Radical Islam overshadowing liberal Islam

A peace loving individual who is civilised, sane and educated would abhor any kind of religious extremism and would be repelled by puritainical bigotry. Islam the last revealed religion has spread far and wide, There is a postulate its the fastest growing religion in the world. The media has always had a inbuilt bias against muslims and it has projected islam as a blood thirsty cult, however it can't be blamed for it as muslim intellectuals have failed to oppose the hardliners in letter and spirit as they have held sway the clergy who have tremendous influence over muslims have rarely trodden the path of modernism and always treated dissenters and rebels among islam as apostates and condemned them with divine displeasure. Its due to the misdeeds of few black sheeps, the world has held an entire community at ransom.

Islam comes from the root word salaam which means peace, its five pillars encompass all virtues mankind can ever conjure and conceive.The prophet despite being unlettered was unparalleled in his wisdom and imparted a doctrine which is a gospel truth and of universal significance. Islam compares killing of one innocent with perpetrating a pogrom on mankind. In the Holy koran backbiting and slandering is compared with eating dead meat of ones own brother and the koran ordains moderation in eating and drinking, modesty in dressing, restrain in professional pursuits and steadfast abiding of principles in day to day living. Jehad is a duty cast on every muslim to strive to become a better human and to please the almighty in the best possible manner, jehad has no implications of violence or is not synonymous with terrorism. When terrorists claim if they die in an act of terrorism they will be conferred with sensual pleasure with umpteen virgins in heavenly abode smacks of filthy mind, misled approach and murky consciousness, such miscreants need to be told do they consider their almighty so befallen that he is running a den of forbidden pleasure. On judgement day the almighty leaves no stone unturned in delivering a verdict on afterlife and terrorists without a doubt are doomed to worst abodes of hell in which there is unmitigating miserable existence.

Understanding islam is the need of the hour in the right context through people who understand it not just in context of intellectual niceties but also its metaphyical connotations. there is emphasis on dialogue in the islamic scriptures with nonmuslims to project the article of islamic faith in right light to dispel myths and put misconceptions at rest. Muslims must endeavour to set a good example amidst a few who have gone astray to regain the glory of era when muslim intellectuals ruled the roost. Muslims of today's day and age need conscientious spiritual mentors who dont fall prey to obscure orthodoxy and mindless conservatism at the altar of so called devout and pious religiosity.

self-proclaimed repositories of cultural nationalism reduced to shrill jingoists

The electoral outcome of 15th Lok Sabha was much to the delight of Congress and much to the disgust of BJP. However proponents of political stability could heave a sigh of relief despite in recent years fractured mandates being a rule rather than an exception. The electoral battle due to washing of dirty linen in public became personality centric rather than a contest of ideologies.BJP led NDA trying to stick to its allies did make allusions to its core ideology of hindutva and targetted UPA for galloping inflation, poor management of internal security and over all mismagament of economy on the other hand UPA projected itself to be an epitome of secularism and an 'all-embracing' party having a pan indian presence, it took credit for landmark instances in their tenure like enactment of Right To Information,IndoUS nuclear deal and Employment Guarantee Scheme.

Manmohan singh perceived to be a stooge of Sonia Gandhi is respected across party lines as far as his fiscal integrity and probity in public is concerned. Manmohan singh was stoic in the face of flaks drawn at him and his detractors taking a dig at him, he never seem perturbed or worked up he let is work speak for itself which reaped him rich dividends in the domain of electoral politics. L.K Advani a seasoned campaigner, RSS loyalist and staunch proponent of unearthing tax havens in foreign banks by unscrupulous indians, Advaniji a veteran parliamentarian and doyen public figure never seem to have the charisma his predecessor Vajpayeeji possessed yet his level of confidence was high and he was gung ho in his campaign and approach but all that at the end of the day seemed an exercise in futility. Modiji the mascot of hindutva and arguably the most revered second rung BJP leader is yet to evolve to the stature of being a prime ministerial candidate and he already has gujrat on his platter. Rahul Gandhi is still a novice cum a neophyte in politics, he needs to do loads of spade work to rise to the occasion to shoulder huge responsibilities.

People get the government they deserve and that government is best that governs the least, a common man is more concerned about his basic and primary needs than satiation and pandering to his religious sentiments. The nation as a whole needs a robust regime which has decisive leadership with prompt and effective decision making. may it be saffron right wing ideologues or tricolour 'umbrella' party who boasts of having legacy of freedom struggle must work in co-ordination and in tandem to run the country efficiently, manage the economy efficaciously and deal with security concerns with utmost alacrity rather than lip service and cacaphony. Our parliament must become a forum of discussion and meaningful debate and not a place where political opponents mud sling and hurl expletives at each other. The Speaker must deal with errant and indisciplined parliamentarians with an iron hand and demand accountability from them, if possible appoint a Pub bouncer to chuck out unjustly rebellious and cacophonus MPs who squander tax payers money to serve their selfish ends.