Dear Yashwant, I am saddened by Uday Shankar’s cheap article. I don’t think it is worth publishing. He can easily be answered but it’s useless to argue as these people rarely talk sense and are indoctrinated to the hilt. Firstly, where did he get the figures of 90%, 85% and 94%. It’s totally false. As far as terrorism is concerned, nearly half of the terrorist groups in India function in North east and most of them have Hindu and Christian members. Though it is wrong to say such things in context of religion.
But when some hate-filled liar who claims to be a journalist throws up false figures, there is no other way. Neither NCRB nor any other organisation gives the figures of rapes. The figure is not more than 15% for Muslims. As far as the data of Muslims eloping with Hindu girls is considered, this is the same propaganda that right-wing organisations are involved in. Please do ask this man to tell the source of his data. Any journalist who has an idea of basic reporting can get the data of inter-religious marriages from the DM’s office in any district of India. Even in Hyderabad, it was recently taken and published. You would be surprised the number of Muslim girls who changed the religion and married Hindus was higher. But would such people who blatantly lie, bother?
As far as his experience is concerned, we have dozens of experiences of different kinds. Even if I meet 99 Hindus and all of them abuse Muslims, I should not, as a journalist and human being, think that Hindus are against Muslims. It is wrong to generalise as they may be just 99 among 100 crore and it may be an accident that I only met them. Kindly keep hate-mongers away from site. I know site needs hits and often you put up sensational stories. But the dirty and divisive thoughts of this man should not have been published in a site that takes up the cause of justice. It’s your site and you are the best judge.
Right to freedom of expression is a perfect right but such poisonous mentality should not be given a platform like yours to pontificate and pollute. One reader who trusted your site may be less and you may not even get to notice that. But I am hurt.
-Shabana Naqwi
इन आंकड़ों का स्रोत क्या है उदय?
प्रिय यशवंतजी, उदय शंकर खवारे साहब की ‘भड़ास’ को जगह देकर आप ने पत्रकारिता पर बड़ा उपकार किया है. वह इसका उदहारण हैं कि हिंदी में पत्रकारिता को कैसों से बचाना जरूरी है वर्ना उसे कभी गंभीरता से नहीं लिया जाएगा. वैसे, खवारे से ये जरूर पूछा जाना चाहिए कि हिन्दू लड़कियों से बलात्कार, अगवा करने आदि के जो आंकड़े उन्होंने दिए हैं, उनका स्रोत क्या है? मैं शर्त लगा कर कह सकता हूँ कि मोदी के राज के एनकाउंटरों की ही तरह इनके आंकड़े भी फर्जी हैं.
हाँ, खवारे ने यह ध्यान दिला कर भी अच्छा किया कि हिन्दू साम्प्रदायिकता का अमरीका प्रेम कितना गहरा है. खवारे अगर पत्रकार हैं तो कम से कम मैं खुद को पत्रकार कि जगह लेखक बल्कि गल्पकार कहलाना ज्यादा पसंद करूंगा.
-राजेंद्र शर्मा
