Letters from Readers
Thanks for drawing attention to domestic violence
My dad gets Khabar magazine and I always read the articles. I wanted to write to say how much I appreciated you calling out the increase in domestic and particularly the normalization of violence against women in our culture in your January issue (“Cover Story: When Home is Not a Safe Haven”). I work in this space and address human trafficking and genderbased violence. It is certainly an ongoing challenge. In fact, my thesis explored “Indian Immigrants’ Attitudes and Understandings of Violence Against Women.” I researched to see if they’ve changed once they moved to the U.S. Through my data collection, I found that, interestingly, while men’s perceptions shifted, women’s didn’t. Once again, thank you for drawing attention to this important issue.
Priya Dhanani
by email
Muslim nations surprisingly silent about Uyghurs
Indians commenting on the mistreatment of Uyghurs may have forgotten their own history, but Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leader Xi Jinping knows how his neighboring country was divided into three parts creating Pakistan (East and West) for Muslims, but no Hindustan for Hindus as the rest of India was for all. During the Mauryan Empire, India (then known as Bharatvarsh) was about three times larger than the present size. Xi Jinping knows the history of shrinking India. Hence, he will never allow the creation of a Muslim state carved out of China. His goal is expansion of China, not its shrinkage.
Xi’s concern is not without foundation. East Turkestan Liberation Organization was a secessionist militant Uyghur organization advocating for an independent Uyghur state in Xinjiang. CCP chose to crush such movements by converting Muslims to “Chinese religion.” That is being done through the reeducation of Muslims. All Islamic symbols are being removed from mosques and Arabic scripts replaced by Mandarin. Thus, mosques are now community centers. CCP has also banned the celebration of Islamic festivals. CCP’s goal is to completely erase Islam from Chinese territory and force the assimilation of Uyghurs into the mainstream Chinese population, thereby eliminating any separatist ideas. CCP leaders have always been ruthless—they believe that the end justifies means.
While world leaders may express their outrage at the mistreatment of Uyghur Muslims, they have not taken any substantive actions that may force Xi Jinping to change his course. International trade and commerce with China are as usual. Olympics went on as planned. The biggest eye-opener is the Muslim nations’ silence on this matter. Concerns raised in the United Nations about Chinese human rights violations were opposed by 65 nations including most Muslim nations. As one Muslim representative explained, they don’t interfere in domestic matters. Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan said that his ambassador to China visited the area and found no sign of mistreatment of Muslims.
Surendra N. Pandey, PhD
Former Dean, College of Arts & Sciences,
Albany State University
Columbus, GA
India should stand up against Russian aggression
As an Indian, I am ashamed that India has abstained from voting in the UN resolution on the Russian aggression on Ukraine. As the largest democracy, India needs to stand for freedom. But we showed cowardice instead of courage. This is like walking away when your neighbor is being beaten by a bully. We just have to remember that, someday, the same bully may eventually come for you. It’s a total disgrace that the Modi government is coddling authoritarian regimes like Russia and China. This is small-minded, backward, and most of all, not standing up for what is right.
Narayan Naik
by email
Interested in writing for Khabar?
Writers are invited to contact us at editor@khabar.com for submission guidelines. Please include links and/or attach copies of published articles, if any, as samples of your work. A review of our back issues online will give you a good idea of what we like to publish. Pitches or unsolicited articles that haven’t appeared elsewhere are welcome as well. If there is further interest, Khabar will respond with an offer or provide more information on our requirements.
What’s on YOUR mind?
We welcome original, unpublished letters from our readers. You could either respond to a specific article in Khabar or write about issues relevant to our community. Letters may be edited for length and other considerations. Longer submissions by readers may be considered for the “My Turn” column.
Email: letters@khabar.com • Fax: (770) 234-6115.
Mail: Khabar, Inc. 3635 Savannah Place Dr, Suite 400, Duluth, GA 30096.
Note: Views expressed in the Letters section do not necessarily represent those of the publication.
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