Historically Sufism has been portrayed as an acceptable mode of Islam in Bollywood and political ... more Historically Sufism has been portrayed as an acceptable mode of Islam in Bollywood and political Islam as a threat to Indian secular ethos. This has been particularly true of Kashmir films. However, Bollywood’s emphasis on the syncretic dimension of Sufism is a misappropriation of Kashmir’s Islamic history. This study establishes that Kashmir’s Sufism has to be seen as a socio-political movement that has been instrumental in liberating the lower caste Kashmiris from the Brahminic hegemony. Also, Islamization in Kashmir has to be seen as a historical evolution of a community, rather than a transition from one set of beliefs to another. The syncretization of Hinduism and Islam in Hindi cinema is an assertion of the postcolonial nationalist imagination of a secular India. This assertion is a product of the anxieties of loss of the territory with which the nation shares a turbulent relationship. Sufism conceived of in this way becomes instrumental in ideological co-optation of the Musli...
Bollywood’s departure from its earlier constructions of women as sex objects, victims of male vio... more Bollywood’s departure from its earlier constructions of women as sex objects, victims of male violence, dependent, obedient and peripheral, is partly due to global/transnational cultural and economic flows that have influence in Indian society. What needs to be charted out is how patriarchal anxieties continue to emerge in recent Bollywood movies where women otherwise appear to assume assertive screen presence and play dominant roles. This study seeks to disentangle notions of “national” and “local,” in particular, because the former does not explain India’s family or local community settings that exercise substantial control over women. Through an analysis of two films, Dangal (2016) and Queen (2014), this study shows how present-day Bollywood appropriates opposing ideals of Hinduism and liberal ideology; therefore, the stories remain rooted in contemporary social discourse. It will be seen that the somewhat masculine woman in Dangal, who is divested of erotic and reproductive attr...
Coverage of The Kashmir Conflict in Bangladeshi Media: A Content Analysis, 2021
Kashmir, a mostly Muslim region occupied by India, received global media coverage in August 2019.... more Kashmir, a mostly Muslim region occupied by India, received global media coverage in August 2019. Following the abrogation of Article 370 and article 35A of the Indian constitution, Kashmir was put under severe military lockdown. Since Kashmir is an area of international conflict between India, Pakistan and China, South Asian newspapers focus more on the issue of Kashmir. In the same way, Bangladeshi newspapers prioritize Kashmir. As Bangladesh is a predominantly Muslim country and geographically close to Kashmir, Bangladeshis are interested in the current situation in the disputed territory of Kashmir. The aim of this article is to investigate the nature of media coverage of the conflict in Kashmir, Bangladesh. Specifically, the objective of the study is to identify the difference in coverage of the Kashmir question between secular and conservative newspapers in Bangladesh. The content analysis methodology was used to carry out this research. Four Bangladeshi national newspapers were selected for the study. Of the selected neswpapers, 60 reports were gathered over a week following the repeal of section 370 on August 5, 2019. The findings revealed that although a Muslim country, not all Bangladeshi newspapers are ready to take a position on the internationally recognized issue of Kashmir. It demonstrates how India is extending its control over the Bangladeshi media. The Daily Janakantha, known for its pro-Indian editorial policy, gave a very negligible response to the problem of Kashmir. While the paper did not avoid this question, it provided context from the Indian perspective. However, the pro-Islamic newspaper Daily Inquilab, gave an enormous coverage of the Kashmir problem compared to the Daily Janakantha. The entire coverage of the Inquilab tried to create sympathy for the Kashmiri. Likewise, the English language newspapers like the Daily Star and the Daily Sun in Bangladesh also divided with ideological biases. Research has shown that although the Daily Star tried to portray the Kashmir issue from neutral position, but the editorial of Daily Start clearly indicates his inclination with India. The analysis of the newspapers reveals the polarization of Bangladeshi media. The paper argues that the public spare of Bangladesh massively share sympathy with Kashmir, the elite and pro regime newspapers continue to represent the Indian context.
