Wednesday, December 09, 2015

Donald's Poll Numbers Are Name Recognition

A derivate work. John McCain official photo po...
A derivate work. John McCain official photo portrait. This image is an edit of Image:John McCain official photo portrait.JPG to alter the background from black to a blue/white gradient. The background mask used in Image:John McCain official photo portrait-cropped-background edit.JPG was also used here. The edits to the original were performed by User:Andrew c with help from User:Navy Blue. This was a request processed through the en.wiki graphics lab, see here. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
The US presidential election used to last a year. Barack Obama changed that. He made it last two full years. People were so sick and tired of W, they are like, bring it on, Barack. Everywhere else in the world, most places, all places I know, elections last a month. It is over before you know it.

The US presidential election process is pretty well designed. It is a vast country of 300 million. Not as vast as India, but still very vast. But then you have the Iowa caucuses where you are made to feel like you are running for City Council in a town of 500. It is pretty amazing. It is very hard to fool people when you have to go to them direct. No media, no social media, no TV ads, no flyers, no bells, no whistles. It's you and them, face to face, often in their living room, no neighbors. Their opinions get made when they sit down with their neighbors. It is pretty heady stuff. Old school and heady.

By the time New York and California happen, it feels like it is over. But New Yorkers get to feel like, so what, who paid for your breakfast?

My point being, it is a pretty well designed process. I am confident it will not let idiots through. And The Donald is an idiot through and through.

Where was John McCain at this stage in 2007? He was out. Maybe Bobby made a mistake.

The Donald was on TV. Why do you think he switched? To a presidential run? Attention. The guy wants some attention. He has no intention of winning. He will lose and act like the country's Opposition Leader for eight years without showing up in DC: all the TV studios are in NYC, why go to DC! You want to know how I feel about the Defense Bill? Oh, you want to know how I feel about the Budget Deficit? Jobs? I have an opinion about jobs. That is what this is about. The guy has a narcissistic desire to be on TV. It is not like he does not have a small base. There is a far right in every country, in every society. Heck, there is a far right on the Upper West Side. And the far right does not ask you for ideas. It just needs to be fed some vague prejudice. Every policy debate can be wrapped up in about three or four vague emotions.

So, no, I don't feel like 40% of the Americans are rabidly racist. I do know that most people are not even paying attention. I have yet to watch a debate, Democratic or Republican. I might wait until the two parties are done nominating.

Very likely we will see a three way race: Hillary, a Republican (Rubio? Bush? maybe both will end up on the ticket, I'd love to see two women on the Democratic ticket running against two men on the Republican ticket), and Donald (the dude does not need a running mate, why share attention). This guy is not getting out. He is going to run as an Independent. It is the attention thing. He has no platform.

He said somewhere he is "strong on defense." Now, that to me is rocket science. Wow, Donald, how did you figure that one out?



Russian far-right leader calls for birth control in Caucasus

Trump's business dealings in Muslim-majority countries

“It’s a very exciting time for the Trump Organisation in the Middle East” – Donald J. Trump, December 2013.The Republican front-runner may now want a ban on Muslims entering the United States, but he has not been shy of doing deals in Muslim-majority countries to expand his business empire.

Posted by Channel 4 News on Tuesday, December 8, 2015

Donald Trump: Marxist? Hitlerian?

The San Diego Shooting: Defining Terrorism

What is Donald Trump? Marxist? Hitlerian? What? We know he is German. It has got to be one of the above. He does business with the Chinese. Does that make him Marxist? Yes? No?


I know a whole bunch of Marxists. Too many. In Nepal, everyone is a Marxist. The ruling party is Marxist. The opposition party is Marxist. So when they switch sides, it gets really confusing.


कौन है ये बन्दा? आखिर है कौन? पता लगाओ। For the sake of Aamir. पता करो। आधे इधर जाओ। आधे उधर जाओ। बाँकी बिखर जाओ।



The Donald is a Hitlerian. I have proof.



