Dilip Simeon's blog

Gandhiji has been killed by his own people for whose redemption he lived. This second crucifixion in the history of the world has been enacted on a Friday - the same day Jesus was done to death one thousand nine hundred and fifteen years ago. Father forgive us Hindusthan Standard   January 31, 1948 The Abolition of truth सत्य   की   हत्या T.N. Madan: What the Secret of Gandhi’s Greatness Really Was   By general worldwide recognition, Mohandas K. Gandhi was not only the greatest man of modern India – notwithstanding passionately sincere dissenters such as B.R. Ambedkar – but also one of the greatest figures of the 20th century. Whom would one place by his side as a political leader of our time who stood or stands tall because of moral stature? Nelson Mandela and the present Dalai Lama come to mind. Who else? Charles Andrews, who had once in South Africa been prevented by Gandhi from touching his feet because it would “demean” him, had warned him that he wou...

People’s March in Defence of the Republic गणतंत्र   की   हिफाज़त   में   अवामी   जुलूस MANDI HOUSE TO JANTAR MANTAR Assemble at 11 am; January 30, 2016 Call to All Secular Groups, People's Movements JOIN US We members of the Indian public are deeply concerned with the grave assaults that are being mounted on the Republic. This most diverse country in the world belongs equally to all persons who make it its own, regardless of their religious faith (or for that matter, their denial of faith), their caste, gender, class, language, ethnicities, physical and mental abilities, gender identity and sexual orientation. This is the promise that we had made to ourselves during the Independence movement. This is the soul of India’s secular, socialist democratic Constitution. This also is the meaning of Part IV--A of the Constitution of India that prescribes the fundamental duties of all Indian citizens: to respect ‘the composite culture of India, to ’...

In an atmosphere where criticism is seen as a seditious act, President Pranab Mukherjee's exhortation couldn't have come at a better time. "Let us continue to complain, demand and rebel." It was these eight words that stood out in President Pranab Mukherjee’s 1,487-word long address to the nation on the eve of India’s 67th Republic Day. In his speech, the president listed the country’s achievements and asked people to applaud them. But his exhortation to his compatriots to treat complaining, demanding and rebelling as virtues of democracy is what makes this speech stand out from the usual celebratory sermons that people do not even bother to listen or read. The significance of the president’s words cannot be missed when read in the backdrop of what senior functionaries of the incumbent government have been saying in recent months. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while addressing graduating students of the Ambedkar University in Lucknow last week, invoked th...

Apostasy and blasphemy are not abstract theological debates but a matter of life and death for many across the globe. .  CEMB fights on numerous fronts to challenge Islamism and apostasy laws and support those who face persecution or intimidation as a result of leaving Islam as well as opposing bigotry against Muslims and defending universal rights and secularism NEW CASE STUDY: ISLAMISM ON CAMPUS:  The Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain (CEMB) has today published a case study on the Islamic Societies at Trinity College Dublin, Warwick University and Goldsmiths University where attempts were made to restrict or bar our spokesperson Maryam Namazie from speaking in 2015.  The case study shows that the Islamic Societies at the three universities in question are clearly promoting Islamist values through hate preachers who condone Sharia Law, Islamic states, and the death penalty for apostasy. The study is only an example of a widespread problem – which is the normalisation...