India's Donald Trump, Aravindan Neelakandan, and Tragedy in Orlando

Even as the nation was barely coming to terms with an unfolding tragedy in Orlando, where a Muslim man shot dead 49 at a night club frequented by gays, Donald Trump tweeted self-congratulatory notes about being correct on terrorism. India's own Donald Trump, Aravindan Neelakandan, was not to be left behind. Neelakandan wrote a hate filled screed that is shameful, bigoted and plain nonsense, dangerous nonsense.

On June 12th Omar Mateen walked into 'Pulse', a gay nightclub, and mowed down 49 victims with a semi-automatic gun. Several are in grave condition in hospitals around Orlando. Mateen was shot and killed by a SWAT team. Donald Trump, a shameful bigoted nominee of the Republican party, trafficked innuendos that included alluding to Mateen being an immigrant, Mateen was born in US. America. To America's credit, Trump's innuendos are inviting a backlash.

It is complete idiocy to act as if Mateen, a Muslim, was singularly homophobic due to his religion. America has its fair share of homophobia that has nothing to do with Islam. Violence against homosexuals has a sordid history in America. From Matthew Shepard (1998) to Tyler Clementi (2010) gays have paid a very tragic price for their sexuality. Notably, Shepard was killed by Christians, Clementi was driven to suicide by Asians, a Chinese and a Tamil Hindu, at Rutgers University.

Aravindan Neelakandan (Photo Courtesy https://bharatabharati.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/aravindan-neelakandan.jpg)

Trump and many Americans, and Neelakandan, are screaming 'terrorism', 'radical islam' for what Mateen did. Yes, it is terrorism. But what do we call the massacre of blacks in a church by white supremacist Dylan Roof? Why is the latter only grudgingly called 'racism' or more politely 'gun violence' but not terrorism? Yes, the duo of San Bernardino who killed office goers are terrorists. But what do we call a guy who opens fire on movie goers in a theater? America has a gun problem. To pretend that a guy who attributes his killing to a religion is somehow more dangerous than others is dodging a key problem. Sure, let's not dodge radicalization but let's not dodge other sicknesses too that result in such loss of life.

If Mateen's homophobia is to be blamed on radical Islam, or just Islam, what do we call the Evangelicals of America who froth at their mouth against marriage equality? Incidentally, homosexuality remains criminalized in Aravindan Neelakandan's India.

Neelakandan's Islamophobia turns him into an apologist for even the LTTE, a murderous terrorist organization that was known for ruthless assassinations with complete disregard for human life. In order to satisfy the itch of his Islamophobia Neelakandan nonchalantly states that LTTE even while carrying out assassinations takes care to "minimize human losses"with "meticulously planned attacks". This viper which spews hatred argues that if only the attack against Rajeev Gandhi had gone according to plan only Rajiv and the suicide bomber would've died. This is nonsense. The assassin had a belt bomb that used ball bearings and projectiles designed to kill not just the intended victim but anybody in the radius so effectively that Rajiv could not have escaped death. The LTTE stood exposed as a murderous outfit when it used the very people that it was supposed to liberate as human shields and even started shooting at the same people when they sought to escape to the safety of the Sri Lankan troops. Why am I surprised at the mendacity of Neelakandan, after all, he swears by the organization that was an inspiration to the assassin of Gandhi.

Neelakandan details gruesome acts by terrorists, including a pregnant woman being shot dead. He happily forgets that Hindus in Gujarat unleashed equally murderous and similar grotesque deeds against Muslims. While he plays psychologist diagnosing that even if one escapes a terrorist attack the "trauma" of the killers eyes that singled you out for your faith will leave an indelible mark, he cooly forgets that it was a marauding band of Hindu politicians who embarked on an unprecedented genocide in nowhere but the very capital of the nation against hapless individuals whose only fault was that they were Sikhs. We would do well to remember that one of the worst airline related tragedies was courtesy the Sikhs in Canada. Hindu policemen murdered in cold blood youth, whose only mistake was that they were Muslim, in Hashimpura and not a single one was convicted. Thousands of Muslims were massacred in Nellie and the report is still classified secret. When Muslims perpetrate terror attacks the perpetrators, and many times several innocents too, face the iron hand of Indian law but more often than not when it is Muslims who have faced attacks the Indian state, both Congress and BJP governments, have done little to bring the guilty to book.