ये हिटलर का नाजायज औलाद। जब हिटलर बंकर में बंद था जहाँ उसने ख़ुदकुशी की वहाँ से एक बच्चा गायब हो गया था। एगो ननकिरबा गायब भ गइलबा।



Tuesday, December 08, 2015

Republicans Asked For Unlimited Money In Politics

And they got Donald Trump. Like they say, be careful what you ask for, you just might get it. The party be combusting at all ends.


The San Diego Shooting: Defining Terrorism



I have yet to read a full news item on this San Diego shooting, so forgive if I am missing out on details, but this incident has been hard to ignore in the headlines.

This Pakistani woman's neighbors back in Pakistan are in disbelief. It is unimaginable she did that, they say. So obviously her radicalization did not happen in Pakistan. Ordinary Pakistanis are overwhelmingly lower middle class, God fearing and peace loving. It is pretty humdrum. Pakistan is a larger population than Russia.

So if her radicalization did not happen in Pakistan, where did it happen? Obviously it happened in San Diego. Where in San Diego? It is possible she saw Donald Trump on TV.

And I grew up around Muslims. It was a total non-issue when Muslims dropped by my house. They were biologically identical in terms of skin color and looks, spoke the exact same language, shared the same culture. They were just a different religion. But then so are Buddhists.

And you have to understand, what Shahrukh Khan, Aamir Khan and Salman Khan mean to Indians across the world -- and Indians are across the world, Indians live in every town in America -- there is no parallel in Hollywood and America. So when you badmouth Muslims across the board, don't get surprised if Indians across the religious spectrum get offended. I will. I am offended that you might be talking about Aamir. I am deeply, personally offended.

Maybe this woman saw Donald Trump on TV. And I don't mean that in a Jimmy Fallon way, I mean that in a Charlie Rose way.

It has always struck me as to the clarity of thought in the Muslim worldview. When you wrong a Muslim there is no foggy thinking that maybe I belong to the wrong caste and that's why. They are more like, I am a child of God, how dare you! I am fond of that.

So if her radicalization happened in San Diego, or on TV, who supplied her with the gun? Not ISIS. ISIS is not that sophisticated.

I have news, people. America does not need ISIS. It has the NRA.

Terrorism has to be precisely defined. When you kill one person, that is murder. When your motivation is that you don't like their kind, that is a hate crime. And hate crime IS different from murder. If one Sikh person got killed and it was a hate crime, then all Sikhs in that community should take note. Because there is a killer at large who are after people like them.

But when you kill a bunch of people, and you are driven by some kind of ideology, then that is an act of terrorism. Terrorism simply is hate crime magnified. It is possible you have never been recruited by any person or organization. It is possible your indoctrination happened over the Internet. It is possible your gun was provided to you by the NRA. But the act is an act of terrorism.

White guys are primarily guilty in this country. There is no ISIS. Not yet. That white guy killing black church goers is a terrorist. He was not sick, he was driven by ideology.

A serial killer is a serial killer, as opposed to a murderer.

Then there are some people who are mentally sick. They are not terrorists in that they are not driven by ideology. They are just not okay upstairs, it is clinical, and they got hold of a gun, and they went some place and started shooting. For me the most important question there is, how did they get hold of that gun? That is the top question. There's also the issue of universal health insurance. Where could they have gone for help?

NRA.

This is a barbaric nation with a homegrown epidemic of acts of terrorism. It does not need the ISIS. It has the NRA.

This country needs a constitutional amendment. You got done killing Indians (Native Americans), now amend it. By the way, that was also terrorism. On a massive scale. Colonialism is the El Nino of terrorism.

Objectively speaking, head count by head count, the US is no less barbaric than the territory ISIS controls. Look at all those gun deaths. The numbers are of epidemic proportions.

The only plausible explanation.

