General Archives - Page 4 of 8 - Voice from the rooftop

Barack Obama and Golden Temple

Posted on October 24, 2010 by Vincent Augustine D'Souza

Barack Obama is due to visit India and visit to Golden Temple proved a problem because of the headgear he was required to wear. Wearing a headscarf is asking for trouble as 18% of Americans think he is a Muslim and his wearing headscarf would have been seen by many as proof of his being a Muslim, an unacceptable risk. Baseball is not acceptable to temple authorities.

Some Americans are hostile to Barack Obama. They find fault with him for various reasons. Some blamed him for not showing emotion during BP oil well crisis. People who want emotion should see movies with emotion. Barack Obama cancelled his visits to Australia, Indonesia and some other countries to handle the crisis. When Pakistan had flood crisis Asif Ali Zardari went ahead with visits to UK and France.

http://go4quiz.com/vincent/2010/india/barack-obama-and-golden-temple/

House for Muslims

Posted on September 18, 2010 by Vincent Augustine D'Souza

May be for CNN-IBN it was urban Indiaâ€™s worst kept secret but others knew about the difficulties Muslims face and other communities face. Emran Hashmi, Saif Ali Khan and Shabana Azmi had problems in getting houses. However there are many builders and owners who sell flats to Muslims and the reporter did not contact them. Some housing societies are for Muslims only and others can not get flats there. If the reporter had gone there and had asked whether they would sell flats to people of other communities the answer would have been no.

http://go4quiz.com/vincent/2010/india/house-for-muslims

Government and Imams

Posted on August 24, 2010 by Vincent Augustine D'Souza

On 21/8/2010 in Lok Sabha there was a demand from Laloo Prasad Yadav and some MPs that the government pay salaries to imams of government-aided mosques on the basis of Supreme Court verdict in 1993. It is not known how this verdict came about. Laloo Prasad Yadav did not raise the issue when he was Railway Minister and member of UPA. Bihar elections are coming near and that may be the reason for raising the issue.

WikiLeaks and India

Posted on July 29, 2010 by Vincent Augustine D'Souza

WikiLeaks on 26/7/2010 made public many secret documents dealing with Afghan War. Some of them have relevance to India.

ISI played a role in terrorist activities against Indians. ISI paid the Taliban and Haqqani network to target Indians, Indian Embassy, Indian Consulate in Kandahar and other places. Indians have died. India has suffered loss of property.

It is futile to expect Pakistan to act against ISI or USA to do anything significant. India has to act on its own…

Burkha Ban

Posted on July 18, 2010 by Vincent Augustine D'Souza

â€œBurkha is not welcome in France.â€

Nicolas Sarkozyâ€™s statement in his speech to French Legislature in 2009 was a game changer in Europe. Till then criticising burkha was considered politically incorrect. Jack Straw had faced criticism for saying he was uncomfortable with talking to women whose faces he could not see.

After Sarkozyâ€™s statement Switzerland banned construction of new minarets. Belgium banned burkha. Barcelona banned burkha.

College admissions, boys and girls

Posted on June 8, 2010 by Vincent Augustine D'Souza

Some colleges in Bangalore have 50% of seats for boys and 50% of seats for girls. This year girls performed better than boys in school board examinations. As a result cut off marks for girls are higher than for boys. Many girls are upset. Many women say this is discrimination. A girl’s father has filed…

Richest fictional character

Posted on April 24, 2010 by Vincent Augustine D'Souza

The richest fictional character is Vitus in my novel King. The book was written in 2009.
As per one report Forbes has named Carlise Cullen, a vampire worth $34.1 billion, as the richest fictional character. A billion is one followed by nine zeroes. Vitus in my novel King is a gogoolplexer.

Sex and men of God

Posted on April 24, 2010 by Vincent Augustine D'Souza

Catholic Church is facing problems because of some priests who sexually abused children. USA, Ireland, England, Germany, Austria, Holland and Malta have reported abuses. In India some Hindu godmen are facing problems because of sex with their female followers or illegal activities.
Law must take its course and those who commit crimes must face the consequences. However law should apply equally to all. There has to be fairness in media coverage.

Sania Mirza getting married

Posted on April 6, 2010 by Vincent Augustine D'Souza

When TV channels announced that Sania Mirza was getting married to Shoaib Malik there was disbelief. There was no report of her being seen together with Shoaib Malik. Sania Mirza had not said anything.
Next day Sania Mirza confirmed the news. After marriage they will live in Dubai which is second home to her. It is three hours flight from Dubai to Hyderabad.
That led to various reactions. What should have remained a personal and family matter became a political issue. In Pakistan there was joy and people danced. In India some groups opposed Sania Mirza marrying a Pakistani. Some said Sania Mirza should not represent India.

Crime and media

Posted on February 11, 2010 by Vincent Augustine D'Souza

Media has a responsibility in what it shows and how it shows. If anything that TV channels do gives a boost to crime, TV channels refrain from doing it.
If some people call TV reporters and tell them at a particular they will go to a particular place and damage public or private property there or beat people, TV reporters should not go to cover that event but report to the police. The people want publicity for their crime and if there is no publicity there will not be crime.