The other stories of Diwali

This Diwali I was surprised to find out from an Indian colleague that the traditional story of the Hindu Lord Ram winning against the evil Ravana and returning back home is not the only story about Deepavali. There are other stories that the lower caste Hindus (Dalits) believe in.

The most popular story among them is about a just king called Bali who was killed by a Brahmin (high caste Hindu) as they were not happy because of Bali' prosperous kingdom. I found the detailed story here.

More details also available here.

The other one is about the Asura King, Naraka.

After terming Mahishasura a hero during Dasara festivities, Dalit scholars of Osmania University have now outraged orthodox Hindus by lionising Narakasura, whose killing by Lord Krishna is celebrated as Diwali.

These scholars contend that Narakasura, the son of the earth goddess Bhudevi, was no demon but a king who was defeated in battle by Lord Krishna and Satyabhama in a deceitful manner.

As people celebrated Naraka Chaturdasi on Thursday, a group of Dalits in the Osmania University observed it as vardhanti (death anniversary).

They also offered floral tributes to a picture of Narakasura in the Arts College Campus raising hackles among conservative Hindus.

The scholars asked people not to celebrate Diwali and claimed that Dalits belonged to the lineage of Narakasura and other so called “demon” kings who they say have been portrayed as evil by upper castes.

OU SC, ST, BC and minorities students also organised a seminar ‘Narakasurudu — Raakshasuda (demon) or Rakshasuda (protector)?” wherein participants claimed that history has been distorted to project all those who lost wars as demons.

“We are observing Narakachardashi as vardhanti (death anniversary),” said Mr Visarvardhan, a research scholar. “It is not an occasion to celebrate. We are trying to set right the facts. Narakasura is amaraveerdu (martyr) and not a womaniser.”

“Nowhere in the world does anyone celebrate a death,” said the Dalit scholar, Prof. Kancha Ilaiah. “Nowhere in the world have Gods killed people except in India.”

Source

In a reversal of traditional Diwali beliefs, students held that Naraka, the Asura killed on Diwali day, was not demonic as portrayed in the popular myth.

According to a local belief, Narakasura was a Dravidian emperor who had ruled a massive kingdom that was destroyed in Aryan invasion.

Naraka, according to this interpretation, is also believed to be of Dalit lineage thereby making mourning ceremonies of his death, the apt celebration on Diwali, at least for a section.

While the origin of the lore is not dated, a section of Adivasis and Dalits in Karimnagar and Khammam districts worship Narakasura, students who held the commemoration pointed out. As a reflection of this belief, in Osmania University (OU), Hyderabad and Kakatiya University (KU), Warangal, close to 50 students erected idols of Narakasura even as they sang songs to praise the king’s greatness.

Re-reading of Diwali

Quoting the lore which is based on a re-reading of the popular Diwali myth, students held that Naraka was in fact a scholar who had held several scholastic sessions from time to time in his palace.

“He was a nature-lover, a son of the soil. His death has to be mourned and his life should be commemorated,” said Naliganti Sharath, a student who participated in commemorating the Asura’s death, on the OU campus.

“My family always narrated stories of Narakasura as a celestial power which had saved children from deadly diseases. We do not celebrate Diwali,” said Rajesh, a student of Kakatiya University.

Source.

The lesson I learned was to check with my Hindu colleagues in future if they believe in Diwali and what version do they believe in.

Hindu holy man reveals truth of terror attacks blamed on Muslims

India is being forced to confront disturbing evidence that increasingly suggests a secret Hindu terror network may have been responsible for a wave of deadly attacks previously blamed on radical Muslims.

Information contained in a confession given in court by a Hindu holy man, suggests that he and several others linked to a right-wing Hindu organisation, planned and carried out attacks on a train travelling to Pakistan, a Sufi shrine and a mosque as well as two assaults on Malegaon, a town in southern India with a large Muslim population.

