Transcripts For ALJAZ In Search Of Indias Soul Ep 2 20240712

Of rural alabama in 1940 when i was growing up i saw those signs that said white men colored men white women colored women white the son of black sharecroppers lewis devoured books as a child the words of Dr Martin Luther King Jr spoke to him loudest seem like he was saying to me john lewis you too can do something. And i would ask my mother as my father my grandparents my work why segregation why Racial Discrimination it was the best way it is dont get in a way dont get in trouble but trouble would find him many times as a student leader in nashville tennessee lewis was beaten for peacefully protesting segregation at restaurants and on buses in selma Alabama Police cracked his skull as he led a 600. 00 marchers across a bridge. But thats. What it was at age 23 lewis was the youngest leader of the march on washington 2 years later president Lyndon Johnson signed the Voting Rights act into law protecting black americans from discrimination at the polls the act would foreshadow lewiss own political career he was elected to the u. S. House of representatives in 1986 his consistent defense of human rights during his decades of service earning him the title the conscience of Congress John r. Lewis as did in 2011 lewis received the medal of freedom from barack obama the nations 1st black president a moment lewis called amazing and unbelievable and in 2016 he was honored at the opening of the National Museum of africanamerican history the museum lewis had proposed nearly 30 years prior but even then the statesmans work was not done lewis continued to champion liberal causes Like Universal Health care and the rights of undocumented immigrants will not be. The. Most remembered as both fiercely partisan toward his Democratic Party and fiercely independent lewiss legacy is his bravery in the face of perceived injustice have this body. There are things that are so right so good so necessary if youre willing to dive in out of for the u. S. Federal police have used tear gas against Peaceful Protesters in the city of Portland Oregon Law Enforcement agents are accused of detaining people without explanation during black lives matter the demonstrations as a result oregon is now filing a lawsuit irans president says 25000000 iranians have been infected with the coronavirus that small of a quarter of the entire population has some rouhani also says another 35000000. 00 are at risk of contracting the virus European Council president john michel has offered a compromise to break the deadlock over the e. U. Coronavirus Recovery Fund talks of entered into a 2nd day in brussels after leaders failed to reach an agreement on friday. Tens of thousands of protesters in the far east of russia are rallying against the arrest of surrogate for girl the governor of travel to ask region hes accused of plotting the murders of his business rivals 15 years ago his supporters say the accusations are politically motivated. A new anti terror law has come into effect in the philippines it allows police to bypass the court system and arrest suspects without a warrant critics are concerned that the law may be able to target opponents of president roderigo to tertius government flooding in Central China has forced nearly 30000 people from their homes days of downpours of hit a province those are your headlines up next in search of indias by. My name is Arthur Ashe Taseer im a writer and a columnist. In this the 2nd of 2 films im traveling through india the country i grew up in. I want to see for myself the changes taking place amid a rising tide of him do it for the hindu 1st politics these ideas which place hindus above people of other faiths stem from the very top leadership in this land of 1300000000 people. I started my journey in the holy city of our and i see in northern india. This is a deeply religious country in the middle of a battle for her soul and it is no surprise that it was this place at the hindu nationalist leader in the ranger mode he chose this election battleground republic sing its powerful symbolism in a new time. Behind this image of a religiously diverse nation india faces a new me crisis. And minorities including 200000000. 00 muslims fear an underlying current of violence more brutality and death at the hands of hindu linus the hardliners claim injustices against him whos from muslim rule and sentries past justifies their drive to return india to a golden age as they see it and a nation where hindus come 1st hindu is making up to get back the birthplace is off his ancestors and these films ive been asking where did these ideas come from. Following independence in 1947 which was closely intertwined with the bloody episode of partition some people had thought that the politics of division was finally a thing of the past in the newly created secular state of india all would be equal before the law but here the word secular would come to have a particularly indian meaning. Secular in india merely meant a the existence of a profusion of religions all of which were allowed and encouraged by the state to flourish. But over the past few decades a series of events occurred that threaten the very fabric of indias secular identity it set that then tiny b. G. P. Political party on course to become the ruling power they are today on the 6th of december 1902 a crowd of 150000 militants supporters of the pro hindu r. S. S. Descended on the barbary mosque in the northern town of a on the reputed birthplace of the hindu god ram i was standing next to the mosque when this crowd started increasing the gate broke down and the huge rush of people inside beyond the control of the of it i shouted down was a Young Journalist and a key witness to the events that were to unfold. What they started doing was breaking the barricade