to kill the non-Muslims. Oh my God!.... what a blasphemy has been committed and is being committed in Allah's name by the Muslims themselves. I realise that I have more Hindu blood in my veins than Mughal blood and it's time that I woke up the rest of my community in India to this fact and not get into clashes with their Hindu brethren with whom they share genes, food, culture, motherland, economy, language and everything else except this foreign religion brought in forcefully by the Arab looters and invaders and forced upon them under the blade of sword. Killing of Hindus in the past is nothing to be proud of by the Muslims but should be a matter of sorrow for all Muslims in India because all our ancestors were Hindus and were forced to convert to Islam under threat. Converting to Islam does not mean that we Muslims in India become Arab. So I am trying to awaken Muslims of all ethnicities in India to this fact that how they are being misled by these mullahs everyday. Islam was suited to the kind of social situation, which was prevalent in Arabia of Mohammed's times.

I was recently very upset about the formulation of Muslim marriage laws by AIMPLB (All India Muslim Personal Law Board) there were hardly any women in the board meeting. I do not understand what kind of marriage laws can be discussed and formulated without the participation of women in equal numbers. What kind of marriage laws can be discussed by a group consisting only (or mostly) of men? What is the guarantee of honour of my educated and good sisters when they get married tomorrow under these Muslim marriage laws formulated by someone in Arabia and interpreted by someone in India? How can I prevent my future brother-in-laws from dumping my good sisters and marrying other women? I realised that in the whole we Muslims are doing nothing but marrying each others sisters only to use, abuse and dump them in the end like Mohd. Azaharuuddin (former Indian cricket captain) has done by divorcing his first wife who is much more beautiful and cultured then the (witch) Sangeeta Bijlani that he has married. Whereas Janaab Sunil Dutt (a Hindu) remained faithful to his wife Nargis (a devout Muslima) throughout his life and did a lot of khidmat (service, care) to her while she was ill with cancer. She lived and died like a true Muslima. She was never forced to convert to Islam by Sunil Dutt.

Whereas Islam appeals to corrupt men like Dharmendra (a famous actor in India) who converted to it and use Islam to have two wives. I am still worried about my sisters who are about to get married in a couple of years time according to Muslim marriage laws that will be prevalent in India as the mullahs here are hell bent upon making these laws more and more anti woman rather than man-woman harmoniums relationship oriented. The mullahs are also demanding Qazi courts (sharia courts) to be given recognition which in the end will totally bar Muslim women from seeking justice through Indian laws in case of extreme abuse and injustice under Muslim laws. My fiancée’s first question was whether I would dump her or marry another girl if I started liking another girl after marriage to her. It is of course easier to be tempted to give in to your baser nature when your religious laws also encourage disloyalty to your wife.

Recently a Muslim woman called Imrana was raped by her father-in-law and when she went to the mullahs for justice they first rebuked her for making this matter public and then accused her of low morals and then ordered her to marry her father-in-law. What an embarrassing and shameful day it was for me in my office when my Hindu colleagues were discussing this incident and enquiring from me rather innocently if it was the norm in Muslim society?

Also disturbing is the arrival of rich old Arabs in the Hyderabad city of India who marry young Indian Muslim girls in connivance with the local mullahs for a period of 15-30 days, after satisfying their lust using the Indians Muslim girls and enjoying the Indian hospitality, these Arabs divorce the girls after robbing them of their virginity and respect and return to their lands as respectable grand fathers and fathers. Their shameful acts remain unknown to their own daughters and grand daughters of equal age back home. What is disturbing is that these Arabs are even rented out rooms made conveniently in the homes of these maulvies who perform these sham marriages. In some cases these marriages last only 24 hours. In reality Islam promotes prostitution and the mullahs are nothing but pimps. Very soon India might become the centre of legalized, sharia-approved prostitution, a Mecca of fornication sought by Muslim men mostly from the Arab world.

In the end I got my answers at your websitehttp://www.faithfreedom.org/Authors.htm and saw many Muslim names there. I like the many articles written by the ex-Muslims rather than by the Christians who can sometimes criticize something without knowing about it from inside. I want more and more ex-Muslims to write on your site, which I believe will lend more credibility to the fact that Islam is stifling the Muslims and hampering their progress in the 21st century. First of all a faith should allow the freedom of questioning and debate, which Islam does not allow. That's why I was humiliated and thrown out of the mosque despite having been a devout Muslim and doing my namaaz prayers in the same mosque for the last 37 years.

My real hero is Janaab A.P.J. Abdul Kalaam who is a great Indian scientist and has been rightly honoured by the majority Hindu India by making him the president of India, rather than put to shame in front of the entire nation by the President of Pakistan himself and later put into house arrest like Janaab A.Q. Khan of Pakistan.