He claimed the attacks were launched in response to the actions of Muslim militants. "I told everybody that we should answer bombs with bombs," 59-year-old Swami Aseemanand, whose real name is Naba Kumar Sarkar, told a magistrate during a closed hearing in Delhi. "I suggested that 80 per cent of the people of Malegaon were Muslims and we should explode the first bomb in Malegaon itself. I also said that during partition, the Nizam of Hyderabad had wanted to go with Pakistan so Hyderabad was also a fair target. Then I said that since Hindus also throng [a Sufi shrine in] Ajmer we should also explode a bomb in Ajmer which would deter the Hindus from going there. I also suggested the Aligarh Muslim University as a target."

Police in India have suspected for some time that Hindus may have been responsible for the attacks carried out between 2006 and 2008, and in November of that year several arrests were made, including that of a serving military officer. But the confession of Swami Aseemanand, obtained by an Indian news magazine, is perhaps the most damning evidence yet that Hindu extremists were responsible. It also suggests those involved were senior members of a religious group that is the parent organisation of India's main opposition party, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

"The evidence is not conclusive but people have to take notice of this," said Bahukutumbi Raman, a former national security adviser and now a leading regional security analyst. "This could aggravate tensions between India's [Hindu and Muslim] communities. It will create problems."

The revelations in Tehelka magazine, bear added significance following the comments of Rahul Gandhi, widely expected to be a future prime minister, in which he said he believed the growth of Hindu extremists presented a greater threat to India than Muslim militants. According to a cable obtained by WikiLeaks, last year Mr Gandhi told the US ambassador to Delhi, Timothy Roemer: "Although there was evidence of some support for Laskar-e-Taiba among certain elements in India's indigenous Muslim community, the bigger threat may be the growth of radicalised Hindu groups, which create religious tensions and political confrontations with the Muslim community."

At the time, Mr Gandhi's comments were strongly condemned by the BJP. But the main opposition party has been pushed on to the back foot by the testimony of Swami Aseemanand, which suggests many of those involved in the bombing plots were members of religious organisations such as the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

The RSS is considered the BJP's ideological parent. This week, the RSS's leader, Mohan Bhagwat, claimed extremists had been forced out. "Elements nurturing extremist views have been asked to leave the organisation," he said. "A majority of the people whom the government has accused... had left voluntarily and a few were told that this extremism will not work here."

Among the incidents initially blamed on Muslim militants was a bomb attack in February 2007 on the Samjhauta Express, travelling between Delhi and Lahore. Of the 68 deaths, most were Pakistani citizens returning home. The attack took place a day before Pakistan's Foreign Minister was due to arrive in India for peace talks.

Swami Aseemanand was arrested in Haridwar last November, having apparently been in hiding for more than two years. In his 42-page confession to the magistrate, he reportedly claimed he had been spurred into action by a series of Muslim attacks on Hindus, in particular the assault on the Akshardham temple in Gujarat 2002 that left at least 29 people dead. "This caused great concern and anger in me," he said.

The attacks under scrutiny

Samjhauta Express

In February 2007, two firebombs exploded on the train commonly known as the 'Friendship Express' which travels across the Indo-Pakistani border. Most of the 68 victims and 50 injured were of Pakistani origin. Three further unexploded suitcase bombs were later found on the train.

Mecca Masjid

An attack on the Mecca Masjid mosque, which is in Hyderabad's old city, left 14 people dead in May 2007 – with five apparently killed by police firing on a furious mob after the incident. Swami Aseemanand apparently said that the site was chosen because the local administrator wanted to be part of Pakistan during partition.

Ajmer

A famous Muslim shrine in the city of Ajmer in Rajasthan, about 350km south-west of Delhi, was targeted by bomb attacks in October later that year. Two people were killed and 17 injured near the scared shrine, which houses the tomb of a 13th-century Sufi saint. Swami Aseemanand said the blast was intended to deter Hindus from going there.

Malegaon

In September 2008, three bomb blasts killed 37 people in the Muslim-majority city of Malegaon, situated about 160 miles north-east of Maharashtra's state capital, Mumbai. Muslims had been attending prayers when the bombs exploded in a sacred burial ground, also injuring more than 125 people.

source

Hindu fundamentalists in India at Muslim bashing again

From an article by Tanvir Jafri:

Many extreme forces in India have come together against the Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan. The reason behind their opposition to Shah Rukh is said to be his advocacy for Pakistani players' participation in the Indian Premier League (IPL), though neither he has taken any Pakistani player in his team-Kolkata Knight Riders nor he has said any such thing which tantamount to the sympathy towards Pakistan. On the very next day of Shahrukh's statement about the Pakistani players, the Home Minister of India Mr. P. Chidambaram assured the security of foreign players including Pakistani players. But no extremist leader or organisation dared to object Chidambaram, instead they opted to attack the soft target i.e. Shah Rukh Khan. Narrow minded politicians themselves want to become popular by way of opposing a famous personality.