philistine barricading all around and with the fury that could be even that was visible they walked in within. Half an hour you saw dozens of people at the mosque. With its pro hindu agenda the r. S. S. Had long been agitating to destroy the 16th century mosque built by the mogul ruler barber and reclaimed the sacred ground for him booze for them the existence of the mosque was a long standing move when you saw this thing come down what did you see what. I thought about the the social and political back i said well there now this is a divide that theyve created in the country they are taking us back to 147 when india was divided. In the riots that followed between muslims and hindus some 2000 people were killed for Indian Muslims these events meant much more than just the loss of a defunct building. Businesses and i. Dentity it was not the mosque was not it was not the mosque that was important for the of that identity so do you feel that that the new politics had been born absolutely feel like a new politics of division of division began. This was a division that would change the face of indian politics one that pushed many among the 80 percent hindu majority to support the b j p at that time a relatively obscure political party. Truly astonishing to hear sherrod story because it makes it so clear how the stage was set for this Political Drama to play out in which a defunct mosque became the vessel of religious passions. This hindu reawakening was underlined by a long running t. V. Adaptation of the hindu epic the raw milan for years record numbers of indians were grouped by the series that chronicled the life of lord rum and tapped into a deep sense of pride and nostalgia among them. Its really amazing for me to see because i grew up on the t. V. Serial its the raw mine and it was played to india in the eightys to great passion and large audiences and knowing it has a kind of an edge to it because we have large audiences again were in a stone quarry where the stones are being prepared for a future ram temple where the mosque had been demolished. For 28 years lawyers forto over the rights and wrongs of building a temple to lord ram on the site of the barbary mosque in the meantime the stones for the new temple were caught with the confidence that the situation in favor of building the long awaited temple would surely come. All this was our political tell way of im dont well lets talk again about our thoughts how well the mighty monday at the door mom. American much more than monarchy at our place or value only because if we didnt in the navy to get political. We think at the levels that. Is news making the hindu is making up to get back down birthplaces of his ancestors. Any hindu can go and make use temples in jerusalem no can i go room and build exam temple or hindu temple there no can i go to maka and build a temple there no i will not be allowed. Why we are considered different when the case of your dad comes. It is the but face of arda. What were seeing is the construction of partitions in the hearts and minds of millions of people across the country i think hurtling in a direction which is potentially catastrophic the. Same truth to the idea of india that the leadership of the represented was that india would be a country big dark matter which god you worship or if you were shipped no good book like bitch you would be if you be an equal citizen that was elected the same true cornerstone of all 40 and stood for many of us believe that the issue was resolved for ever but it was not the beauty of it have succeeded in uniting. All communities into believing that there is a common enemy which is the muslim world the also has the backing of the largest Civil Society organization in the world. Which is which is the this is which is deeply committed to the ideology of indiscipline this is. The campaign to get back the sides of the barbary mosque for the hindus had been running for years. But the act that made it possible came from a completely unexpected event one that played into a negative narrative about muslims and secularism promoted by the r. S. S. In 96 and otherwise obscure family dispute involving a muslim couple that became known as the shah bano case reached the Supreme Court in delhi. The has been claimed he divorced his wife islamic lee by saying they were to lock on 3 occasions. Our of Muhammad Khan was a cabinet minister at the time. Just repeated grace and its all over and now we have cause for the Court Advocate divorce when you had not divorce had on the day you had devoted to. Undermine to secular law the court refused to recognize the triple telarc islamic divorce he was ordered to pay his wife maintenance Congress Party pm and member of the narrow gandhi did misty rajiv gandhi initially supported the judgment his 1st instinct was the right one which was to back the Supreme Court decision that granted this poor old lady alimony and to encourage his cabinet ministers are a moment can you spoken to to sister in parliament and to say so with some courage and lehmanns. The personal low board which represented muslims claim the award was against islamic law angry clerics demonstrated outside parliament the stand of the parcel of board was that these judgement is against islam this is interference in the slum called their 44th day rajiv gandhi buckled under the protest of conservative clerics he went back on his decision and passed a bill that reversed the Supreme Court ruling the case would now be judged under muslim personal law in titling the wife just 3 months maintenance seeing this is an assault on womens rights progressive muslims and many hindus were appalled company came under attack from both sides. Rajiv gandhi did the worst mistake of his life by extending to these conservative elements and overturning the Supreme