Terrorism Watch

Aurangazeb and Islamic compassion-I By: V SUNDARAM Saturday, 08 March, 2008 , 03:45 PM . FACT (Foundation Against Continuing Terrorism) had organized an Exhibition of Paintings under the theme ‘ AURANGAZEB’ as he was’ according to Mughal Records’ in Chennai from 3 to 9 March, 2008. . The venue of the Exhibition was ‘Lalit Kala Academi’ (National Academy of Art), Greams Road, Chennai. The exhibition was inaugurated by Vittal, former Chief Vigilance Commissioner, B Raman, former Additional Secretary to the Government of India and S Gurumurthy, columnist , on 3 March at 5 pm. The inauguration was attended by about 100 people. Prior to the inauguration, a press meet was also conducted. From the next morning onwards, visitors started coming and the numbers gradually increased towards the evening. On Wednesd

POOR Prince of Arkat, he seems to be suffering from selective amnesia when he forgets things otherwise. History is History and Aurangzeb can never be ISLAM and when he tries to say otherwise and ban the exhibition he is actually doing more harm than any help. Prince of Arcot welcomes decision to close exhibition Special Correspondent CHENNAI: The Prince of Arcot, Abdul Mohammed Ali, on Friday said the controversial exhibition on Mughal monarch Aurangazeb, which was closed prematurely on the advice of the police, had the potential to disrupt communal harmony. In a statement, he said it “seemed obvious that the effect of such an exhibition would b

Aurangzeb and his censors Saturday March 8 2008 07:55 IST ADITYA SINHA ( NEW INDIAN EXPRESS ) FARIKH Mirza was my closest friend when I was pursuing a master’s degree in London, even though we made an odd combination in most eyes, for he was the British son of Pakistani immigrants, and I the American son of Indian immigrants. Farikh’s sister was married during the summer of dissertation writing, and one of the young men at the nikaah ceremonies in High Wycombe was named Aurangzeb. It was the first time that I encountered anyone named Aurangzeb, and Farikh’s explanation was simple. No Muslim in India would dare name their boy after a king the Hindus thought was a real bastard, Farikh said; in Pakistan, on the other hand, Aurangzeb is a hero, so he makes for a common name. We had a good laugh (those were innocent days), and for me it provided another philosophical lesson on the importance of point of view. Laughter and philosophy were in short supply when Aurangzeb made an ap

Aurangzeb exhibition controversy Author: Agencies Date: 07 Mar 2008 ( mid-day ) Chennai: An art exhibition on the life of Mughal emperor Aurangazeb has run into rough weather following objections from some Muslim individuals to two pictures showing demolition of the Somnath Temple in Gujarat on the ground that they would disturb peace in Tamil Nadu. A Hindu group threatened to stage a demonstration if the exhibition was cancelled. The Lalit Kala Academy, where the exhibition is on till March 9, is considering cancelling the show. R M Palaniappan, regional secretary, Lalit Kala Academy said that two persons had submitted written complaints saying a portrait, depicting the demolition of the temple in Gujarat, following the order of Aurangazeb, could lead to communal hatred. He said, “I have informed the headquarters at Delhi and are waiting further orders .” Hindu Munnani founder leader Rama Gopalan said, “Visitors have the right to know the truth. If the exhibition is cancelled, we w

BLOGGERS Speak When Thoughts Cease A tale of two cities (and media hypocrisy) Incident 1: Vadodara. May 9, 2007. Suspected Hindu right-wingers attack an internal exhibition of paintings at MS University. Artist Chandramohan arrested. Reaction: The Left-liberal media begins to froth at its mouth. Protests happen all over the place (or at least we are made to believe so by the media). The incident is given wide coverage in all newspapers. Talk shows debate the issue endlessly. SMS Surveys, phone-in shows, internet polls, editorials and Sunday columnists ("intellectuals") condemn the incident. Phrases such as "Hindu fundamentalists", "Hindutva fascists" and "Saffron brigade" are bandied about to describe the attackers. The attack is an attack on cultural freedom say some. Some say it's moral policing. The media really gave it to those "fascists", didn't they? Wham! Bham! Pow! Left, right and center. They even got the

Aurangzeb expo abruptly closed Friday March 7 2008 08:42 IST G Babu Jayakumar ( New Indian express chennai ) CHENNAI: An ‘artistic exhibition on Aurangzeb’ at the Lalit Kala Akademi was closed on Thursday, four days after it opened, reportedly after it assumed political overtones. The Akademi asked the show’s organisers to vacate the hall though it was booked till March 9. On Thursday morning, Assistant Commissioner of Police K N Murali and the regional secretary of Lalit Kala Akademi, R M Palaniappan, who wanted to seal the doors to the show, were forced to retreat as a phalanx of politicians from Hindu groups and Janata Party leader V S Chandralekha arrived. The police and Akademi official feared that two paintings on display could incite communal passions. Prince of Arcot Nawab Mohammed Abdul Ali, who visited the exhibition, called it ‘a bunkum’. He said it was ‘cooked up history’ and he could challenge the authenticity of documents on display. He confront

Aurangazeb exhibition creates flutter ( Deccan Chronicle Chennai ) Chennai, March 6: The Chennai police on Thursday detained three women associated with an art exhibition after forcing them to close down the show, where a French artist had displayed his paintings on Mughal emperor Aurangazeb. The police took Saraswathi (65), Dr.Vijayalakshmi (62) and Malathi (47) to the Thousand Lights station at around 7.30 p.m. for enquiry into charges of assisting an exhibition by French journalist Francois Gautier at Lalit Kala Akademi’s (LKA) Regional Centre on Greams Road. They were detained in the station for half-an-hour. Earlier in the day, tension prevailed on LKA premises when the police, Hindu Munnani president Rama Gopalan and Prince of Arcot Nawab Mohammed Abdul Ali visited the exhibition. The visit of the police came in the wake of three letters including one from an advocate Mr Zainudeen to Lalit Kala Akademi stating that the exhibition would disturb communal harmony. The police

Aurangzeb Exhibition thretened by the Muslim Groups in Chennai Update: T he two volunteers (female) from chennai were threatened by the state police and illegally taken into custody for 5 and half hours. Ofcourse they were later released after repeated appeals. The Additional commis

On 26 th June 1987, Subedar Major Bana Singh led his platoon on the Siachen glacier, at a height of nearly 5000 metres, against a Pakistani post which was threatening Indian security. The post was virtually an impregnable glacier fortress with ice walls, high, on either side. Lobbing hand-grenades, charging with a bayonet and moving from trench to trench, he cleared the post of all intruders. For this act of valor Bana Singh Captain Bana Singh received from the hands of H H Sri Sri Ravi Shankar the 2008 Shivaji-FACT Award of Courage For more info on the proud Siachen man see the liks here Rediff interview by Claude Arpi Indian army website PVC Rediff column on PVC Bana singh