India flexes muscle on auspicious day
S M Hali

ON THE holiest of days for the Hindus, the “Holi”, the religious festival for Christians, “Easter” and Pakistan’s Republic Day, India test fired a medium-range nuclear-capable ballistic missile capable of hitting most targets in Pakistan, a defence official said. The Agni-1 missile, which has a range of more than 700 kilometres, was fired at 0445 GMT off the coast of the eastern state of Orissa. The Agni is a 12-metre medium-range ballistic missile that can be fired from mobile launchers and can carry a one-tonne warhead. In April, India staged a successful test of Agni-III, its longest range ballistic missile capable of transporting a nuclear warhead more than 3,000 kilometres. The Agni series is one of five developed by India’s Defence Research and Development Organization. The others are the Prithvi, the surface-to-air Trishul, multi-purpose Akash, and the anti-tank Nag.
Quite oblivious of religious sensitivities of its own people, the Christians as well as its western neighbour, Pakistan, India chose to display its might and flex its muscles by firing the weapon of mass destruction. It behoves poorly of a nation, which is trying to become a world leader by displaying petty mindedness of trying to brow beat its neighbour. Dr. Man Mohan Singh’s pledge to pursue peace with Pakistan in response to the call for harmony by PPP’s Asif Ali Zardari appears to have been a deception. India not only chose to desecrate the religious festival of the Hindus and Christians, it deliberately sent a tough message to Pakistan on the auspicious occasion of the Pakistan Day. On the eve of electing its new Prime Minister, India should have been sending messages of felicitations but it sent a rude reminder to the people of Pakistan the reality of a hostile neighbour, who bears ill-will and would go any lengths to intimidate it, displaying its hegemony.
Indian Prime Minister Dr. Man Mohan Singh said in a message that Holi symbolized the country’s spirit of togetherness, harmony and tolerance. Unfortunately, these words sound as hollow as the claim of secularism by India. In a country where Dalits, low-caste Hindus, Muslims Christians and other minorities are persecuted, massacred, raped and tortured only for their religion, caste or creed, such messages of forbearance, open-mindedness and permissiveness are but lies and deceit. The festival of colours, Holi, is celebrated with great fervour and gaiety in India, Nepal and wherever Hindus reside. Its origin In Vaishnava Theology, Hiranyakashipu is the king of demons, and he had been granted a boon by Brahms, which made it almost impossible for him to be killed. The boon was due to his long penance, after which he had demanded that he not be killed “during day or night; inside the home or outside, not on earth or on sky; neither by a man nor an animal; neither by astra or shastra”. Consequently, he grew arrogant, and attacked the Heavens and the Earth. He demanded that people stop worshipping gods and start praying to him.
Despite this, Hiranyakashipu’s own son, Prahlad, was a devotee of Lord Vishnu. In spite of several threats from Hiranyakashipu, Prahlad continued offering prayers to Lord Vishnu. He was poisoned but the poison turned to nectar in his mouth. He was ordered to be trampled by elephants yet remained unharmed. He was put in a room with hungry, poisonous snakes and survived. All of Hiranyakashipu’s attempts to kill his son failed. Finally, he ordered young Prahlad to sit on a pyre on the lap of his sister, Holika, who could not die by fire by virtue of a shawl which would prevent fire affecting the person wearing it. Prahlad readily accepted his father’s orders, and prayed to Vishnu to keep him safe. When the fire started, everyone watched in amazement as the shawl flew from Holika, who then was burnt to death, while Prahlad survived unharmed, after the shawl moved to cover him. The burning of Holika is celebrated as Holi.
Later Lord Vishnu came in the form of a Narasimha (who is half-man and half-lion) and killed Hiranyakashipu at dusk (which was neither day nor night), on the steps of the porch of his house (which was neither inside the house nor outside) by restraining him on his lap (which is neither in the sky nor on the earth) and mauling him with his claws (which are neither astra nor shastra).
In Vrinadavan and Mathura, where Lord Krishna grew up, the festival is celebrated for 16 days (until Rangpanchmi in commemoration of the divine love of Radha for Krishna). Lord Krishna is believed to have popularized the festival by playing pranks on the gopis here. Krishna is believed to have complained to his mother about the contrast between his dark colour and his consort Radha’s fair colour. Krishna’s mother decided to apply colour to Radha’s face. The celebrations officially usher in spring, the celebrated season of love.
There is another story about the origin of holi. Kamadeva is a god of love. Kama’s body was destroyed when he shot his weapon at Shiva in order to disrupt his penance and help Parvati to marry Shiva. Shiva then opened his third eye, the gaze of which was so powerful that Kama’s body was reduced to ashes. For the sake of Kama’s wife Rati (passion), Shiva restored him, but only as a mental image, representing the true emotional and mental state of love rather than physical lust. The Holi bonfire is believed to be celebrated in commemoration of this event. Holi is a festival of radiance (Tej) in the universe. During this festival, different waves of radiance traverse the universe, thereby creating various colours that nourish and complement the function of respective elements in the atmosphere.
Easter, also called Pascha, is the most important religious feast in the Christian liturgical year. It celebrates the resurrection of Jesus, which Christians believe occurred on the third day after his cricifixion around AD 33. Many non-religious cultural elements have become part of the holiday, and those aspects are often celebrated by many Christians and non-Christians alike.
Easter also refers to the season of the church year called Eastertide or the Easter Season. Traditionally the Easter Season lasted for the forty days from Easter Day until Ascension Day but now officially lasts for the fifty days until Pentecost. The first week of the Easter Season is known as Easter Week or the Octave of Easter.
Easter is linked to the Jewish Passover not only for much of its symbolism but also for its position in the calendar. The Last Supper shared by Jesus and his disciples before his crucifixion is generally thought of as a Passover meal, based on the chronology in the Synoptic Gospels. The Gospel of John, however, speaks of the Jewish elders not wanting to enter the hall of Pilate in order “that they might eat the Passover”, implying that the Passover meal had not yet occurred. Thus, John places Christ’s death at the time of the slaughter of the Passover lamb, which would put the Last Supper slightly before Passover, on 14 Nisan of the Bible’s Hebrew calendar. According to The Catholic Encyclopedia, “In fact, the Jewish feast was taken over into the Christian Easter celebration.”
The importance of Pakistan Day, cannot be underscored for Pakistanis, where the day commemorates not only the acceptance of the Pakistan resolution which provided the Muslims of the sub-continent to carve out a separate homeland for themselves, but also on the same date in 1956, when Pakistan was declared a Republic. Moreover, with the advent of a new government in place, the transition to democracy, the day is marred by India’s sabre rattling. It chose to give a clear message to Pakistan, that on the Pakistan Day Parade, you may be parading your armed forces and displaying your defensive weapons but the harsh reality is that India has its fangs bared and is ever ready to indulge in adventurism against its neighbours. Agni which literally means fire, could not have been more symbolic a weapon for India to brandish on the auspicious occasion of Holi, Easter and Pakistan Day.

