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  • johnpi 9:23 pm on February 10, 2010 Permalink
    Tags: , , , , , , Mumbai, , ,   

    ‘My Name is Khan’: India police detain 1,100 over film protest.

    Hindu nationalist mobs rampaged through India’s cultural center Wednesday, tearing up movie posters and stoning a theater in protest of Bollywood superstar Shahrukh Khan’s comments in support of Pakistani cricketers.
    ….

    The Shiv Sena, a Mumbai-centered political party known for regional chauvinism and Hindu fundamentalism, has branded Khan a traitor for expressing regret that no cricketers from Pakistan – India’s archrival – were chosen to participate in next month’s Indian Premier League Twenty20 tournament.

    Khan, who is Muslim, has refused to apologize for the comments.

     

    • Pretty Pink Unicorns 9:44 pm on February 10, 2010 Permalink | Log in to Reply

      Can anyone explain the offense? I honestly don’t understand why saying it’s too bad no Pakistani cricketers made into the Twenty20 tourney… am I missing something?

    • Keyser 11:08 am on February 11, 2010 Permalink | Log in to Reply

      PPU

      Well the RSS and their ilk make a tidy killing ( quite literally sometimes) of anti-muslim bigotry. Pakistan represents to them the archetypal Muslim enemy, and allowign Pakistani cricketers in to India most succesful league would contradict their narrative of evil muslim etc.. In actual fact the Pakistani cricketers were amongst the most popular players amongst the IPL fans(when this ban was not in place) and were even offered Bollywood movie deals.

    • AA 9:20 pm on February 11, 2010 Permalink | Log in to Reply

      Indians are suffering from ‘grass is green…’ mentality. From Bollywood to TV to cricket, Pakistanis are popular but Indians should look for their own talents to grow and provide them the opportunity. Not that I am on the side of RSS thugs but what’s the fascination with Pakistani entertainment and sports industry?

      • cbarwa 6:23 pm on February 12, 2010 Permalink | Log in to Reply

        Hardly a fascination, if anything Bollywood and Indian popular televisual culture swamp the rest of the sub-continent.

        • AA 6:38 pm on February 12, 2010 Permalink | Log in to Reply

          Yes, agree, but there’s still a fascination, particularly for the singers, the comedians. On one hand it is a nice gesture that Indians are using the best of talent without bias but at the same time they’re creating a destitute environment in Pakistan where the Art is already dead. The very best among them are earning their living from outside of boundaries, the rest have limited scope inside their home country.

          India is transforming itself into soft power first before they align themselves as super power (for which they have long way to go).

          • johnpi 7:37 am on February 13, 2010 Permalink | Log in to Reply

            A lot of Pakistanis seem to be responding on Facebook, creating or joining ‘Boycott IPL’ groups or pages. On Facebook, there are 71 groups and about 25 ‘pages’ dedicated to boycotting the IPL.

            The three largest are here and here and here.

            That third one seems to be drifting into nationalist/religious cant (that’s where I wandered into the Imran Khan video yesterday).

            One of the page creators is dropping links like this, with videos from what appears to be a Hizb ut-Tahrir Youtube channel.

            There’s been some discussion recently on progressive blogs in the US about the fact that sports shows almost universally feature hosts who are very conservative and frequently drop political comments into their sports commentary. I guess this guy’s Facebook group is the Pakistani version of that.

  • aziz 9:14 pm on December 20, 2009 Permalink
    Tags: , , Mumbai   

    hey all – I am doing great in Mumbai, which explains the lack of blogging ) I have been taking some photos, though!

     

  • aziz 6:37 am on November 26, 2009 Permalink
    Tags: Mumbai, ,   

    and on a more somber note, today is the anniversary of the Mumbai terrorist attacks. Vandana Sood at Beliefnet has some recollections about that tragic day.

     

  • johnpi 10:00 pm on November 19, 2009 Permalink
    Tags: , , , , , , , , Mumbai, , , , , ,   

    Indians say arrested Pakistani Americans had communication with the ‘handlers’ who gave operational directions to the Lashkar-e-Taiba assailants who killed hundreds in Mumbai last year.

    There’s been a lot of developments in the story of the two Pakistani American men from Chicago who were arrested by the FBI for plotting to attack the Copenhagen newspaper that published the Mohammed cartoons.

    One of the men, Tahawwur Hussain Rana, is being described as more of an enabler for the other – David Coleman Headley – formerly Daood Gilani.

