<p>Police on Saturday arrested an 18-year-old for allegedly setting ablaze a care a belonging to a group of priests. The priests were accused of forcing religious conversions by rightwing group Bajrang Dal.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The incident took place on Thursday when two priests and around 30 members of a Catholic choir group were detained over allegations that they were converting Hindus to Christianity. The carolers were picked up by the police from the roadside as they were moving around Satna, around 450 km from state capital Bhopal, singing carols for Christmas.</p>

<p>Eight priests who later went to the police station to inquire about the detained carolers were also held by the police. It was the car they used that was burnt by activists who also allegedly assaulted the Christian group outside the police station.</p>

<p>Those detained were released after questioning.&nbsp;</p>

<p>A case has been filed against a priest, George M, and five others on the complaint of a local, Dharmendra Dohar, who alleged that he was illegally converted on December 10 and was paid Rs. 5,000 for it.</p>

<p>&quot;He was given a holy dip in a pond and his name was changed to Dharmendra Thomas, the complainant said. They also asked him to pray to Lord Christ,&quot; Superintendent of Police DD Pandey told IANS on Friday.</p>

<p>The carolers are from the St Ephrem&#39;s Theological College in Satna.<br />
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The incident took place on Thursday when two priests and around 30 members of a Catholic choir group were detained over allegations that they were converting Hindus to Christianity.

Police on Saturday arrested an 18-year-old for allegedly setting ablaze a care a belonging to a group of priests. The priests were accused of forcing religious conversions by rightwing group Bajrang Dal. The incident took place on Thursday when two priests and around 30 members of a Catholic choir group were detained over allegations that they were converting Hindus to Christianity. The carolers were picked up by the police from the roadside as they were moving around Satna, around 450 km from state capital Bhopal, singing carols for Christmas. Eight priests who later went to the police station to inquire about the detained carolers were also held by the police. It was the car they used that was burnt by activists who also allegedly assaulted the Christian group outside the police station. Those detained were released after questioning. A case has been filed against a priest, George M, and five others on the complaint of a local, Dharmendra Dohar, who alleged that he was illegally converted on December 10 and was paid Rs. 5,000 for it. "He was given a holy dip in a pond and his name was changed to Dharmendra Thomas, the complainant said. They also asked him to pray to Lord Christ," Superintendent of Police DD Pandey told IANS on Friday. The carolers are from the St Ephrem's Theological College in Satna.

Teen held for allegedly setting ablaze  priests' car in Madhya Pradesh

<p>Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis&#39; wife Amruta Fadnavis found herself at the receiving end of heavy criticism on Twitter, for promoting a Christmas-themed charitable event in Mumbai.</p>

<p>It all started after Amruta shared some photographs from the event, aimed at bringing a smile on the face of poor children ahead of Christmas festival.</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">launched-Be Santa-campaign, as Ambassador for <a href="https://twitter.com/927BIGFM?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@927BIGFM</a> - to collect gifts from people -for poor children ,to bring smiles to their faces during this Christmas.Drop ur gifts at nearest <a href="https://twitter.com/927BIGFM?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@927BIGFM</a> &amp; Feel the joy -as best way to multiply your happiness is by sharing it with others?? <a href="https://t.co/r5UTAi3nDY">pic.twitter.com/r5UTAi3nDY</a></p>
&mdash; AMRUTA FADNAVIS (@fadnavis_amruta) <a href="https://twitter.com/fadnavis_amruta/status/940412986849558528?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 12, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p>Soon after the tweet was posted, Amruta was accused of encouraging Christian missionaries and luring Hindus into the fold of Christianity.</p>

<p>In some of the tweets, the social worker&nbsp;was asked if she was a Hindu before marriage, while many others said this might not fare well for the chief minister&#39;s career.<br />
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en"><a href="https://twitter.com/CMOMaharashtra?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CMOMaharashtra</a> why <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Maharashtra?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Maharashtra</a> state sponsoring Christian superstitious events to convert Hindus students while you promote crackerless Diwali?<br />
Why no sharing caring celebration on <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Shivaji?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Shivaji</a> jayanti?<a href="https://twitter.com/BJP4India?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@BJP4India</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/ShivSena?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ShivSena</a></p>
&mdash; SankaPadma (@SankaPadma) <a href="https://twitter.com/SankaPadma/status/940470597062144000?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 12, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Where were you on Diwali Ganesh Puja or when Chennai &amp; Mumbai were flooded &quot;Santa&quot; feeling are exclusive to &quot;Christmas&quot;? this is an abuse of your position and status</p>
&mdash; No Conversion (@noconversion) <a href="https://twitter.com/noconversion/status/940676078410006530?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 12, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p>Done with the shaming tweets, Amruta came to her own rescue with a tweet which read &#39;love sharing &amp; empathy have no religion&#39;.</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Love , sharing &amp; empathy have no religion - let&rsquo;s accept all positivity around us &amp; stay away from negative thoughts &amp; demotivating energies !</p>
&mdash; AMRUTA FADNAVIS (@fadnavis_amruta) <a href="https://twitter.com/fadnavis_amruta/status/940439082290651138?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 12, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p>This isn&#39;t the first time when Amruta has been slammed this harshly on the social media. &nbsp;</p>