Posted by Manjushree Thapa on Tuesday, December 8, 2015

Wednesday, December 02, 2015

In The News (1)

PM Narendra Modi one of best prime ministers India has had: Mufti Muhammad Sayeed
Debate is Parliament's soul: PM Narendra Modi
PM Narendra Modi willing to speak to everyone on GST Bill: Arun Jaitley
Narendra Modi remains a popular Prime Minister with 74% approval rating
The approval of 74% reflects a marginal dip for Modi from 79% in August, and 82% last August...... In May, when his government and he completed a year in office, his approval rating was 74% again..... “There is some level of disillusionment” but expectations “are still high”, said Shastri...... “His persona is projected in multiple ways—he is travelling (around the world), speaking to different audiences… His visibility is high on social media.” ...... The government has agreed to a debate on intolerance in Parliament in a bid to address these concerns and push through its legislative agenda—including a much-awaited bill on Goods and Services Tax (GST), which will unify the Indian market and boost the economy by over a percentage point according to some economists...... The results of the survey show “that Bihar polls are not being viewed as a referendum on Modi or the central government,” said Shastri.
Bihar fastest growing state, Maharashtra tops in economic size: Report
Bihar has emerged as the fastest growing state in terms of gross state domestic product (GSDP), clocking a growth rate of

17.06 per cent

in FY 2014-15, while Maharashtra grew by 11.69 per cent to become the biggest state with Rs 16.87 trillion economy ...... Fastest-growing states are Bihar at 17.06 per cent, Madhya Pradesh at 16.86 per cent and Goa at 16.43 per cent
A contest in 2019 between Nitish Kumar and Narendra Modi too early to predict?
A week after the Congress and non-NDA parties shared the stage at the swearing-in ceremony of the Grand Alliance government in Bihar, strains have come to the fore. Delhi chief Mminister Arvind Kejriwal distanced himself from the tight hug he got from Rashtriya Janata Dal head Lalu Prasad at the event. ..... The Aam Aadmi Party leader who campaigns against corruption not only blamed Prasad for the embrace but also expressed displeasure at his dynasty politics .... The regional parties that shared the dais at Nitish Kumar's oath-taking ceremony are a disparate group and many of them have the Congress as their main opponent in the state where they are a potent force. ...... Some, such as the SP and the Bahujan Samaj Party, or the Trinamool Congress and the Left parties, don't see eye to eye. BSP leader Mayawati made it clear that her party would not attend the November 20 swearing-in event in Patna, ensuring that there is no ambiguity about her party going it alone in the 2017 Uttar Pradesh elections. The SP backed out at the last moment, although initially, UP CM Akhilesh Yadav was to attend. ...... Naveen Patnaik's Biju Janata Dal will never be a part of an alliance that includes the Congress, its primary opponent in Odisha. Patnaik sent a congratulatory letter to Nitish Kumar and kept away from the swearing in. ....... While Nitish may have higher credibility and gravitas than Rahul Gandhi as a challenger to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Congress would not want the Bihar CM to become the pivot of the opposition alliance.

Arithmetic will outweigh all the credentials that Nitish Kumar enjoys.

..... At most, the Bihar CM can head a Third Front with outside support from the Congress, a scenario the grand old party would not be looking at as it prepares itself to do battle under Gandhi's leadership in 2019.
Modi to blame for Nepal crisis, Madhesi plight: Lalu
Lalu is planning to visit some of the states where elections are due next year. ...... "Just after taking over as the PM, he went to Nepal with much fanfare and even made big claims of strengthening relations with a country that already shared cordial ties with India. China has entered Nepal and he is on world tour," Lalu said. "I am afraid what will happen to our relationship with other countries," he added. ..... Lalu's younger son and deputy chief minister Tejashwi Prasad Yadav had also criticised the PM for frequent foreign tours, saying he only returns to India for dry cleaning his costly suits.
Normalise situation as soon as possible: India to Nepal
Madhesi agitation leads to cross-border weddings falling through
This one thing may decide Yahoo’s future
a proposal to sell the company's core business — the search and advertising sections of the 20-year-old company that have struggled to compete with Google and Facebook. ..... Right now, the company has a total market value of $34 billion. But much of that is because it owns 15 percent of the fast-growing Chinese Web retailer Alibaba. Yahoo's stake is estimated to be worth as much as $32 billion.
LinkedIn Tries to Clear the Clutter With App Update
LinkedIn's new Facebook-like app arrives on iOS and Android
Justin Bieber Posts Throwback Picture With Selena Gomez Because of Course He Did
Why I ditched Spotify for Google Music

Preet Bharara, Eliot Spitzer Parallels

EMBOLDENED BY SILVER CONVICTION, BHARARA TO INDICT CUOMO JAN 2ND

Preet Bharara, no elected official, right now has the ring of an Eliot Spitzer before that dude combusted, or before he ran for Governor. This is interesting. This is some Cowboy Indian. I must not know the process well. When Sheldon Silver was ram shackled Hollywood style, I thought Cuomo was behind it. What do I know!