Court judgement and taking away her date to maintenance indian politics took a turn from that family which davies and was dead the language which was the spoke threatening language our excite Parliament Meeting of the parts of a low board been called was given to break beneath the legs of all those m. P. s who defied reports and if it is which was. A teen and again definitively how Supreme Court. Will smash the Supreme Court may just pieces yes. There was a discourse about appeasement to muslims the idea that people have done too much for muslims. Many hindus were angered at what they saw as the state caving in to muslim demands. For years the pro hindu r. S. S. Had agitated for access to the barbary mosque in new york here. To placate them rajiv gandhi ordered the site to be open for him to prat. A decision that has had deadly consequences ever since. On february 27th 2002 a train was set alight just outside go dry station in the Western State of gujarat. 58 hindu pilgrims were burnt to death theyd been returning home from the babri mosque in new york here. There was an outcry and mobs of hindu hardliners took to the streets. Guernica start up again as i just get there. Do you ever heard of the idea hurt or hindu or go clear join john pull her to her instead of handing the dead to their families the bodies were transported nearly 200 kilometers to the town of under about to be paraded through the streets you can tell yourself alan lobo act on the just because a lot out there are just for gases and nature kendall btselem i dont get what out what the whole then. Got done many how the mind of it is going apple told me to tell you any. Just that he got his dish conditioned and i. Know. The reading 58. 00 charged corpses through the streets was always likely to provoke further violence. But permission for the reportedly came from the then chief minister of. The rings removed the himself. In the ensuing riots over a 1000 were killed 3 quarters of them mostly. Endangered 92 when the last was the morning india changed for they were. The issue of the charbonneau. Be emotive and important. The riots in. The sequence of events. That charted the path and lead the foundation for the ease of hindu supremacist politics and it lay to the emergence of this leader in the mood. For long hours the good dr state authorities stood by as rioting took place prompting allegations of state complicity. Saying forget i was a young Police Constable his unit was kept in active as people were massacred in the run up by pm has just. Police or they can also has a thing public the cigar was it was hardly a. One point hard tanita well generally that or a matter of degree but that because you get out there that. Well i. Dont know. About civil though i doubt he. Would come but. Soon margaret will just 10 years old when the attacks took place. The family. Need the money. But they didnt know was that theyd want to try. Again good idea. You know im like. You know were not. Even. Sure he she was at home with her husband and 3 small true. Right. He could face the initials are said by heart of the modernity but the town itself ok what he said. About turning to the moon but having the find a way of getting to tell all though that there are. Better team in it but show with a fairly clear on with their what was happening tom. Advice would be needed now sneak out again maybe go away. For legit complicity in allowing the mob violence and killings to go unchecked render more the was barred from visiting the us a ban that lasted for 10 years. India is top court has ruled that a disputed religious site been given to hindus for the construction of a temple and you hardliners destroyed a 16th century mosque in 1992 spot whole riots that killed at least 2000 people. I find myself wondering how far do these events ive loved about on this journey represents an attempt at a historical record are we witnessing a recommitting of the secular character of most men do that set of rules on which the newly founded country was established. Can. Invent in there without taking into account tragedies of more than those how much weve tried to sanitize i dont think the muslims of today should be blamed for what i have to if i received their list particularly trying. To see that it didnt happen gets peoples backs its that evil securitisation its the reaction. This think in the race or by pretending that it was all a happy family all along it wasnt because of a troubled history. Of the muslim world to accept that yes we are muslims and we shall remain muslim but our ancestors the same as yours i would say 99 percent of the problems with the muslims of meal because of the way they are portrayed is the descendants of the murders and looters and butchers and rapists the making common cause with people who broke the long temple the Krishna Temple the kashi we shall not temple 40000 other temples but its true that they are converted. I think was born here for 2 months backlash you might call it and the need for a strong leader combined with the need to assert what they thought was the hindu identity and by implication the best latent. People are coming back to the word the people are thinking to come back but they are who they are feeling that. Right the connect with their roots and their roots does not lie in. Identity is connected with. Whether i have converted to islam my true identity was before the islam we are not proud of identify oneself with baba they were they made us. The hindu for our view of the past might sound great if you happen to be a hindu but where does this leave the non hindus naseer room became acutely aware of the challenges facing her muslim daughter growing up in increasingly pro hindu surroundings shes written a book about saad says i kept waiting for my teacher to react in school the class me. I