Amruta was accused of encouraging Christian missionaries and luring Hindus into the fold of Christianity.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis' wife Amruta Fadnavis found herself at the receiving end of heavy criticism on Twitter, for promoting a Christmas-themed charitable event in Mumbai. It all started after Amruta shared some photographs from the event, aimed at bringing a smile on the face of poor children ahead of Christmas festival. launched-Be Santa-campaign, as Ambassador for @927BIGFM - to collect gifts from people -for poor children ,to bring smiles to their faces during this Christmas.Drop ur gifts at nearest @927BIGFM & Feel the joy -as best way to multiply your happiness is by sharing it with others?? pic.twitter.com/r5UTAi3nDY — AMRUTA FADNAVIS (@fadnavis_amruta) December 12, 2017 × Soon after the tweet was posted, Amruta was accused of encouraging Christian missionaries and luring Hindus into the fold of Christianity. In some of the tweets, the social worker was asked if she was a Hindu before marriage, while many others said this might not fare well for the chief minister's career. @CMOMaharashtra why #Maharashtra state sponsoring Christian superstitious events to convert Hindus students while you promote crackerless Diwali? Why no sharing caring celebration on #Shivaji jayanti?@BJP4India @ShivSena — SankaPadma (@SankaPadma) December 12, 2017 × Where were you on Diwali Ganesh Puja or when Chennai & Mumbai were flooded "Santa" feeling are exclusive to "Christmas"? this is an abuse of your position and status — No Conversion (@noconversion) December 12, 2017 × Done with the shaming tweets, Amruta came to her own rescue with a tweet which read 'love sharing & empathy have no religion'. Love , sharing & empathy have no religion - let’s accept all positivity around us & stay away from negative thoughts & demotivating energies ! — AMRUTA FADNAVIS (@fadnavis_amruta) December 12, 2017 × This isn't the first time when Amruta has been slammed this harshly on the social media.

Devendra Fadnavis' wife trolled for attending Christmas event, hits back with 'love has no religion' reply

