The death of a British Muslim soldier – of the Intelligence Corps – in Afghanistan has attracted big media attention. Here I am mentioning about two major stories in the British press.
First, The Independent story. “Jabron Hashmi came to Britain at the age of 12 with his family from Pakistan. He was comfortable as a Muslim and a Briton, proud of his community and, after embarking on a career in the armed forces, keen to serve his country.
“L/Cpl Hashmi, 24, was killed on Saturday in Helmand province, Afghanistan, the first British Muslim soldier to die in the ‘war on terror’ in Iraq and Afghanistan. His death, along with 27-year-old Cpl Peter Thorpe, brought the number of British troops killed to five in three weeks, and added to concern over the Afghan mission.
“At present there are 320 people who have declared themselves as Muslims serving in Britain’s forces, out of a total strength of 185,000. Altogether there are about 10,000 personnel, approximately 5.5 per cent of the forces, who are non-Caucasian. This includes foreign nationals as well as Britons.”
Second, The Telegraph story that had a headline – “Proud to be Muslim, a soldier and British”.
“The family of the first British Muslim soldier to be killed in the ‘war on terror’ said yesterday that he had been committed to bringing peace to Afghanistan.
“The Muslim Council of Britain paid tribute to L/Cpl Hashmi and said that although the Afghan conflict was unpopular with many Muslims, soldiers could not pick and choose their battles.
” ‘This is far from the first time Muslims have given their lives in the service of this country,’ said Inayat Bunglawala, a spokesman. ‘Many did so in the two World Wars, but in recent years they have been under-represented in the Army.’
“Mr Bunglawala said the council had strongly opposed the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, both of which were opposed by large sections of Britain’s Muslim community. But he said that he could not condemn Muslims who fought for the British Armed Forces in such conflicts.
” ‘This is a matter for the soldier himself,’ he said. ‘Many people in the Army disagree with a particular war, but they are soldiers and they have to follow orders’.”
Swaraaj Chauhan describes his two-decade-long stint as a full-time journalist as eventful, purposeful, and full of joy and excitement. In 1993 he could foresee a different work culture appearing on the horizon, and decided to devote full time to teaching journalism (also, partly, with a desire to give back to the community from where he had enriched himself so much.)
Alongside, he worked for about a year in 1993 for the US State Department’s SPAN magazine, a nearly five-decade-old art and culture monthly magazine promoting US-India relations. It gave him an excellent opportunity to learn about things American, plus the pleasure of playing tennis in the lavish American embassy compound in the heart of New Delhi.
In !995 he joined WWF-India as a full-time media and environment education consultant and worked there for five years travelling a great deal, including to Husum in Germany as a part of the international team to formulate WWF’s Eco-tourism policy.
He taught journalism to honors students in a college affiliated to the University of Delhi, as also at the prestigious Indian Institute of Mass Communication where he lectured on “Development Journalism” to mid-career journalists/Information officers from the SAARC, African, East European and Latin American countries, for eight years.
In 2004 the BBC World Service Trust (BBC WST) selected him as a Trainer/Mentor for India under a European Union project. In 2008/09 He completed another European Union-funded project for the BBC WST related to Disaster Management and media coverage in two eastern States in India — West Bengal and Orissa.
Last year, he spent a couple of months in Australia and enjoyed trekking, and also taught for a while at the University of South Australia.
Recently, he was appointed as a Member of the Board of Studies at Chitkara University in Chandigarh, a beautiful city in North India designed by the famous Swiss/French architect Le Corbusier. He also teaches undergraduate and postgraduate students there.
He loves trekking, especially in the hills, and never misses an opportunity to play a game of tennis. The Western and Indian classical music are always within his reach for instant relaxation.
And last, but not least, is his firm belief in the power of the positive thought to heal oneself and others.