My other heroes are Janaab Ali Sina (you), Janaab Shah Rukh Khan, Janaab Salman Khan, Janaab Zayed Khan, Janaab Javed Akhtar, Mohtarma Shabana Azmi, Janaab Sohail Ilyaasi, Janaab Salmaan Khursheed and many other moderate Indian Muslim personalities. Though I am not a Muslim anymore.

I need your teams' help in reaching out to all the Muslims of Indian origin through this site.

Allah (God) Haafiz.

Qadir Sheikh alias Kaafir786

Source: http://www.faithfreedom.org/Testimonials/QadirSheikh50905.htm

Hindus in Pakistan

by Lt Gen NS Malik

"If Muslims in India constantly crib to have no say and no power, they should come to Pakistan to see the plight of minority Hindus with their own eyes. They'll never complain and learn to live peacefully with their Hindu brethren in India." Asma Jahangir, Human rights activist, Pakistan 

-           

Asma's right. When pitted against the oppressed Hindus in Pakistan, the Muslims of India are indeed far better. A few days back there was news that Hindus in Baluchistan region are abducted and converted to Islam. The family members of those who've been abducted often avoid lodging complaints for fear of dire consequences. Many Hindus in Pakistan's Baluchistan, Sindh and NWFP regions, embraced Islam for survival.  

Has any Muslim in India ever been forced to accept Hinduism in order to live in this country?  

The Marathas, who fought against Ahmadshah Abdali in 1761 and couldn't return, are now languishing in Pakistan doing menial jobs. Most of them are sweepers and Pakistan Military Academy, Kakul has the descendants of those Marathas working as toilet-cleaners.  

June, 2000, Time carried an article (later banned and deleted from the net) written by Craig Gaverns. He 
interviewed a few Hindu-Marathas (most of those Marathas are now forced Muslims) working as cleaners and attendants at PMA.  

One of them told him that once a Pakistani captain continuously slapped him and made him eat human excreta for not polishing his shoes properly.  

He fearlessly told Gaverns to disclose his name (Nanji Ubale) despite Gaverns had grave doubts about that man's safety. His name was carried and within a couple of days, he was hacked to pieces. Even those Hindus who got converted to Islam are treated very badly. They're always reminded of their humble and infidel roots.  

One such Hindu doctor Ratan Chitkara, who later embraced Islam and became Saeed Khan, was always denied promotion to become the C M H O (Chief Medical & Health Officer) at a hospital in Pakistan's Chitral province.  

The reason was that he willy-nilly accepted Islam. 'Dil se nahin liya' (not accepted from the core of his heart) observed his born Muslim friend.  

My point is: Did the ancestors of the sub-continental Muslims ever accept Islam DIL SE ? Were they not converted to Islam by coercion?  

BBC, London's Roger Amlett's big essay ' Conversions on the sub-continent ' (1998) puts it bluntly " Why do all the 'converted Muslims' of the sub-continent behave in a manner as if their Allah directly dropped them as Muslims from an imaginary heaven? Why do they (or their forefathers) forget that they were cajoled, coaxed and coerced into embracing Islam? "  

The Hindus in Pakistan constitute 2.67 % of its population, which is now close to 18 crores. According to 
Pakistan-born Ibn Warraq, an ex-Muslim, " By 2015 this ratio will drop down to almost one percent as very many existing Hindus will have accepted Islam to save their skins, precisely necks."  

Here in India, Muslims cry foul that they're discriminated against. This happens indeed. But don't 

they also get their rights and rightful positions in India?  

In India, Muslims have become the heads of the state. There'd been so many top brasses in the Armed Forces of India, who're Muslims. Can one show a single really big and influential Hindu in Pakistan?  

Why wasn't Pakistan's second Chief Justice Bhagwan Das, a Sindhi-Hindu from Shikarpur, Sindh, made the CJP (Chief Justice of Pakistan)?  

Why was Neeraj Chawla (actress Juhi Chawla's uncle, who chose to stay back in Pakistan following partition) abducted in spite of being a high official on Pakistan's Film Censor Board?  

Despite his seniority, he was not made the chief of the Censor Board of Pakistan. 

Has any Muslim been deprived of his rank in the sensitive army because of his religion?  

Didn't India have Idris Hasan Latif as the Air Chief Marshal?  

It's very easy to condemn sitting on the fence and when you're getting everything without much efforts. Look from a broader and deeper perspective and you'll realize that you're much better and well-ensconced here than the poor Hindus in Pakistan, who get no representation at any level.  