Religious intolerance has exacerbated polarisation

Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, Jainism, Judaism, Hinduism, Zoroastrianism. That’s in order of the alphabet, not of preference, or greatness. These major world religions were either founded by prophets who trod the earth or, evolved through the mists of ancient mythology. And they contain one, common message: tolerance, even of those who choose another God. In terms of followers, the world’s biggest religions are Christianity, Islam and Hinduism. Then there are other small but equally global faiths, Judaism and Buddhism. The last, especially, is legendary for its consistency in preaching and largely practicing compassion. Some choose a mosque. Others a temple. Some attend churches, others frequent synagogues. × Some choose a mosque. Others a temple. Some attend churches, others frequent synagogues. We inhabit the same cities, eat the produce of the same earth, work at similar jobs. We hang out at my place for Diwali, his for Christmas, hers for Id, yours for Rosh Hashanah. At least that’s what most thought till - it all began to change. It’s Christians vs, Muslims, Muslims vs Jews, Buddhists vs Christians, Hindus vs Muslims today. It’s either my way or - the highway. You either worship my God or - I’ll force you to do so. Religious tolerance is yesterday’s news. Polarisation is the hallmark of today’s world. Be it in society or politics, in the classroom or the boardroom, religious intolerance is polarising the world today. Christianity: "One person believes he may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables, let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats. Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another?" That’s the Sixth Book of the New Testament - the Bible, the holy scripture for 2.2 billion people in the world ie, 31.5 per cent of the globe’s population. But way back in the 12th century, early practitioners of the faith opened one of the worst chapters in the history of Christianity: the Inquisitions. This kind of 'portable' religious court was first held in France. It was a period marked by witch-hunt, lynching and forcible conversions. By the end of the 14th century, hundreds of Jews were killed in Spain and later across its South American colonies. × The intention was to prosecute Catholics who were attracted by other churches. The practice soon spread to other countries like Spain and Portugal. Those colonial powers took it to the next level. They began to hold harsh, cruel inquisitions in their colonial properties in Africa, Asia and the America. Their favourite targets were those Jews and Muslims who had converted to Christianity only to find that the Catholic colonial masters hauled them again: this time, to question their commitment. By the end of the 14th century, mistrust had turned into deep hatred. Hundreds of Jews were killed in Spain and later across its South American colonies. Historians say the Portuguese were far worse. Their inquisition began in 1536 and soon, a cruel and tyrannical version moved to Brazil and - to Goa, their tiny colony on India’s West Coast. In Goa, the chief targets were Hindus and Muslims. First, there were conversions by force. Anyone who resisted was tortured or burnt alive. Those who converted but practised Indian rituals soon faced harsh inquisitions because the slightest deviation raised doubts about their commitment to Christianity. This tyranny began in 1560 and continued for 252 years. Anyone in Goa could be tortured merely for possessing a Hindu religious symbol. In the late 1800s, the inquisitions also hunted down practitioners of witchcraft, cult-leaders and even bigamists. The horrors are depicted vividly in Guardians of The Dawn, a bestselling historical novel set in Portuguese Goa. WION spoke to Richard Zimler, its author. "We’re talking about fundamentalists even way back then. That’s the danger and there is a need for all of us to oppose fundamentalism of any kind. The Portuguese would not allow anyone who had converted to Christianity to continue to practice their traditional religion," he says. "My book did very well in Portugal. There were some who said I was painting Portugal in a bad light but I am happy to expose the truth and fight against fundamentalism". Mindless executions, forcible conversions, unmitigated cruelty and violence towards all who oppose them. These are the hallmarks of terror groups like the Islamic State (I.S.) today. Only their God has a different name, as does their holy book. Zimler agrees that today's violence is nothing but a repeat of the crusades. The Inquisitions gradually stopped but - anti-semitism persisted. Indeed, hatred for Jews pervaded even literature and the fine arts and didn’t escape many of the world's greatest writers. Like William Shakespeare's clichéd caricature, that of the greedy moneylender, Shylock. Or Charles Dickens' conniving villain, Fagin. That xenophobia reached its pinnacle under Adolf Hitler. The Holocaust is one of the worst genocides known in the history of mankind. × In a cold-blooded and systematic operation that included instruments of torture and factories of death that boggle the mind, 6 million innocent Jewish men, women and children were killed. The Holocaust is one of the worst genocides known in the history of mankind. And three generations of Germans continue to struggle with the question: how could their forefathers have allowed Hitler and his Nazis to carry out this unbridled manslaughter? "Crimes against humanity should never be forgotten," said German Chancellor Angela Merkel at a sombre memorial service for the victims of the Holocaust. "We have the perpetual responsibility to transmit the knowledge of the atrocities committed in the past and to keep alive their memory." Unsurprisingly and given that murderous past, Germany and all EU member-states have grounded their constitutions firmly in the tenets of the European Convention on Human Rights. Germany has more than adhered to its own, by taking in millions of refugees fleeing from troubled countries, even economic refugees in the guise of persecution. But is darkness really a thing of the past in Europe? There has been a steady rise of the extreme right-wing all over the Continent again in recent years. Its graph rose upwards even and especially during a crippling recession. And when refugees on the run from the US-led war in Syria and Iraq started pouring into Europe in 2015, even Scandinavian countries with the most magnanimous asylum policies, like Sweden, began to see a rise in neo-Nazi popularity. Today, Europe is simmering with intolerance. Xenophobia even finds representation in various provincial parliaments. There are the Swedish Democrats, there is the Alternative for Germany, there is the Front National in France, there’s the Freedom Party in Austria which is slated to form the next coalition government. Since the September 11 attacks in New York in 2001, there have been more than 900 terror strikes in Europe. × And much like in the United States, there’s a new scapegoat here in Europe too: Muslims. When France’s right-wing leader Marine Le Pen was asked by a television interviewer whether Muslim people should be allowed to wear headscarves, she said, "No I am opposed to headscarves being worn in public places. France is not burqinis on the beach. France is Brigitte Bardot". Since the September 11 attacks in New York in 2001, there have been more than 900 terror strikes in Europe. The fact that most were at the hands of Islamist terror groups like the Islamic State has only fanned the fires of religious intolerance. Islam: "For you is your religion, and for me is my religion". That’s what the Quran says, possibly the most hotly debated holy book of all in recent times. Islamist terrorism is wreaking havoc and spilling rivers of blood across the world. The criminals have several motives, to convert the entire world to Islam and reduce women to subservience. They swear by the Quran and that’s unfortunate because by doing so, they are maligning millions of tolerant Muslims too. The Quran also makes one thing very clear, "There shall be no compulsion in the religion". So how and when did this fanaticism begin? This unholy ‘holy war’, or ‘jehad’? Where does the Quran tell its followers to kill innocents in the name of faith? Or is everyone except Islamist terrorists, many of whom are nurtured, trained and armed by Pakistan to target India misreading the Quran? Are millions of moderate Muslims living in La-La Land? Many scholars point to the West’s own unholy Crusades to enforce Christianity around the world. Some of the unholiest Crusades were in Islamic countries, including in the Middle East, where Islam was born. Thirty-five years ago, the Iranian Revolution changed the fabric of Iranian society. But it also changed the geopolitics of the Middle East and redrew the map of global alliances. × Much like the cosmopolitan capitals of the west, Iran was a turnpike on the global map of the swinging sixties, mini skirts, bars, the races, balls, concert halls, fashion, theatre and emancipated women working alongside men, and dressed as they pleased. So when and how, did all that change, and was the change really all that bad? Are those elements really the criteria, as the West likes to believe of a stable and democratic society? When Iran’s