The so-called 'nationalist leaders' who are nowadays criticising Shahrukh Khan include the leaders of the Shiv Sena, Rashtriya swayam sewak sangh (RSS) sister organisations like Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) & Bajrang Dal, and the Sri Ram Sena chief Pramod Muthalik, and along with them the yoga guru Baba Ramdev. Some among these have threatened SRK that they will burn him alive and also. They are also asking Shahrukh to leave Mumbai and shift to Karachi. Let us have a look at the family background of that Shahrukh Khan against whom such insulting vocabulary is being used.

Shahrukh Khan was born in a Pathan family in Delhi in 1965. His father Taj Mohammad was a freedom fighter who struggled for the independence of the country. Since he didn't want to see the partition of the country, so in 1947 he came to India from Peshawar even before independence. Shahrukh's mother Latif Fatima was the adopted daughter of Major General Shahnawaz Khan. Gen. Shahnawaz Khan needs no introduction. He was the major General in the Azad Hind Fauj of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose. At the time of independence Country shouts slogans of these Generals, like- Dhillon,Sehgal, Shahnawaz-Zindabad Zindabad. Shahrukh's mother's family also came to India from Rawalpindi. One can imagine the love of above families for their nation as these Muslim families migrated to India at that time when millions of Muslims were compelled to leave India and millions of Hindus were compelled to migrate from Pakistan to India.

Shahrukh Khan lived in Rajendra Nagar area of Delhi and completed his schooling from St. Columbus School. He pursued higher education from Hansraj College and Jamia Millia Islamia University. After the demise of his parents, he went to Mumbai in 1991. The same year he married a Kashmiri Munjal Brahmin girl Gauri Chhibbar. The marriage was concluded according to the Hindu customs and rituals. Now, Shahrukh Khan has two children- Aryan and Suhana. His home can be called the home of a true secular nationalist Muslim. All holy books- Quran, Gita, Bible etc. are there in his home and he studies these from time to time. He has been given many national and international honours and awards. In 2005, he was given India's fourth biggest civilian honour- Padmashri. In April 2007, his wax statue was installed in the famous Madame Tussauds Museum in London. The same year, a similar statue was installed in another famous museum of Paris. In October 2008, he was awarded 'Datuk', the highest honour of Malaysia. In 2009, he was honoured with the doctorate degree by Bedfordshire University of Britain. Many books have been published on the personality of Shahrukh Khan.

Above introduction is of that person who had played in the lap of Gen. Shahnawaz Khan and heard numerous stories of patriotism from him. Let us also pay obituary to Gen. Shahnawaz Khan through this article. I am fortunate enough to serve Gen. Khan. In 1979, he went to Allahabad for a political programme and stayed at Prayag Hotel there. That time I was deputed there in his service. I saw very closely there that Gen. Being a patriotic nationalist Khan regularly used to observe namaz five times a day. He was a great roll model for a true patriotic Muslim. He was the son of Captain Tikka Khan and got commissioned in the Indian National Army from the Royal Indian Military Academy, Dehradun. He was inspired by Subhash Chandra Bose. He was also the head of the committee setup in 1956 to enquire into the death of Subhash Chandra Bose.

Can Shahrukh's views be similar to that of 'Pakistani Jehadis'? Is it justified to give him such titles? What can be its impact on the conscience of other patriotic, liberal and secular Indians? Can these so called self-styled nationalists compare their family backgrounds with that of SRK's? Today Shahrukh is being asked to apologise to a separatist leader Bal Thackeray whereas many prominent people including the Home Minister have clearly said that sports should not be linked with politics. Prominent Indian journalist Alok Mehta even has said that Bal Thackrey is a mafia don and he must be hanged. Even Smita Thackray, the daughter-in-law of Bal Thackray is supporting Shahrukh. Former Chief Minister of Maharashtra Narayan Rane, an old colleague of Thackeray has even said that Bal Thackeray is doing all this to get money. But nobody is being criticised. Why only Shahrukh Khan is being targeted.