Historically Sufism has been portrayed as an acceptable mode of Islam in Bollywood and political ... more Historically Sufism has been portrayed as an acceptable mode of Islam in Bollywood and political Islam as a threat to Indian secular ethos. This has been particularly true of Kashmir films. However, Bollywood’s emphasis on the syncretic dimension of Sufism is a misappropriation of Kashmir’s Islamic history. This study establishes that Kashmir’s Sufism has to be seen as a socio-political movement that has been instrumental in liberating the lower caste Kashmiris from the Brahminic hegemony. Also, Islamization in Kashmir has to be seen as a historical evolution of a community, rather than a transition from one set of beliefs to another. The syncretization of Hinduism and Islam in Hindi cinema is an assertion of the postcolonial nationalist imagination of a secular India. This assertion is a product of the anxieties of loss of the territory with which the nation shares a turbulent relationship. Sufism conceived of in this way becomes instrumental in ideological co-optation of the Musli...
Bollywood’s departure from its earlier constructions of women as sex objects, victims of male vio... more Bollywood’s departure from its earlier constructions of women as sex objects, victims of male violence, dependent, obedient and peripheral, is partly due to global/transnational cultural and economic flows that have influence in Indian society. What needs to be charted out is how patriarchal anxieties continue to emerge in recent Bollywood movies where women otherwise appear to assume assertive screen presence and play dominant roles. This study seeks to disentangle notions of “national” and “local,” in particular, because the former does not explain India’s family or local community settings that exercise substantial control over women. Through an analysis of two films, Dangal (2016) and Queen (2014), this study shows how present-day Bollywood appropriates opposing ideals of Hinduism and liberal ideology; therefore, the stories remain rooted in contemporary social discourse. It will be seen that the somewhat masculine woman in Dangal, who is divested of erotic and reproductive attr...
Coverage of The Kashmir Conflict in Bangladeshi Media: A Content Analysis, 2021
Kashmir, a mostly Muslim region occupied by India, received global media coverage in August 2019.... more Kashmir, a mostly Muslim region occupied by India, received global media coverage in August 2019. Following the abrogation of Article 370 and article 35A of the Indian constitution, Kashmir was put under severe military lockdown. Since Kashmir is an area of international conflict between India, Pakistan and China, South Asian newspapers focus more on the issue of Kashmir. In the same way, Bangladeshi newspapers prioritize Kashmir. As Bangladesh is a predominantly Muslim country and geographically close to Kashmir, Bangladeshis are interested in the current situation in the disputed territory of Kashmir. The aim of this article is to investigate the nature of media coverage of the conflict in Kashmir, Bangladesh. Specifically, the objective of the study is to identify the difference in coverage of the Kashmir question between secular and conservative newspapers in Bangladesh. The content analysis methodology was used to carry out this research. Four Bangladeshi national newspapers were selected for the study. Of the selected neswpapers, 60 reports were gathered over a week following the repeal of section 370 on August 5, 2019. The findings revealed that although a Muslim country, not all Bangladeshi newspapers are ready to take a position on the internationally recognized issue of Kashmir. It demonstrates how India is extending its control over the Bangladeshi media. The Daily Janakantha, known for its pro-Indian editorial policy, gave a very negligible response to the problem of Kashmir. While the paper did not avoid this question, it provided context from the Indian perspective. However, the pro-Islamic newspaper Daily Inquilab, gave an enormous coverage of the Kashmir problem compared to the Daily Janakantha. The entire coverage of the Inquilab tried to create sympathy for the Kashmiri. Likewise, the English language newspapers like the Daily Star and the Daily Sun in Bangladesh also divided with ideological biases. Research has shown that although the Daily Star tried to portray the Kashmir issue from neutral position, but the editorial of Daily Start clearly indicates his inclination with India. The analysis of the newspapers reveals the polarization of Bangladeshi media. The paper argues that the public spare of Bangladesh massively share sympathy with Kashmir, the elite and pro regime newspapers continue to represent the Indian context.
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Papers by Waseem Ahad