[Reader-list] We must appeal to Al-Qaeda: Stop hurting and threatening India

[anupam chakravartty]

Dear aman,

I wish you good luck.

Please excuse me from joining your movement. Over the last few days, I think
I have explained why I am opposed to what was written on the header. I would
stick to the stand.

anyway I dont have to pay a heavy price as my name suggests that I am a
hindu. anything goes ok for a hindu in this country. they beat up women when
they want, they can shoot leaders at their own cost and still protest that
all hindus are not the same type.
i don know how would I feel writing this same mail as a muslim. i frankly do
not know. all i do is sit and talk to abdul, who is least bothered about
what his community is telling him -- just like me.

in fact when i told him about this e mail exchange, he laughed and said. "i
am opposed to al-qaeda but why should wear it on my sleeve? will they spare
my fellow countrymen because im saying so? in case, they do I am ready to
walk with a placard along with aman, shanti."

with warm regards
-anupam

P.S.: I was surprised when the mails stopped coming from Sarai after i what
i wrote to you. i think it was a mere coincidence. i never complained about
the flood of the mails in my inbox, neither the discussions here. however,
initiatives and proposals need to be carefully worded.


On 2/16/09, Aman Shanti <peaceshantiaman at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Dear Anupam
> I and the people who have drafted this appeal would continue to stick
> to the title and its language - we don't think we have made any
> fallacy (as you say). It looks a fallacy to you precisely because you
> are so rigid in not visiting blog and reading the whole thing and to
> see what others have to say, and how many people (about a 100 so far)
> have joined the group. You are the only person who is nitpicking the
> words. So, thank you if you don't wish to follow what we are trying to
> say. Maybe the only fallacy we have made is to announce it on the
> Sarai-list. We apologize you for filling up your inbox.
>
> Our appeal never intends to mean that "Indian Muslims have invited
> Al-Qaeda to India" and hence they need to drive it out. What you
> simply cannot grasp is the fact that Indian Muslims protesting against
> Al-Qaeda is not the same thing as saffronites protesting against
> Al-Qaeda (and demanding to "nuke Pakistan"). These are two different
> things - and there are a lot of subtleties involved in them, which you
> refuse to understand. You would understand if you were a Muslim who is
> actually affected by the recent trends in India.
>
> One doesn't have to be a stakeholder in something in order to protest
> against it. If some American citizens protested against the US attack
> on Iraq, does it mean that they were stakeholders in the war? If your
> Abdul is not interested in appealing to Al-Qaeda (since he is not a
> stakeholder), that's fine. But is he happy about whatever is going on
> in the world as a human and not as Abdul?
>
> Aman
>
>
> On Sat, Feb 14, 2009 at 5:23 PM, Kshmendra Kaul <kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com>
> wrote:
> dear kshmendra and aman,
>
> In your recent comment written:
>
> "It was not I who wrote 'indian muslims should ask al-qaeda to stop terror
> attacks'. So your comment that you found 'my line problematic' was a
> misdirected comment.
>
> I personally find nothing objectionable in the 'line' that was actually
> posted by Aman-Shanti: """ Indian Muslims (and everyone else) must appeal
> to
> Al-Qaeda and its allies to stop their activities of terror and violence in
> the world."
>
> so logically, my misdirected comment actually hit the right spot. and as
> you
> are now saying that there is nothing objectionable in aman shanti's
> comment,
> so you are also a party to it.
>
> to repeat what i said, earlier, the proposition that "indian muslims are
> against terrorism" is a good idea. even, your political stand on Jamia
> encounters is appreciated. but then what is this message you are sending in
> the header: "Muslims must appeal to Al-Qaeda: Stop hurting and threatening
> India."?
>
> i personally have no problems with such initiatives but at least aman
> should
> have used the right words.* aman's (your's too kshmendra) understanding of
> the situation after reading the header looks like indian muslims have been
> inviting alqaeda all this while and now if they ask to stop it, they would
> do so.* i am trying to point towards a fallacy which aman has made. you can
> change it and i hope you can change your hearts also while dealing with
> something so elusive and destructive as terrorism.
>
> and if you guys think, that you can ask anyone to adopt such an initiative
> through this mailing list, then you all are wrong. i would not visit your
> blog or your facebook as a sign of protest against these specific words:
> "Indian Muslims (and everyone else) must appeal to Al-Qaeda and its allies
> to stop their activities of terror and violence in the world". it is
> completely upto you to change it and come up with something else. to put it
> very simply:
>
> how's my friend abdul (being an indian muslim) connected with al-qaeda? in
> what capacity should abdul, particularly (as your header
> suggests), who paints and dreams of faiz and nazrul, should go to al-qaeda
> and ask them to stop their acts? how is he a stakeholder? is every muslim a
> stake holder in the crimes committed by a group of mujaheedins? why
> should abdul be pinpointed, when all of you self-righteous peace loving
> people (including me) are responsible for what has been happening in the
> country?
>
> -anupam
>