was silent i didnt respond and i just kept sitting there i didnt really know what to do. What is it like now to grow up as a muslim child in india take you through one story in your book the boys called house and they they come and call him to go to this Birthday Party and then a few minutes later he comes back home the boy refused to let him maintain his house and said that he cannot share the cake with you you cannot eat together. My parents dont want you at my house and the mother said i did. Was your experience growing up in india what when you say look at yourself in context of these stories what was it like for you i grew up in a different india i think it was also because of the larger narrative i doubt if we can even see the same country and. You know all we had that one National Television channel to the ocean which would have this little girl who would sing. How there are so many different kinds of birds but and we had all those different kinds of birds but were all birds of a flock together. Good the beauty of being that you are one or you know people of different identities can write a little thing that one song together in different languages also but theyre singing that one song together that you really are one bottom. One of the things you can do to protect her from this environment i talk to her about india the map and show our neighbors our you know your china put down here you have bungled the issue you have pakistan and sri lanka so i tell all the neighbors and then i say what if somebody called you chinese you laugh and say right im an indian the military what if somebody calls you a bangladeshi you laugh and say that you know the fact that they wanted somebody called to pakistani you laugh and say youre not the. Same kind of meted out to him and you could rule out any of the so because of course the assumption being that that thats a way that prejudice would play out they had to grow pakistani or go to pakistan because that is what is happening on an everyday basis we need leaders to make sure that no child grows up with hatred nor child grows up with fear this is not about muslim kids this is about every child out there because im sure as a parent youll be very if if a child today grows up. Challenge i think so much of teaching. Talk to aljazeera. Is the government must take the necessary action to really address some of the structural issues we listen i still think that travel is to safest mode of travel and the spend that we meet with global news makers. And talk about the stories that matter on the home to 0. 0 again peter dhabi here in doha your top stories on aljazeera u. S. Congressman john lewis has died at the age of 80 he was a pioneer of the Civil Rights Movement and the organizer of the 1963 march on washington the u. S. Federal Police Used Tear Gas against Peaceful Protesters in the city of Portland Oregon more enforcement agents are accused of detaining people without explanation during black lives matter demonstrations as a result of the state is filing a lawsuit. Investigators from the i. C. C. Have arrived in libyas capital theyre expected to visit the sites of alleged mass graves and booby traps into huna c. C. Is investigating accusations of war crimes committed by a leaf after and his allied fighters irans president says 25000000 iranians have been infected with the coronavirus thats more than a quarter of the entire population rouhani also says another 35000000 are at risk of contracting the virus. Has no card to get paid leave out of home we have one of the most important matters is that here is to medical recommendations and social distancing to limit the spread of the corona virus according to the ministry of health estimates 25000000 iranians have been infected with the coronavirus so far and we have lost about 14000 of them within 150 days. It is possible that 30 to 35000000 citizens are at risk to be affected in the coming period this means that the number of patients who would be hospitalized will double it is possible the virus will continue until march European Council president ial michel has offered a compromise to break the deadlock over an e. U. Coronavirus economic Recovery Plan the new proposal offers more money and loans and less on grants for countries that need those funds talks have entered a 2nd day in brussels after leaders failed to reach an agreement on friday. Tens of thousands of protesters in the far east of russia are rallying against the arrest of sergei for girl the governor of couple rovs region is accused of plotting the murders of business rivals 15 years ago his supporters say the claims are politically motivated. Flooding in Central China has forced nearly 30000 people from their homes days of downpours of hit the province of who bay soldiers joined rescue workers to help victims and assess the damage weather forecasters are warning more torrential rain is on the way those are your headlines ill have the news for you from 13 g. 60 minutes of news and comment between now and then in search of indias soap opera. The hindu fear has been the problems. It is the only major in the world which actually legitimized inequality in cars to. Be among the lower castes dull its also known as untouchables sit at the very bottom of the hindu hierarchy. They perform the lowliest tasks such as manually cleaning sewers often with no protective clothing or breathing apparatus. With a reporter the 11 deaths per month this ranks among the worlds most dangerous what. People say right or is a valid im a lawyer hes taking us to meet some members of the community some of whom he represents. Underpaying is a load his own course but still it did when the big one called back in. Was a fag i think and stuff i think i think will mean a lot over those side of the lottery caliber galas family or cleaners