They cannot even register their marriage in Pakistan. Karachi and Islamabad universities abolished their Hindi departments and even certificate courses in Hindi because it's the language of the Kafirs (infidels).  

Except for Danish Kaneria, no Hindu ever played Test cricket in Pakistan, though Anil Dalpat came closest to playing and getting included in the final eleven.  

Why was Nirmal Mukherjee, a Bengali Hindu of PIA, never selected for the Pakistan national hockey team? He was PIA's vice captain in the early seventies.  

Veerbhadra Seksaria, the only Hindu industrialist from Pakistan, never got an opportunity to set up a cement factory in Pakistan's lone industrial city, Faisalabad (erstwhile Lyallpur).  

Indian media and some so-called secularists like Teesta Seetalvad (her husband's a Muslim), Arundhati Roy (a Syrian Christian) and Mallika Sarabhai (a Gujrati Hindu) scream from their rooftops when something 'wrong' happens to the Muslims in India.  

Why can't these influential secularists raise their voice in unison against the treatment meted out to the Hindus in Pakistan who live there as gentiles and lepers? 

Courtesy: Various Sources

Hindus – stepchild of Secularism in India

Is the chronicle of secularism doctored in the realm of India?  This single issue has been confounding Indians, in particular Hindus, through decades and truly, the dispute refuses to end as with each day it passes, the same is getting more baffling. And the role of political parties in India, regardless of their (alleged) ideological inclinations, has been no less in fuddling the issue. Secularism, to cut a log story short, as per western tradition, happens to be a doctrine that does decline religion along with religious considerations or does portray an institution where biasness  to any particular religion finds no place in administration. Moreover, the Secular State, on the whole, doesn’t have the right to mistreat or placate any individual or community on the basis of personal religion.

Are all these perceived in India? I am eagerly waiting for a favorable answer even if this prospect is as bleak as the sun rays in a cloudy day!

Secularism in India, these days, is being exemplified through mounting  minorityism – in short, the interest of minority communities, in particular Muslims, has got to prevail others come what may and in this respect, other minority communities (be it ethnic or linguistic or religious) can also be sacrificed.

Where are Hindus then? They are nowhere; the religion in spite of its ancient heritage and high-flown humanist values has failed to retain a clout in the dominion of post-1947 India. And this disrepute is also the consequence of its own humongous faults – inordinate generosity and failure to abide by its own martial ethics (and to change it to cope with the changing reality).  

And the situation is right before us. While following Hinduism is being looked upon as sheer animism, Islamists are being regarded as the followers of a triumphant ideology who must be provided the first position to evade vicious onslaughts. State power of India is infected with this notion posing a grave threat to Hindus altogether.

The following calendar depicting national holidays depicts it more.

Holiday	Date	Day
REPUBLIC DAY	26-01-2012	Thursday
PROPHET MOHAMMAD'S BIRTHDAY (ID-E-MILAD)	05-02-2012	Sunday
MAHAVIR JAYANTI	05-04-2012	Thursday
GOOD FRIDAY	06-04-2012	Friday
DR. B.R. AMBEDKAR'S BIRTHDAY	14-04-2012	Saturday
BUDDHA PURNIMA	06-05-2012	Sunday
INDEPENDENCE DAY	15-08-2012	Wednesday
IDU-UL-FITR	20-08-2012	Monday
MAHATMA GANDHI'S BIRTHDAY	02-10-2012	Tuesday
DUSSEHRA (VIJAYA DASHAMI)	24-10-2012	Wednesday
IDU-UL-ZUHA (BAKRID)	27-10-2012	Saturday
DIWALI (DEEPAVALI)	13-11-2012	Tuesday
MUHARRAM	25-11-2012	Sunday
GURUNANAK'S BIRTHDAY	28-11-2012	Wednesday
CHRISTMAS	25-12-2012	Tuesday

In the said calendar, Islamic festivals revel in four holidays; Christian festivals have been rendered two national holidays while the majority Hindu community ought to remain happy with two national holidays only.

Secularism believes in fair treatment to all and appeasement to none. Isn’t it?

Do Hindus get fair treatment?  

If one says so, two words – partisanship and nonpartisanship – must be banished from English dictionary straight away. 

Islamic hardliners fight back “Secularism” in Bangladesh

That the Islamic radicals in Bangladesh are bold enough to hold the nation to ransom on any single pretext became evident once again when thousands of them, brandishing lethal weapons, chanting anti-government slogans marched to protest Awami League’s alleged bid to “restoration of secularism” in the constitution. The most vitriolic of them was witnessed in Narayanganj, especially in areas like Kanchpur, Panchabati and Fatullah, where Muslim cadres virtually clashed with police and damaged properties while venting their protests. It was just the first day of 30-hour nationwide strike.