Islamic Revolution brought radical changes, were the Iranians quite relieved to be rid of a tyrannical regime? Thirty-five years ago, the Iranian Revolution changed the fabric of Iranian society. But it also changed the geopolitics of the Middle East and redrew the map of global alliances. It was a populist Shia uprising that replaced the dictatorial monarchy with an Islamic theocracy. And it was unique and surprised the world because it carried none of the usual hallmarks of a revolution: War, financial crisis, national debt or a weak army. A renowned scholar of Iranian studies, Dr Majid Tafreshi spoke to WION and explained what led to the Revolution and beyond. "In the 40s and 50s, the then-new King Mohammed Reza Shah had good relations with the Olama (Ullema / clergy) but after the death of an Ayatollah in the early 60s, that relationship turned confrontational", says Dr Tafreshi. "Then came the new phenomenon Ayatollah Khomeini. He was a charismatic character and had dedicated followers. Gradually, he became the political and religious leader in Iran. An early confrontation of the Shah in 1963 was put down. But though most people took that as a sign that the Shah was in control, 1963 was, in reality, the beginning of the end of the Shah and monarchy in Iran." Predictably, the inordinate interest in Iran’s affairs on part of the West. They wanted to control the Shah whose importance had grown along with that of Iran’s oil reserves. A revolution and an ouster of the Shah at that point in time was considered "highly inconvenient". Dr Tafreshi says that this is the reason why the United States government tried hard to prevent an uprising. Afghanistan changed from a secular state into a turbulent republic, struggling to strike a compromise between conservative Islam and Western-style modernity and remains to this day, in search of its true identity. × But it met with no success. The revolution changed the face of Iran drastically. It also inspired similar uprisings across the Middle East. There is western perception about life in today’s Iran. But there is also the Iranian determination to never bow to western hegemony. To experience what life in Iran is really like, observers would do themselves a favour by avoiding media reports emanating in the West and experiencing it for themselves. During the 7th century, Caliphate Arabs made their way onwards to Afghanistan. That country’s subsequent history has seen many constitutional changes including the establishment of the Sharia as the state religion in 1931. By 1977, Afghanistan’s constitution had twice been tweaked and made more secular to use a contested word. By then, Afghanistan was fully modelled along the lines of a modern country with a penal code and civil law. Islamic movements in Afghanistan were born in the late fifties but had remained relatively passive. By the late seventies, they gained in popularity among sections of the population which felt alienated by Western-style democracy. By the time the Soviet Union invaded in support of a communist force in Kabul, there was a solid resurgence of the Islamic movement. But from the birth of a unified mujahedin to push out a foreign invader to a radical Islamist Al Quaida, Taliban and now the Islamic State is a long leap of the leap for the imagination. But happen it did. Afghanistan changed from a secular state into a turbulent republic, struggling to strike a compromise between conservative Islam and Western-style modernity and remains to this day, in search of its true identity. Hinduism: Valmiki’s Ramayana, the epic poem on the banishment of God Rama, describes the god as one "who cared for equality to all". × ‘’For those who live magnanimously, the entire world is a family.” This is stated in the Upanishads, Hinduism’s ancient philosophical texts that are said to have been compiled between 800 and 500 BCE, ie, before the birth of Jesus Christ. The message is repeated in various ways in other Hindu religious texts, even after reformers began to question some of its practices and beliefs. Valmiki’s Ramayana, the epic poem on the banishment of God Rama, describes the god as one "who cared for equality to all". Hinduism has been the mothership of many other new religions – Jainism, Buddhism – and has always been viewed as a way of life, a tolerant philosophy, more than as a diktat to worship a particular set of divinities. Critics of Hinduism point to its division of society into castes and the inequality that persists between those castes, even in modern India. Other scholars claim that the caste system, in ancient times, was merely an administrative division of people according to their professions. In the seventy years since India’s independence, laws have been passed, the abhorrent concept of ‘untouchability’ long stands banned. Surely a radical improvement? Not according to former police officer and Dalit rights activist, S.R. Darapuri. "The rigours of the caste system in the past have undoubtedly been very harsh", Darapuri told WION. "There was a lot of distance between various castes and the lower caste was subjected to much discrimination. It is true caste rigors have slackened to an extent in modern India. The caste system doesn’t seem to work particularly in the urban context. In rural India, the law has not been able to overcome caste discrimination. The caste system has the religious sanction of Hinduism. As long as Hinduism remains in its present form, the caste system will continue because there is no Hindu who has no caste. × When untouchability was abolished, the practice decreased to an extent. But it still very much exists. The caste system has the religious sanction of Hinduism. And as long as Hinduism remains in its present form, the caste system will continue because there is no Hindu who has no caste. Indeed, it is the religious duty of a Hindu to observe caste practices and obligations. Darapuri emphatically dismisses the racial theory on the origin of caste and points to Dr Ambedkar’s book, The Untouchables. In it, the author of India’s Constitution cites the anthropological evidence that lower and higher castes belong to the same racial stock. The activist makes no bones to point that the division of labor theory about caste holds no water too. After all, he argues, if it caste originated only to distinguish professions, then surely it ought to change when an individual change his area of work. "The caste system is one of superiority and inferiority", sums up Darapuri. Though the caste system can even be discerned even among converts to other religions in India, caste wars were essentially a Hindu phenomenon. To other foreigners like Arab traders who came landed in Kerala, the relationship with the Hindus was good. Soon Arab and Persian traders began to settle in Gujarat. Ismaili Islam took root in the western Indian state. But by the 12th century, a different kind of Islam, one more strident and eerily similar in zeal and ferocity to the Christian Crusades, began to arrive in Northern India. Sindh in today's Pakistan became a province of the Umayyad caliphate. Then came Mahmud of Ghazni, leaving a bloody trail of loot, plunder and murder along with his way. He conquered Punjab and his marauding armies even reached Gujarat. By the end of the 12th century, the Delhi Sultanate was born. Then came the Mughals, some cruel and zealous about forcing conversion, others benign and more bent on creating an integrated society. But those were harsh conquerors, ancient times. By the time the last Mughal was overthrown by the British Empire and before the latter could indulge one more time in its classical game of Divide and Rule that saw India and Pakistan separate, Muslims and Hindus had come together with one common goal: to shake off British rule. And succeed they did. But what happened decades later? For an old mosque to be destroyed? For riots to erupt between India’s Hindus and Muslims? Call it the debut of religion in politics, lay it at opportunism’s door. If there is one religious teaching that focuses entirely on the principle of tolerance and non-violence, it is Buddhism. × Judaism and Buddhism: "The Torah was given to mankind in order to establish peace," reads an excerpt from Judaism's holy book. But the Jews of Israel continue to live in one of the most turbulent regions in the world. Followers of Judaism don't outnumber Christians, Muslims or Hindus. And yet, it is their controversial politics that continues to take centre-stage in the global arena today. "One is not called noble who harms living beings", reads the Dhammapada. One of the Buddha's most renowned followers, Emperor Ashoka, carried that message forward: "The faiths of others all deserve to be honoured for one reason or another". If there is one religious teaching that focuses entirely on the principle of tolerance and non-violence, it is Buddhism. And yet, there are militant factions even among followers of Gautama Buddha. In Sri Lanka, where radicalised monks have targeted Muslims and other minorities. In Myanmar, where the Rohingya Muslim minority has borne the wrath of similarly militant Buddhists. What happened to the world's most gentle religion? If Buddhists can be polarised, is there any hope left for the rest of the world? This is the second article of WION's three-part series "Poles Apart". The first article was published on 17/10/17.