her husband was poisoned in a sewer 4 years ago to her 3 sons now do the same work lets face it stream prejudice every day of their lives who are innocent by living in one of the. Tank of. Us which are not any other level other than. Yes i do when you. Consider what i and i did. My job. Despite protections under the constitution delegates. Untouchables are treated as outcasts how to make their neighbor who are not a tie. They can afford or not what he would. Many delegates and other low cost him those have escaped their predicament by converting to other faiths such as islam or christianity the b. G. P. Control state about to predation has prepared an anti conversion law under which religious conversion would require permission from a state official human Rights Groups say the law is aimed at keeping delegates in their place but weve discovered a twist to this theme. One away to a village where an r. S. S. Worker has converted a bunch of Indian Muslims back to him who is and by a process called her via absalom which literally means homecoming. Truelove a mans father was a hindu who converted to islam. A generation on he and several family members have converted back to hinduism london is the. Keys model of the family only you dont know my line of the things were not the whole you could run with i think. The small print in indias anti conversion laws forbids enticements or intimidation to convert. Its a certificate that love mohamad is no name she loves money hes being brought into the hindu forward. And it says without any pressure. Without any influence. But i. Forgot that. He got on a bus. To. Get out and got to. Move when the going to. Get out. Not the. Urge. To islamic. Was. About it but he. Will figure out that the. On the going to mosque on the. Just be that you come from to the last chandra the local aura says leader who performed last conversion ceremony ah behind get there her head or the new 19 do you think you can muslim who miss it when they bought nothingness was 42 years ago if some i think of our muscles got a kick in the were not out there and you know the only holmes whos in lucky you know peace and the only one nigger all ok ill listen man who have done the who are. To the world about hanna and the present a little jealous of the new young. Girl we never get out were used to. Because he. Is in the front we. Cannot go up an economic war or top in. The u. K. To take is rooted in that art market bottom about get it here and it must was knee high sad me which is nice when muscles gotta be seeking muscles got on its muscles and i will get sick as it was a man what you get in the muscle got to live think it will do me in good now most people get it you muslim time you blew up nice and got their family gives out a car got it in a game on me your money but that as they come in tonight out there are going to argue about that in duty when the woman chop up into. One of the other groups you could i do yes. Year to india. Was something. That have. Operated under do legally what will. You do dont keep. Only chain yank some magic shoes on these things come to the. Well that was such a heated discussion and one of the things that made it so tense was that the r. S. S. Man was really worried about coercion and especially in relation to the evangelical faiths and yet when we spoke to the guy who he had converted to hinduism one could not help but feel that thered been a considerable amount of social pressure on him and that that had been a kind of caution. Whatever the truth behind. Or homecoming to the hindu for its from within the lower costs that most conversions out of hinduism in recent years have taken place. Each week. But along with islam its another ancient religious group that faces the consequences of Rising Hindutva politics there are 28000000. 00 christians in india a 2000 Year Old Community stretching back to the earliest days of the faith but still seen by the most hardline hindus as an outsider a religion that took hindus away from their original faith. In 2008 in the state of arizona in eastern India Several 1000 christians came under attack. 400. 00 religious or die or posed of all christians 60000. 00 christians fled to the forest to save themselves. 6000. 00 plus houses more than 300. 00 critical to restore the ground schools colleges all spittles clinics everything clicked on it and pretty People Killed nuns a rape. Case is still going on 10 years later. And we expect a fair justice depending on the facts. Not depending on who is a majority. The radicalization of the structures of state the police their ministries the junior magistracies the teachers the village Self Government mechanisms. All of them actually believe this is the land of the hindus and everybody else if they want to live via must live here as 2nd rate citizens nobody can feel safe. Unless theres an assurance that the muslim isee. The isolation of minorities risks becoming institutionalized in schools would socalled suffer nies ation the favoring of hindu ism over other traditions in school textbooks. Where to stay single drop with 10th grade students have been studying a new hindu focused curriculum. It writes out much of the countrys non hindu past. And all means lead an attempt on mattresses and they are only just now going to fight and he then is a man a man says i dont like that we dont like to lie had we had a plan i never heard that but the time. Is a word when i miss a person out of me fairly get india will get up memories for me was a common early in. Their lives. They let me sell material be priscilla became part of this the palace scott took a lot of missile equals here. At open it up to so dying of a being. Allowed to go out. But i think that im good and i mean yeah but every day on monday youve. Got to be looking look at the galaxy summit