1. India to charge writer Nasreen with 'hurting Muslim feelings'

Comment #67577 by PRJ on September 3, 2007 at 9:48 pm

As an Indian, I am appalled by this. The Indian government - specifically the Congress government (the government currently in power at the centre and the state) is terrified of "hurting the sentiments" of the Muslim "minority community". Hence, they don't care if other freedoms are lost, so long as the Muslims aren't offended. It's known as "vote-bank" politics in India.

But this also needs some historical context. Millions died in the partition following independence, and hence, Indian governments are always wary of small incidents turning into savage "communal riots". The tragedy is that militancy in Islam is provoking fundamentalism in other religions. The Christian school that I attended was started by the British (pre independence), and is owned/controlled by a powerful church. There was little preaching or evangelism when I attended. Though children of Christian parents had to compulsorily attend Chapel, we (children of non-Christian parents) were free to attend Chapel only if we wanted to. Now, the school has changed its policy and the Bible is now a taught subject; ALL kids have to pass a Bible exam.