08-16-2008, 10:24 PM
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Douse J-K fire else it will spread, warns Shabana
New Delhi: As the Central Government grapples for a solution to the raging inferno in Jammu and Kashmir, actor-activist Shabana Azmi has joined the chorus of voices slamming it for sleeping through the crisis.
In an exclusive interview with Karan Thapar, Shabana says that she fears that if the situation in Jammu and Kashmir could have repercussions on Hindu-Muslim relations in other parts of India
Shabana Azmi: It's a cauldron, the situation has been allowed to go out of hand and there's a deliberate attempt to communalise it, which is a huge pity.
Karan Thapar: Are you worried that what's happening in Kashmir and what could spiral out of control and could create differences between Hindus and Muslims elsewhere in India?
Shabana Azmi: Absolutely, absolutely. I can see that happening, and that's why I am so distressed over what's happening in Kashmir and for heaven's sake it should be brought to a stop, and this should have been brought to a stop right when it started with that nonsense.
Karan Thapar: So itâs not just Kashmir, itâs India that's at stake?
Shabana Azmi: Absolutely, yes
Watch the full interview with Shabana Azmi on Devil's Advocate on Sunday at 2030 hrs (IST) and Monday at 1630 hrs (IST) on CNN-IBN. Read the full interview on ibnlive.com
http://www.ibnlive.com/news/douse-jk-fire-.../71341-3-1.html<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Indian democracy unfair to Muslims: Shabana Azmi
17 Aug 2008, 0037 hrs IST,TNN
NEW DELHI: Although Muslims are safer in this country than in other parts of the world because they have a stake and space in Indian democracy, Indian democracy is unfair to Muslims, says Shabana Azmi, actor and former MP.
In an interview to a private TV channel, Azmi said, "I think there is not enough understanding of the fact that in a democracy how you treat the security of the minority must be a very important part for the success of a democracy. You can't only make token gestures and actually let them be in the state that they are as the Rajinder Sachar Committee report shows. So what happened is token gestures are made but real issues are never addressed."
Shabana Azmi said Indian politics has been unfair to Muslims and despite Indian secularism Muslims are discriminated against.
She said she couldn't buy a house in Mumbai because she was a Muslim. "I wanted to buy a flat in Bombay and it wasn't given to me because I was a Muslim and I read the same about Saif (Ali Khan). Now, I mean, if Javed Akhtar and Shabana Azmi cannot get a flat in Bombay because they are Muslims, then what are we talking about?"
Questioned about the Kashmir violence having a wider communal ramification elsewhere in the country at present, she said, "That's why I am so distressed over what is happening in Kashmir. For heaven's sake it should be brought to a stop and it should have been brought to a stop right when they started that nonsense."
But she agreed that it was the responsibility of the Muslim leadership to change the image of their community. "I don't think that the Muslim leadership has bothered to clear the air about what Islam actually is."
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Indian_...how/3371893.cms<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
New Delhi: As the Central Government grapples for a solution to the raging inferno in Jammu and Kashmir, actor-activist Shabana Azmi has joined the chorus of voices slamming it for sleeping through the crisis.
In an exclusive interview with Karan Thapar, Shabana says that she fears that if the situation in Jammu and Kashmir could have repercussions on Hindu-Muslim relations in other parts of India
Shabana Azmi: It's a cauldron, the situation has been allowed to go out of hand and there's a deliberate attempt to communalise it, which is a huge pity.
Karan Thapar: Are you worried that what's happening in Kashmir and what could spiral out of control and could create differences between Hindus and Muslims elsewhere in India?
Shabana Azmi: Absolutely, absolutely. I can see that happening, and that's why I am so distressed over what's happening in Kashmir and for heaven's sake it should be brought to a stop, and this should have been brought to a stop right when it started with that nonsense.
Karan Thapar: So itâs not just Kashmir, itâs India that's at stake?
Shabana Azmi: Absolutely, yes
Watch the full interview with Shabana Azmi on Devil's Advocate on Sunday at 2030 hrs (IST) and Monday at 1630 hrs (IST) on CNN-IBN. Read the full interview on ibnlive.com
http://www.ibnlive.com/news/douse-jk-fire-.../71341-3-1.html<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Indian democracy unfair to Muslims: Shabana Azmi
17 Aug 2008, 0037 hrs IST,TNN
NEW DELHI: Although Muslims are safer in this country than in other parts of the world because they have a stake and space in Indian democracy, Indian democracy is unfair to Muslims, says Shabana Azmi, actor and former MP.
In an interview to a private TV channel, Azmi said, "I think there is not enough understanding of the fact that in a democracy how you treat the security of the minority must be a very important part for the success of a democracy. You can't only make token gestures and actually let them be in the state that they are as the Rajinder Sachar Committee report shows. So what happened is token gestures are made but real issues are never addressed."
Shabana Azmi said Indian politics has been unfair to Muslims and despite Indian secularism Muslims are discriminated against.
She said she couldn't buy a house in Mumbai because she was a Muslim. "I wanted to buy a flat in Bombay and it wasn't given to me because I was a Muslim and I read the same about Saif (Ali Khan). Now, I mean, if Javed Akhtar and Shabana Azmi cannot get a flat in Bombay because they are Muslims, then what are we talking about?"
Questioned about the Kashmir violence having a wider communal ramification elsewhere in the country at present, she said, "That's why I am so distressed over what is happening in Kashmir. For heaven's sake it should be brought to a stop and it should have been brought to a stop right when they started that nonsense."
But she agreed that it was the responsibility of the Muslim leadership to change the image of their community. "I don't think that the Muslim leadership has bothered to clear the air about what Islam actually is."
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Indian_...how/3371893.cms<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->