Faith and punishment.

Dear Sir,

In Madurai a teenaged hand has been chopped by the husband of village Panchayat President, only because teenage could not give proper salute to him while he was crossing from the village. I can remember the incident of Muvattupuzha in Ernakulam district where fingers of a Prof. T. J. Joseph were chopped, by group of unidentified persons.  Joseph, a Malayalam professor at Newman’s College, prepared a question paper with alleged inflammatory references to Prophet Mohammed for an examination in a private college.

After the incident’s a wave of hate wordings and hate campaign started in political gallery.  Hindu groups could not restrict themselves for scurrilous, defamatory articles and wordings against Islam and Muslims.  Indian legal system and constitution is not allowed anyone to insult anybodies religious faith.  Whatever happened was good or void it is public who has to decide, especially after the episode of Madurai where a hand of Karthik a teen from near temple in Madurai has been chopped off because he could not stand when Krishnan husband of village Panchayat President crossing the road.  

Now where are the political parties, where are the Hindu Hardliner groups, who criticized the chopping of Professor’s fingers and used the derogatory blasphemous wording for Prophet and Islam.  Whatever Professor did was totally out of his limit and preview of professor’s ethics and course material, and may be the cause of justification for the culprits.  Same as in case of American writer James Laine’s book Shivaji: Hindu King in Islamic India, where the author put the correct pictures of the Aurangazed era though Shivaji was not the religious personality rather he had awarded with name as rebellion or Pahadi Chooa by the Mughal emperor Aurangazeb; but still Shiv Sena created fuss and did not allow to sell the book in open market and justified the act of violence.  Those who found selling the book destroyed the book stall, looted the book stall, burnet the book and beaten up the owners of the stall.

I would like show the reverse side of the episode of Professor T.J. Josheph,  and would like to ask the reaction of Hindus those who showed the sympathy with the Professor and hate to the Islam, Muslims and Prophet, after the inflammatory question paper on Prophet and episode of finger chopped.  Would be the same reaction if the contents of the question paper would be reverse, like if professor asked question about the chastity of Sita or if he termed the relation of Ravana and Sita as illegitimate or if he pointed out that Sita willingly runaway with Ravana, and if any hardliner Hindu group chopped the fingers of Professor then what would be the reaction of Hindus. 

Hindus always linked any matter with Islam, Muslims and Prophet without understanding the gravity of the matter and started maligning the image of Islam which is not correct and fair practice because if the same is the modus operandi followed by Hindus at the time when their religious belief hurt.  Religion is nowhere related in these all episodes.   

I can remember the incident of Mohsin Sheikh an I.T. Techie from Poona who lost his life merely on the allegations that he posted the objectionable photos of Bal Thackery and Shivaji the duo are not the religious personalities. Thackery is the man who is responsible for the hate campaign against South Indians, North Indians, Beharis and Muslims.  Shivaji is also not the religious personality, but IT Techie lost his life on the false allegation. 

Now what is the saying of the hardliner Hindu groups on the incident of Madurai, where no religious feeling hurt but the hand of a teenage chopped?  A teenage who is totally innocent and unaware about the respect or disrespect who is not properly grown up, but merely for the monopoly of village sarpanch his hand has been chopped.  In that sense whatever happened with the Professor is justified. Because he was the well educated he was a professor and still he committed the mistake to hurt the sentiments of particular religious belief.

If a Muslim man paid to his life merely on the false allegation for posting wrong pictures of Thackery and Shivaji then how Hindus can criticised on the merely chopping of fingers of Professor who maligned the dignity of education asking the defamatory question on Prophet and what would be the range of hate of Hindus if anyone writes derogatory article on Hindu religion or for their Gods, Goddess but still Hindus always using baseless allegations on Islam and Prophet.  Please decide who is more arrogant, violent.

Zuber Ahmed Khan