The murder of Kashmiri Pandits, by Muslim Kashmiri separatists, is indeed a blood soaked chapter in the history of Kashmir. While Neelakandan weeps for them he happily forgets how Muslims evacuated villages as the juggernaut of Advani's Rath Yatra rolled inexorably towards Ayodhya.

Hinduism is "inherently pluralist, democratic and inherently secular" claims Neelakandan. This is absolute myth. No religion is inherently pluralist or democratic or secular. Pluralism and secularism, the corner stones of a liberal nation-state, are modern ideas that were enshrined in Indian constitution by not just Nehru but including other men who were far greater than Neelakandan, or me.The women and children who were burned in Keezhvenmani will completely disagree with Neelakandan's Goebbelsian propaganda. Neelakandan claims that the RSS, a neo-nazi organization, supports decriminilazing homosexuality and extends his fantasy claim to assert that even those who disagree with that sexuality "concede that it is a personal matter" and then chides Islam as being uncomfortable with such pluralism. Narendra Modi, Neelakandan's political idol, rules with a brute majority in the Parliament, pray, why has he not then moved a legislation to decriminalize homosexuality in India? How many rallies or agitations has RSS undertaken to further the cause of LGBT community? Compare that to how many times RSS supporters and office holders speak about Hindu causes.

Supporting Israel is another bogey for the Hindutva brigade. While I support Israel I'd say that it is hideous to whitewash what happened to Palestinians over the decades. I wish Palestinians had had better leaders but that said the tears shed by Neelakandan for Israel are just crocodile tears. Reducing the hatred of Palestinians towards Israel as "more to do with the theological hatred Islamism bears towards Jews than land issues" is sheer mendacity.

An interesting news that caught my eye recently was Hindus in India praying for the election of Donald Trump as America's president because they believe that Trump will defend America from what they consider as the menace of Islam. The Hindutva far right, of whom quite a few live in US too, is cheering Trump without realizing that the bigotry and xenophobia that Trump is unleashing will affect Indians too. America, I hope, will defeat Trump.

The hypocrisies of the Hindutva group in US needs mention. Neelakandan's co-author of a recently published book is a US resident and complete supporter of everything he dishes out. Recently she had shared on her Facebook page an anti-Islamic rant by a white American asking why should America accommodate the beliefs of Muslim immigrants. I asked her does she, a Hindu and therefore a minority in US, realize that she expects US to accommodate her beliefs? Indians take immense pride when the White House celebrates Diwali and even schools in Hindu majority neighborhoods in US declare Diwali a holiday. Corporations now celebrate Diwali and one should see Hindu workers turn out in all their finery and lecture to wide eyed Americans about the greatness of Indian culture.

Despite all the Trump related noise there is hope in America. The Lt. Governor of Utah, a deeply conservative state, gave a moving speech in the wake of the Orlando shooting. He recounted how growing up in a small town he used to mock gays in his school days and apologized for not having known better. People like Spencer Cox and Barack Obama, yes I mean that, will leave America a better place. I know there are sensible people in India too and they fight the good fight against the Neelakandans who are trying to destroy India. May the will of good people prevail over the hate mongers.

References:

1. Orlando Tragedy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_Orlando_nightclub_shooting
2. Neelakandan's article http://swarajyamag.com/world/at-the-heart-of-jihadi-terror-hatred-for-pluralism#.V16yH0z4HjE.facebook
3. Matthew Shepard -- Gay student beaten, tortured and left to die for being gay -- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_Shepard
4. Tyler Clementi -- Gay student at Rutgers University, committed suicide after being outed by a Chinese and an Indian student -- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suicide_of_Tyler_Clementi
5. Utah governor's apology for mistreating gays in school days http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/06/15/482207689/watch-utah-lt-governor-apologizes-for-past-attitude-toward-gay-people

Bal Thackeray and Yakub Memon: Two Funerals and Partisan Outrages

My favorite writer has stirred the proverbial hornet's nest, yet again. Apparently he, along with many patriotic Hindus, was troubled by the fact that thousands of Muslims gathered for the funeral of Yakub Memon, convicted for the deadly Mubai blasts in which hundreds were killed and maimed. The diatribe by the writer laments, of course, with good benign intentions, how Muslims are being misled. The blog brought to my mind memories of how Bal Thackeray was laid to rest, replete with state honors, with even larger crowds bringing all of Mumbai to a stand still. And few other memories came to my mind.