    Both men are now being described as operatives of Lashkar-e-Toiba/Lashkar-e-Taiba who have made a number of trips to India and where investigators say they suspect Headley may have helped with scouting and planning last year’s Mumbai massacre.

    Indian papers report that Headley’s chief patron is a former elite Pakistani commando turned Caliphate-aspirant militant named Ilyas Kashmiri who established a group called the 313 Brigade – mentioned in conversations by the Mumbai attackers. An article in an Indian paper reports that Headley was so despondent a few months ago when it was reported that Kashmiri was killed in a drone attack that all his activity ground to a halt – but became active again when he got a message that Kashmiri was alive.

    The Indians are also reporting:

    “We have established that Headley and Tahawwur were in touch with the same Pakistani-based ‘handlers’ who gave directions to the 10 terrorists who attacked Mumbai on 26/11. We are now investigating how he had corresponded with Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi and Zarar Shah (presently in Pakistan’s custody) and other masterminds who carried out the audacious Mumbai attacks,” said an investigating officer.

    Indian investigators are now looking for a woman Headley met with frequently on his trips to India and who they say may have been involved in setting up safehouses for militants in India, Bangladesh and Pakistan.

     

    • Dan 11:49 pm on November 19, 2009 Permalink | Log in to Reply

      I’m sure Pakistanis in America must be proud to have these scumbags represent us.

    • Buzz 12:54 pm on December 7, 2009 Permalink | Log in to Reply

      Update on this in Al-Jazeera.

      US prosecutors have charged an American citizen with helping to plan the 2008 attack in Mumbai, which resulted in the deaths of 166 people.

      David Headley, the first US citizen charged in the plot, was accused on Monday of receiving training from the armed Pakistani group Lashkar-e-Taiba, itself accused of carrying out the lethal attack in Mumbai.

  • johnpi 12:07 pm on November 19, 2009 Permalink
    Tags: Mumbai, ,   

    Tonight at 8 pm, HBO will show a documentary called ‘Terror in Mumbai.’ The first anniversary of the Mumbai massacre will be next week.

    …with the Mumbai attacks [filmmaker Dan] Reed has an incredible arsenal of footage and recordings at his disposal — including hours of phone calls made between the young men committing the attacks and their older leaders, including spokesman “Brother Wasi”, in Pakistan.

    These phone calls, intercepted by Mumbai police who had fed traceable sim cards to known terrorist organizations, are the fascinating centerpiece of the film Notably, the killers, young men from Pakistani villages, frequently show incredible naivety. “There are computers here with 30 inch screens!” exclaims one mass-murderer on the phone to his irritated boss whilst in Mumbai’s iconic Taj Mahal Hotel. He goes on, “It’s amazing — the windows are huge! It’s got two kitchens, a bath and a little shop.” Brother Wasi, sounding exasperated, orders them to set the building on fire (they comply).

    The callous nature of their leaders is also exposed. “There’s no harm in throwing a few grenades,” says Brother Wasi at one point. At other points he is coldly urging the scared young men into suicidal situations, ignoring the fear in their trembling voices.

    The killers themselves cut tragic, almost sympathetic figures. We see the one surviving terrorism handcuffed to a bed and bleeding; he claims he was “sold” into terrorism by his family.

     

  • johnpi 12:25 pm on November 12, 2009 Permalink
    Tags: , Mumbai, , ,   

    The first anniversary of the Mumbai terror attacks is rolling around. The attacks began on November 26th. Expect a slew of retrospectives, many of which will probably have something to say about Muslims and Islamic extremism. Here’s one from the Asia Times, which calls the attackers “Pakistan-trained gunmen” a construct that seems to imply the Pakistani government had something to do with the attack, as some hotheads in India claimed. The international consensus is that it did not.

     

  • johnpi 7:28 am on July 31, 2009 Permalink
    Tags: , , , , Mumbai,   

    Photobucket

    Muslim Bollywood star Emraan Hashmi says he is being denied housing in Mumbai because of anti-Muslim prejudice.

    Hashmi (“the heartthrob of Pakistan”), who was looking forward to buying a new flat, told reporters that he has filed a complaint against the housing society with the Maharashtra Minority Commission.

    “My parents went to meet society members last week to get a no objection certificate (NoC) along with the seller and the broker, but the society members, however, told them that they were busy and refused to meet them,” claimed Hashmi.

    Here’s a clip of Hashmi in action.

