Asian Lite News Archive

Category: Lite Blogs

  • NOW JUST BEEF, WHAT’S NEXT

    —

    in ,

    BY BIKRAM VOHRA There are many things that underscore hypocrisy in Indian politics but the severe sentence to those who eat beef in Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh is plain prejudice in a secular nation. If I am not a Hindu then I really have no right to stop a non-hindu from eating what he or…

  • Paramhansa: India’s first yoga guru in the US

    —

    in , , , ,

    By M.R. Narayan Swamy If India’s idea of an International Yoga Day has found easy acceptance in the UN, much of the credit must go to Paramhansa Yogananda, India’s first yoga guru in the US whose 62nd death anniversary. Unlike Swami Vivekananda, Yogananda is not that widely appreciated although he played a huge role in…

  • CROSS OVER THE CHEQUE

    —

    in ,

    BY BIKRAM VOHRA Thanks to all this keyboard communication and the hi-tech lifestyle we have kind of lost our ability to write more than 20 words in longhand. Also, as we grow older our handwriting changes. This is a scientific fact. it turns soft and becomes a scribble and age impacts on the control factor. …

  • British Sikhs Hail Regiment Plan

    —

    in , , , ,

    The bravery of the Sikhs is recorded in the annals of history. The Battle of Saraghiri is one of the most famous where 21 Sikh soldiers kept 10,000 Afghan tribesmen at bay and fought until their last breath in defence of the British realm, rather than desert their posts. The Afghan tribesmen had expected to…

  • Mr Cage, please get out of the box

    —

    in , , ,

    Cage’s research director Asim Qureshi told the media that the Jihadi John was in fact ‘beautiful and kind’ and it was the intimidation by the spooks that unhinged him, making him the callous, bloodthirsty butcher that we know of today …writes YZ Patel ‘Victim culture’. A recent inception where the onus of responsibility for any actions…

  • Invite the world to fight ISIS

    —

    in , , ,

    By Saeed Naqvi West Asia becomes more mysterious by the minute. Who is fighting whom on whose behalf? The lines were always blurred. Now they are more so. Iraq’s army has just shot down two British planes as they were carrying weapons to the ISIS in Al Anbar province. How do we know this to…

  • Changing American views on Israel

    —

    in , , ,

    By Saeed Naqvi  To win the March 17 Israeli elections or to postpone them , Benjamin Netanyahu is turning heaven and earth. Last month’s Israeli air strikes killed six Hezbollah commanders and an Iranian general in the Syrian town of Quneitra. The purpose was to invite retaliation. Warlike atmosphere would block Secretary of State John…

  • Rahul the fugitive prince

    —

    in , , ,

    By Amulya Ganguli  There may be a deeper and more unsettling reason for Rahul Gandhi’s present farewell to active politics than the explanation that he has gone away to mull over the factors which led to the Congress’s recent electoral reverses. Even the reticent and reclusive heir apparent cannot be unaware that a spell far…

  • Top Asian Doctors Defend NHS Services

    —

    in , , , ,

    Asian Lite published a column by Dr Kailash Chand, deputy chair of the BMA council and a GP of 30 years service, challenging the NHS reforms of the coalition government. Here four prominent doctors –Dr Sheo B Tibrewal, Dr Johnson D’souza,  Dr Priyada Pandya and Dr Bashir Qureshi – supporting the reforms introduced by the…

  • Everybody’s responsibility is nobody’s responsibility

    —

    in , , ,

    The girls were being ‘wilfully groomed’ in effect to buy into an ideology which seemed exciting and a world away from the everyday drudgery of school and all this was being done in the safety of their bedrooms…writes YZ Patel The eloping of Kadiza Sultana, 16, Amira Abase, 15, and Shamima Begum, 15,  the three…

  • A Message To Bibi: Enough Is Enough

    —

    in , , ,

    Israel represents a sanctuary where any Jew is welcome, not a single non-Israeli Jew living outside Israel has appointed Netanyahu to be their spokesperson or protector….writes Dr. Alon Ben-Meir, a professor of international relations at the Center for  Global Affairs at NYU The killing of a security guard at a synagogue in Copenhagen over two weeks…

  • THE IDIOTS UNLIMITED

    —

    in ,

    BY BIKRAM VOHRA You can legislate till you are blue in the face but some men are louts. They will misbehave. Look at these two clowns. Typical Delhi. They think they are smart, cool, like no one takes them on. They are the type who grope in the bus, who have to touch women, flipping…