'In the name of the Father'

<p>In the beginning, there were cave fights: over food, shelter and objects. Then came civilisation, the &quot;Age of Reason&quot;, the realisation that man&nbsp;was far superior to other living creatures in one unique way. He was endowed with the powerful tool of intellect, a brain more sophisticated than anything technology can ever beat.</p>

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<p>When man began to share spaces, towns and cities were born. When man began to argue, politics came into being and when prophets were born around the earth, mankind&rsquo;s other peculiar endowment - religion was born. Crimes were committed, wars have shattered the world. But somehow and over at least this past century, milk went with water, wine with salt, as long as there was mutual respect, it was a matter of personal choice. That freedom of choice, it seems, is a thing of history today. Now, it&rsquo;s black versus white, Islam versus Christianity versus Hinduism versus Judaism. It&rsquo;s Democrat versus Republican, BJP versus Congress. But what&rsquo;s different about today? That it&rsquo;s either my way or the highway. You are either with us or against us. Choices are yesterday&rsquo;s news, polarisation is the hallmark of today&rsquo;s world.<br />
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White versus black, Caucasian versus Asian. American civil rights leader Martin Luther King ominously described it as the &quot;starless midnight of racism.&quot; Be it in the USA or Japan, in Europe or Africa, in India or China and for all the superior abilities man is endowed with, racial discrimination has run like a bad genetic strain through all societies in the world.<br />
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<strong>America:</strong></p>

<p>White supremacy has led to horrific crime in the history of North America, yet somewhere down the line, reasoning and rationale did gain the upper hand. Take one of the world&rsquo;s most famous civil rights activists, Martin Luther King Jr. His belief was Christianity, his tactics drawn from everywhere. King persisted with civil disobedience till African-Americans and other minorities were granted equal rights in the country. He overturned segregation laws in Georgia and helped organise protests both in Alabama and Washington, where he delivered his most famous speech of all.</p>

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<h5>Martin Luther King&rsquo;s civil disobedience movements were successful because he combined his own value system with that of others who inspired him like Mahatma Gandhi.</h5>
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<p>&quot;And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream,&quot; the legendary rights activist declared. &quot;It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed, that all men are created equal.&quot;<br />
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Martin Luther King&rsquo;s repeated civil disobedience movements were successful because he combined his own value system with that of others who inspired him like Mahatma Gandhi. The Mahatma had once remarked that South Africa, where he had lived in his earlier years, would be a &quot;howling wilderness without the Africans&quot;. The Ku-Klux-Klan hasn&rsquo;t gone away, neither have the Nazis in Europe. There were and are descendant groups of both around the world. Tough laws temper their outbursts, the hate they preach is mostly restricted to their paranoid but small folds.</p>

<p>But statistics show that white supremacy in the United States has been on the rise. And not coincidentally, since 2016, making it seem as though divisive statements by President Donald J. Trump, first on campaign trail&nbsp;acted as a reassurance. It began to seem as though under Trump, racists will be able to speak their minds freely and have nothing to fear. Coincidence? Perhaps. Perhaps not. Residents of a town in Alabama woke up to flyers in November 2016, the day after the United States elected their new president. &quot;Join the only group that has ever stood for the white man&quot;, it read. &quot;Black radicals have reverted back to savages&quot;, read another.</p>

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<p>On the same day, swastikas and pro-Nazi graffiti appeared in Philadelphia. Sprayed inside a boys&rsquo; bathroom in a Minnesota school were the following messages: Go back to Africa, whites only, White America and Trump train, &quot;make America great again&quot;. Between November 2016&nbsp;when the United States voted for a new president&nbsp;and August 2017, there have been more than 450 recorded incidents of unabashed racism directed against Jews, Chinese, Asians &ndash; in short, anyone who is not Caucasian.</p>

<p>It would be absurd to lay the resurgence of racism at President Trump&rsquo;s doorstep alone. The US President&rsquo;s argument that democracies must allow all including racists to be heard, is a valid point. It&rsquo;s a successful tactic, the same employed by African-American jazz musician Daryl Davis to neutralise many white supremacists&nbsp;by engaging or befriending them. But here&rsquo;s a thought could Trump&rsquo;s incendiary talk have polarised American society by acting as a magnet to what already lay simmering beneath the genteel surface of the political correctness that has dominated public speech and opinion over the past several decades?</p>