My beloved writer, unknowingly echoing Bush, writes that the Mumbai blasts were a declaration of war against India and mourns the hundreds that were killed or maimed  in that attack. As one who lived through 9/11 and as one who steadfastly rejects resolutely the left wing nonsense of "America asked for it" I normally do not subscribe to the idea of excusing terrorism under any pretext or justification. However, it'd be a travesty of truth if one were to see the Mumbai blasts in isolation because they were not. The blasts were a reprisal, absolutely unjustified of course, for the scandalous manner with which the then governments refused to prosecute the perpetrators of the Mumbai riots that had happened, in turn, in the wake of the Babri Masjid demolition. And, Babri Masjid demolition did not happen in a vacuum either. The road to the destruction of Babri Masjid, in full glare of international media in broad daylight and under the very noses of police protection, starts from the blood soaked path of Advani's Rath Yatra. Of course, why bother with context and nuances when shrill jingoism would suffice.

Anyone who was an adult in the 1990s India would remember what a boiling cauldron the country was. Buffeted between economic and political uncertainties the country was like an ill equipped catamaran tossed about on the rough seas. On one side Advani was tearing apart the country with his quest to build a temple and on the other side V.P. Singh, trying to cling to power, was unleashing casteism in the pretext of social justice. Entire villages quaked with fear as Advani's chariot progressed inexorably. In the midst of all this the state run TV was helpfully beaming to every household a pathetically crafted series based on the Indian epics which served to further notch up the fever. Nehru's grandson brought a TV actor dressed up as Hindu god to canvas for votes in Allahabad, Nehru's hometown. To say that in such a climate Muslims felt besieged as a community would be a grotesque understatement.

Bal Thackeray Funeral -- Courtesy NDTV.com http://www.ndtv.com/photos/news/bal-thackeray-cremated-14198#photo-184596

While the world watched Advani and Vajpayee presided over the demolition of Babri Masjid. It was India's moment of shame. The country was plunged into a communal tension possibly not seen since the horrifying days of the Partition. Mumbai erupted into flames. There was Bal Thackeray, who, as Sri Krishna committee report would note later, orchestrating the riots like an army general. Now, Thackeray had shot to fame riding a wave of xenophobia, not against foreigners but fellow Indians from other states, especially Tamils. He had once, like the many other leaders of the Hindutva pantheon, expressed admiration for Adolf Hitler. No government dared touch him, because he was not a Muslim. The failure to prosecute Thackeray stoked the flames of resentment amongst the Muslim community and a terrorist like Dawood Ebrahim, aided by Pakistan's sinister ISI, capitalized the situation.

Interestingly the writer nonchalantly states that Indian judiciary is hampered by the fact that finding witnesses against terrorist acts, by Islamic terrorist outfits, is impossible and therefore many a terrorist goes scot free. Before we deconstruct that poisonous statement a nuance that's glided here is that terrorist organizations, especially Islamic ones, are proscribed by the government and there are very draconian laws against supporting or aiding such organizations. In terror attacks the individual foot soldiers are nobodies and the kingpins do not indulge in the acts directly and therefore finding witnesses against them is impossible. Also, terrorist attacks are not police cases to be prosecuted in a court of law. Ask the Jodhpur detainees.

While expressing umbrage at the fact that lack of witnesses aid the terrorists the writer completely forgets that no witness would dare to say in open court the role played by Thackeray during the riots. In fact so sanitized is Thackeray's record that to even label him with a harsher word than fundamentalist will invite charges of extremism against me.

Let's consider another infamous case. In the aftermath of the assassination of Indira Gandhi Hindu congressmen unleashed a genocide in Delhi against Sikhs and killed nearly 5000 sikhs over several days while Nehru's grandson nonchalantly informed the country that when a huge tree falls the earth is bound to shake. It took 20 years for the Nanavati commission to submit its 185 page report accusing H.K.L Bhagat, Jagadish Tytler, Sajjan Kumar and others of having taken part in the riots. Bhagat and Tytler held high positions in the Congress Government. The writer is indignant that in any other country Yakub Memon, a member of the underworld mafia, would not be tolerated and no state that's resolutely against the underworld would hesitate to just 'shoot him'. I'd love to know if he think Bhagat and Tytler too should've been shot. Oh, wait, they are not of the underworld and they are not Muslims so a protracted due process in a court of law is required. Incidentally, it rankles the writer that Hasina Parker, who allegedly ran the underworld on behalf of Dawood, died a natural death. H.K.L. Bhagat too died a natural death.

