As ANNA notes in the previous post (we seem to have been writing at the same time) explosions earlier today targeted ceremonies being held in a Muslim cemetery in the city of Malegaon in Maharashtra state. The reported death toll has risen to 37, with 200 injured. The exact details including the number of blasts are still unclear:

At last count, the local police said there seemed to have been three blasts at the Bada Kabristan cemetery where thousands of Muslim devotees had gathered to observe “Shabbe Baraat” when the dead are remembered. Another blast was reported from elsewhere. Ten deaths had been confirmed, about 100 people were injured.

The blasts outside Nurani Masjid in this textile town triggered a stampede with devotes rushing, falling over each other, the injured and the dead to reach safety.

On Shabbe Baraat, thousands of faqirs (alms seekers) gather in Malegaon. The crowds at the prayers were made up largely of the faqirs when the blasts occurred. Some reports suggested the blasts occurred in the belongings of one such alms seeker.

The city is under curfew and the central and state governments appear to have reacted quite quickly dispatching troops to avert communal violence. Political parties including the BJP and Congress have of course condemned the action. (Not clear yet if the Shiv Sena/RSS have been heard from: in view of their popularity in Maharashtra, a strong condemnation could help ensure things don’t spread; if anyone knows about this or any other pertinent developments for that matter, send a link and I’ll update the post.)

There’s not much to say about this incident until more information comes out, but I noticed that reports referred to Malegaon’s history of communal violence, so I thought I’d look for a little background to help us get some context. Here’s what I found out: Continue reading →

…which is about 160 miles northeast of Bombay. Via the news tab (Thanks, Chickpea and kaur):

Two bombs struck in the crowded streets of the western Indian city of Malegaon as Muslim worshippers were returning from Friday afternoon prayers, killing 30 people and wounding 56 in what a top official called “a terrorist act.”[yahoo]

Authorities quickly clamped a curfew on Malegaon, said D.K. Shankaran, a top Maharashtra state official. The city has a long history of religious violence between Muslims and Hindus.[yahoo]

The bomb may have been lashed to a bicycle which was recovered at the scene. The BBC has more:

One of the first journalists to reach the scene of the blasts in Malegaon, Vaishali Balajiwale, told the BBC that the explosion inside the town’s main burial ground for Muslims happened on a day when Muslims pray for their dead.[Beeb]

One eyewitness told her: “There was a big noise when the prayers were on. And then people began running helter skelter for their lives.”[Beeb]

The BBC went on to report that outraged people threw stones at the police after the bombing, which only further stokes my fears of retaliatory violence in an area already affected by tension between Hindus and Muslims. Anti-riot forces are being deployed.

India’s Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, has strongly condemned the blasts.[BBC]

He has appealed for peace and communal harmony and has urged police to remain calm.[BBC]

Malegaon, known for its weavers, is a city where Muslims are the majority.

Developing… Continue reading →

There’s an article (thanks, Neale) in the Chronicle of Higher Education that follows the experience of a group of Indian graduate students who come to U.S. universities to do graduate work in engineering schools. This particular case study deals with NC State in Raleigh, North Carolina, a town I got to know pretty well from my days at Duke.

Because support for foreign students isn’t part of NC State’s “land grant” mandate, the university gives very little support to these students, most of whom are entering the U.S. for the first time at RDU airport. As a result the students themselves organize an extensive support organization called Maitri, which provides online support to the students before they come, arranges airport pick-ups, and even shares housing temporarily until proper dorm or apartment housing is available. But what struck me was the orientation volunteer arranged by the university:

Last they went to the Office of International Services for a brief informational session delivered by a blond, ruddy-cheeked volunteer, whose first announcement was to make clear that she was not being paid to do what she was doing. “I’m doing this because I love you,” she emphasized. “I don’t know you, but I love you.”

She commenced going over a printed schedule for the coming week. “On Friday, August 18, will be orientation. You. Must. Be. There,” she said slowly, closing off the final consonants. “I want you to take your pen and underline that.”

Then she drew the students’ attention to a flier for the yard sale that was soon to be held by the International Bible Study group. The same group, she pointed out, was also sponsoring a free tour of Raleigh. Among the other fliers in the packet the newcomers had received at the door were one for an “International Student Welcome Dinner” held by the Baptist Student Union International Ministry and one for a $50 bus trip to Washington, D.C., hosted by Providence College Ministry.

