By Syed Abdul Haq, Buffalo, NY
How free and objective is the American press can be gauged from an article in the Washington Post. In its issue of November 10, the paper carries an article by its Hindu correspondent Rajiv Chandrasakren entitled ‘MUSLIM WORLD MOVES MONEY WITHOUT A TRACE’.
The thrust of the article is that Muslims move huge amounts of cash illegally through the “havala” system. The implication in the present context was that money is funneled to ‘terrorists’ by the Muslim communities without involving banks and other legal channels! Most people from India and Pakistan know that Havala is a prevalent system of money transfer in the subcontinent and is more common in India than in Pakistan.
Common sense tells us that since the Indians outnumber the Pakistanis by seven to one, and generally the Indians are penny pinchers, this has to be a preferred system of money transaction by non-resident Indians at large. Many well-known Indian newspaper websites carry ads for such quick money transfers.
Even a former prime Minister of India Narsimha Rao was implicated and tried in the infamous ‘”Jain Havala Case.’’ But there was not a word about it or how Hindus move large amounts of cash without a trace! There was even a graphic provided by another Indian a day earlier in the same world renowned paper explaining a Pakistani Havala transaction.
Yes, the American press is free - free to malign Muslims by publishing lies and slander.