Sectarianism or nepotism

Some go so far as to argue that the recent rise of the lower castes in northern Indian politics and the implementation of reservations by the central government amount to a silent revolution, and that the politics of caste is secular and a bulwark against religious sectarianism.

India s New Caste Politics

And for the first time, I was affected by this communal unrest.

But boosters of caste politics claim that it is not economic deprivation but the social backwardness from which these castes have historically suffered that makes caste reservations necessary.

Sectarianism and racism have become a regular feature of the political landscape.

Then there is sectarianism, particularly the growing strife between Sunni and Shia Muslims.

Indeed, the protagonists of caste politics and caste based public policy simply cannot validate their assertions, offering only small sample surveys that can be grossly misleading in the context of a huge country characterized by monumental diversity.

Historically, the political ethic of confessional societies has been grounded in a single, basic foundation.

Sectarianization became the pragmatic thing to do.

As a result, the uncertainty surrounding Obasanjo s plans is increasing sectional tensions.

Inter marriages are a good way to bridge the sectarian rift in our society and I have always been all for it.

The execution of Nimr Al Nimr is a rare moment where outrage is transcending sectarian divides. Saudi weddady ( weddady) January 2, 2016

Usually a prosperous caste succeeded in raising its rank in the ritual hierarchy.

True, sectarian tensions between Sunnis and Shiites in Iraq have escalated since the fall of Saddam.

We talk to Maryam Al Khawaja about the role sectarianism plays in Bahrain and how that affects the movement.

The lack of such interaction inevitably heightens existing ethnic division.

This, according to Riemer, is supposed to bring a reduction in tensions and an increase in communications across the sectarian and religious divides in Lebanon.

Many consider India s increasing mobilization along caste lines a welcome assertion of identity.

Indeed, intellectuals and politicians of all varieties almost unanimously hail the politics of caste identity as a move towards true equality.

Liberal reform parties that tried to transcend communal identities and appeal to all Iraqis did not do well.

The US should be working to create a strong, unified government, rather than strengthening sectarian militias.

Many more are feared as violence among the main sectarian groups escalates.

Is freedom of beliefs going flourish after the revolutions in the Arab World, or will some extremists impose intolerance and sectarianism?

The Iraqi government dismantled in October 2006 a complete police brigade because they had connections with sectarian death squadrons.

Hence, caste has not been an indicator of material deprivation, even during the early decades of the twentieth century. But boosters of caste politics claim that it is not economic deprivation but the social backwardness from which these castes have historically suffered that makes caste reservations necessary.

In October 2006, for example, Mecca was used to host talks among Iraq s warring sectarian factions.

Moreover, communal rights have progressively been accorded to the various groups that compose a nation.

Whether caste is a good indicator of socioeconomic deprivation remains an unsettled issue.

In the light of Iraqi nationalism that crosses sectarian boundaries, it is farfetched to consider the Iraqi Shia merely proxies of Iran.

The sectarian strains that are now rending societies across the Middle East are likely to change the regional map.

Nusra has also arrested civil society activists, including journalists and local council members, and has been responsible for sectarian attacks.

I believe that in the current circumstances, it is time to stand united together against sectarianism and discrimination in all their forms.

Despite sectarian struggle, especially in Iraq and Lebanon, some flexible states hope to rebuild their stability by holding elections.

Syrian netizens are dreaming of a new dawn for their country, where people breathe freedom, live in equality and sectarianism is a thing of the past.

Communal elections were successfully concluded in June, despite some violence at polling stations in two western provinces.

Egypt looked forward to the day when the entire international community would help bring an end to those sectarian practices that were being inflicted on a defenceless people.

Since Sunni militants destroyed the Shiite Askariya mosque in February, hundreds of Iraqis have been killed in a series of tit for tat sectarian attacks.

The current dynamic isn't a conflict of sectarianism but a willful and cynical sectarianization of a regional power struggle. Iyad El Baghdadi ( iyad_elbaghdadi) January 13, 2016

We are hopeful that Iraqis, who have had their fill of sectarian political parties, will be allowed freely to choose candidates who embrace a non sectarian and non racist agenda.

Because he feared that communal passions might have infected the local security forces, he moved army troops from Madras and Pune to Delhi to ensure calm.

Their sectarian anxieties aside, the Saudis and Egyptians fear that a nuclear Iran might secure Shiite dominance in the region.

No matter what anyone says, Lebanon s regions, cities and neighborhoods, already riven by sectarian divisions, are still divided between the Aoun and Geagea camps.

In southern Sudan, earlier proposals for intercommunal reconciliation, following the August riots in Juba, met with some resistance.

Now Bush will increase the number of American troops in Baghdad and Anbar Province and try to stabilize both the rising sectarian civil war and the Sunni insurgency.