#democracy

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democracy12 articles
Should Muslims Vote?
Where are the leaders

Should Muslims Vote?

YOU MUST GO TO VOTE. Whether it is raining or not, whatever be the situation, you MUST GO AND VOTE. Remember this is the only opportunity that you have in a democracy to be heard, to influence your own future and to protect yourself from those who wish to hurt you. Remember, a party is not elected by the majority of the population of the country but by the majority of those who cast their vote. This is the key to modern democracies and the reason why you must vote. If you don’t enroll yourself and don’t go and vote, then don’t blame anyone else for the result. You are responsible, and you will pay the price.

6 min read
couragedemocracy
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Learning from Life – Morsi
Where are the leaders

Learning from Life – Morsi

This is my attempt at trying to learn some lessons from history. Let me warn you in advance that if any analysis is to make meaning or prove useful, it must be divorced from emotion. I know that many of my readers, indeed I myself, can think of many excuses for what Morsi did and explain each action away by seeking refuge behind ‘good intentions’, ‘commitment to Islam’, ‘personal piety of Morsi’ and so on. That would be totally counterproductive. The issue here is not how the supporters of Morsi see his decisions or the actions of his party, but how others did and do. It was that which brought about the tragic events leading to the reinstatement of dictatorship and the death of Morsi and hundreds of his followers. Surely, that is a sacrifice which should be enough for us to ask some tough questions and face some unpleasant facts.

16 min read
democracyEgypt
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Democracy and Islam
Where are the leaders

Democracy and Islam

A party is elected not by the majority of the population of the country but by the majority of those who cast their vote. If you don’t vote, then don’t blame anyone else for the result. You are responsible, and you will pay the price.

14 min read
democracyelection
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Strategic advice to Indians in South Africa
Where are the leaders

Strategic advice to Indians in South Africa

In 2005, I wrote an article titled, ‘State of the Nation’, after a trip to South Africa at the invitation of the Jamiat ul Ulama where I met and addressed hundreds (perhaps over a thousand or more in total) of Ulama, businessmen, scholars, teachers and parents in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban. I also […]

23 min read
democracyIndian
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Dhan ki Baat
Where are the leaders

Dhan ki Baat

I read this article with great interest. http://epaper.newindianexpress.com/c/21887818 The final sentence is salutary. I want to add that whether governments or judges guard or curtail rights will depend on what we, the people, do about it. Active citizenship is not something that we are used to. We are still used to being the ‘ruled’, looking […]

10 min read
BJPcashless economy
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Where are the leaders

Anesthetized anarchy

We, in India, are living in a state of anesthetized anarchy. We seem to have lost it in more ways than one. In the days of the sabretooth tiger mankind needed to be totally in touch with reality if it wished to avoid being the tiger’s next meal. Since we made the STT extinct we […]

10 min read
democracydemonetization
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Where are the leaders

Close Encounters of the Terminal Kind

Ralph Chaplin said: “Mourn not the dead that in the cool earth lie, but rather mourn the apathetic throng, the coward and the meek who see the world’s great anguish and its wrong but dare not speak.” A friend asked me for my opinion about the Bhopal ‘encounter’ which is in the news at present […]

11 min read
criminaldemocracy
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Where are the leaders

When the voiceless get a voice

If there’s one overwhelming sign that numbers mean nothing and organization means everything, it is the plight of Dalits and Muslims in India. Dalits and Muslims are officially 17% and 13% of the population. That means that together one in three Indians is a ‘Dalim’ – Dalit Indian Muslim (my coinage today – in case […]

18 min read
Ambedkarapartheid
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Where are the leaders

Accepting Freedom

Many years ago, I wrote a piece which I posted on my blog called, ‘Same Chairs, Different Bottoms’. Here it is for those who may not have read it. It is necessarily full of Indian (and Hindi) idiom which is not translatable so I apologize to those who don’t understand Hindi in advance. Also you […]

9 min read
citizenshipdemocracy
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See with your Heart

Turkey – History in the making

Please read this whole article. David Herst is a man of courage. Here are some extracts: http://www.middleeasteye.net/columns/how-iphone-defeated-tanks-turkey-1556177810 To defeat the coup, the Turkish president used his iPhone. Mosques used their loudspeakers, broadcasting the call to prayer hours before dawn. Political leaders of all creeds, some staunch opponents of the president, called unambiguously for the coup […]

7 min read
coupdemocracy
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Where are the leaders

ISIS – Isn’t Isn’t

The faulty logic of the ISIS Preface: Religion is the last resort of the scoundrel…as the saying goes…refers to the tendency of some unscrupulous people to twist religion to justify their own nefarious activity. Genghis Khan famously gave a “sermon” in Bukhara after sacking the city saying that Allah had sent him as a punishment […]

100 min read
Christianitydemocracy
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If I were President of Egypt
Where are the leaders

If I were President of Egypt

The first thing that I would remind myself is that in politics facts mean nothing. Statistics less than nothing. Spectacle, impression, symbolism and communication mean everything. Symbolism, visibility and public eye are the platform on which politics runs. In politics being truthful is less important than being believable. That is the basis of all mythology. Politics is at the root of mythology and most mythology arises from political realities. Morsi’s dilemma proves that the economy supersedes ideology. Food before ideas. Hungry people are angry people, so feed them first. People who have nothing to lose are the most brave and reckless, so give them something to lose. Get people involved in development and they will see the benefit of government. Otherwise they will blame the same government no matter how unfair it seems. They may realise it is unfair but who else can they blame

8 min read
coupdemocracy
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