On the anniversary of 26/11 in a programme at India gate in Delhi, Shahrukh Khan expressed concern that why people ask for his views on terrorism. He further said that there can be no two thoughts on terrorism. But perhaps it is being asked from him because he is a Muslim. Is today's attack on Shahrukh Khan proving his concern right? If it is so, then it is very dangerous for the unity and integrity of the country. While Shahrukh Khan is regarded as a role model for the progressive and liberal Muslims of the country, on the other side he 'honoured' with the title of 'Pakistani Jehadi agent'. Today, among the global fans of Shahrukh Khan, more are from the non-Muslim communities. Despite this, what is the rationale behind unnecessarily degrading him? This is a failed attempt to polarise the Hindus against him. Whoever is trying to this is very unfortunate and dangerous for our composite culture and secularism. Only people can teach lesson to such forces. Perhaps, the poet has said for people like Shahrukh- Zahide tang nazar ne mujhe kafir jaana, aur kafir yeh samajhta hai Musalmaan hoon main. (A narrow minded muslim cleric says that i'm a non believer as nonbeliever says that i'm a Muslim).


TANVEER JAFRI
COLUMNIST
1630/11, Mahavir Nagar, AMBALA CITY (HARYANA) (INDIA)
PHONE: 0091-171-2535628, Mob: 0091-98962-19228,
EMAIL:tanveerjafriamb@gmail.com,tanveerjafri1@gmail.com,tanveerjafri58@gmail.com

Indian Muslims take on Hindu names to get jobs

Picture Source: TwoCircles.net

All Mehboob Pathan (50) of Valak village on Surat’s outskirts wanted was a job in the city. Having a Muslim name, he felt, came in the way. So, to get himself a job in Surat’s diamond units, he passed himself off as Jayenti Bhatti, and managed to find work in two separate units in the Kapodara area.

Early this week, his “cover” was blown, after he was brutally killed over a monetary dispute. As the distraught family stepped forward to admit that Jayenti Bhatti was indeed Mehboob Pathan, they worried that having been cremated as a Hindu, the practising Muslim’s soul may not find peace.

In the ledgers of Surat’s diamond units, there are many leading a double life like Pathan. His son Mushtaq is registered as Mukesh and daughter Samina as Sharmila, and both are afraid of losing their jobs if the fact was known.

Diamond industry sources and workers say many Muslims assume Hindu names to find work in the city’s lucrative diamond business.

One of them, Allarakha Khan, admits to having passed himself off as a Hindu like many others from his village. “We would not get a job if we are known to be Muslims. We have been doing this for a long time, and we take great care not to reveal our real names or addresses at work,” he told The Indian Express.

Rohit Mehta, president of the Surat Diamond Association, however, denied knowledge of Muslims passing themselves off as Hindus for jobs. “We will inquire into this,” he said.

Pathan’s story came to be known after his body was found in a farm at Antroli last Monday, with the head smashed in. The police registered a case and kept the unclaimed body in the Palsana Primary Health Centre mortuary till Thursday. Then they arranged to give Pathan alias Bhatti a Hindu funeral, with all the rites.

His family, who had been looking for Pathan, had filed a missing complaint. Then, seeing news stories in local newspapers about an unclaimed body, Mehboob’s brother-in-law Iqbal Pathan decided to check. By that time, Pathan had been cremated, but the brother-in-law identified him from a photo of the body.

The family says Pathan was a pious Muslim and the change of name was just so that he and his children could find and keep a job. “We are too poor to do anything, but how could the police dispose of his body the Hindu way?” asks son Mushtaq. “A genital examination would have shown he was a Muslim.” Sub-Inspector of Kadodara police V R Malhotra said they had kept the body in mortuary hoping someone would turn up. “We disposed it of according to Hindu rites not knowing he was a Muslim. The family turned up too late and we are now helpless.”