Friday, November 27, 2015

Aamir Khan And The India Intolerance Debate



आमिर खान बोलें --- ये गर्व की बात है, हिम्मत की बात है। बोलना चाहिए। ताकि पब्लिक विचार विमर्श हो इस मुद्दे पर। आमिर खान लोगों के दिल में रहते हैं। हिन्दु मुस्लिम फर्क नहीं पड़ता। और उनका करियर दिलचस्प रहा है। मेनस्ट्रीम सुपरस्टार रह के उन्होंने बहुत सारे experimental roles ही नहीं किए हैं, फोर्मुला सिनेमा से अलग जा के भी बॉक्स ऑफिस सफलता दिखा दिया है। जैसे कि PK, फोर्मुला फिल्म नहीं है लेकिन सारे रिकॉर्ड तोड़ दिए। तो, he is not just a movie star, which he is, there is ample proof, लेकिन उनका अपना एक जगह है भारतीय पहचान में। He is an element of the Indian identity, and I am so glad that is the case. वो critically सोचते हैं और अपने दिलकी बोलते हैं। ये एक ऐसा quality है जिसकी भारत के शिक्षा के क्षेत्र को बहुत जरूरत है। टॉपिक कुछ भी हो।

रह गयी अभी वाली मुद्दा की बात।

भारत इतना बड़ा देश है। जितना और देशों में मेजोरिटी नहीं होता है उससे बड़ा भारत में माइनॉरिटी है। मैं जब भारत के मुसलमानों के बारे में सोचता हुँ तो मेरा ध्यान जाता है socio-economic indicators पे, मेरा ध्यान जाता है per capita income पे। कि democracy has to be seen to be working for India's muslims.

प्रत्येक भारतीय का धर्म हिन्दु धर्म नहीं है, लेकिन प्रत्येक भारतीय का धर्म लोकतंत्र है। और मानव अधिकार उस लोकतंत्र धर्म की नींव है। मानव अधिकार नहीं तो लोकतंत्र नहीं। सीधी सी बात है। धार्मिक स्वतंत्रता एक मानव अधिकार है। किसी भी व्यक्ति को हक़ है कि वोअपने इच्छा के धर्म को मानें। कोइ हिन्दु परिवार में जन्म ले के ईसाइ या बुद्धिस्ट या मुसलमान बन सकता है। ये उसका मानव अधिकार है। और वो संविधान प्रदत अधिकार है। देशकी जो मुल कानुन है उसके द्वारा सुरक्षित है वो अधिकार।

लेकिन उतने से काम नहीं चलता। १२ साल हाई स्कूल कंपल्सरी होना चाहिए देश भरमें और एक विषय होना चाहिए सामाजिक शिक्षा जिसमें मानव अधिकार, लोकतंत्र, नागरिक कर्तव्य, बिभिन्न्न धर्मों के बारे में, सांस्कृतिक विविधता के बारे में पढाई हो। प्रमुख धर्मों के बारे में पढाई होनी चाहिए ताकि प्रत्येक नागरिक शिक्षित हो प्रत्येक नागरिक को सभी प्रमुख धर्मों के बारे में ज्ञान हो।

हिंसा अपराध है। चाहे वो धर्म को नाम पे हो या और कोई बहाने पर हो। तो hate crime के विरुद्ध सख्त कानुन होने चाहिए और उनको लागु किया जाना चाहिए। दंगा के विरुद्ध सख्त मैकेनिज्म होने चाहिए। दंगा एक लॉ एंड आर्डर प्रॉब्लम है। सोल्व किया जा सकता है।