  • It all started from 1967 war

    —

    in , ,

    By Vikas Datta Wracked by insurrection and terrorism, the Middle East is going through a traumatic time but most of its problems can be traced to one short war between Arabs and Israelis nearly half a century ago, says a Pulitzer Prize-winning American historian who spent his formative years in the region. “The Middle East…

  • WHAT MOTIVATES THEM

    —

    in ,

    BY BIKRAM VOHRA The three British schoolgirls, ostensibly on their way to Syria to join the ISIS (Daesh) in Syria may think of it as a bit of a lark but it boggles the mind that these reportedly academically proficient children should be so easily led into militancy. What is it about extremists that they…

  • EXTREMISM: The tentacles are far reaching

    —

    in , , ,

    What interfaith relations can be built when you hold every other faith with disdain and a total lack of respect is a anathema to me…writes YZ Patel Extremism as ITVs programme showed last week is not exclusive to the Islamic faith. The instant connection which is made by most would only link it to the…

  • ‘The Ballot Is Stronger Than The Bullet’

    —

    in , , , ,

    Dr. Alon Ben-Meir, professor of international relations at the Center for Global Affairs at NYU, comments on the latest developments in the Middle East The Israeli general election, scheduled for March 17, can be fateful for the Israeli Arabs as their voting en masse could change the political map and potentially prevent Netanyahu from forming the…

  • BJP feels the pinch in Maharashtra

    —

    in , ,

    By Quaid Najmi As the second alliance government of the BJP-Shiv Sena combine, formed in Maharashtra after a brief period of bickering between the partners of 25 years, completes 75 days in power, it is clear that the Shiv Sena has sharpened its attack on the BJP. The short journey since Dec 5 has already…

  • WHO IS DOING ALL THE WORK

    —

    in ,

    A friend of mine has sent me this mathematical self sell. It is especially for those of us who believe we are doing most of the work in this world while others goof around. For a couple years I’ve been blaming my foul moods on lack of sleep and too much pressure from my job…

  • Cathy Newman – No place to hide

    —

    in , , , ,

    The Cathy Newman debacle is something that refuses to go away. Emails are constantly in my inbox since it was first published in the Huffington Post that the Channel 4  journalist had actually lied during the Muslim Council of Britains visit a mosque day initiative…writes YZ Patel People say to me.. Your columns carry a…

  • COLLATERAL DAMAGE: A SHORTAGE OF BLANKETS

    —

    in , ,

    Why is it that certain acts of terrorism and gratuitous violence simply slip off the news page while others garner attention? Bikram Vohra explores… Why is it that certain acts of terrorism and gratuitous violence simply slip off the news page while others garner attention? The obvious response would be that faceless people in weak…

  • THE INDIVIDUAL TERRORIST

    —

    in ,

    BY BIKRAM VOHRA He didn’t just get up and decide, ah well, nothing much on the TV, so let’s go kill the neighbours. This was a religious hate crime and there were just three young people minding their own business in their own home when they were made into targets. Just another neighbourhood turned into…

  • INDIA AND PAKISTAN: NOT THAT HOT

    —

    in ,

    BY BIKRAM VOHRA What is it with people that they can actually get mean over a sports fixture. A little bit of fun humour that comes out from both the Indian and Pakistani sides is earthy, hugely imaginative, and win or lose, you tend to laugh with it and enjoy the surge of imagination. That…

  • He lost because of himself

    —

    in , , ,

    By Saeed Naqvi  Politicians and pundits across the country have been served notice by the Delhi electorate: please take a bow and make way. Mingled with the voter’s ecstasy is a primeval cry: we are tired of old politics. Meanwhile Kejriwal’s cup runneth over. “Dene waley mujhe dena hain to itna de de Phir mujhe…

  • Meat is murder!

    —

    in , ,

    Did the Muslim Council of Britain come out and defend the perpetrators of this cruelty who purport to be their co religionists? No. They came out immediately and unequivocally condemned it. Calling them ‘abhorrent in Islamic Practice’ The evidence for what was going on was all to see as secret cameras filmed what was going…

  • Will Kejriwal deliver on his promises?