Kapodara police inspector S J Tirmizi, probing the murder, confirmed Pathan had passed himself off as Bhatti for work. Manoj Rokad, who is the manager of the Varachha unit in which Pathan’s daughter Samina works as a diamond polisher, has reportedly confessed to the murder. According to the police, Rokad had become a family friend of the Pathans and knew their real identities. Two years ago, Pathan had reportedly loaned Rokad Rs 60,000 for an emergency, which he never returned. Pathan used to call Rokad repeatedly asking him to return the same, and the latter reportedly asked Pathan to meet him on December 20. They went to Antroli village, where Rokad allegedly killed Pathan with the help of two other diamond polishers, who have been identified as Chhanya Rathod and Sanjay. While Rokad has been held, and has reportedly admitted to beating Pathan to death, Rathod and Sanjay are on the run.

Last year we blogged about Hindus trying to create Muslim free zones in India which could be read here.

Retired judge's report indicts 68 people over 1992 Babri mosque violence

Senior Hindu nationalist politicians in India, including the former prime minister, were implicated today in a long-awaited government report into the demolition of a 16th-century mosque by a mob of Hindus 17 years ago.

A commission headed by the retired judge Manmohan Singh Liberhan produced a 900-page report indicting 68 people for events leading up to the destruction of the Babri mosque, in the northern town of Ayodhya. Among those named were the former prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and his deputy prime minister, Lal Krishna Advani.

The events of 1992 were a turning point in India's history, sparking clashes that left more than 1,000 people dead, and marking the political rise of Hindu nationalists. The names included in the report surprised many, especially that of Vajpayee, who had repeatedly said the mosque should not have been destroyed.

According to the judge, both Vajpayee and Advani, as well as other senior rightwing politicians, were "culpable of taking the country to the brink of communal discord". He recommended that using religion to prosecute a political agenda should be outlawed in India.

Ministers said a law designed to prevent a repeat of the mosque demolition was being considered.

The Congress-led government said the commission was a "fact-finding mission" and it was up to law enforcement agencies and prosecutors to pursue those accused. No punitive action would be taken on the basis of the report itself.

Dozens of cases have been lodged in the past 17 years, mired in a welter of claims and counter-claims. Liberhan complained that during questioning witnesses often "protected" senior political figures.

The tearing down of the mosque was the result of a political mobilisation by Advani, the report said. He masterminded the rise to power of the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata party in India by fanning religious zealotry with a pilgrimage in 1992 to the claimed birthplace of the Hindu god Ram, in Ayodhya. On the site was the Babri mosque, which was razed to the ground on 6 December 1992 by Hindu fanatics, setting off clashes between Hindus and Muslims that left more than 1,000 dead.

The violence was among the worst since the partition of British India, and the events have remained a subject of bitter debate. The site remains closed to the public, with tight security surrounding a ramshackle Ram shrine.

The Liberhan commission said that contrary to claims by the BJP, the demolition was "neither spontaneous nor unpreventable" and was the "zenith of a concerted and well laid out plan".

Also implicated were senior officials, both retired and serving, as well as organisers of the Hindu revivalist movement. The then BJP chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, the state where the mosque lay, was accused of posting bureaucrats and police officers he knew would not act to stop the violence.

The report said the "author" of the destruction was the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a radical religious group that is the fountainhead of the Hindu nationalist movement. Both Advani and Vajpayee were RSS veterans, although once in office they distanced themselves from its radical Hindu-first agenda.

The government's opponents said the commission had bent to the prevailing political wind. The report was given to the government last June but had been kept secret. The report cleared the Congress government of 1992 of being negligent and letting the mosque be destroyed. Congress projects itself as a secular party that balances minority and majority rights.

Swapan Dasgupta, a rightwing political commentator, said a "small cabal, not 68 people, was responsible", although the BJP bore "larger moral responsibility".

He said: "I was there on the day and many BJP leaders had led people there. They cannot say they were not involved. But to anyone under 30 in India, about 500 million people, this is all irrelevant. India's moved on."

Myth of Hindu tolerance

Interesting article from The Guardian.