The war is on: Caricatures conspiracy
Sadaf Yunus

THE Netherlands, traditionally on of the most liberal countries in Europe, in now at the centre of a malicious campaign to defame Islam and the teachings of the Holy Quran. The Netherlands and other western countries claim to uphold values of tolerance, equality and justice. Yet when it comes to Muslims these values suddenly disappear. Torture, kidnapping and detention without trial are now acceptable if applied to Muslims. Muslims defending their lands from occupation are labeled ‘unlawful combatant’ where the Geneva Convention and other international norms are suspended.
Denmark’s leading newspapers have reprinted the caricatures of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), that had triggered rioting in the Muslim countries two years ago. The newspapers have claimed that they had republished the images to show their firm commitment to the freedom of speech after an arrest of three people accused of plotting to kill the man who drew the caricatures.
When the images were originally printed by the Danish Jyllands-Posten newspaper as part of a series of 12 depictions in 2005, it had sparked global protests and violent demonstrations in Muslim countries. In early 2006, some Danish and Swedish papers had reprinted the caricatures again. Massive protests swept across the Muslim world in early 2006 after the publication of the caricatures. Danes watched in disbelief as angry mobs burned the Danish flag and attacked the country’s embassies in Muslim countries. Danish products were boycotted in several Muslim countries. Now, on 13th February 2008, republication was again carried out in about 17 foreign dailies.
Kurt Westergaard, the 73 year old illustrator and his wife and some other cartoonists have been under police protection and have gone into hiding for quite some time. Islamic law opposes any depiction of the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) for fear it could lead to idolatry. This current episode of caricature printing has again brought out the worst of the Ummah on display, with any signs of the more disciplined, balanced refutations hidden some where deep within. No one can argue with the inappropriate nature of the cartoons, with the content only serving to add further fuel to the outrage. Still, publication of such or even more egregious material is no basis for what has transpired lately. Burning embassies, threatening to kidnap people based on their color or nationality and unleashing destruction on anything that comes across is, to put it conventionally, unforgivable. However, looming are fundamental, burning and unavoidable questions over not just the Muslim lands, but surely around the world.
Islam is no laughing matter. The publication of the caricatures is an insult to the Muslim intellectual capacity. We, Muslims, are not against the freedom of speech but are infact, opposed to the continued discrimination of the Muslim minority.
Of late, it has also been reported that Denmark’s national library is to risk re-opening an international political storm by housing the depictions of the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him). The royal library in Copenhagen which was founded in the 17th century by King Frederick III and home to many historic treasures, has declared the drawings to be of historic value and is trying to acquire them for ‘preservation purposes’. The library, widely acknowledged as the most significant in Scandinavia, has agreed to take possession of the caricatures on behalf of the museum of Danish Cartoon Art. The library association claims that ‘they were interested to keep the images safe for future generations since they have created history in Denmark’.
The history of western animosity to Islam is centuries old. It seems in some western intellectual circles that hatred is the only qualification required to become an authority on Islam. One should keep in mind the fact that Islam is a religion of peace. Islam has from birth stressed the use of reason and logic. The very word Islam in Arabic means peace, purity, submission and obedience. An ideal picture of peaceful coexistence and cooperation cannot be realized if the West lives in constant fear that its hegemony will be lost, and therefore does its best to prevent others from developing. To avoid wars, however, the world community must try to eradicate as many of the causes as they possibly can. We must thus stand for justice and against all kinds of unfair treatment and aggression.
The current battle between the West and Islam is essentially the timeless and permanent battle of Good vs. Evil. But as 21st century dawns, this war has become more grave. The West may be roundly superior, but there is still plenty of contradictory, unsteadfast, hypocritical, corrupt and even scummy in their own philosophy and culture.