now. Back to lanny again did it want to make you go back to life. Be. Mobile has to be man happy camper man tell you. What todays 10th graders may not get to learn about is the wealth of learning and cultural blending that accompanied muslim rule in india modeled in the study or may have been harsh and puritanical but other moguls brought a culture of openness and learning the targum hell is the supreme expression of this. It was built by the mogul ruler sharjah ha as a muslim for his beloved wife 1000 how he preached equality among hindus and muslims and he celebrated hindu festivals a tradition established by his grandfather acquired under him india enjoyed a religiously and culturally diverse existence schools for both muslims and hindus were established policies that own the loyalty and respect of hindus a blending of culture and religion in my socalled syncretism and an essential part of indian life today i mean for people sikri built by ark for which he made his capital success came through acknowledging the multiple cultures within india. Heres inquests innocent shrine in the architecture the column the divan a house in the whole welker would hold court assimilates motifs from hindu islam christianity buddhism islam and zorro astronauts. So the pillar itself kind of stands as a testament to this mixing of faiths and this is from a man who brought brahmins near him and pundits near him to learn from them he drank the water of the gunk he had a deep root god for hindu faith and custom and belief and and i think is aim was to find in this land of many religions where he was ruling as a Muslim Emperor to find a way in which people could go forward it wouldnt be secularism as we know its not in the modern european sense but it was clearly driven by a secular ideal. Im about to see something quite extraordinary but which at the same time is peculiarly india. Where the hindu temple that was partially destroyed and turned into a mosque by oren say look at that this term like literally the call of whats interesting here is that part of this mosque complex remains a place of worship for hindus and yeah the ultimately. Its rings kind of prepared in our prayers in the evening and its in the face. You cast your eye or are you see very very typical muslim arches and then you see what is really like the pillars of a hindu temple but in the middle of that is the kipp which is the direction of prayer so both faiths are represented both forms of worship are occurring side by side and this to me is historical resolution. 3 other. Anderson february march youd wish for i recalled 100 people who were doing it was from a child like take it. Does not marshal the. Dont know. What i think good man and that i love no need to you know my duty is with me is absurd but again i want to know their views on the mosque and hindus most important to the cause which owns theyve also destroyed to build a mosque. Just gan might be must it could be. Iraq done midon good number limited on the christian number kashima cacheris not. Be sure shasta can join. In monday dont go toward europe not to cut. The. Hum monday by not measured by the necklace tejada. Good choice now but i got the good the disc and watch funny. The chick get in. June and mustard but hunger will. Protect your good by about out the title. Very very interesting you know hes saying whatever happened was not a good thing it was not a good thing that happened and he says for me it was a symbol of slavery because it was built by a barber who was who and saved us licking our good beach macwhich of our lardner. On new government can get under. The rug up we met up the harder it could not really crap not do i know when we shall miners i. V. Ahau. So i was really struck by the similarity between these 2 men are you fiction by the warm and i was left with a strange question because when they got talking about history when they got talking about temples destroyed what was to be rebuilt was to be left there were really it reconcilable differences between them and yet there was the civility in the suspection and it left me feeling i thought what is this everything is that ability to get on really what counts or do people have to result differences down to their very being easy if thats even possible. On the eve of indias Independence Day im returning to delhi. Im starting the day at the job. A Muslim College where celebrations are already in full swing. And to think oh yes oh indeed now. Do you want to wish me. Good man of the a. T. F. That. May change or leave lindsay and if. You. Think. Theres no doubting the commitment of these Muslim Students i was impressed by the scaffold pad display of unity it was on this day 72 years ago that india gained independence from britain along with the events that led to partition. At that time it became clear that indias muslims. Those who chose to remain would be as much part of this nation as the hindus when i arrived in this country i expected to find a place dramatically different from the one i grew up in instead i was pleasantly surprised to find how intact indian life still is how integrated how assimilate. And yet i cannot deny that i felt a sense of foreboding among indias 170000000 muslims a deep feeling of disenfranchisement this is a country in the grip of a historical reckoning the indian past with all its pain and complexity is being realistic it how it negotiates this passage will not merely affect indias muslims but the moral and Spiritual Health of the nation as a whole. It was time for me to return to my home in new york i left india feeling encouraged and hopeful for the future of the country im so proud to have grown up in and call my own. But in new york a nasty shock awaited me a letter from indias ministry of home affairs and what the threatening to do is to revoke my overseas indian citizenship which allows me to live and work in india the grounds that the saying that the grounds that they are using to revoke this is that apparently i have concealed the pakistani origin of my father. And its a very worrying letter because if it goes through i may not be able to return to india and theyve i meant i have 21. 