There is a profoundly disquieting myth about Hinduism which has been put about by its adherents so often and so successfully that it is in danger of crystallising into a truth – that of its essentially pluralistic and tolerant traditions. Recently this viewpoint was repeated in the Face to faith column of this newspaper by Nitin Mehta who argued that "There are thousands of sects within Hinduism, and violence between them is unknown." This is, at best, disingenuous and, at worst, dishonest. He appears to gloss over the troublesome fact that caste Hindus have been callous towards their own – the Dalits or the "Untouchables" as they were previously known. To argue that they are not a sect would be pure semantics.

Nitin Mehta uses a piece of sophistry to suggest the superiority of Hinduism particularly vis-à-vis Islam without once mentioning Islam by name. He refers to the tolerance of religions that have their roots in India namely, Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism and Jainism – thereby implicitly damning Islam as a "foreign" imposition and as intolerant. Well here are the facts: Islam in India dates back to at least the 7th century. A presence of 1400 years is surely long enough to put down roots; there were nearly 10,000 cases of recorded crimes against Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe members in 2007 and we know that most crimes do not get recorded in India because of a corrupt and brutal police force; many Indians are still reeling from the massacre of Muslims in Gujarat in 2002, one of several over the years; and only last year vicious attacks in Orissa left at least 60 Christians dead. It is little wonder that in the recent elections in India, many parties and political candidates defined their agendas in opposition to the BJP (Bharatiya Janata party), the political face of Hinduism.

Far from being sprinkled with the magic powder of tolerance, all those religions that rubbed shoulders with Hinduism picked up its divisive caste system. Even South Asian Muslims, despite the emphasis on egalitarianism in the Qu'ran, have a caste system. Sikhism, when it was founded by Guru Nanak, was an explicit rejection of both Hinduism and Islam, especially the caste system. Yet Sikhism is also polluted by the strictures of caste, not just in India but the world over. Gurdwaras or Sikh temples serving various Sikh castes have been flourishing in the UK from the time that Sikhs began settling here.

The recent killing of the Sikh Guru, Sant Ramanand, a Ravidassia (Dalit) Sikh in Vienna by higher caste Sikhs is a shocking reminder of the strength of these traditions even in small diasporic communities in Europe.

The gift of the caste system by Hindus to well over one-fifth of the world's population wipes out the beneficial impact of any wisdom in its philosophical traditions. Until caste is eradicated, anyone trying to claim the mantle of tolerance for Hinduism must be opposed and challenged.

Hindus trying to create 'Muslim-Free' zones in India

The sunny apartment had everything Palvisha Aslam, 22, a Bollywood producer, wanted: a spacious bedroom and a kitchen that overlooked a garden in a middle-class neighborhood that was a short commute to Film City, where many of India's Hindi movies are shot.

She was about to sign the lease when the real estate broker noticed her surname. He didn't realize that she was Muslim, he said. Then he rejected her. It was just six weeks after the November Mumbai terrorist attacks and Indian Muslims were being viewed with suspicion across the country. He then showed her a grimy one-room tenement in a Muslim-dominated ghetto. She felt sick to her stomach as she watched the residents fight over water at a leaky tap in a dark alley.

"That night I cried a lot. I was still an outcast in my own country -- even as a secular Muslim with a well-paid job in Bollywood," said Aslam, who had similar experiences with five other brokers and three months later is still sleeping on friends' sofas. "I'm an Indian. I love my country. Is it a crime now to be a Muslim in Mumbai?"

In the months after the brazen three-day Mumbai terrorist attacks, stories like Aslam's are common, even among some of the country's most beloved Bollywood actors, screenwriters and producers in India's most cosmopolitan city. The accusations of discrimination highlight the often simmering religious tensions in the world's biggest democracy, where Muslim celebrities can be feted on the red carpet one minute and locked out of quality housing the next.

The phenomenon has become known here as "renting while Muslim." It raises questions that go to the heart of India's identity as a secular democracy that is home to nearly every major religion on the planet. Although India has a Hindu majority, it also has 150 million Muslims, one of the largest Muslim communities in the world.

