Editorial

The war raging in the Middle East carries all the elements of new strategic choices the United States and Israel seek to impose on the beleaguered region. Israel’s objective is to crush the nascent democracy in the areas under the control of Palentinian Authority and secure a Lebanon free of Hizbollah, the militant outfit which has established a popular network in southern Lebanon and is also a partner in the coalition ruling Lebanon. The global cop, US is allowing the dog to be wagged by the tail. The UN kept silence for full nine initial days during which Israel systematically pulverized Lebanon’s infrastructure and Gaza was bombed into antiquity. With initial attempts to condemn Israeli aggression having been vetoed by the US-which it was doing for the 33rd time in 30 years to save its pet ally in the Middle East from international censure-the Jewish State is proceeding with relentless ferocity to realise its strategic goals. The G8 and the European Union too did not think it was imperative for them to call for a ceasefire. Even when the UN woke up from its pretended sleep, it only floated the idea of stationing an international force thereby fulfilling the Israeli script to the final dot. Such a force would require at least three weeks to deploy and would arrive there merely to maintain peace over an area metamorphosed as per the wishes of the Zionist State.


The international media, monopolised by a handful of multinationals, is as usual interpreting the Israeli offensive as a response ‘in retaliation for capture of three Israeli soldiers by Hamas and Hizbollah’. While the Israeli rationale is so well explained, the fact that Israel too is holding hundreds of Hizbollah and Palestinian men in prison remains unsaid. Even as these lines are being written, Israeli prisons are incarcerating over 9,000 Palestinians. Of these 380 are children and 115 women. Since the 1967 occupation of the West Bank, Israel has illegally detained or imprisoned 6.5 lakh Palestinians and occupies a territory that is 74 per cent more than the one mandated by the UN. Consequently, the world public opinion remains hostage to the distorted picture projected by the so-called multinational media. It is the same old game of condoning Israel’s brutalities but dubbing the resistance against occupation as terrorism.


Israel, like its patron, the US, is engaged in suppressing democratic resistance to its existence. First it emaciated the Hamas-led Government by withholding the Palestinian Authority’s share in the taxes collected by Israeli government. As resulting discontent took a violent turn and an Israeli soldier was captured, the Gazans were inflicted with bloody reprisals. The US has been a willing ally in all the acts of terror by the Israeli state. When Hamas leader Shaikh Yaseen was martyred, it was the US veto that blocked the UN condemnation. Ditto after Yaseen’s successor Rantissi was martyred within a space of two months. No eyebrows were raised when Israel destroyed the UN Food Programme in Palestine and killed UN aid workers engaged in the project.


UN’s credibility has touched its nadir in the face of its impotence to act against Israel, a creation of the UN resolution no. 181 in 1947. The UN’s predecessor, the League of Nations collapsed in similar circumstances prior to the second World War. No tears would be shed if the lame-duck UN makes its exit out of the chaotic world that it failed to bring to some order.

Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil’s remarks about madrassas are paternalistic. Coming as it does from none other than the Home Minister, these may be a source of satisfaction for many. But we would be grossly failing in our duty if we get carried away by their quotable quote quality. True, madrassas do not promote terrorism, but they do perpetuate dogmatism. Their tendency to resist change in curriculum, rejecting any kind of authority, failure to adopt a centralized structure for monitoring of standards, funding and recruitment rules, has lowered their credibility. As a result, the madrassas are mushrooming all over the country, tapping Muslim charities without any accountability, and delivering products that fit into no category of jobs and professions. No cost-benefit ratio has ever been applied to them. Students sail through the course without exams and there is no willingness to include modern sciences and languages of contemporary relevance into the curriculum. No benchmarks have ever been set up to judge the quality of the graduates from their portals. No worthwhile research has ever been undertaken by their faculty. Rather they vie with each other in producing ever more conservative interpretation of the holy scriptures.


Perhaps the Home Minister could have looked into all these aspects before handing over a clean chit. Let it be understood that without a thorough scrutiny of the madrassa curriculum and remedial measures, the quality of Muslim leadership would remain mired in obscurantist mode. It would lead the community away from 21st century into obscurity of primitive ages. It is here that we need to accept Mr. Patil adulatory remarks with a pinch of salt.