Mr. Bustle, director of the Office of International Services, says that he appreciates the help from religious groups —- so long as they sign an agreement not to proselytize —- because “as a state institution, it’s not always politically correct to be spending N.C. State dollars on international students.” (link)

Is it just me, or is this not really an acceptable explanation for why the university is providing no support whatsoever for new international graduate students? These students contribute a lot to the research reputations of the universities where they study, so it’s not just a matter of “spending N.C. State dollars on international students,” as if NC State doesn’t benefit. It’s also ironic that the organizations that step in to fill the gap are Christian groups. Yeah, they’re not proselytizing, but I’m pretty sure that religious groups providing vital services to students isn’t in NC State’s mandate either. Continue reading →

File this one under “ballsy:”

A York College student who was stopped by police after leaving Kennedy Airport was charged with impersonating a federal agent, according to Queens District Attorney Richard Brown.

Stephan M. Kishore’s masquerade came to an end after a Port Authority of New York and New Jersey police officer stopped his minivan Monday afternoon on an expressway near John F. Kennedy International Airport for changing lanes without signaling, prosecutors said.

The officer said he noticed a large police decal on a rear door of the minivan and red and blue strobe lights on the dashboard. There also were two U.S. Department of Homeland Security parking placards on the dashboard, prosecutors said.

Kishore, who is from Trinidad but lives in the Bronx, then showed the officer a phony Homeland Security ID card and shield, prosecutors said. When asked if he was a police officer, Kishore replied, “Yes, and I’m on duty,” they said.

However, the officer became suspicious when he read on the back of the shield: “CopShop.com, Collectible Badge, Not For Official Use.” CopShop, based in Umatilla, Fla., calls itself the online mall for cops, selling sheriff’s office badges, state trooper patches, collectible pins and law enforcement apparel. [Link]

I think that the main problem here was that Kishore showed weakness when pulled over. If it was me and a real cop pulled me over I’d be like, “No, let me see yo’ I.D. b*tch.” Things then turned much worse for the enterprising young Kishore who was just trying to live out the dream. It is hard becoming a brown cop in a white man’s world after all.

Kishore, 20, was arraigned Tuesday night in Queens Criminal Court on charges of criminal impersonation, forgery and criminal possession of a weapon, a forged instrument and forgery devices, District Attorney Richard Brown said.

“The defendant’s alleged conduct in this era of heightened security was both dangerous and reprehensible because it exploited the public’s trust in the police and placed both his life and those of actual police officers in possible jeopardy,” Brown said in a statement.

Kishore, a student at York College in Queens, was being held Wednesday on $50,000 bail. His next court date is Sept. 5. He could face up to seven years in prison if convicted. [Link]

Continue reading →

Datelined Charlieville, Trinidad and Tobago, a fascinating article by Josh Meyer in the Los Angeles Times today about the worldwide hunt, fruitless so far, for Adnan Gulshair Muhammad el-Shukrijumah, 31, US citizen, computer technician by trade, jihadist by avocation, and (strongly) suspected top-level operative of the al-Qaeda version 2.0 that many experts believe is currently forming.

Charlieville, a rural Muslim community in T & T, is where Shukrijumah spent the week of the September 11 attacks, and where the FBI went looking for him 18 months later, by which time he was of course long gone. Why T & T? Not entirely clear, but Shukrijumah is originally Guyanese (and thus very likely partly or mostly desi) and the two countries have numerous cultural affinities that include supporting each other’s music, football teams, cricket stars, and now perhaps more sinister affinities among groups with nefarious intent.

Known by various aliases, including “The South American,” Shukrijumah has quite a reputation and the skills and credentials to move with relative ease:

Whereas Al Qaeda’s core followers are young, poor and relatively uneducated, Shukrijumah has attended college and is comfortable with technology. He’s also a naturalized U.S. citizen whose appearance would allow him to pass as Latino, Indian or Middle Eastern and who speaks English with no discernible accent, officials say. …

When asked which operative was most likely to launch a U.S.-based attack, many captives mentioned one particular figure with an almost mythical reputation as a ruthless militant. His nom de guerre was Jaffar al Tayyar, a reference to an Islamic hero who had fought beside the prophet Muhammad.

But his identity, too, was a mystery.

The pieces began to come together in early March when [Khalid Shaikh] Mohammed was captured in Pakistan and his computers, phones and other electronic gear were seized.

The evidence confirmed that Mohammed had been sending “Westernized” Al Qaeda soldiers on missions into the U.S. and other countries.

And when Mohammed was shown a photograph of Shukrijumah, he identified him as Tayyar, U.S. counter-terrorism officials said.

By then, U.S. authorities were concluding that Shukrijumah was also the shadowy South American, an apparent reference to his time spent in Trinidad and nearby Guyana.

To their dismay, they realized that one of Al Qaeda’s best-trained operatives had been lurking — and perhaps plotting — in the United States since long before the Sept. 11 attacks.

Continue reading →