"The new generation wants a better India that isn't bogged down in religious strife," said Junaid Memon, 34, a Muslim Bollywood director who is trying to promote religious harmony through his films and his Facebook site. "We shouldn't be an India that ghettoizes all Muslims to apartments near a mosque. This is a real test for modern India."

Many Muslims here feared the attacks would unleash cycles of revenge killing of the sort that have recurred throughout India's modern history, from the violence of partition between India and Pakistan in 1947 to the 1992 riots in Mumbai. In the days after November's Mumbai attacks, Muslims from all corners of society united, holding candlelight vigils with a message to protest terrorism and pledge loyalty to India. In the end, there was no communal violence.

But across the country, reports of housing discrimination have increased.

Afroz Alam Sahil, 21, a student activist at Jamia Millia Islamia College in New Delhi, said that more than a dozen students from states such as Uttar Pradesh and Bihar -- which have large Muslim populations -- have been unable to find housing since the Mumbai attacks.

"Some Muslim friends have dropped out of college because they have nowhere to stay," Sahil said. "There is intense suspicion. Sometimes I ask myself why I was born Muslim."

Rana Afroz, a Muslim editor with the newspaper the Hindu, is investigating the issue after spending three months unable to find a landlord willing to rent to her and her husband.

"It is ridiculous that I have to prove to non-Muslims that I am not making bombs in my kitchen," she said. "Is this really the modern India I live in?"

In India, Muslims are often segregated, and they experience high poverty rates and low literacy. Although they make up nearly 14 percent of India's population, they hold fewer than 5 percent of government posts and are just 4 percent of the student body in India's elite universities, according to a 2006 government report.

Muslims, who have seen housing discrimination and the number of vegetarian buildings spike after every terrorist attack, see the issue as blatant discrimination.

"Everyone knows the vegetarian-only restriction is code language for 'No Muslims,' " said Naved Khan, a Muslim real estate broker who is trying to help Bollywood's Muslims find housing.

On a recent afternoon, Aslam, the producer, hung out at a cafe, as she sometimes does so she doesn't get on the nerves of those she is staying with. She wore jeans and a hooded sweat shirt.

Until January, she was living with a Hindu roommate. Then their lease ended. Her roommate was getting married.

"So I thought I would get my own place as a successful adult," said Aslam, who had come to Mumbai from Kolkata with dreams of landing a Bollywood job. "My mom was really proud of me. Now she's really upset."

A broker recently showed her a house in a working-class neighborhood. "It looked haunted. But I was denied even that," she said.

Another broker gave her advice: "Madam, live with a Hindu roommate. Only then will you get a flat."


Back in August last year, film star Saif Ali Khan thought of buying a new house, he made a conscious decision that he would not approach a Hindu housing society for fear of being rejected. That's a superstar of the country talking.

Our sources in the construction industry say that Saif did approach a few Hindu housing societies and was rejected –- despite being a superstar. Saif, however, says that he went straight to a Muslim builder to buy his dream house. "I know there are localities and building societies that won't sell real estate to anyone who's a Muslim. I went to a Muslim builder to avoid complications."

Saif insists that the problem of communal segregation is very real. "And it's not restricted to building societies in Mumbai, it's there in society in general. It's common knowledge that in certain areas of Juhu and Bandra land and houses are not sold to Muslims. I'm constantly surprised by how much religion matters to some people here. Perceptions of religion are always based on experience or fanaticism. Some elements have spoilt things for the entire community. That's the sad truth about Islam,” says the star who has bought a 4-BHK apartment in La Beau in Bandra.

Saif's dad is a Muslim, and mom a Hindu. "I've been brought up to believe in the oneness of God. In some places He is known as Jesus. In other places He is known as Bhagwan or Allah. And in some places He is known as Shah Rukh Khan."

Reacting to the extremist diktat that none of the Khans must act in Hindi films, Saif says, "I'd rather get shot than not do a shot! I'd have a tough time finding another job. There's nothing I can do apart from acting."

Muslim stars have always had problems while buying houses in certain areas between Andheri and Bandra. Emraan Hashmi, Arbaaz Ali Khan, Zeenat Aman, Sophie Chowdhury and Aamir Ali have been through this grind too.

Sophie Chowdhury house-hunted for over two years.There were times that she almost finalised the deal, but when she revealed her identity, the deal was cancelled.