Thirty two years ago a massacre unfolded in Nellie, Assam. Indira Gandhi announced elections much against advice that it would inflame an already volcanic situation. Nearly 1800 Muslims were butchered from morning till evening on 18th February 1983. Rest of India heard about it only a few days later. The Tiwari Commission report, that investigated the massacre, was not even tabled. The peace accord signed with separatist organizations gave almost a complete amnesty to the perpetrators of the horrors. And here we are invited to be outraged that terrorist acts by Islamic outfits goes unpunished for lack of witnesses.

The case of Hashimpura massacre is even more shameful. On 22nd May 1987 42 Muslim youths were arrested by the police (Provincial Armed Constabulary), executed in cold blood and bodies dumped in a river. After 28 years a court acquitted all 16 accused for lack of evidence. Now, its easier to find a witness against Afzal Guru or Yakub Memon but absolutely impossible to find a witness against the PAC in such a case.

I share the writer's loathing for the sickening double standards of the Marxists. Marxists would froth at their mouth against US going to war against Iraq but would shut all their orifices about Soviet invasion of Afghanistan or the terror regime in Chechnya. Marxists had a field day after 9/11 lecturing US about how 9/11 was just retribution against US hegemony etc. But, the point at which I part company with the writer on his diatribe is when he obfuscates wider context of what went on with the Yakub Memon affair.

Not just Muslims but most Indians have little faith in the judiciary. When the highest court of the land acquitted a corrupt politician it was anybody's guess as to why it happened. The same act was repeated most recently too. The many acts of omission by Indian judiciary has engendered a climate of absolute distrust in the law. How does a country trust the judiciary when 365 Sikh youths were arrested, detained and tortured for 4 years and finally released just like that? Tamil Nadu recently saw a spate of protests against the pending execution of 3 convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case. Again, distrust of the judiciary and due process was the bedrock of the protests.

A section of the population celebrating a killer or assassin is not all that uncommon in India. Sikhs celebrate the killers of Indira, Tamils celebrate the killers of Rajiv, Hindutva group celebrates the killer of Gandhi. Even forest brigand, thug and murderer Veerappan is celebrated. Yet, nothing rankles the hearts of many like seeing Muslims mourning Yakub Memon. And THAT is because Muslims, as always, are held to a different standards.

Poor Abdul Kalam has become a political football even in death. The Sikh community had fractured relationship with Giani Zail Singh under whose presidency the anti-sikh riots happened and with Manmohan Singh who accepted the prime-mistership from the party that conducted the riots. This is natural. Kalam accepted the presidency from a party that was an implacable foe of Muslims and it could very well have led to an alienation from the community. Such an alienation, in their eyes, is fully justified. One also has to bear in mind the nefarious motives and tortured reasonings of the Hindutva crowd in singing the praises of Kalam. Just as there are Hindus today who want to worship Godse there happen to be Muslims who are mourning for Memon. When Gandhi was assassinated Chitpavan Brahmins in Pune, the community of Godse, distributed sweets.

To my mind those who thronged Yakub Memon's funeral are not different from those who milled around Bal Thackeray's funeral. At least Memon died a criminal convicted in a court of law and executed in accordance with the law of the land. That Thackeray was buried with State honors is a shame. That Advani and Vajpayee were elected leaders is a shame. That the thousands of Sikhs are still awaiting justice is an shame. That Dalit residences were burned, on no lesser day than August 15th, for wanting to take their own temple chariot in a procession, is a shame.