    —

    in , ,

    By Sreeparna Chakravarty   With the overwhelming vote from the people of Delhi in his favour, Chief Minister-designate Arvind Kejriwal has been saddled with the challenging responsibility of meeting the collective and varied aspirations of the 17 million residents inhabiting one of the world’s largest and most densely populated cities. Delhi’s unique position as a city-state…

  • ‘British values are Muslim values’

    —

    in , , ,

    The Prince of Wales also spoke of his anxiety at the number of young British Muslims being radicalised by extremist preachers and the internet and the continued persecution of Christians in the Middle East. These concerns are deeply shared by British Muslims and British Imams have been very vocal in propounding that a sincere, intelligent and…

  • MANSION TAX – A Tax of Envy

    —

    in , ,

    Labour’s proposed Mansion Tax to raise funds to shore up NHS is a tax of envy on the aspirations of hard working Britons…writes Dr Rami Ranger The British Labour party’s method of coming to power is by promising voters more than the nation can afford in terms of public services or benefits. Their solution is…

  • Modiji wasted 8 months in power!

    —

    in , , , ,

    We gave Modi 8 months to deliver; we received nothing but grand theatrics, swept streets but Modi government showed neither leadership, nor vision for change…writes Sanyia Kirpalani Congratulations Aam Aadmi, you have won the trust of the capital city of India. A landslide victory of 67 seats (vs.the duck of Congress and the apologetic 2…

  • I, me, myself’ style backfires for Modi

    —

    in , , ,

    By Amulya Ganguli  What the Delhi poll outcome has confirmed is that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) can be stopped in its tracks by a determined opponent, even one not as well-entrenched as established regional parties like the AIADMK, the Biju Janata Dal or the Trinamool Congress were in their respective states in last year’s…

  • Kejriwal a man of steel

    —

    in , ,

    By M.R. Narayan Swamy and Gaurav Sharma  For one dubbed a maverick and written off politically less than a year ago, Arvind Kejriwal has proved to be more wily than his seasoned political rivals who underestimated this slightly built, doughty fighter who has made an incredible comeback by scripting his second sensational election victory in…

  • Delhi defeat will hit hard BJP

    —

    in , ,

    By Prashant Sood   A defeat in the Delhi assembly elections, as predicted by exit polls, is bound to hit the BJP hard and shatter the aura of invincibility of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, analysts say. Although the Bharatiya Janata Party has declared that the Delhi outcome cannot be considered a referendum on Modi’s government, few…

  • Why AAP bounced back and not Congress?

    —

    in , , ,

    By Amulya Ganguli Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi had said after the Aam Admi Party’s (AAP) success in the 2013 Delhi elections that there was much to learn from the fledgling outfit and that the Congress will do so “in a way you cannot imagine”. More than a year later, when the AAP is again…

  • The Great Chasm

    —

    in , , ,

    Why does the north/south divide in Great Britain continues to grow and what can be done to stop it? The reasons for this disparity are well documented. Economic prosperity in the south ? particularly in the Home Counties ? leads to better health, better education, better employment and life expectancy of nearly 20 years more…

  • AAP rises from the ashes

    —

    in , , ,

    By M.R. Narayan Swamy  For a party that was written off after its humiliating rout in the Lok Sabha election, the Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) has seen a spectacular renewal ahead of the Delhi assembly polls. Irrespective of who actually wins the Saturday battle, the AAP is giving sleepless nights to the Bharatiya Janata Party…

  • Faith schools : Help or hindrance?

    —

    in , ,

    According to a report by the London School of Economics, Communities will best learn to live peacefully together if they grow up and learn together, respecting each other’s differences. Separation along religious lines they say invites division, racism and bigotry to develop, everything the government and every think tank is trying to circumvent. YZ Patel looks…

  • Crusades still relevant

    —

    in ,

    By Vikas Datta   Study of the Crusades – “the first big clash of civilisations” – is still relevant in a world where religious conflict still rages and Western armies recently intervened in the Middle East, says a scholar who seeks to overturn the millennium-old, West-centric view of their origins. “The conventional history holds the First…

  • COLLATERAL DAMAGE

    —

    in , ,

    BY BIKRAM VOHRA Why is it that certain acts of terrorism and gratuitous violence simply slip off the news page while others garner attention? The obvious response would be that faceless people in weak nations or parts of nations who are already marginalized don’t really count. Consequently, a bomb explosion in upmarket Mall in some…