What made cadres, having adolescents even, audacious enough was the comprehensive support of an alliance of 12 Islamist parties, determined to protest “restoration of secularism” in the constitution and carry on the strike as a result. Police handled the crisis strongly and responded with tear gas shells and rubber bullets since a few rampaging activists attacked the law enforcers and snatched from them a pistol, a shotgun and a wireless set, and dashed those. As per latest reports, there were heavy injuries of 120 people, including 17 policemen owing to indiscriminate attacks from Islamic hard-line cadres.

It is worthwhile to mention that both BNP, main opposition party in Bangladesh, and its ally Jamaat-e-Islamim are uncompromising in their views to castigate Awami League, liable to restore secularism as a state principle removing the phrase “Absolute Faith and Trust on the Almighty Allah.”

But what amazes all is that the protest march took place even if the constitution has retained Islam as the state religion and Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim earning wrath of Hindus and other minority groups with secularists.

It has been learnt that the shocking violence displayed in Narayanganj took place under auspices of Islami Andolan Bangladesh or IAB. Militant activists of IAB, majority included local madrasa students, started gathering in the areas since early morning. Many of them were seen to crouch on the Dhaka-Chittagong highway stranding many vehicles on both sides of Kanchpur Bridge. Lots vehicles were simply smashed too.

Bangladeshi citizens are apprehending the worst.

How can Islamic terrorism be checked?

Even if the entire world (invigorated more by US triumph in overpowering and stamping out Laden in Pakistan) is geared up against the fast growing pernicious stratagem of worldwide Islamic terrorism and is exploring all ways to defeat this satanic force once and for all, it has a long way to go still. This is said since end of a single Osama Bin Laden doesn’t man the end of global Islamic terrorism. The death of one can be compensated by the generation of a 100 more. What ails countries then? Are they incompetent for a large-scale triumph against Islamic terrorism? Does this failure emanate from their faulty mindset then?

Let’s find out. As per studies, when on earth an incident of terrorist attack occurs in a civilized society, the law enforcing authorities become convinced that it has been done by a terrorist organization like al-Qaeda, or Laskar-e-Taiba, or Hizb-ul-mujahideen etc and the culprits are a few people associated with those organizations. Or more pointedly, a few misguided Muslim young men, who are associated with the said terrorist organizations, are guilty alone. So they start to find clues to ascertain which organization is associated with the attack and after that tries to arrest those people to start a legal procedure against them, but keeping the breeding ground of the terrorists untouched.

After 9/11, the security people of USA could ascertain that the terrorists of al-Qaeda were involved. So the US armed forces attacked base camps of al-Qaeda in Afghanistan, bombed the al-Qaeda hide-outs. In a similar manner, Indian authorities, after a terrorist attack, go for tracing the terrorist organization involved and to capture a few people, who have committed the crime.

But from Islamic viewpoint, any such terrorist attack is an attack on the kafir-camp by the Muslim-camp and hence not only the handful of terrorists but the entire Muslim-camp, or each and every member of the Muslim-camp, is responsible. Or in other words, the entire Muslim community is responsible. Thus for a terrorist attack in India, firstly each and every Muslim of this country, who takes the oath of killing kafirs five times a day through namaz, is responsible. Each and every Muslim, whether he is a vegetable vendor, or a rikshaw puller, or a mason, or a school teacher, or a politician, or a reputed man, is responsible. And in the broader sense, each and every Muslim in the world is responsible.

There is no doubt that the Koran is the fountainhead of Islamic terrorism and anyone who believes in Koran is responsible. Hence it becomes evident that, Islamic terrorism cannot be wiped out by capturing a few terrorists and killing them or by putting them in jails. To put an end to Islamic terrorism, action should be taken against each and every Muslim of this country. And in a broader sense, action should be taken against each and every Muslim in the world.

It has been mentioned above that Koran is the fountainhead of Islamic terrorism or it is the source of inspiration for terrorism. And more pointedly, the hateful kafir killing verses of the Koran are the fountainhead of Islamic terrorism. So the first step to end Islamic terrorism is to ban that blood-thirsty book of hate. The second step is to take action against the Muslim community as a whole.

Some people maintain the wrong notion that among the Muslims all are not bad and there are good or moderate Muslims as well. In this regard the renowned author Craig Winn has said that, as there is only one Koran and nothing like a good Koran and a bad Koran, and hence there cannot be a good Muslims and bad Muslims and moderate Muslim or radical Muslim. Muslims are Muslims alone. So, to put an end to the menace called Islamic terrorism, the entire community of non-Muslims, or all the members of the kafir-camp has to be united and come forward to attack and punish the Muslim community as a whole. If Muslim terrorists kill 10 kafirs at one place, the kafirs should kill at least 100 Muslims at any where in the world, and if they kill 100 people, kafirs should kill 1000 Muslims as a retaliation. If the entire community of kafirs can adopt such a procedure, Islamic terrorism will evaporate within seconds.

