The Intifada that wasn't

The Pseudo-Secularism blog reprinted a column by Swapan Dasgupta titled The Riotous Media Story, which describes how the Communists in West Bengal exploited recent communal tensions in Vadodara to win the Muslim vote in recently concluded state elections:

... Communist leaders were warning people to be vigilant about a replay of the 2002 riots, the explosion of passion that yielded such handsome dividends for the Left in the 2004 general election.

The Left is headed for yet another sweep in West Bengal - no surprise there.

The army withdrew from Vadodara earlier this week, which is why I call the communal tensions there the intifada that wasn't (with a hat tip to Swapan Dasgupta). Several small Hindu temples as well as the dargah were destroyed to allow for widening a road.

Disproportionate response

I've been following the recent communal tensions (5 people dead) in Vadodara in regards to the destruction of a dargah (Sufi shrine) via the Press Trust of India (PTI), as we have family in that Gujarati city.

The Pseudo-Secularism blog posted an article Heroic pseudo-secular much ado about nothing by V Sundaram that examines the disproportionate action (500 Central Reserve Police Force and other army and paramilitary units deployed) to quell disturbances and more importantly, send a tough message to Narendra Modi. V Sundaram notes that that communal violence has been endemic in the Ahmedabad-Vadodara belt and predates Modi's tenure as CM.

Categories: Vadodara, IN, India, Gujarat

Map of terrorism against Hindus

I created this map through Tagzania to show the location of terrorist incidents against Hindus that are documented in this blog.

Categories: Terrorism, Tagzania, IN, India

Suryanarayana's body brought home

From NDTV.com Suryanarayana's body brought home to Hyderabad.

Suryanarayana was the engineer who was murdered and decapitated by Taliban kidnappers. His remains were found in Shahjoy district, Zabul province, Afghanistan on April 30, 2006.

Categories: 2006, 2006-04, 2006-04-30, Terrorism, Afghanistan

35 Hindus massacred in Kashmir

AP Photo

From Reuters Hindus massacred in Kashmir ahead of talks:

In one of the bloodiest massacres in recent months, militants struck two remote Hindu-dominated mountainous villages in Doda district, some 170 km (100 miles) north-east of Jammu, Kashmir's winter capital, early on Monday, and gunned down 22 Hindus.

On the same day, bullet-ridden bodies of nine Hindus were recovered from neighbouring Udhampur district. Police said the dead were Hindu cattle herdsmen reportedly kidnapped by suspected militants late on Sunday.

Categories: India, IN, Kashmir, Doda, Udhampur, 2006, 2006-05, 2006-05-01, Terrorism