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<h5>Wages for software engineers in America would be 10 per cent higher if H-1B visas were not implemented.</h5>
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<p>It seemed that way some weeks ago when white supremacists took to the streets in Charlottesville and violence erupted. Significantly, they felt no need to disguise themselves. The masks were off and so were the white hoods. Alec Kerrigan and &ldquo;Reverend&rdquo; James Logsdon were enthusiastic participants in Charlottesville. Both spoke to WION&rsquo;s Andy Roesgen and unsurprisingly, hatred of immigrants from India seems to be the &quot;new normal&quot;.<br />
&nbsp;<br />
&quot;The problem with races such as Indians entering the country is that they don&rsquo;t integrate at large&quot;, Kerrigan told WION. They build their own communities and don&#39;t trust their neighbours and they give less to charity. Wages for software engineers in America would be 10 per cent higher if H-1B visas&nbsp;(given to Indian software engineers) were not implemented. In other words, bringing in highly-skilled immigrants from other countries is bad for the highly-skilled natives.<br />
&nbsp;<br />
Racism watchdog Southern Poverty Law Center told WION that &nbsp;Reverend James Logsdon&#39;s &quot;Creativity Movement&quot; is neither holy nor creative. It&rsquo;s nothing but a hate group. Here&#39;s what Logsdon told WION.&nbsp;<br />
&nbsp;<br />
&quot;Indian immigration is not similar to any other racial group, not Mexicans or Arabic Muslims because Indians don&#39;t come here and commit crimes, they don&#39;t come here and rape or kill like you see with Mexicans and the worse elements. You have a lot of highly educated Indians in the medical field in America who do benefit our society. But you also have a lot of them who come with degrees that are falsified, education documents that are falsified, they get IT jobs and they&#39;re trained by other people who have been here longer to do the jobs properly, essentially getting into the country by lying and taking American jobs.&quot;<br />
&nbsp;<br />
But why was Logsdon in Charlottesville during the riots? After all, that demonstration had nothing to do with Indian software engineers and all to do with protecting America&rsquo;s white architectural heritage, statues of erstwhile supremacists.<br />
&nbsp;<br />
&quot;No, I personally don&rsquo;t care about old statues,&quot; argued Logsdon. &quot;But I understand what they were fighting for. Imagine for the sake of argument, that political correctness affected all of the people in India and affected the caste system. And they decided that the Hindu system was racist and oppressive and the people pushing political correctness decided that all the statues that honoured their gods and their system were to be forcibly torn down. How would Indians feel about that? This is the type of thing that&#39;s happening in America today. They&#39;re trying to destroy any semblance of our culture and our history. No matter how you feel about being good or bad, our history is our history. You should not tear those things down, just to make them feel better in their safe spaces.&quot;</p>

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<p><strong>Europe:</strong><br />
&nbsp;<br />
It&rsquo;s the geographical venue of one of the worst genocides in the history of mankind, the Holocaust under Germany&rsquo;s Nazis saw 6 million men, women and children murdered. They were not armed separatists, nor criminal mafia. Their biggest crime is that they were born Jewish, not within Europe&rsquo;s Christian majority. Germany learned its lessons and remains deeply repentant. And yet, rightwing movements are on the rise. There were more than 900 terror attacks by Islamist terror groups in Europe between 2001 and 2017. But that&rsquo;s not the only reason. There&rsquo;s also a certain, God-given superiority that colonising forefathers from France, the UK and the Netherlands vested in themselves.</p>

<p>To racist British citizens, all South Asian migrants are &quot;Pakis&quot;, to some xenophobic French, northern Africans are &quot;dirty Arabs&quot;, to Dutch supremacists, foreign migrants are &quot;scum&quot;. The United Kingdom, Portugal, The Netherlands, Spain and France&nbsp;rapaciously exploited North Africa, South America, sub-Saharan Africa and much of Asia including and especially India. When nations grow more powerful than others off stolen wealth, their citizens feel endowed with divinity. But the recession, unemployment and fiery rhetoric from those who rule or aim to rule, are natural catalysts for polarisation.</p>

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<p><strong>Asia:</strong><br />
<br />
But is racism restricted to countries where the majority population is white? Not at all. Let&rsquo;s take a look at South East Asia. Indians have been in Malaysia since medieval times. People of Indian origin constitute 86 per cent of Malaysia&rsquo;s total population of 31.19 million. Here, it&rsquo;s brown versus brown. It&rsquo;s been largely peaceful. And yet, growing radicalisation of the country&rsquo;s Islamic majority through an alien brand of Wahabi Islam has resulted in growing polarisation. Temples built hundreds of years ago on private land have been demolished. There&rsquo;s growing religious paranoia and inflammatory rhetoric mainly under Saudi Arabian influence. It has caused a backlash. Hindus are mobilising themselves. Sanjeev Ramakrishnan and his NGO Mywatch, fight against such discrimination.<br />
&nbsp;<br />
&quot;There is very clear discrimination in education when the maximum number of seats are given to Malays and next to Chinese. Indians hardly get any seats. Major courses like medicine and law are not given to Indians. I ask why they don&rsquo;t go on merit? I am a Malaysian and by race I am Indian. But if I bid for a government contract, I must have a Malay partner with a 51 per cent stake in the business. They should surely not award contracts based on race&quot;</p>

<p>Ramakrishnan says this is true of every walk of life in Malaysia. People of different races live peacefully in Malaysia but the people who rule are us are trying to create a divide. Recently in a school, cups for drinking water were separated for Muslims and non-Muslims. We are fighting for the right to live as Malaysian. We are not refugees here, we are not immigrants here. My grandfather came from India but my father was born in Malaysia. So, I think I am rightfully Malaysian. A lot of Indian don&rsquo;t have citizenship even if they are born here. But more Pakistani and Bangladeshi are now coming to Malaysia and are being given citizenship. Politicians in parliament have said, &quot;if you don&rsquo;t like Malaysia get out, go back to India.&quot;</p>

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<h5>Indians are more affluent today, travelling a lot more today, seeing a lot more of the world today. And yet, African students in India have borne the brunt of blatant racism, not in some remote village but right in the heart of India&rsquo;s capital New Delhi.</h5>
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<p>We are obsessed with fair skin, a hangover of the British Raj when it all started. The belief that the white man, his white skin, must be superior in many ways. It&rsquo;s strange because, in Hindu mythology, gods like Krishna and Shiva are painted blue. This blue is meant to indicate skin so black that it appears blue. To be dark-skinned in ancient India, was to be beautiful and god-like. But that&rsquo;s far from the case in modern India. When it comes to brides and bridegrooms, fair skins come at a premium. That&rsquo;s now begun to take on dismaying proportions. Indians are more affluent today, travelling a lot more today, seeing a lot more of the world today. And yet, African students in India have borne the brunt of blatant racism, not in some remote village but right in the heart of India&rsquo;s capital New Delhi.<br />
&nbsp;<br />
<strong>Polarisation</strong>: A pandemic, a frightening phenomenon. Whether we blame it on President Donald Trump, or, on the rise of the rightwing in Europe; whether we blame it on Saudi Arabian influence in the far east, or, on growing affluence and arrogance in India, there is no doubt that communities and races are huddling together, displaying absolute intolerance for the mere existence of any other than their own kind. Racism is not the only manifestation. There&rsquo;s that other powerful catalyst of hate i.e. Religion.</p>