How the kafirs would adopt such a policy? What would be their guideline? Its very simple. The kafirs should accept the Koran as their own book, but with a little change. Take a Koran and replace the words like kafir, polytheist, idolater, non-believer etc. by the word Muslim. For example, the verse (IX,5) of the Koran reads, “Then, when the sacred months are over, slay the idolaters wherever ye find them and take them captive ….”.

The kafirs should rewrite the verse as, “Then, when the sacred months are over, slay the Muslims wherever ye find them and take them captive ….” Similarly, the verse (VIII, 12) says, “I will cast a dread into the hearts of the unbelievers” and the kafirs should alter it to read, “We will cast dread into the hearts of the Muslims”. If the kafirs can sincerely prepare such an altered Koran and act honestly in the likewise manner, the menace of Islamic terrorism will vanish in no time.

Noakhali Riots’ Relief Worker Reveals Untold Truth

Noakhali genocide, a series of Hindu massacres, originating in October 10, 1946, executed by the majority Muslim community in the Noakhali district in East Bengal in then Undivided India, and the savagery depicted there to give it a final shape, shocked the humanity across the globe. The incident that took place as a reaction to Muslim failure to persecute Hindus in Great Calcutta Killing and seize Calcutta, second city of the British Empire, stimulated local Muslims to commit this dastardly act. The domino effect of genocide sealed the fate of Undivided India forever.

The brutality in Noakhali attracted a worldwide condemnation and to calm down the tension Mahatma Gandhi along with his band of followers rushed there. The band included Ashoka Gupta, freedom fighter and also dedicated social worker.

Following are the excerpts of her interview taken a few years back.

(Individuals mentioned)

Rahman Sahib – a young government officer who helped the volunteers.

Sneharani Kanjilal – a dedicated social worker who responded to the call of Gandhiji and plunged into relief work in Noakhali.

Thakkar Bapa – A.V. Thakkar Bapa, General Secretary of Harijan Sevak Sangh. Member of Gandhiji’s team in Noakhali.

Prabhat – He was only 18-19 years old when he joined the relief team at Tumchar camp in Noakhali. Migrated to Assam after Partition.

Nellie Sengupta – British born wife of the famous patriot Deshapriya Jatindramohan Sengupta. A dedicated freedom fighter herself, she opted to stay in East Pakistan (Chattogram) after Partition. Migrated to Calcutta in 1970 and died in 1973.

Kasturi – daughter of Ashoka Gupta.)

AT last we reached Tumchar. I requested Rahman Sahib to stay on at the camp and also dine with us. He seemed embarrassed. Sneha and I patiently explained to him that as he was forced to stay back, he might as well share a meal with us. We were carrying a lot of cash and it was unsafe for us to travel at night. We would hand over the money to the proper people in the morning. I have thought many times about this extremely polite and modest young man. He must have stayed back in the newly formed Pakistan. His embarrassment that night at putting us to inconvenience by his presence still moves me.

The villagers were still wary about the ‘relief’ we were providing. They were suspicious too of the real intentions behind the relief provided by the government. The president of the Union Board was all-powerful. He had the power to grant or take away relief. This happened in the case of a young widow. He said, ‘Why does she need any aid? She will be looked after by her husband’s brothers.’ Yet her room had been burnt down, her cow slaughtered and the meat forced down the throats of people to prove that they were no longer Hindus. She was not childless too. She had a married daughter somewhere.

We had protested against this decision. The woman’s rights could not ultimately be denied and she was sanctioned some aid. Burnt tin, some new sheets of tin, some bamboo – these were all the material with which fresh huts were being built for the scheduled castes. All were worried, however, as to whether they would finally be able to stay back. Thakkar Bapa had written about these people when he had come here. These low caste Hindus were hardworking, peace loving and God-fearing. They were mentally ruined when their women were molested and were forced to change their religion. Those who stayed behind would tell us about the tortures inflicted upon them in soft voices. They did not dare to go to the police station to complain.

The Tumchar survey made a deep impression on me. We had been instructed to visit these scheduled caste villages by Gandhiji himself. He had also ordered us to follow the instructions of Thakkar Bapa. We had selected Tumchar as the base because the other target villages of Charmandal and Charuhita were only a few miles away. After that there were no other human settlements till the sea.

