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Toonami
Rijul Kochhar on the recent controversy created by a tasteless
cartoon
After the ‘Sania Mirza skirt versus
the clerics’ and the fraternisation of a married couple as brother and
sister in Deoband, it is now time for the eye to turn towards Denmark, or
for that matter, Europe.
This time around, the cause of tension is a seemingly trivial one, but is
being blamed as a ‘sacrilegious affront to the faithful’. It is a cartoon of
Prophet Mohammed, allegedly ‘anti-Islamic’, where he is depicted wearing a
‘bomb-shaped’ head dress and wielding a jewelled sceptre. The cartoon has
been printed by a Danish newspaper, and reprinted by a host of others,
including one from New Zealand and France each. There has been an outpouring
of outraged emotion and prophesies of attacks on the Danes and nationals of
all other countries where the material was published. The editor of the
French publication has been sacked by his Egyptian superior and Danish
consulates around the world have been damaged, either by fire, or graffiti,
or both.
Once again, self-appointed champions of religious freedom, democracy and the
freedom of expression have voiced their concerns about Islam’s compatibility
and adaptability with a society that is becoming more progressive and open
each day. They say that it is a ‘clash of civilisations’. Is it? It is not.
It is merely a clash of ideals, a clash of democracies, a clash of
fundamentalisms: religious as opposed to an opposite, if not equal, secular
one.
Post 9/11, Western countries have increasingly and vociferously condemned
Islam, charging it with the highest crimes against free societies. It is a
classic case of the ‘burst-pressure cooker syndrome’, where one incident
caused such tremendous effects on the world’s ‘strongest’ country. But when
Sikh agitators disrupted the staging of a play, which portrayed a rape
inside a Gurudwara, no one protested. When NATO fought in Kosovo, Bosnia and
Sarajevo, killing millions, no one blinked an eye or even, going much
farther back, when Hiroshima and Nagasaki were bombed by the U.S. Where were
our champions of freedom when students were shot in their faces in Tiananmen
Square? Islam is not responsible for those barbarities.
Secular fundamentalism is opposite and the most visible in France, which has
banned any display of one’s religion, namely the hijab, kirpan, turban,
bindi, skull caps of the Jews etc. Is this not a denial of a person’s right
to freedom of religion, culture and expression?
At one end we have a poison. But at the other end, we have an antidote which
negates the poison’s effect, and then displays its own. Both kill.
Instead of blindly blaming Islam, what would be more appropriate would be to
look in our very own backyards. What about Ayodhya ’92, Gujarat ’03…the list
would continue like a roll of toilet paper. Islam is not the root cause of
this mess. It is not a bunch of cartoons, nor is it some stupid speech by
the head of the world’s only superpower. What’s caused all this furore is an
enemy which resides in all of us. The enemy of tolerance, the perpetrator of
hate; and it’s not long before this very fire rises to the skies, and
scorches us in its inferno.
What this cartoon now proclaims is how combustible we are. How a stupid, yet
innocent cartoon can cause such turmoil. Who knows what’s next?
A Dream Come True
Dhruv Velloor and Kamran Cooper
recount their visit to Dandapur
On February 15, Vaibhav Bansal,
Niladri Biswas, Subhojit Chattopadhyay, Vijay Karan Kapur, Pururava Jamwal
and ourselves were escorted by MCJ, AKC, MMR, VRW, HCH, NRK and STB to a
remote area called Dandapur to witness the official opening of Apna Vidya
Mandir, a joint project by Doon and the Samta Trust. The school was set up
in 1992, and The Doon School has constantly been connected with its running
and upkeep, with masters like MCJ and PKN at the helm of affairs. The
special occasion on Wednesday was the inauguration of the newly-built school
building, again a joint endeavour by Doon and Samta. What began as a dream,
went through stages in which classes were held under a tree, in sunshine and
rain, and finally, on this day, became a concrete reality.
We called Dandapur a remote area earlier, even though it is barely 20 km
away from here. It appears so because somehow development of any kind seems
to have passed it by. Most of the villagers are classified as being below
the poverty line. Eighty percent of the population is engaged in small-time
agriculture or employed as labourers. Most of the older generation did not
receive any schooling at all, but they are determined on educating their
children so that the new generation can progress and pull itself out of its
present impoverished state.
It was apparent from the moment we arrived what a special occasion it was
for the people of Dandapur. The entrance was festooned with auspicious
banana and mango leaves. The school children sang in welcome and greeted us
with flower garlands. The first student from this school, a young boy, who
is now appearing for the class X exams, was the master of ceremonies, and
after the opening speeches and the ribbon-cutting ritual, the children of
the school treated the gathering of parents, village elders and us all to a
variety of programmes prepared by them.
They sang patriotic songs for us, many of which we hadn’t heard before. They
then went on to produce two masterfully done skits, given the limited time
they had. Some folk dances were also performed.
After that, the Village Pradhan and MCJ and Mr. Reuben Furtado, of the Samta
Trust, spoke about the plans they have for the future of this school and its
students. That might have been the end of the festivities, but then we were
served with some delicious snacks and hot tea. The atmosphere was festive as
the entire gathering ate together.
It was an experience that made one feel good about our school and the
genuine attempts that it makes to not only educate us in the classroom but
also in the world outside; to see and feel for what others might need from
us. Every time we open our lockers, the sight of the garlands takes us back
to that happy celebration that will now be an annual event as their
Founder’s Day. |