The Learner

Muhammad Muhsin Ibrahim muhsin2008@gmail.com @muhsin234 (Twitter) An investigation by the World Value Survey   discovered that India and Jordan top the list of the least racially tolerant countries on the planet . As an African living in the former for over a year, I have witnessed numerous such incidents. Indians, particularly northerners, associate colour with higher or lower social standing. Needless to say, the lighter colour is held in esteem, while the dark is in contempt or as “low caste”. It has been happening for so long and has been itching for some time. I often didn’t care or show any reaction, knowing that racism is a hot-button issue. But I was now pushed to the wall; I had better spill the beans to at least get some relief. It is worth noting, though, that we are individuals. Some equally ‘light-skinned’ Indians would treat you dearer than your own dark-skinned brethren. I have met some such individuals, one of whom once took my wife and me to his ...

Muhammad Muhsin Ibrahim muhsin2008@gmail.com @muhsin234 (Twitter) A few days ago, Aiman Al-Zawahiri, the leader of the terror group, Al-Qaeda, released a video  in which he unveiled plans to open a new branch in the Indian subcontinent with a particular interest in India and then Bangladesh and Myanmar. He further explained that the franchise would extend beyond these borders and into other countries until it establishes what he calls the “Islamic Caliphate”. This can be a sham or for real. I have got two substantive observations. First, as many analysts and security experts have suggested, Al-Zawahiri may have been seeking relevance because his group has been largely neglected by the mainstream media. Al-Qaeda has apparently been eclipsed by the more daring, more powerful and less conscientious terror group of the Islamic State (formerly the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria [ISIS]). The main character is now Al-Baghdadi, not him. The ISIS charter and modus operan...