It will be better if I quote here from the memoirs of Thakkar Bapa. Of the two villages, Charmandal was the larger one. Many of the homes at these places were first plundered and then burnt down. Maybe 50-52 houses were not burnt down, but they had been looted. The loss of 301 houses in Charmandal and 57 houses in Charuhita would add up to about Rs 33,700. These were the homes of prosperous farmers. The poorer people had lost about Rs 1000 worth of their possessions. The total loss would add up to Rs 5,46,503, i.e. an average loss of Rs 1,745 per person.

Here at least 2000 Hindus were forced to change their religion, six were forced to marry by force and one was murdered. Even six weeks after the riots Thakkar Bapa had seen people keen to leave their homes and settle elsewhere. If they went to the local police station to complain, the policemen would harass them on some pretext or the other.

When I went to the camp to report to Thakkar Bapa, he smiled gently. ‘What is the Judge Sahib’s wife doing here?’ I complained to him that certain scheduled caste parties, who owed allegiance to the Muslim League, were trying to whip up mob frenzy in the wrong direction. I had enough evidence of their wrongdoing with me.

I had the same experience everywhere. Crossing by ferry, people would whisper to me and point out persons with prominent Red Cross badges on their armbands who had led the riots in certain villages. People were frightened. Once I took a couple to a police station to lodge a formal complaint. The woman was heavily veiled and spoke softly. Even two months after the riots, she was being taken away each night from her home by some men and returned at dawn.

These were common occurrences and none of them dared to protest. I gave them a lot of courage and brought them over to the Lakhshmipur police station to lodge their complaint. They were too frightened to speak. The officer-in-charge wanted them to give a written complaint duly signed. The woman could not stop weeping. If she gave her or her husbands’ name she would be cut up into pieces immediately. ‘Let us leave this land,’ she sobbed. Later, that family really left their home. I did not have the power to punish the guilty or protect the injured. We remained helpless spectators.

Thakkar Bapa stressed the fact that we must ensure the return not only of law and order, but also the self-confidence and the feeling of security in these people. That was what the government had to do. The then government had failed to do this. Inspite of the peace efforts of Gandhiji and thousands of his volunteers, this was not done. Those of us who were ordinary volunteers, tried to work with all classes of people and religious sects. We would pay the majority community well to carry the relief material to these poor people so that we could arouse a sense of fellow feeling and belonging in them. We went from home to home and spoke to the women of the injured families and distributed saris and baby food to them. Yet we could never win over their hearts.

In those villages which had been attacked, the Hindu inhabitants had not slept or eaten well for the last two months. They were also tremendously insecure about their future in this country. Going from door to door asking for relief, for work, these people had become thin and feeble. In an open competition for jobs, they invariably lost out because the capacity for hard work had deserted their bodies. I have seen with my own eyes that where a Hindu farmer could not lift up a sack of grain even after trying many times, a Muslim farmer could lift the same sack easily and carry it to its destination.

When people were being employed by the government to dig roads, Hindu farmers could not be employed because they could hardly work. They were weak and starved and had lost their digging implements too. Those who could use their hands were busy repairing their own huts so that they could have a roof over their heads. They were tense and worried and always sifting the burnt waste of their homes to see if they could find some item of value. They were busy too, trying to send their womenfolk to the camp at Lakhshmipur to ensure their safety. This was reality. Man could not trust his fellow man. He could not depend on his neighbours any more. This picture was so real that all our words of love and amity between Hindus and Muslims fell on deaf ears.

We would start working early at the camps and visited the places as instructed to survey the situation. We visited all homes – of all castes and creeds and all religions. We spoke mainly to the womenfolk and tried to find out about each member of the family and their state of physical and mental health. We tried to make friends with the babies, little boys and girls and the old people. In the Hindu families, we found only the menfolk and the aged. The women and youngsters had already been moved to the safe zone of the Lakhshmipur relief camp.

The old people of the Muslim families would joke with us. ‘We are poor too. But you don’t give us any relief.’ We used to explain, ‘They have been robbed, let us first give them some relief. But we are here for all of you. We shall certainly help if you need us.’ Many used to take our help too. The Muslim men, however, would not give us any help. The Hindu men were different. When we refused to drink the water from the green coconuts proffered by them for fear that they might need it more, they used to smile sadly. ‘Have the drink sister. These coconuts will anyway be stolen.’

They did not have even the bare necessities in their homes. And they were too poor to offer us the traditional offering of betel leaves and nuts, a must in all Indian homes. Those who lived in homes which had not been burnt did not have any utensils. They had aly`been stolen. They had made some makeshift plates out of the base of the betel trees. Their reed mats had been taken away too. When we returned to the camp, we spent some time looking after our own children and then sent off the people to carry medicines and carpenters and other helping hands to rebuild homes and bridges and treat the ill.