     

    • razib "the atheist" 11:19 am on July 31, 2009 Permalink | Log in to Reply

      this is normal. and it isn’t just an anti-muslim thing, isn’t it? self-segregation in general is the norm, right? (speaking of india)

    • Sana 12:20 pm on July 31, 2009 Permalink | Log in to Reply

      I wouldn’t say that segregated neighborhoods have been the norm in bombay. Sure, we have our share of community-specific localities – parsi, south indian, saraswat brahmin, Muslim, Jain…even vegetarian and non-vegetarian. But until recently, if one preferred not to live in them one could find housing elsewhere. For Muslims, this has definitely changed after 92-93. The society that Hashmi is talking about has other minority residents too (Christians, for example). No one seems to have a problem with them. Any Muslim who has looked for a house on rent in bombay will tell you that the choices are extremely limited. That is certainly not the case with Christians or Parsis or Sikhs.

    • Naila 7:07 pm on July 31, 2009 Permalink | Log in to Reply

      I am glad that Hashimi is speaking out. If you are Muslim, do not have connections (most Muslims in India are the poorest of the poor and the most marginalized), gazillions in wealth to bribe, you have pretty much zero chance of finding decent housing in Mumbai — or in most Indian cities for that matter. Landowners or coop owners just will not even give a Muslim house seeker the time of the day. This is not just about segregation — although communities in India are incredibly ghettoized, you can find people of different races living in neighborhoods. But Muslims are shunned — not just when it comes to housing, but jobs and other opportunities. In a country where getting ahead is already dependent on who you know and how much you can oil a palm, impoverished Muslims fight a losing battle from the outset. This is It is out and out discrimination — widely known among people and common knowledge.

    • reyaz khan 10:42 pm on August 5, 2009 Permalink | Log in to Reply

      imran
      you said truth and truth is always bitter.

    • Neelam 2:41 pm on January 20, 2010 Permalink | Log in to Reply

      emraan did right ;)

    • khans 11:27 pm on May 6, 2010 Permalink | Log in to Reply

      i love you imran hashmi

    • Naz 8:43 am on July 27, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply

      Emraan is right… Indians hate us muslims… if the indians where in pakistan trying to buy a flat muslim wouldnt stop them because our religion is so big that we leave it up to god if any1 try to abuse us because we don’t like arguing with diffrent religions.

  • richard 3:21 am on December 9, 2008 Permalink
    Tags: , , Mumbai, muslim anti semitism,   

    I’ve been debating seemingly hundreds of my blog readers and others attacking me at Comment is Free, the Jerusalem Post, Harry’s Place and Engage, who dispute my contention that the Mumbai terrorists were intending to attack an Israeli target when they killed at Chabad House (since Kasab, the surviving terrorist, said they were avenging Palestinian suffering).  The distinction I’m trying to make is that many Jews believe this incident signals a mounting Muslim holy war against Jews, rather than a sign of Muslim grievance over the ongoing failure to resolve the Israeli Arab conflict.  I’m hoping to argue the latter rather than the former.

    I thought I was making a cogent pt. until I read this disturbing column in the NY Times which claims that Lashkar IS an out & out anti-Semitic outfit which DOES want to foment holy war against the Jews.  I wonder what’s your take on this & whether you anyone currently living in Pakistan has anything to say on the subject.

     

    • Willow 2:00 pm on December 9, 2008 Permalink | Log in to Reply

      I’m afraid that since Israel does tend to present itself as the voice of Jews everywhere, most Arab Muslims I’ve met have stopped differentiating between ‘Jewish’ and ‘Israeli’. (EXCEPT, ironically, for Palestinians. All my Palestinian friends have a very nuanced understanding of Judaism/Zionism/Israel.) This was not the case with previous generations, however…my grandmother-in-law hated Israel but had a Jewish (Egyptian/Sephardic) doctor deliver all 8 of her children. (She refused to put their lives in anyone else’s hands!) Her husband had a Jewish partner in his business.

      But I’m surprised outright anti-semitism has spread as far as Pakistan and India. I have trouble seeing how the Arab-Israeli conflict has any impact on the life of the average Kashmiri.

    • Willow 2:02 pm on December 9, 2008 Permalink | Log in to Reply

      PS–You’re doing great work. Courage.

  • abunoor 4:58 pm on December 2, 2008 Permalink
    Tags: , Mumbai   

    You can listen to Vali Nasr talking about the history of Lashkar e Taiba in light of the attack in Mumbai here.

    The interview with Vali Nasr starts at 25:25 into the program.

     

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