हिंसा के अलाबे discrimination. रिपोर्ट आते रहते हैं कि मुस्लमान को घर किराए पर नहीं दिया। वो व्यवहार गैर कानुनी नहीं है तो होना चाहिए। प्राइवेट सेक्टर में नौकरी के तलाश में जाते हैं तो मुसलमान होने के नाते discrimination नहीं होने चाहिए।

लेकिन सब से मुख्य मुद्दा है education, health, job creation, entrepreneurship. मुसलमान बस्तियों में ये सब पहुँचाना है। मुसलमान जम के पढाई लिखाई करे और खुदका बिजनेस शुरू करे। लोगों को नौकरी दे।

और एक होता है public space का poisoning ----- कुछ लोग पब्लिक फिगर होते हुवे भी बहुत गलत बोल देते हैं। इस समुदाय के विरुद्ध तो कभी उस समुदाय के विरुद्ध। तो उसका काउंटर होना बहुत जरुरी है।

Hindu pride is a great idea, but Hindu supremacist thinking is not okay. आप गर्व करो। लेकिन पिछले साल जो लव जिहाद और घर वापसी के मुद्दे उछाले गए, बहुत गलत बात है। प्यार, मुहबत, शादी तो किसी की प्राइवेट बात है। कभी हिन्दु और मुसलमान एक जगह आ जाते हैं, जैसे की आमिर और शाहरुख़। करीना कपुर। तो ये  सुन्दर बात है। उसमें आपको लव जिहाद कैसे दिखाई दिया?

घर वापसी का मुद्दा भी उल्टापुल्टा है। भारत के भुमि पर जितने हैं सबको हिन्दु होना चाहिए ---- ये कितना अव्यवहारिक बात है! भुमि और मानव को उस तरह mixup मत करो। धार्मिक स्वतंत्रता तो मानव अधिकार है। किसी व्यक्ति की ख़ुशी की वो किस धर्म को अपनावे। Religious harassment should be illegal -----

बीफ। हिन्दु है कोइ बीफ नहीं खाता है -- तो that is respectable --- लेकिन ये कहने लगे कि खुद भी नहीं खाउंगा तुझे भी खाने नहीं दुंगा --- वो तो मोदीजी रिश्वत के बारे में वैसा बोलते हैं। कि खुद भी नहीं खाउंगा तुझे भी खाने नहीं दुंगा। बीफ और रिश्वत में कुछ तो फर्क होना चाहिए। आप अपना धर्म दुसरो पर कैसे थोपर सकते हो? Religious harassment should be illegal -----

मुसलमान बीफ नहीं खायेगा तो क्या खायेगा? खरगोश?

बल्कि हिन्दु धर्म प्रचार करने जाओ। जाओ दुनिया घुमो। जूलिया रॉबर्ट्स ने कन्वर्ट किया वो हिन्दु बन गयी। उन्हें अच्छा लगा। तो वैसे लोग ढूंढो। लेकिन कोइ आएगा तो स्वेच्छा से आएगा। किसी का मानव अधिकार हनन करने स्टाइल में आप धर्म प्रचार नहीं कर सकते।

India's diversity is India's strength. अभी तो भारत चीन से भी पिछे है। But if someday India is to beat America, it will be because India started celebrating free speech better than America, India started celebrating diversity better than America.

तो जो लोग भारत के भितर धार्मिक असहिष्णुता का जहर फैलाते हैं, वो भारत को विश्व शक्ति बनने के रास्ते पर नहीं ले जाना चाहते। जो थोड़ा बहुत शक्ति है भारत के पास वो भी चाहते हैं गायब हो जाए।

Democracy और Diversity में गहरा विश्वास रखने वाले लोगों को बोलते रहना चाहिए और संगठित होना चाहिए। वो देशप्रेम का सच्चा रूप है जो कि आमिर दिखा रहे हैं। मैं तो वैसे भी बड़ा फैन था, अब और बड़ा फैन हो गया।