<p><em>This is the first of WION&#39;s three-part series &quot;Poles Apart&quot;.</em></p>


Growing affluence and heightened arrogance is the reason why human race is in distress

In the beginning, there were cave fights: over food, shelter and objects. Then came civilisation, the "Age of Reason", the realisation that man was far superior to other living creatures in one unique way. He was endowed with the powerful tool of intellect, a brain more sophisticated than anything technology can ever beat. Choices are yesterday’s news, polarisation is the hallmark of today’s world. × When man began to share spaces, towns and cities were born. When man began to argue, politics came into being and when prophets were born around the earth, mankind’s other peculiar endowment - religion was born. Crimes were committed, wars have shattered the world. But somehow and over at least this past century, milk went with water, wine with salt, as long as there was mutual respect, it was a matter of personal choice. That freedom of choice, it seems, is a thing of history today. Now, it’s black versus white, Islam versus Christianity versus Hinduism versus Judaism. It’s Democrat versus Republican, BJP versus Congress. But what’s different about today? That it’s either my way or the highway. You are either with us or against us. Choices are yesterday’s news, polarisation is the hallmark of today’s world. White versus black, Caucasian versus Asian. American civil rights leader Martin Luther King ominously described it as the "starless midnight of racism." Be it in the USA or Japan, in Europe or Africa, in India or China and for all the superior abilities man is endowed with, racial discrimination has run like a bad genetic strain through all societies in the world. America: White supremacy has led to horrific crime in the history of North America, yet somewhere down the line, reasoning and rationale did gain the upper hand. Take one of the world’s most famous civil rights activists, Martin Luther King Jr. His belief was Christianity, his tactics drawn from everywhere. King persisted with civil disobedience till African-Americans and other minorities were granted equal rights in the country. He overturned segregation laws in Georgia and helped organise protests both in Alabama and Washington, where he delivered his most famous speech of all. Martin Luther King’s civil disobedience movements were successful because he combined his own value system with that of others who inspired him like Mahatma Gandhi. × "And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream," the legendary rights activist declared. "It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed, that all men are created equal." Martin Luther King’s repeated civil disobedience movements were successful because he combined his own value system with that of others who inspired him like Mahatma Gandhi. The Mahatma had once remarked that South Africa, where he had lived in his earlier years, would be a "howling wilderness without the Africans". The Ku-Klux-Klan hasn’t gone away, neither have the Nazis in Europe. There were and are descendant groups of both around the world. Tough laws temper their outbursts, the hate they preach is mostly restricted to their paranoid but small folds. But statistics show that white supremacy in the United States has been on the rise. And not coincidentally, since 2016, making it seem as though divisive statements by President Donald J. Trump, first on campaign trail acted as a reassurance. It began to seem as though under Trump, racists will be able to speak their minds freely and have nothing to fear. Coincidence? Perhaps. Perhaps not. Residents of a town in Alabama woke up to flyers in November 2016, the day after the United States elected their new president. "Join the only group that has ever stood for the white man", it read. "Black radicals have reverted back to savages", read another. There have been more than 450 recorded incidents of unabashed racism directed against Jews, Chinese, Asians × On the same day, swastikas and pro-Nazi graffiti appeared in Philadelphia. Sprayed inside a boys’ bathroom in a Minnesota school were the following messages: Go back to Africa, whites only, White America and Trump train, "make America great again". Between November 2016 when the United States voted for a new president and August 2017, there have been more than 450 recorded incidents of unabashed racism directed against Jews, Chinese, Asians – in short, anyone who is not Caucasian. It would be absurd to lay the resurgence of racism at President Trump’s doorstep alone. The US President’s argument that democracies must allow all including racists to be heard, is a valid point. It’s a successful tactic, the same employed by African-American jazz musician Daryl Davis to neutralise many white supremacists by engaging or befriending them. But here’s a thought could Trump’s incendiary talk have polarised American society by acting as a magnet to what already lay simmering beneath the genteel surface of the political correctness that has dominated public speech and opinion over the past several decades? Wages for software engineers in America would be 10 per cent higher if H-1B visas were not implemented. × It seemed that way some weeks ago when white supremacists took to the streets in Charlottesville and violence erupted. Significantly, they felt no need to disguise themselves. The masks were off and so were the white hoods. Alec Kerrigan and “Reverend” James Logsdon were enthusiastic participants in Charlottesville. Both spoke to WION’s Andy Roesgen and unsurprisingly, hatred of immigrants from India seems to be the "new normal". "The problem with races such as Indians entering the country is that they don’t integrate at large", Kerrigan told WION. They build their own communities and don't trust their neighbours and they give less to charity. Wages for software engineers in America would be 10 per cent higher if H-1B visas (given to Indian software engineers) were not implemented. In other words, bringing in highly-skilled immigrants from other countries is bad for the highly-skilled natives. Racism watchdog Southern Poverty Law Center told WION that Reverend James Logsdon's "Creativity Movement" is neither holy nor creative. It’s nothing but a hate group. Here's what Logsdon told WION. "Indian immigration is not similar to any other racial group, not Mexicans or Arabic Muslims because Indians don't come here and commit crimes, they don't come here and rape or kill like you see with Mexicans and the worse elements. You have a lot of highly educated Indians in the medical field in America who