Tag Archives: Hyderabad

Bad ideas, Culture, Excavation, Identities, Law, Right watch

The love story of Quli Qutub and Bhagmati, and other tragic endings

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Still from an animation film, 'Bhaggmati'
Still from an animation film, ‘Bhaggmati’

For some strange reason, all, or almost all love legends have a tragic end. I cannot recall too many that end with “and they lived happily ever after”. In fact, Romeo-Juliet, Laila-Majnun, Heer-Ranjha, Sohini-Mahiwal, Sassi-Pannun, Dhola-Maru, Saif-ul-Malook-o-Badi-uj-Jamaal – the list of unhappy lovers separated by the cruel hands of society, scheming relatives, jealous rivals, misunderstandings and plain simple divine design is endless.

Amidst such tears and tragedies, poison-tipped swords and daggers, deceit and chicanery, there is a story of love that makes you believe that this world can’t be all bad. The most fascinating and enduring quality of this legend of love is that it is not a legend, it is fact, well mostly. And this is how it goes. Continue reading The love story of Quli Qutub and Bhagmati, and other tragic endings →

Everyday Life, Identities, Images, Right watch, Violence-Conflict

Elements of Bomb (Blast) Making – Understanding Dilsukhnagar: Biju Mathew

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hydblast2

This is a guest post by BIJU MATHEW: The story is always the same, isn’t it? A perfectly ordinary day becomes extraordinary. A day when the daily tribulations of thousands of workers and small merchants is instantly transformed into tragedy. 15 dead, 5 still critical and over 100 others injured– some of them maimed for life – thinking of what recovery might mean. Ravinder, a farm hand from a Nalgonda village has lost a leg. His wife, Lakshmi might still yet lose her foot. Their 1 year old is missing. And they were in Dilsukhnagar for a hospital visit because the 1 year old has a congenital heart condition. There is no justice to be had here. Continue reading Elements of Bomb (Blast) Making – Understanding Dilsukhnagar: Biju Mathew →

Bad ideas, Everyday Life, Language, Mirror Worlds, Politics, Right watch, Violence-Conflict

Akbaruddin Owaisi – You are an Enemy of Muslims (and Hindus)

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Guest post by IRSHADUL HAQUE
Translated from Hindi by Shuddhabrata Sengupta

Akbaruddin Owaisi, you are an enemy of Muslims. You are the kind of adversary who lurks like a snake in the grass, ready to strike at the person who cares for that patch. Your desire to provoke a confrontation between India’s 25 crore Muslims and 100 crore Hindus reminds us of Muhammad Ali Jinnah. This is why Javed Akhtar has gone to the extent of calling you ‘the greatest enemy of Muslims’. I know that I am not alone when I find myself agreeing with this view. Many other Indian Muslims will be in agreement with me. Continue reading Akbaruddin Owaisi – You are an Enemy of Muslims (and Hindus) →

Bad ideas, Centre watch, Government, Right watch, Violence-Conflict

Four years after the Mecca Masjid Blast, Justice Still Denied: Lateef Mohd. Khan

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This note comes from LATEEF MOHD. KHAN of the Civil Liberties Monitoring Committee, Hyderabad

The Makkah Masjid bomb blast is completely different from all the other blasts of the country because on 18th May 2007, at a time many terrorist attacks took place in the Makkah Masjid. First of all the Hindutva terrorists planted the bombs and targeted the people praying on Friday in the house of Allah i.e. Makkah Masjid, immediately after that, the Hindutva police of Hyderabad through using the firing experts, fired at the praying people and those who were helping the victims. After this, the third terrorist act done by the Police was that they blamed Muslim community itself for the blast through media. Muslims were shocked at this layer by layer terror acts; they never thought that Hyderabad which is considered as the fort of Muslims, the bomb would be blasted at the historical Makkah Masjid. In fact, this act was to attack the fort of Muslims. With this the confidence of Muslims is shaken. Continue reading Four years after the Mecca Masjid Blast, Justice Still Denied: Lateef Mohd. Khan →

Everyday Life, Identities, Images, Media politics, Violence-Conflict

Media Induced Morbidity Syndrome: Anant Maringanti

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Or, when suicide threat becomes political strategy

Guest post by ANANT MARINGANTI

I am witnessing a bizarre phenomenon in Andhra Pradesh which I can at the moment only call ‘Media Induced Morbidity Syndrome‘. That this is pathological, and that this has to do with the media I am certain. But it is difficult to pin down what the pathogen is.

First, in the days and weeks following the then chief minister Y S Rajasekhar Reddy’s (YSR) death on September 2nd, 2009; over 450 people were reported to have died either of heart attacks or suicides. Newspapers kept a daily tally and the numbers kept mounting. Being in Singapore at the time, several thousands of miles away from Hyderabad during those weeks, I had no first hand experience of the mood in Hyderabad. I dismissed the reportage as a silly political gimmick. It was easy to surmise that vested interests had simply been collecting daily death reports from various government hospitals in different towns and attributing them to grief over YSR’s death. The largest number of these deaths – 227 occurred on the day of the funeral and the following day. Continue reading Media Induced Morbidity Syndrome: Anant Maringanti →

Everyday Life, Government, Law, Violence-Conflict

Collateral Damage in our ‘War on Terror’

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The Express Story today on the detention and torture of 6 Muslim men/boys in the wake of the Hyderabad blasts makes for chilling, terrifying reading. Amongst over 70 Muslim men who were arrested by the Hyderabad police, they detail custodial abuse and torture which ranges from stripping, to severe beatings on the hands and soles of their feet, to electrical shocks administered to genitalia. With characteristic insouciance and perversity the government has announced a ‘healing touch’ compensation of Rs 30,000 to each victim of the police’s tactile ministrations.

Continue reading Collateral Damage in our ‘War on Terror’ →