Israel | Café Dissensus

Jan 19

Indian Films named after Hitler

By Sarah Siddiqui
This use of Hitler to describe a stern, aggressive alpha male is somewhat indicative of the distorted and minimal facts regarding Adolph Hitler that are a part of popular culture in India. Also to be kept in mind is the fact that this discussion is in regards to cinema in India, which in itself has primarily been reduced to a means of escapist, flashy entertainment. So, the expectations of a proper representation that would do justice to and educate the consumers about the subject matter are futile for the most part.

Jan 19

Hitler in Bangla Literature: Vox Pop and the Case of Sailesh Dey’s Ami Subhash Bolchi (1968)

By Somshankar Ray
The Bengali traveller had accepted the hospitality of a German Professor and over the evening coffee the German host complained to the Bengali guest that the Jews were monopolizing all the services and businesses. In fact, the Jews occupied a number of public offices totally disproportionate to their meagre population. This anti-Jewish feeling was shared by many German citizens. Interestingly, Dey approved of Hitler’s initial anti-Jewish measures as the Jewish traders had ruthlessly exploited the common Germans in the miserable post-Versailles days.

Jan 19

1 Comment

Is Hitler loved in India?

By Puja Awasthi
The Indian attitude to Hitler is on display every time the name is used for one, who is a little more than a strict disciplinarian – a popular case in point being comparisons of one’s mother-in-law to the mass murderer. At worse, it signifies a dictator and could thus be used as an adjective for that particularly harsh college principal.

Jan 19

The Advent of Hitler in India

By Jacob Shamsian
The phenomenon of Hitler’s growing popularity in India is a paradox because of the absence of Anti-Semitism in India. Yet, though the country has hardly known Jew hatred, sales of Hitler’s Mein Kampf have risen over 15% in the last decade. The name “Aryan” is becoming a popular first name in India, and “Hitler” is the name of the protagonist in many a Bollywood production.

Apr 15

6 Comments

The Attitudes of Lucknow’s Muslims towards Jews, Israel, and Zionism

By Navras Jaat Aafreedi
While a Holocaust film retrospective, the first ever in South Asia, was in progress at two universities in Lucknow - the Bābāsāhéb Bhīmrāo Ambédkar University and the University of Lucknow - in September – October 2009, the two most popular Urdu daily newspapers there, Rāshtriya Sahāra and Aag, published stories denying the Holocaust. The articles were largely based on the arguments made by the well-known Holocaust deniers, viz., David Irving, Harry Elmer Barnes, David Hoggan, Paul Ressinier, and Arthur R. Butz.