do benefit our society. But you also have a lot of them who come with degrees that are falsified, education documents that are falsified, they get IT jobs and they're trained by other people who have been here longer to do the jobs properly, essentially getting into the country by lying and taking American jobs." But why was Logsdon in Charlottesville during the riots? After all, that demonstration had nothing to do with Indian software engineers and all to do with protecting America’s white architectural heritage, statues of erstwhile supremacists. "No, I personally don’t care about old statues," argued Logsdon. "But I understand what they were fighting for. Imagine for the sake of argument, that political correctness affected all of the people in India and affected the caste system. And they decided that the Hindu system was racist and oppressive and the people pushing political correctness decided that all the statues that honoured their gods and their system were to be forcibly torn down. How would Indians feel about that? This is the type of thing that's happening in America today. They're trying to destroy any semblance of our culture and our history. No matter how you feel about being good or bad, our history is our history. You should not tear those things down, just to make them feel better in their safe spaces." The United Kingdom, Portugal, The Netherlands, Spain and France rapaciously exploited North Africa, South America, sub-Saharan Africa and much of Asia including and especially India. × Europe: It’s the geographical venue of one of the worst genocides in the history of mankind, the Holocaust under Germany’s Nazis saw 6 million men, women and children murdered. They were not armed separatists, nor criminal mafia. Their biggest crime is that they were born Jewish, not within Europe’s Christian majority. Germany learned its lessons and remains deeply repentant. And yet, rightwing movements are on the rise. There were more than 900 terror attacks by Islamist terror groups in Europe between 2001 and 2017. But that’s not the only reason. There’s also a certain, God-given superiority that colonising forefathers from France, the UK and the Netherlands vested in themselves. To racist British citizens, all South Asian migrants are "Pakis", to some xenophobic French, northern Africans are "dirty Arabs", to Dutch supremacists, foreign migrants are "scum". The United Kingdom, Portugal, The Netherlands, Spain and France rapaciously exploited North Africa, South America, sub-Saharan Africa and much of Asia including and especially India. When nations grow more powerful than others off stolen wealth, their citizens feel endowed with divinity. But the recession, unemployment and fiery rhetoric from those who rule or aim to rule, are natural catalysts for polarisation. There’s growing religious paranoia and inflammatory rhetoric mainly under Saudi Arabian influence. It has caused a backlash. Hindus are mobilising themselves. × Asia: But is racism restricted to countries where the majority population is white? Not at all. Let’s take a look at South East Asia. Indians have been in Malaysia since medieval times. People of Indian origin constitute 86 per cent of Malaysia’s total population of 31.19 million. Here, it’s brown versus brown. It’s been largely peaceful. And yet, growing radicalisation of the country’s Islamic majority through an alien brand of Wahabi Islam has resulted in growing polarisation. Temples built hundreds of years ago on private land have been demolished. There’s growing religious paranoia and inflammatory rhetoric mainly under Saudi Arabian influence. It has caused a backlash. Hindus are mobilising themselves. Sanjeev Ramakrishnan and his NGO Mywatch, fight against such discrimination. "There is very clear discrimination in education when the maximum number of seats are given to Malays and next to Chinese. Indians hardly get any seats. Major courses like medicine and law are not given to Indians. I ask why they don’t go on merit? I am a Malaysian and by race I am Indian. But if I bid for a government contract, I must have a Malay partner with a 51 per cent stake in the business. They should surely not award contracts based on race" Ramakrishnan says this is true of every walk of life in Malaysia. People of different races live peacefully in Malaysia but the people who rule are us are trying to create a divide. Recently in a school, cups for drinking water were separated for Muslims and non-Muslims. We are fighting for the right to live as Malaysian. We are not refugees here, we are not immigrants here. My grandfather came from India but my father was born in Malaysia. So, I think I am rightfully Malaysian. A lot of Indian don’t have citizenship even if they are born here. But more Pakistani and Bangladeshi are now coming to Malaysia and are being given citizenship. Politicians in parliament have said, "if you don’t like Malaysia get out, go back to India." Indians are more affluent today, travelling a lot more today, seeing a lot more of the world today. And yet, African students in India have borne the brunt of blatant racism, not in some remote village but right in the heart of India’s capital New Delhi. × We are obsessed with fair skin, a hangover of the British Raj when it all started. The belief that the white man, his white skin, must be superior in many ways. It’s strange because, in Hindu mythology, gods like Krishna and Shiva are painted blue. This blue is meant to indicate skin so black that it appears blue. To be dark-skinned in ancient India, was to be beautiful and god-like. But that’s far from the case in modern India. When it comes to brides and bridegrooms, fair skins come at a premium. That’s now begun to take on dismaying proportions. Indians are more affluent today, travelling a lot more today, seeing a lot more of the world today. And yet, African students in India have borne the brunt of blatant racism, not in some remote village but right in the heart of India’s capital New Delhi. Polarisation: A pandemic, a frightening phenomenon. Whether we blame it on President Donald Trump, or, on the rise of the rightwing in Europe; whether we blame it on Saudi Arabian influence in the far east, or, on growing affluence and arrogance in India, there is no doubt that communities and races are huddling together, displaying absolute intolerance for the mere existence of any other than their own kind. Racism is not the only manifestation. There’s that other powerful catalyst of hate i.e. Religion. This is the first of WION's three-part series "Poles Apart".

'The colour of hatred'

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