Plebiscite: The only way out
Amjed Jaaved

KASHMIR issue has remained unresolved since creation of two independent states, India and Pakistan, in 1947. This issue led to wars between the two countries in 1948, 1965, 1971 and 1999, besides a quasi-war or military stand-off (operation parakaram) in year 2001-02. Kashmir is considered a dangerous flashpoint as both India and Pakistan are nuclear powers.
In his memoirs In the line of fire (pp.302-303), President Musharraf had proposed a personal solution of the Kashmir issue. This solution, in essence, envisioned self-rule in demilitarised regions of Kashmir under a joint-management mechanism.
Indian government mis-construed Pak President’s tentative solution as a deviation from Pakistan’s legal stand that is resolution of the dispute in accordance with the UN resolutions. Pakistan’s Foreign Office has recently clarified that ` President Musharraf’s proposals on Kashmir issue or any other suggestions for out-of-box solutions did not amount to a shift in its stand that the dispute be resolved in line with the UN resolutions’.
There are fifteen United Nations resolutions guaranteeing right of self-determination to the Kashmiris. Despite its best efforts, India was not able to get the ‘India-Pakistan Question’ deleted from the UN agenda. As such, the UN observers remain posted along the two sides of the Line of Control.
The inhabitants of the state of Kashmir would themselves decide to accede to India or Pakistan (UNCIP Resolution1949). India’s attitude negates the cardinal principles in inter-state relations, that is, pacta sunt servanda `treaties are to be observed’ and are binding upon signatories. Sir Owen Dixon’s plebiscite’s proposal is the best solution, preceded by demilitarisation and self-governance.
It is a misperception that ‘the United States no longer supports a plebiscite in Kashmir’. This misperception was created by Congressional testimony, given by John Kelly, former Secretary for Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs, in Washington D.C. on March 6, 1990. In his testimony, Mr Kelly, in reply to senator Solarz’s question, inadvertently admitted that the United States was no longer in favour of a plebiscite to be held in Kashmir. But, the US state Department corrected Mr Kelly’s faux pas in 1993 _ John R. Mallot, the US State Department’s point man for South Asia told the House Foreign Affairs Sub-Commmittee on Asia and the Pacific on April, 28 1993 that John Kelly ‘misspoke’ in 1990 when he said that the United States no longer believed a plebiscite was necessary in South Asia. Mallot clarified that Kelly made his comment after ‘continued grilling’ by the panel’s chairman, Stephen J. Solarz of New York. A reference to Solarz-Kelly conversation and corrective policy action taken by the US State Department finds mention in Mushtaqur Rehman’s book Divided Kashmir (pp.162-163), published by Lynne Reinner Publishers, London in 1996. Nevertheless, the correction remained un-noticed by most people misguided by Kelly’s speech. The biased nature of Solarz’s questions is obvious from the following extract of Solarz-Kelly conversation: ‘Mr Solarz: What is the position of the United States with respect to whether there should be a plebiscite?
Mr Kelly: Well, first of all, we believe that Kashmir is disputed territory, and we believe that since the two countries_India and Pakistan_ agreed in Simla in 1972 to try to resolve the issue between the two of them, we would endorse efforts for them to try to resolve it between themselves.