The photograph on the left shows Muslims in Lucknow, registering their protest against knighthood to Salman Rushdie.
Is it an attempt to provoke Muslims? And is knighthood important enough for people to get angry. It is an outdated concept.
Britain, a former imperial power, is also neither an important nation, nor the honours given by the 'Queen'.
Neither it is the Nobel prize nor any honour given by an international platform or organisation like United Nations. Meanwhile, why can't Muslim nations start some really good awards and titles for writers, activists, academicians, scientists and pioneers in other fields.
This way they can honour deserving persons both from West and the East, which would be a much better way to tackle such situations. More than 50 Muslim nations, many of them quite rich, but none seems to have an idea about what good PR is.
I really don't understand this outrage over the outdated 'Sir', this colonial hangover. yeh angrez maai-baap hain kyaa hamaare! Still, if you are angry or offended. It is better to sign protest letters, rather than the images of people protesting on streets, unnecessarily giving it undue importance.
Mercifully we haven't seen such protests in India on this occasion except in parts of Kashmir. That's why I like this photograph. Meanwhile, on the entire issue, Mohib has written a beautiful piece at IndianMuslims.in here.