Intolerance row: Agra Muslims condemn Aamir Khan's statement
Talking to India Today, Imran Qureshi of Bhartiya Muslim Vikas Parishad said the Muslims of India were born on this land and will be buried in this land.
Local Social activist Md. Arif Advocate said that it was questionable that the Aamir who had produced a patriotic movie like Lagaan, could have made such a statement. In fact, he said, Aamir was just voicing the thoughts of his wife who is a Hindu. ....... Imamuddin, a senior citizen aged 96 years, said that during the Friday Namaz, it was prayed that Aamir regains his senses and the country remains at peace.
Aamir Khan's PK Wouldn't Have Been a Success if India Was Intolerant: Shatrughan Sinha
Mr Khan's remarks expressing his "alarm and despondency" over the rise in recent incidents of intolerance hotly debated, he had again yesterday asserted that he stood by his comments and made it clear that neither he nor his wife Kiran Rao had any intention of leaving the country.
Shatrughan disapproves of Aamir’s remark on intolerance
Last thing Indian Muslims need: Naseer on Aamir's intolerance row
Veteran Bollywood actor Naseeruddin Shah has expressed concern over Aamir Khan’s intolerance remark saying that it may cause further problems for the Muslims of India. ..... “I don’t think he [Aamir] should have said this. Regardless of what he feels, we Muslims do not need any further aggravation of our feeling of persecution,” said Shah. ..... Earlier, Oscar-winning music composer AR Rahman expressed solidarity with Aamir Khan over growing intolerance in India and admitted that he too faced a situation similar to that of the actor recently. ......

The music maestro spoke in relation to the fatwa issued against him by Mumbai-based Muslim academy for composing music for an Iranian film. Subsequently, his scheduled concerts in Delhi and Uttar Pradesh were cancelled.

..... The fatwa also prompted Hindu extremists to bring up the issue of religious conversions. They invited the composer to “re-convert to Hinduism” and said it was time for Rahman’s “ghar wapsi“. ..... “Aamir Khan should either indulge in ‘ghar wapsi’ which will help him getting free of ‘crimes of love jihad’ of his previous as well as his present wife Kiran Rao or go to Pakistan for the benefit of India,” Hindu Mahasabha’s national general secretary Munna Kumar Sharma said. ...... “A case of treason should be filed against Khan for insulting India and traitors like Aamir Khan and Shah Rukh Khan should leave India,” he added.
Aamir Khan safe in India, his comments are insult to fans: BJP
“We won’t let Aamir leave the country, he is safe. This kind of comment influenced by a politically motivated campaign insults those who have given so much honour to Aamir in India,” said Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, the Minister of State for Minority Affairs. ....... reacting to Aamir’s statement, Kiren Rijiju, the junior home minister claimed that the number of deaths in communal incidents had come down since BJP came to power last year and “to make a blatant statement is not proper.” ..... Incidences of communal violence have been growing in India, with a mob killing a Muslim man over beef-eating rumours in September. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, facing questions during his recent trip to Britain, said,

“India is committed to protecting every citizen’s freedom, and the law will deal severely with those who are intolerant.”

......... Speaking at Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Awards, Aamir had said, “I have been alarmed. I can’t deny. I have been alarmed by a number of incidents.”
Intolerance debate: Hindu Sena buys Aamir Khan, family tickets to Pakistan!
Hindu Sena, the group that booked a one-way ticket for Khan, his wife Kiran Rao and their son, was in news last month after they led a Delhi police patrolling team into Kerala House claiming that a restaurant there was serving cow meat. Vishnu Gupta, the head of the group, was arrested and later released on bail.
Aamir Khan Intolerance Row: Woman commits suicide after husband criticizes actor
A dispute with her husband over remarks by Bollywood actor Aamir Khan saw a woman here committing suicide by consuming poison, her family members claimed. Police said they are investigating the alleged suicide by one Sonam Pandey and the claims by her family members that she took the extreme step as she was distressed by her husband's comments mocking Khan. ...... "Sonam Pandey and her husband Mayank were talking about newspaper reports about Khan's statement yesterday morning. My son poked fun at Sonam, saying what kind of man is the Bollywood star, who wants to settle abroad on the advice of his wife," said Mayank's father, RP Pandey. Angered by her husband's criticism of Khan, Sonam ran upstairs and locked herself inside a room, he added.
Shatrughan Sinha disapproves of Aamir Khan's remark on intolerance
No one can ask Aamir to leave India, says West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee
West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee extended support to Bollywood actor Aamir Khan who is at the centre of a controversy over his remarks on 'growing intolerance' in the country.