Arbaaz Ali Khan was refused a house on Perry Cross Road in Bandra. Similarly, Zeenat Aman had to look for a flat for over three months before she could buy a house in Juhu. Ditto Emraan Hashmi. Aamir Ali's hunt for a house took over a year. He even filed a court case over this issue.

Varun Gandhi wants to be a Muslim basher

The strident communal overtones of the campaign being run by "the other" Gandhi son, Varun, contesting his maiden Lok Sabha election from this constituency, has left even workers of his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) shocked.

The 29-year-old son of Maneka and the late Sanjay Gandhi - younger son of former prime minister Indira Gandhi - was Sunday issued a notice by the district authorities in Pilibhit, the constituency so carefully nurtured by his mother who gave up the seat to ensure his easy entry into the Lok Sabha.

That she did so was no surprise for political watchers here. What has come as a shocker is his staunchly pro-Hindu and rabid anti-Muslim vitriolic that his opponents and supporters say could trigger a communal clash.

From taking up issues like the ban on cow slaughter to asking a Sikh leader to leave a Hindu meeting, Varun Gandhi has been ruffling feathers everywhere.

While "Jai Shri Ram" is his battle-cry at all roadside meetings or assemblies, some of the other slogans being used are "Gau hatya rukwana hai, Varun Gandhi ko jitana hai" (Cow slaughter must stop, Varun Gandhi must win) and "Varun nahin yeh aandhi hai, doosra Sanjay Gandhi hai (Varun Gandhi is like a storm, he is another Sanjay Gandhi)".

On March 6, he said at the Dalchand meeting: "Agar kissi galat tatv ke aadmi ne, kisi Hindu pe haath uthaya ya hinduon ke upar yeh samajh key ki yeh kamzor hain, unke peeche koi nahi hai... hinduon ke upar haath uthaya, mein geeta ki kasam khake kehta hoon ki mein uss haath ko kaat daaloonga. (If somebody lifts a hand against Hindus, or thinks they are weak, there is nobody behind them, then I swear on the (Bhagvad) Gita that I will cut off that hand)."

Naresh Verma, a popular BJP leader in Puranpur - within the constituency - told IANS: "I am a BJP activist and a Hindu too. But I am not in favour of launching a communally charged campaign. If Varun Gandhi persists with such style of campaigning, I would be compelled to keep myself away from it."

Added another BJP veteran Gurdial Singh: "Varun is going out of hand. If he is not restrained, this election could end in a bloody communal clash."

The 70-year-old Sikh froom Ramnagar village was even asked to leave one of the Hindu meets being addressed by Varun Gandhi.

"He neither has respect for any other religion nor even for elders. In his arrogance, he has gone to the extent of forgetting that his mother was also a Sikh before her marriage."

If the BJP is alarmed, other parties are determined to ensure that this stops.

"We have audio-recordings of the provocative language used by Varun Gandhi to run down Muslims," claimed Haroon Ahmad, a local Samajwadi Party leader.

Though Gandhi doesn't deny giving the controversial speech, he insisted the video had been "doctored" and that what he said was "mangled".

"I believe very firmly that this is the result of a political conspiracy," he said. "This is not my voice, those are not my words. I've a soft voice, [but in the video] I sound like [Bollywood star] Amitabh Bachchan."

The state election authorities have ordered an investigation, and the local police have registered a criminal case and sent the video for forensic tests. Gandhi is a candidate of the opposition Bharatiya Janata party (BJP), whose leaders often stridently promote Hindu causes.

If the video is genuine, analysts say, it shows the extent to which some politicians would go to divide voters and win an election. "People who know Varun say he's a very intelligent young man," said Phadnis. "But sometimes people who are too sharp can end up cutting themselves."

Muslims want Varun disqualified from contesting the upcoming general election, scheduled to take place in April-May.

"He must be banned from contesting the election," says Shehla Masood.

"I am a Muslim and proud to be one. I thank my ancestors and God that they did not choose Pakistan and chose to stay back in India," she added, referring to the creation of India and Pakistan 60 years ago after the end of the British mandate.

"India is my country more than that of Varun Gandhi."