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Dear Readers,
                       Happy Eid! May Allah shower upon us his grace and mercy!

                     It would be quite unnerving for any sensible citizen of this country to read about the recent developments in Assam and Bangalore. Personally, any news pertaining to majority-minority clashes leaves an indelible mark on my psyche and compels me to ponder over the causes and effects. Two good articles :  " Our heart must bleed for everyone..not just Muslims", The Hindu, August 19 by Adnan and "No Glass Ceiling but hard ground realities", The Hindu, August 18 by Ajaz Ashraf make a lot of sense.  Most of the times we see that riots take place in a frenzy of sensationalism and invariably, the vehicle of such mob incitement is misinformed history. 

                         Many of us are well informed about the deliberate distorted versions of the history of our nation popularised in the wake of communal and decisive politics. Any average scholar of history would be appalled to gauge the discrepancies between the normative and the empirical. Such distortions are connived not only to widen the gap between Hindus and Muslims but also between various castes and regional identities. Against such a vitiated background, the role and responsibilities of the intelligentsia and the media gets highlighted. The least that we can do is to make errands in order to set things right and correct the misgivings. 

                        Hindus and Muslims in South Asia have had a complicated relationship since the 1940's. The sensationalism of the 'two nation theory' and the matched aggrandisement of Hindutva forces completely obliterated traces of a common heritage and past. We forgot the essence of our history. We forgot how Hindu landlords and Muslim Talukdars fought shoulder to shoulder in the Revolt of 1857. We forgot how Hindu generals commanded victoriously the armies of the house of Timur. We forgot how Hindus and Muslims together opposed the division of Bengal. We forgot how Hindus and Muslims lived together. We must rectify our memories.....