“They have criticised actors like Shah Rukh Khan and Aamir Khan and musician A R Rahman. Who are they to decide what we will say or what we will eat?,” the CM said.

Aamir Khan has said what he felt; India belongs to everyone: Mamata Banerjee



Aamir Khan: India Bollywood actor stands by intolerance remark
The ruling BJP said he should not forget that India made him a star, and it was wrong to malign the country. ...... "Anyone implying the opposite has either not seen my interview or is deliberately trying to distort what I have said. India is my country, I love it, I feel fortunate for being born here, and this is where I am staying," the actor wrote. ...... Khan said he stood by his earlier statement, and added that all those people who had called him "anti-national" and shouted "obscenities at me for speaking my heart out, it saddens me to say you are only proving my point". ...... BJP spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain had criticised Khan's remarks and said there was a "political conspiracy to defame India" and there was "no better neighbour than a Hindu for a Muslim". ..... Another BJP spokesperson, Sambit Patra, said that "Aamir Khan is the face of 'Incredible India' [a TV campaign by Mr Khan to promote tourism], how can he make such a remark? I request Aamir Khan not to leave India and he won't find another nation like it". ..... Earlier this month, fellow superstar Shah Rukh Khan also spoke out against what he called "extreme intolerance" in India. .....A movement that began with writers returning state awards spread to scientists, historians and filmmakers. ......

They cited the killing of rationalists MM Kalburgi and Govind Pansare, as well as the lynching of a man over suspicions he consumed beef, as examples of rising intolerance in the country.

Aamir Khan clearly played to a script, and it does not do him credit
Given the nature of minority politics in India, where such issues are drummed up by "secular" parties to ensure that the minorities continue to vote on the basis of fear rather than pursuing their real economic and political interests ..... What Khan's statement reveals is his decision to fall in line with the dominant narrative being tom-tommed by the mainstream English media that has been left out in the cold by Narendra Modi. Incidentally, an interesting aspect of the rising English media chorus of "growing intolerance" is that it is not supported by any kind of data or a benchmark from which this "rise" can be calculated. Barring a cacophony of statements by Sanghis, there is no evidence whatsoever that there is any actual rise in intolerance. ........... Aamir's calculated statement can at best be put down as another voice added to this self-indulgent and self-righteous echo chamber in the English language media. ...... First, I doubt if anybody in India thinks we have nothing to fear, given the state of our policing, our weak legal systems, and the space we have given to criminals and vested interests in cities and villages. I too would fear for the safety of my daughters in India, especially given the patriarchal nature of our society and its inability to bring up its sons to respect women.

We have strong laws and a weak state, making it near impossible to assume that we will be protected from rabid elements.

......... Many Indians have left Indian shores for better prospects, and it is this diaspora that believes in Modi and his idea of India by and large. From businessmen to ordinary students to techies, Indians have always sought to improve their material condition by taking advantage of merit-based systems in the West. The poor, on the other hand, went to West Asia to earn more while living like second-class citizens, whether in Saudi Arabia or even parts of the UAE. After decades, they are still not given citizenship. ......

In the sub-continent, Hindus and Muslims from Bangladesh, Nepal, Myanmar, and now even Pakistan have, legally or illegally, moved into India as economic or political refugees. The Nepalese have been welcomed like they were our own citizens, and despite some hesitation to accept Muslim economic refugees from Bangladesh, they are here and voting their own leaders in Assam, West Bengal and Bihar.

...... If there is a beacon of tolerance in the sub-continent, it is India. The only areas of long-term intolerance (as opposed to short-term intolerance caused by riots) are in Kashmir, where an entire generation of Pandits has been driven out in the worst act of ethnic cleansing ever practised after 1947. ..... The fringe will be the fringe, and there is no point assuming that in a country of 125 crore, no one will ever make politically-incorrect statements. ...... Two years ago, a white supremacist shot people in a gurdwara in Wisconsin. Over the last two years, we have seen race riots after the shooting of African-Americans in Ferguson and Baltimore by trigger-happy cops.