00 days to respond but i have barely 24 hours to respond to this letter. Ive recently written this article critical inner intermodal here in the b j p then attacked me wrongly calling me a muslim and a pakistani with no right to interfere with Indian Affairs with attacks such as this on critical journalists im as worried for my country as i am for the impact of this on myself and my family in india. My lawyer feels that theres something malicious in what the government has done theyre accusing me of concealing the fact that my father was pakistani which is kind of absurd because ive written books and articles for over a decade about my fathers pakistani origin and about the fact that i was always a strange from him and grew up with my mother in india i cant help but feel that the reason is this Time Magazine article more than 250 prominent writers have petitioned the Indian Government on my behalf i was grateful and more than touched by their support the Booker Prize Winning indian novelist kiran this i was one of them. I told you to dishonor my parents not to speak up talking about the india i grew up in i am afraid because i know all the minorities in india are very afraid. And when you have a country. That does not honor its minorities then its time to be very afraid the press is under threat in india we have had many cases of books being banned in india and of writers being silenced but i think the situation is growing more acute were talking of murder of silencing writers by murdering them by banning them books silencing the press and with you of course they came up with a technicality every new victim becomes a symbol off this oppression there were plenty of people who would have loved to sign and were really far too scared to sign is so much fear even among indians here that they will be severe repercussions on their speaking up and that they will be targeted. One by one. With a heavy heart i have to surrender my overseas indian citizenship today. Well ive come out one document less and this is a kind of weird goodbye to feels very hard for me because this is a country ive grown up in ive lived in all my life and suddenly i dont really have the right to go there anymore and i basically feel bereft of my mother my grandmother my country and and the place where i grew up. The beach appears just past its socalled citizenship amendment for the 1st time in Indian History it establishes a test of religion for becoming indian earlier on in this film i had asked myself are we witnessing a weakening of india secular character. The answer to my question seems frightening the to be yes im reminded of something the veteran politician are from the home of the concert about part of the in the name for india. Indian tradition sees this whole continent between the sea and the hymn alya this is part of it and all of those who leave the children part of. The case just automator the keep but believe does not matter the gender does not matter the place of residence does not but not a matter i who are children of a child of i am. On a child and if someone was to say to me im not what do i say to him if someone is going to. Someone is going to tell me that im not for some of my father. Had some rain in the forecast across southern areas of south america and see all the clouds here on the satellite that means rain heading towards santiago and also pushing 3 when his air is meanwhile rio is fine and dry i want to shout is further up the coast saturday and sunday on the usual scotching of showers and thunderstorms further to the north widespread throughout much of Central America and the caribbean some heavy downpours at times across cuba southern areas of florida and also southern and Western Areas of mexico that will continue on sunday and you can see elsewhere the showers really are fairly widespread and then up into north america weve got some very hot air in place across the midwest pushing into the northeast. And slightly very warm in d. C. People trying to do their best to cool down but he will stay in place for the next few days also a few more those kind of. Out across the west Central California this huge fire 78 square kilometers already burned 4 structures have been destroyed 60 threatened people have been evacuated as you might expect that weather conditions will stay dry the winds are fairly strong but the rain is farther to the north Northern Plains some very heavy downpours particularly working the way through the great lakes as a go through saturday on into sunday and in fact some of these storms pushing up into canada they could be very strong at times but meanwhile the heat continues a very warm day in d. C. With a high of 39 celsius. In the conclusion of the 2 part series people in pattern investigates allegations that Irish Catholic nuns facilitated the traffic babies torture realized babies at all it could be sold to america a scouting quite they use and reveals shocking new evidence of how and when disposed of those who died frankly torn in the system like this church and state are colluding keep the truth from coming helps islands mother and baby scandal on aljazeera. This is al jazeera. Hello and welcome to the program im piece of youre watching the news hour live from doha coming up in the next 60 minutes irans president says more than a quarter of iranians 25000000 people may have been infected with the coronavirus. Investigators from the International Criminal court arriving in libya to look into