My duty was to prepare a proper report of our activities each day and contact the Union Board for the rehabilitation of people. Sneha’s job was to keep track of all those who came to call on us and sanction relief as was required, to the best of our ability. In the evenings, the camp would be crowded by the family members of people who had suffered during the riots. The leaders of majority communities would come too but after a few days their presence gradually diminished.

At this time, women and children who had no guardians were a source of worry. I tried to arrange safe transport for them to the camp at Lakhshmipur, the Kasturba Trust Ashram at Comilla or the Prabartak Sangha at Chattogram. Prabhat was the volunteer who most often took on this responsibility. If the group were large, I too would accompany them to safety.

Once, when we had gone to Parvatinagar for survey work, we found two abandoned babies. These two children were being brought up by a maternal uncle after their mother’s death. When their uncle’s house was raided, they had protested at being forced to change their religion. The incensed mob not only set their house on fire but put both their uncle and his wife into the fire.

The village people had in the meantime informed the Lakhshmipur police station and the then district magistrate, Mr. Mackeenarnee (ICS), had himself come with his team to examine the situation. A nephew and some other relatives led the magistrate to their burnt relatives. The bodies were severely burnt but they could still speak. Their last words were, ‘Please look after the two orphans.’ The DM then ordered that the two babies should be brought to me. The nephew brought the two children over. Of the two, while the boy could be taken on by Prabartak Ashram, I had to send the girl to Comilla. This gave me a lot of confidence. I had at last found a way to help the orphans and women who had no one else to look after them, to begin a new life.

When in Tumchar, travelling towards Lakhshmipur bazaar one day, I found a young lad near a bridge with a large brass bowl and a brass pitcher. I was a bit surprised. ‘What are you doing here with these huge brass vessels?’

‘My mother has told me to sell these at any price. We want to sell off all our things. We want to leave this place.’

‘But you still have things like these in your home. You were not robbed. Why will you leave?’

‘My father disappeared on the day of the riot. People say that he has been murdered and his body buried. These things were on a high shelf and escaped the eyes of the robbers.’

I went home with the boy. All his relatives had left. The boy had a younger brother. Their elder sister was married and lived elsewhere. I spoke to the mother. ‘What do you want to do?’

The woman was intelligent. ‘If I could put my two boys in an ashram so that they could continue with their studies, I can find some shelter for myself.’

Afflicted people were constantly moving from Chaumohani to Calcutta. All the districts had the same story to tell. My reach extended only up to Kasturba Trust or Abhay Ashram or as far as Prabartak Sangha. I asked the woman whether she would be able to stay in Chattogram in the care of Nellie Sengupta. She readily agreed.

I visited Chattogram with a couple of others in the middle of March. All these days I had not gone home because I had promised Gandhiji not to do so. I had to hand these people over to the AIWC. I decided that I would not go home but return by the night train. Sneha Kanjilal was amused. ‘Will your children let you off?’ I decided to go to Nellie Sengupta and put Kasturi in her care. Then nobody would be able to stop me from returning to the camp. That is what I didÉ

We knew that Gandhiji was dead against the partition of India. He had promised to return to Noakhali after taking care of the unrest in Bihar. He was confident that he would be able to establish amity between Hindus and Muslims here by his presence. When he left for Bihar on the first of March, he was happy at the work going on in Noakhali although he was disturbed by the incidents of forceful religious conversions, looting and riots. He went to Bihar to ensure that the minority Muslims there were not being treated like the minority Hindus in Noakhali. He was really hopeful that good sense would prevail among all.

At that time the work in Noakhali to rehabilitate hundreds of families had gained momentum and was in full swing. This had pleased Gandhiji. But it is one thing to work in his presence and another to work without him. It needed a lot of courage. Yet when he told us to keep up the good work, we were encouraged to carry on. We believed that normalcy and peace would return to this world one day.

When the riots in Bihar were controlled, fresh trouble broke out in Punjab. Gandhiji had to rush to Delhi. In the daily prayer meetings, his words of peace failed to draw takers. He began to realise how futile it all was. He was a lonely man, in deep pain and helpless. There was simply no hope of a change of heart among the people. Amid this empty loneliness, one day it was decided that India would be divided.

All our efforts in Noakhali came to naught. It broke our hearts. If the land was to be divided, then who belonged to whom and where? Who would listen to our words of unity and peaceful cohabitation? The hot and rash words of Suhrawardy uttered on 16 August 1946 started a chain reaction in Noakhali, Bihar and Punjab. The words of peace remained confined to Gandhiji and a handful of his followers.

