Are the things we are doing making any difference, or worse, causing the enemies of justice to be even more entrenched in their position? Some of the conversations I have had during this month of trying to bring attention to this crisis have been painful and discouraging. Watch: Who Is the Man Arrested for Offering Namaz In a Temple? Hear from His FriendsĪnd yet, I feel powerless. Anand ji also made a short video on Faisal bhai’s arrest, in both English and Hindi. Rajmohan Gandhi and Anand Patwardhan, both of whom are close to Faisal bhai, wrote heartfelt appeals for his release. We have launched a petition, and have been promoting it. We have been mobilising Hindus to defend Faisal bhai. We were part of a press conference as soon as Faisal bhai was arrested, and will soon have a second press conference. In the past month, I have been working daily on the #FreeFaisalKhan campaign.
#Taittiriya upanishad for love free#
The mainstream media in India speaks of a parallel universe to the one I am aware of: one in which freedom of speech, protest, expression, thought and belief are being diminished to the extent that I wonder if India can still be called a free country. More activists and dissenters have been imprisoned – Faisal bhai is one of thousands in a growing list of prisoners of conscience. Photo: Special arrangementīut things seem so much worse than they did a year ago. Sunita with her son Gautama and a friend at an anti-CAA rally in NYC, in January 2020. This time last year, my organisation along with so many others in the diaspora took to the streets to protest the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and National Register of Citizens. What does it say about our world, about India, that a man that represents love and peace is in prison, accused of inciting communal disharmony, and denied bail twice? And the most important thing is to work with both Muslim and Hindu youth.” We must take from Gandhi’s example and Bacha Khan’s example, and go among the people with love and humanity. Khudai Kidmatgar is doing it, but we need to do more. Some people think I am mad, but I maintain that the only way we will bring light to this darkness is with even more truth and love. It is a challenging time, I don’t deny that. He said, “Of course I am very concerned about the state of the Indian democracy. Every time I broached politics, he steered the conversation towards love. Faisal bhai is a devout Muslim, but he can also recite Hindu prayers and scriptures with more authority and passion than most Hindus I know.Ī few months ago, I interviewed Faisal bhai for a blog on present-day nonviolent resistance movements.
We are in regular touch because his work of peacemaking takes him to temples and mosques, and I am myself devoted to interfaith dialogue and unity. Faisal bhai is being charged with praying in the temple without permission, with an intent to cause communal disharmony.įaisal bhai is on the advisory board of my organisation, Hindus for Human Rights. He was about to go outside to pray, but the priest invited him to pray right in the temple compound.
On November 3, just about a month ago, my dear friend and colleague Faisal Khan was arrested for doing namaz in a Hindu temple in Mathura.
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