Faith steals shadowy Behind vistas in the mind,
Curt, invisible reminder
Of values left behind.
Mankind makes its ascent,
Seeking new Faith to find.
This year has been a particularly fruitful one from the point of view of religious fundies. From an atheists perspective it has been quite funny watching people of different faiths bouncing around with religious zeal hoarsely decrying whatever it is that they feel the need to decry.
This is the year of the religious protest, is started off on a high note with the Danish cartoon thing, then things cooled off for a while as the word rested, awaiting the next fool who thought he/she had something to say. Ron Howard happily provided. Although I think worldwide, there was not that much of a protest, Indian Christians, living up to the reputation of our great country got into the act. They are however relative newcomers in the time honoured art of picketing and boycotting. So, the rest of us watched with much amusement as the media paraded bishops, cardinals and Goan fishermen, ineffectually pleading for a ban on the movie. Being a peaceful bunch, relatively inexperienced in the field of movie banning, they merely succeeded in postponing its release date. They have found their voice though and I fully expect them to grow in confidence, I predict that they will soon be protesting with the best of them in the near future. The current experts in the field of religious bigotry in India are the Hindu and Muslim community. They have been active in protesting from time of British rule in India. The Hindus lead in the numbers game and are current leaders in the game. Our leaders have specialised in whipping up mass frenzy and mobilising the people in order to throw maximum weight behind any cause. The Muslims make up for what they lack in constituents with fanaticism unequalled on the subcontinent.
Shortly after the Christians were done with the Da Vinci Code, the Hindus thought it necessary to demonstrate their clout. They are currently protesting two different seemingly insignificant issues, simultaneously! Unheard of.
Having witnessed such a promising start to this decade, one can but wait, impatiently, for the things to come
Curt, invisible reminder
Of values left behind.
Mankind makes its ascent,
Seeking new Faith to find.
This year has been a particularly fruitful one from the point of view of religious fundies. From an atheists perspective it has been quite funny watching people of different faiths bouncing around with religious zeal hoarsely decrying whatever it is that they feel the need to decry.
This is the year of the religious protest, is started off on a high note with the Danish cartoon thing, then things cooled off for a while as the word rested, awaiting the next fool who thought he/she had something to say. Ron Howard happily provided. Although I think worldwide, there was not that much of a protest, Indian Christians, living up to the reputation of our great country got into the act. They are however relative newcomers in the time honoured art of picketing and boycotting. So, the rest of us watched with much amusement as the media paraded bishops, cardinals and Goan fishermen, ineffectually pleading for a ban on the movie. Being a peaceful bunch, relatively inexperienced in the field of movie banning, they merely succeeded in postponing its release date. They have found their voice though and I fully expect them to grow in confidence, I predict that they will soon be protesting with the best of them in the near future. The current experts in the field of religious bigotry in India are the Hindu and Muslim community. They have been active in protesting from time of British rule in India. The Hindus lead in the numbers game and are current leaders in the game. Our leaders have specialised in whipping up mass frenzy and mobilising the people in order to throw maximum weight behind any cause. The Muslims make up for what they lack in constituents with fanaticism unequalled on the subcontinent.
Shortly after the Christians were done with the Da Vinci Code, the Hindus thought it necessary to demonstrate their clout. They are currently protesting two different seemingly insignificant issues, simultaneously! Unheard of.
Having witnessed such a promising start to this decade, one can but wait, impatiently, for the things to come
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