The Exodus in the Bible describing the Jews leaving their motherland comes to mind. Yet I do not know whether anything as terrible as the partition of India has ever taken place in this world. Punjab was broken into two, the East and the West; Bengal too. People travelled in droves from East to West and from West to East. Nobody knows how many were involved, the figures could not be counted. Nobody knows of the people who went missing, the whereabouts of little daughters, sisters, wives.

We had lived together for years, side by side, yet we had not really known each other. I still don’t understand where the difference lies. If this had been an economic divide or a political one (like Germany) then maybe this could have been solved. Did Gandhiji know where the roots of the problem lay? I still hear his words of distress. ‘This is a bad dream. If we do not all work together, our motherland will be tortured indeed.’

He was unable to return to Noakhali. On the 30th of January 1948, he was forever silenced by the bullet of an assassin.

Draconic Prevention of Communal and Targeted Violence Bill, 2011 all set to seal fate of Hindus for eternity

There was indeed a time when Indian National Congress used to enjoy major support of the Hindu community and also the presence of a horde of venerable Hindu traditionalists within its fold. World has changed a lot by now but almost a radical change has taken place within Congress. It does not hold Hindus dear any longer but consider as its greatest adversary. If not, how can the upcoming Prevention of Communal and Targeted Violence Bill, 2011 be justified? If any commoner goes through the Bill, it’ll be clear to him that it’s a crime to be a Hindu in India. Truly, Congress-led UPA is transgressing and Hindus are its first and foremost prey.

As far as Prevention of Communal and Targeted Violence Bill, 2011 is concerned, if any communal riot takes place in any part of the country Hindus will be liable only. Reason? Hindus are the majority community in the country. The law, therefore, asserts that no minority group, be it of Christians or Muslims, can ever attack Hindus. The projected law also states that if there is any outbreak of communal riot in any part of India, Central Government of India would be able to send central security forces disregarding State Government’s views in that regard.

It is worthwhile to mention, in accordance with Constitution of India law and order is a state subject and certainly not a central issue. Hence, without the plea of the State Government or administration, no central force can ever enter the state. What’s more, only if law and order situation in any state breaks down or constitutional directives are not executed properly, Central Government talks to the Governor of the very state and based on the latter’s advice implement Article 356 to end the state administration and enforce President’s Rule. Central forces can be sent after that.

Will all these remain the same? Once Prevention of Communal and Targeted Violence Bill, 2011 is authorized, Central Government would become the one and only arbitrator. It will no longer have to consult State Administration for implementing President’s Rule but become able to send central or paramilitary forces like C.R.P.F., C.I.S.F. to the alleged disturbed areas single-handedly. The Bill, without doubt, is enough to astound any sane individual; federal structure in the Constitution of India is all set to be the worst victim.

According to Clause 7 of the proposed law, if there is sexual torture on woman of any minority community, it is certainly a crime. But the same torment on woman of the majority community will not be reckoned. Clause 8 states if any kind of hatred is depicted against people of minority community through writings or videos, it will be a crime. What’s if the same is done against Hindus? Law prefers to remain silent! Clause 10 – if anybody provides monetary assistance against minority people it is a serious offense, but there is no crime if there is financial aid against Hindus.

Clause 12 states if any government employee tortures or even harasses a minority person it’s a crime. Clause 13 and Clause 14 have been made to penalize government employees and police personnel if they fail to protect people of minority communities.

Let’s take note of Clause 15 of the proposed Bill, 2011. And this is certainly more heinous. It states with conviction – if the persecutor on a minority person is member of any organization, other members of the same organization will also be penalized. Clause 16 – even if there is no such instruction to persecute people of minority community by leaders of any organization but a member violates it, leaders will be criminated and reprimanded.

This is not the end, for sure. Authorization of Prevention of Communal and Targeted Violence Bill, 2011 will have no effect in Kashmir, especially in its six Muslim-majority districts containing 98% Muslims and 1% Hindus. Can you comprehend the reason? The law states 1% Hindu is majority while 98% Muslim is minority. Now let’s pay attention to other consequences of this law’s approval. Thanks to the law, people like Yasin Malik, Mufti and Gillani, in spite of delivering harangues or malicious lectures against Hindus and rendering scores of money to foment trouble, communal riots against Hindus, will remain safe on the whole. But people like Tapan Ghosh, Pramod Mutalik, dedicated to save Hindus, will be jailed frequently.

It has come to the knowledge that draft of the Bill has been prepared by a committee (selected by Sonia Gandhi), known as National Advisory Council, and is going to be tabled in the Parliament soon. None knows what is more in the Bill. But it is enough to slit throat of Hindus for eternity. Certainly Manmohan Singh, Prime Minster of India, will bring Sultan Mamud of Ghazni and Aurungzeb, into disrepute.