When his name is Khan, can Aamir really expect to be treated as an equal in America?

....... The far right is rising under Marine Le Pen. The face veil is banned in France, not in India. ...... For a country with 125 crore people and all their multiple diversities, insecurities and concerns involving caste, religion, and ethnicity, we are a mighty tolerant lot. ........ This does not also mean that the Sangh hotheads should continue to vitiate the atmosphere. Modi would do well to put a tape across their mouths or even chuck them out of his ministry. But that still will be no guarantee that someone will not make an intolerant statement somewhere...... Surely, Aamir Khan does not want a state where everyone is gagged. That would be even more intolerant than the intolerance he would like to complain about.
I stand by everything I have said: Aamir Khan on his comments about intolerance
The actor ended his statement by quoting Rabindranath Tagore's famous poem, "Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high, Where knowledge is free, Where the world has not been broken up into fragments, by narrow domestic walls, Where words come out from the depth of truth, ..... "Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection, Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way, Into the dreary desert sand of dead habit, Where the mind is led forward by thee, Into ever-widening thought and action, Into that heaven of freedom, my father, let my country awake."
Aamir Khan: India home minister Rajnath Singh's jibe at actor
Without naming Khan, Rajnath Singh told the parliament that despite insults, iconic Dalit leader "BR Ambedkar never said he would leave India". ..... "Dr BR Ambedkar had to put up with insults and derision. Yet, he controlled his emotion and put forward an objective point of view for India. He never said how he was being ignored and insulted in India," Mr Singh said in his remarks in the Lok Sabha, the lower house of the parliament...... "He said I will stay in India and keeping the Indian values and culture in mind, I will strengthen the country," Mr Singh added. ..... Despite his clarification, the controversy refuses to die down and the home minister's comments are seen as the latest salvo fired at him by BJP politicians. ..... However, the session is likely to be a stormy one, with opposition parties demanding a debate on "growing intolerance" in the country. ..... BJP leader Venkaiah Naidu said the government was "willing to discuss all issues, including the so-called issue of rising intolerance even though the incidents that happened were in the domain of states… We do not support or condone such incidents".
Controversy Over Aamir's 'Intolerance' Remarks Refuses to Die
BJP national spokesman Shahnawaz Hussain advised Khan to visit his ancestral village Akhtiyaarpur in Hardoi district in Uttar Pradesh and see for himself with how much love and harmony people live there. ...... Hussain said that Aamir left the village at an early age and joined Bollywood, but people there still believe in 'Ganga-Jamuni tehzeeb', a term used to describe mutually participatory co-existence of Hindu and Muslim culture. He was talking to reporters in Lucknow.
Anupam Kher Lashes Out At Aamir Khan, Asks Him To 'Spread Hope Not Fear'
Aamir Khan has insulted India with intolerance statement, says Ramdas Athawale
Senior Shiv Sena leader and the state Environment Minister Ramdas Kadam on Tuesday said Khan "can go to Pakistan" if he didn't love India. "The police should also conduct an inquiry whether Aamir's statement is anti-national," he said.
An open letter to Aamir Khan
Your name is Khan and you Sir, are a hypocrite.
Aamir Khan’s answer at RNG awards an innocent one: PK director Rajkumar Hirani
Coming out in support of under fire Aamir Khan, director Rajkumar Hirani stoutly defended his 'PK' star.
the director said, “Aamir Khan didn’t call for a press conference. He was at an award function where he was asked questions on various topics and one of the topics was this which he answered and his answer was I was distressed and sad that my wife once said this to me. To me it is an innocent answer. He spoke about what was said inside his home affairs in public and one should have ignored it. But the way people jumped and attacked him, intolerance was visible.” ..... For Raju, the most distressing factor was linking Aamir’s statements to his Muslim identity. Said Raju, “His statements were then linked to him being a Muslim. Such a thought never crossed my mind.

I have celebrated every Diwali at Aamir’s place.

The way these talks are spreading through social media, some divide is visible. We should pick positive things in life and talk about it.”