References:

1. http://www.jeyamohan.in/77891#.VdZ9gLTigso
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hashimpura_massacre
3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nellie_massacre
4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombay_Riots
5. http://www.caravanmagazine.in/vantage/thirty-two-years-later-nellie-massacre-remains-all-forgotten

A Tragedy In Wisconsin And Some Debates

On Aug 5th Wade Michael Page, a member of a White supremacist group, went to a Gurdwara in Oak Creek, WI and killed, in cold blood fueled by racism, 6 people. He would have killed more but for a timely alert by kids aged 4 who saw him first. Page terrorized a group of peaceful worshippers until SWAT teams took him down. The Sikh community and Indian-Americans at large are still reeling from  the emotional aftermath. President Obama ordered a national day of mourning and assured India's Sikh Prime Minister that all will be done to protect Sikhs in America. Wisconsinites and Americans at large poured forth their sympathies. Rev Paul Armstrong of United Methodist Church in Oak Creek told Time "we are in this together..the community is saying we hold the Sikhs in high regard". A year ago Rev Armstrong had taken members of his church to the Gurdwara and was "totally impressed by their hospitality and their tales faith". (Below picture is of the community in Oak Creek mourning, courtesy Time magazine, more pictures at the bottom of the blog, also from Time )

The tragedy in Wisconsin took place within a month of another mad guy (now, medically mad) taking an assault rifle to a Batman movie and mowing down tens of moviegoers. That triggered a debate about America's vexing issue of gun control. Fareed Zakaria argued, correctly, in Time that America has a gun problem and really needs to look at the issue disappasionately. Zakaria went so far as to say that Americans who do not support gun controls are doing a disservice to the famous 'second amendment' which is cited for the 'right to bear arms'. The Wisconsin shooting took on another layer of controversy viz. 'racism'. Sikhs have been targeted, 700 times according to Sikh associations, since 9/11, being mistaken for Muslims. Some of those incidents were fatal.

Wade Page was a racist, pure and simple. He was a member of white supremacist gang and had an application for KKK, the most notorious racist organization in USA. Page, reports now reveal, was an avid listener to a certain genre of pop music that, NYT called, 'fueled hate'. Even music can be used to fuel hatred. Two op-eds appearing in Washington Post and NYT, by Sikhs, amongst others, have taken this racism angle head on.

Arjun Sethi, writing in Wash.Post, recounts painful incidents like being bullied in high school (pushed into girls toilet), profiled at courts, where he appeared professionally. Sethi points out how FBI for reporting hate crimes does not have an option for Sikhs to record. MLK Jr scolded America that its promissory note returned "insufficient funds". Sethi called for America to live up to its promise of equality for its diverse population since that is 'what drives immigrants here and what makes USA the envy of the world'.

Bhira Backhaus, writing in NYT, celebrated the century old Gurdwara in Stockton. Backhaus, like Gogol in Jhumpa Lahiri's 'Namesake', recalls growing up amidst a culture clash. He had married 'outside the Sikh community' causing a 'painful breach' with his parents until their last days. Backhaus is comforted that when his parents reached out to him at last he understood that he still "belonged to the community". Then he raised the question if the devotees would have been spared had they 'dressed' like the rest of Americans (almost all women folk in that Gurdwara were in Salwar) or talked like Americans.

That the victims were brown skinned was the only reason they were killed. No matter what dress they wore or what accent they spoke Wade Page would not have spared a single one of them. Backhaus concludes by saying "to wipe away what has come before, who we have been over the centuries, also means to forget who our own mothers and fathers were". This is where I differ. This is moment of great tragedy and the cause is clear, racism, hence I tread carefully on this 'assimilation' debate.

Active discussions are taking place on the fact that Sikhs, unlike other Indians, wear a visible sign of their religion. The turban and a beard for the menfolk. It is their religious precept and they should be free to do it without prejudice like a pastor wearing his cassock or a Jew wearing his yarmulke. Assimilating does not mean forsaking all that.

Backhaus would love for Americans, of all races, to respect his faith, his values and whatever goes within the amorphous term 'culture'. But he has no word to say about the fact that his parents, RIP, thought it was sacrilegious to marry outside his community. His parents had lived in US for decades and I am sure expected to be treated as equal human beings. Should not Indians show the same acceptance towards American culture? Why do Indians look at American girls as something less? Why do Indians advertise for their girls "need groom for Indian born American girl, BUT brought up with Indian values". What does THAT mean?

When I saw 'Bend it like Beckham' I was indeed thinking 'are Sikhs in UK that insular from their fellow British'. Acceptance is a two way street. I understand that the community is anguished and very angry but how come nobody thought it proper to even mildly acknowledge the fact that the country has rallied around them unlike their mother land whose leader, in response to 3000 sikhs being killed, said "when a huge tree falls the earth is bound to shake".