  • Youth safeguard Islam from radicals

    —

    in

    At Active Change Foundation, as part of our ‘Young Leaders’ programme, we have had several discussions with our young people about freedom of expression and how the murder of innocent people, like in Paris, could be justified in the name of any religion. Last weekend a number of our ‘Young Leaders’ arranged a trip to…

  • The forgotten Mahatma

    —

    in , ,

    By Brij Khandelwal  We remember Mahatma Gandhi only on October 2 and January 30. The symbolic spinning of the charkha, recital of bhajans and selling khadi at a discount are the only activities that remind us of him. For the rest of the year, Gandhi remains a forgotten Mahatma, deified like one of our numerous…

  • A Momentous Opportunity To Embrace The Arab Peace Initiative

    —

    in , , , ,

    BY Alon Ben-Meir  The Arab Peace Initiative (API) presents an unprecedented and vital opportunity to change the course of events in the Middle East by realizing an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement in the context of a comprehensive Arab-Israeli peace. At no time since the API was introduced in 2002 by Saudi Arabia has the development of…

  • Cyberbullying: The Dark Side of the Internet

    —

    in , , , ,

    Smartphones and technology can be used for a lot of good, but it is vital to be aware of how it can be used to sabotage a child’s development. Awareness is the first step to halting the aggression and being proactive can save a child from the debilitating consequences of online bullying. Hopefully, with a…

  • Is Mumtaz Mahal’s body mummified?

    —

    in ,

    By Brij Khandelwal   The mystery surrounding Mumtaz Mahal’s burial at the Taj Mahal has deepened with a book claiming that her body was mummified. Mughal emperor Shah Jahan built the 17th century Taj Mahal here in memory of his beloved wife Mumtaz who died while giving birth to their 14th child in Burhanpur, a town…

  • Why vote for Conservatives?

    —

    in , , , ,

    Within 100 days, Britain is going to elect the next government. It will be a tough fight in between Conservatives, Labour and other national parties. There are many issues at stake. Who is best for the Asian community? Who is sharing and respecting our values? The Conservative Government led by Prime Minister David Cameron, and…

  • GOOD TO BE INDIAN

    —

    in ,

    BY BIKRAM VOHRA That sure shut up all those moaners who were anti the sprucing given New Delhi for the Obama visit. As a PR exercise in visual splendour for a nation whose tourism image is shoddy at best and dreary in presentation this display of pomp and ceremony was enough to instil the whole…

  • Warsi Attack: Too little too late

    —

    in , , ,

    When a personal plea was made by the mother of Abbas Khan to help in his release in Syria Ms (Baroness Sayeeda) Warsi suddenly claimed it was against government policy and declined to do so. Party policy was relevant to her principles on that occasion…writes YZ Patel Being in the political wilderness after her resignation…

  • Women’s power, pomp, Obama and R-Day parade

    —

    in , ,

    By Vishnu Makhijani If the annual Republic Day parade is known for its pomp and splendour, the 66th edition will remain etched in the memory for two other factors – the women’s power showcased during the two-hour event and the presence of US President Barack Obama as the chief guest on the occasion. Quite appropriately,…

  • ‘Modi’, ‘Barack’ chatted like old friends

    —

    in , , ,

    By Ranjana Narayan  The friendly warmth and camaraderie between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Barack Obama was on full display as the two chatted and laughed like old friends over a two-hour period while watching India’s Republic Day parade and pageantry. A day after the two leaders – one the prime minister…

  • WONDERFUL LIFE: NOT A CARE IN THIS WORLD

    —

    in ,

    BY BIKRAM VOHRA Life is funny. On one side of the spectrum people fighting to save their lives, stuck in no man’s land, staring death in the face. Getting up in the morning to the sound gunfire, not birds. On the other, at exactly the same moment, people worrying about whether their hairdresser’s appointment will…

  • In Paris, on the Frontline

    —

    in

    Loveena Tandon I had dropped the kids to school and was just settling into organising my evening Chai Chat shoot when I got a call from the office.  “Satirical magazine Charlie-Hebdo’s office has been attacked”. It was show time for me as ever! I knew it is big and it was. I was constantly over…

  • Love thy neighbour? The integration myth

    —

    in

    Integration cannot happen through one community alone, understanding and breaking misconceptions, fear and breaking barriers that exist within different cultures and it is integrating these that the government should be looking to achieve…writes YZ patel “‘Integration means creating the conditions for everyone to play a full part in national and local life. Our country is stronger…