The Big Story: Preacher's hate

In a speech on Monday to students at the University of Nairobi in Kenya, Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a reference to hate, which newspapers and TV channels immediately took to be a reference to controversial Islamic cleric Zakir Naik. "Indeed, we live in a world where preachers of hate and violence are threatening the fabric of our society," Modi said. "As young dynamic citizens of Kenya and as members of the African society, you would need to be watchful of those who spread radical ideologies."

This is good advice. We do indeed live in a world where many seek to spread violence and the youth represents our front line. And Modi's own government seems to have decided it will take action. Despite a very tenuous connection to the attacks in Bangladesh, the Indian state has turned its might against Naik, with agencies being asked to comb through all of his work to find something that he can be charged with. This is not proving to be easy.

But there's no question that the man is a dangerous, bigoted element, one that the country needs to be thinking about, even if banning him could backfire. But notice: Modi didn't name any particular person or ideology in his speech. And Naik is far from the only preacher of hate in the country.

Indeed there are many closer to home, whom Modi has much more control over. Never mind the Prime Minister's own speeches soon after the Gujarat riots, members of his party and its larger parivar almost take "preacher of hate" to be a vocation. From riot-accused Sanjeev Balyan to Giriraj Singh to Mahesh Sharma, there are people in Modi's own council of ministers that could easily be accused of "threatening the fabric of our society" through hate and violence.

If Modi can look at addressing the threat posed by the likes of Naik, why not begin right at home within his own government and party?

The Big Scroll
Why banning Islamic preacher Zakir Naik isn't a good way to defeat his bigotry. Muslim clerics in India unite against superstar televangelist Zakir Naik. Are nursery rhymes permissible in Islam? A British comedian parodies superstar televangelist Zakir Naik.


Political Pickings
1. As Kashmir continues to simmer, Home Minister Rajnath Singh reached out to Congress President Sonia Gandhi and former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah. National Security Advisor Ajit Doval flew back early from Africa to handle the situation.
2. Meanwhile, across the border Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif added his two bits about the situation, criticising India's use of excessive force against civilians.
3. The Coal and Power ministries, both of which are run by Piyush Goyal, have disagreed over whether Reliance Power can be permitted to mortgage its coal blocks as collateral for a loan.
4. Former Bharatiya Janata Party Member of Legislative Assembly Yatin Oza, who is set to join the Aam Aadmi Party, claims he knew of a secret alliance between the BJP's Amit Shah and the All India Majlis-e-Ittehad Muslimeen's Asaduddin Owaisi.

Punditry
1. A leader in the Hindu says that the cycle of protests, repression and militancy in Kashmir cannot be broken with brute force.
2. In its new phase, the struggle in Kashmir is leaderless, and has a strong death wish, writes Nirupama Subramanian in the Indian Express.
3. Ezra Klein at Vox explains why the Hillary Clinton that the world sees isn't the Clinton that colleagues know.


Don't Miss
Soumya Sarkar writes about the questionable ways Indian water bodies are being brought back to life.

"The rejuvenation of the Sabarmati in Gujarat and the Shipra in Madhya Pradesh by diverting water from the Narmada are showpiece projects of the linking scheme that pay fat political dividends, provincial administrations have found. “Rejuvenating Sabarmati was an opportunistic move," said Somnath Bandyopadhyay, associate professor at the School of Ecology and Environmental Studies at Nalanda University. “It was not planned. The water of Narmada from the Sardar Sarovar dam was made available before the irrigation infrastructure was ready.”