CHANDIGARH ; 25THMAY ; ALPHA NEWS INDIA DESK : Lokayat organized a lecture on “The Reconstruction of Religious Minorities as Second-Class Citizens in India.” The speaker was a renowned Urdu poet, scientist, social activist and a documentary filmmaker, Gauhar Raza. He was welcomed with a packed auditorium. He did a historical analysis tracing the history of the othering of Muslims and other religious minorities and drew parallel with Germany by taking about the primary and fundamental characteristics of fascism. He talked about how fascism glorifies the past, has national chauvinist tendencies and denigrates women as subordinate by taking all their democratic rights. He gave various instances from history to prove how minority has been targeted . He uses minority as a tool to control a majority population. He concluded on positive note suggesting that minority and secular forces should join hands to resist the onslaught of fundamental and fascist forces. The program was concluded with his recitation of his poem, Khamoshi.