I've been shocked to hear Indians carelessly use derogatory words referring to Afro-Americans. The term 'racism' is loosely used and often refers to whites as the perpetrators. Afro-American council members in DC spoke in blatant racist terms about 'Asian groceries'. Criticizing media adulation for South Asian basketball sensation Jeremy Lin an Afro-American athlete spoke in racist terms.

I am a strong supporter of being assimilated into the local culture. America's prosperity, its secular fabric, its openness etc are all the result of American 'culture'. Indians should learn to become Americans. A woman of Sikh origin is the governor of a Southern state (South Carolina). Preet Bharara, Manhattan Attorney, featured on the cover of Time and listed by Time as one of the '100 most influential, is the scourge of Wall Street.

Many Indians wonder why not US ban hate speeches. White supremacists are often monitored by FBI but America's vaunted 'first amendment' protects a lot of speeches including some abominable ideas. Hate speech is protected speech too. FBI or Department of Justice usually act with care when they prosecute for hate speech. This political correctness and respect for constitution is hotly debated. Before Indians accuse US of racism in turning a blind eye to white supremacist hate groups let us remember the Fort Hood shooting. Maj. Nidal Hassan killed 13 people in an army base. Nidal Hasan was flagged for provocative ideas but was given a pass.

When a person wags his finger at Americans and asks "why should I forget my language, my culture, my homeland etc" it would be fair to be asked back "so why bother to come here". An H1B guy who sends an email 4 days after landing saying "the common man on the road has no morals in USA" I am appalled. Why do Indians, who desire to be treated as equals and as 'Americans', at the first available instance ready to look at America like they were guests examining the country seeking to pass judgments? Indians need to first look at themselves as Americans and not as 'visitors' with a smug look of ' I love your money as long $1=Rs50 and I hate everything else'. If they think so it is ok except when they eagerly seek green cards or citizenships. There are millions of Indians and other countrymen who would love to become Americans for the love of American culture and they deserve that green card more than the smug Indians. Weeks after 9/11 I was at a party where a Sikh, a millionaire franchisee owner of Pizza Huts, declared solemnly "America is a terrorist country". This, from a person whose motherland is yet to prosecute, let alone convict, 28 years later, a single person for a pogrom that killed 3000 Sikhs. He did not even demur that 3000 of his fellow countrymen were killed just weeks back. As much as we want Americans to accept us it is high time we thought about how accepting we Indians are of Americans.

I disapprove of Indians celebrating India's independence day in USA complete with a flag march and, of course, a Bollywood actress. Those celebrations in NJ/NY are a shame both for India and USA. There is place for only one flag in US, the stars and stripes. That Empire State building lights up in tri color is the magnanimity of Americans. That Diwali is celebrated in the White House is a sign of arrival for Indian-Americans. Schools in NJ and even offices elsewhere celebrate Diwali. the Aug 15th celebrations, rediff.com points out, is strongly Hindutva in character pushing away other Indians. North Indians do not treat South Indians, especially Hindi illiterate South Indians, as fellow Indians. An advertisement for A.R.Rahman concert in NJ states "there will be as few Tamil songs as possible". When ARR first visited US North Indians booed him when he played Tamil songs. Then Tamils returned the favor for Hindi songs leading to that kind of advertisement. Indian Americans are a fractious lot. Instead of this useless Independence Parade if Indians organize symposiums on India's greatest achievement, its Freedom struggle, it would make Americans proud of India.

America can certainly do better and it is my wish to continue to hold America to its promise but we also need to remember that Americans are human beings too. 19 hijackers belonging to one religion declared a religious war killing 3000 Americans and the story continues till today. The Times Square bomber, a Pakistani, was even made a citizen. Yet he chose to kill fellow Americans on American soil. In this climate very regrettable acts of profiling and hate crimes occur. To be fair they have not proliferated. Bush's Secret Service agent was asked to get off a plane because he was a Muslim. Later Bush appeared on live TV with the agent beside him to condemn that incident. Bush, it should be noted, invited a Muslim cleric to offer prayers in the National Cathedral along side members of other clergy in the wake of 9/11. America has actively prosecuted hate crimes.

Today a Wisconsin teacher says he will learn more about Sikhism and teach his students. We wish a tragedy does not have to be the reason for that learning but this is the only sane redemption a society can strive for.