'Unholy Altar Of Vote Bank And Appeasement Politics'
Ravi Shankar Prasad
Outlook India
The BJP charges the Congress Party of seeking to cause damage to India’s secular and social unity at the unholy altar of vote bank and appeasement politics.
A party whose political progression over six decades has been littered by numerous such short sighted misadventures that the future generations of the country have had to pay a heavy price for, should, at this critical juncture, desist from undertaking such steps that might cause further damage to India’s social fabric and harmony.
The Congress party, which has openly patronized and encouraged elements which bred and spread terrorism, certainly has no moral right whatsoever to criticize the BJP for an action that does not have any direct or indirect support from the party or its affiliates.
Right from the manner in which the Congress encouraged Bhindranwale which led to the burning of Punjab; to overt and covert support to separatist and terrorist organizations like the ULFA in Assam and other states of the north east; to lifting the ban on SIMI after coming to power in 2004; then re-imposing the ban under the pressure and protests by security forces and other nationalist elements; by deliberately not producing relevant documents before the tribunal considering the ban on SIMI; conspicuous silence by the Prime Minister and Sonia Gandhi when so called stalwarts of the UPA cabinet are continuing to describe SIMI as a cultural organization; using governmental authority to promote the interests of Bangladeshi infiltrators to undo the directive of the Supreme Court judgement wherein infiltration was described as amounting to aggression on the nation; and to top it all, clouding the sacrifice of a heroic police officer in the Jamia shootout case which is a clear manifestation of the worst symptom of vote bank and appeasement politics; the history of the Congress party is but a progression of such activities that have had a direct and detrimental impact on the country’s security and social harmony.
Given this background, the BJP is amazed at the sheer hypocrisy of the Congress party over the manner in which it has sought to attack the BJP on the issue of arrests of the certain persons in Madhya Pradesh in context of Malegaon blasts particularly when the party’s position on the issue of terrorism is unambiguous i.e. that terrorists have no religion and must be punished. The BJP demands a proper, fair and professional investigation against all those who are alleged to be involved. Let evidence be produced and law take its own course.
The Party does not approve of violence at all. The BJP also seriously condemns the reported comments like "Hindu Terrorism" and Saffron Terrorism". Those who mindlessly use such terms have never used terms like "Muslim Terrorists" when many Muslims were found involved in terrorism and killing of people in various parts of the country. Some of the elements were only called "jihadis".
The BJP strongly deprecates Hindu bashing by so called pseudo secularists and some segments of the media. This is again actuated only by vote bank and appeasement politics.
The nation needs to ponder a larger question. Should we condemn an entire religion or way of life for the alleged indiscretions or misguided actions of but a few? Will our Hon’ble Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh like to lose some sleep over this new pernicious tendency as he lost some when an alleged innocent doctor was arrested in Australia?
Before making any other charges against any party, the Congress party would do well to seriously introspect and answer to the nation about the recent conviction of Mohammed Surti for twenty years, who was a Congress Minister in the year 1991-1993 in the then Gujarat government, on the serious charge of transporting AK 47s, hand grenades in his official vehicle in the year 1992-93 as also involvement in the bomb blasts.
Need we remind the Congress party about the conviction of another congress office bearer, Sushil Sharma, the then President of the Delhi Youth Congress in the infamous tandoor murder case or the direct involvement of Bhola Pandey in hijacking an aeroplane? Did anyone ever infer that such elements represented the entire Congress Party?
The nation requires a much more seasoned and nationalistic approach to such critical issues.
Sensitive Issue of Maharashtra
The BJP strongly condemns the merciless and brutal killing of yet another north Indian near Thane in Maharashtra when he was seeking to board a train for his hometown. Given the lack of any effective action against elements like the MNS and its leader Raj Thackrey, it is becoming increasingly clear that the ruling Congress-NCP dispensation in the state is definitely -- overtly or covertly -- encouraging or supporting such elements for extraneous political considerations.
The BJP strongly believes that India is one country and anyone and everyone has a complete right to go and settle in any part of the country, this being a Fundamental Right enshrined in the Constitution.
When Constitutional norms are being blatantly flouted repeatedly for the last so many months, why has the government of India not yet issued any directive to the Maharashtra Government under Article 355?
Even the much vocal Mr Lalu Prasad Yadav and Ram Vilas Paswan whose demand for issuing a Directive to Karnataka and Orissa government under Article 355 came up almost immediately after the unfortunate incidents in those states, are now conspicuously silent. The rank double standards of this UPA government is clearly evident.
The BJP demands proper protection for every Indian in any part of the country from such parochial elements who do not understand the identity of India. The BJP also demands a proper and fair investigation into these incidents and Central Government issuing a directive to the Maharashtra Government under Article 355.
http://www.outlookindia.com/full.asp?fodname=20081029&fname=hindu&sid=2 ---
Friday, October 31, 2008
** Mujahideen's responsibility
ISF-Indian Mujahideen claims responsibility for Assam blasts
Pioneer, Oct. 31
Little-known Islamic Security Force-Indian Mujahideen (ISF-IM) on Friday claimed responsibility for the serial blasts that killed 77 people in Assam and warned of more such attacks.
In an SMS message sent to local 'News Live' television channel, the ISF-IM claimed responsibility for Thursday’s blasts and threatened to carry out more bomb explosions in several parts of the Country.
The message said, "we thank all our holy members and partners" for successfully carrying out the task.
The SMS was received on the mobile of the channel's input desk from a Reliance connection with the number 98646-93690.
The mobile phone was subsequently switched off and security forces traced it to Moirabari in Central Assam's Nagaon district registered in the name of one Nazir Ahmed.
Police officials are investigating the matter.
The outfit was formed in 2000 in Lower Assam's Bodo-dominated areas "to counter" the Bodo Liberation Tigers (BLT) and NDFB militants, police sources said.
The full text of the SMS is: "We, ISF-IM, take the responsibility of yesterday blast. We warn all of Assam and India for situation like this in future. We thank all our holy members and partners. AAamin."
KPS Gill on Terrorism @ http://indiaview.wordpress.com/2008/03/14/secularism-encouraging-terrorism/
http://www.dailypioneer.com//131427/BJP-accuses-Congress-of-communal-mindset.html ---
Pioneer, Oct. 31
Little-known Islamic Security Force-Indian Mujahideen (ISF-IM) on Friday claimed responsibility for the serial blasts that killed 77 people in Assam and warned of more such attacks.
In an SMS message sent to local 'News Live' television channel, the ISF-IM claimed responsibility for Thursday’s blasts and threatened to carry out more bomb explosions in several parts of the Country.
The message said, "we thank all our holy members and partners" for successfully carrying out the task.
The SMS was received on the mobile of the channel's input desk from a Reliance connection with the number 98646-93690.
The mobile phone was subsequently switched off and security forces traced it to Moirabari in Central Assam's Nagaon district registered in the name of one Nazir Ahmed.
Police officials are investigating the matter.
The outfit was formed in 2000 in Lower Assam's Bodo-dominated areas "to counter" the Bodo Liberation Tigers (BLT) and NDFB militants, police sources said.
The full text of the SMS is: "We, ISF-IM, take the responsibility of yesterday blast. We warn all of Assam and India for situation like this in future. We thank all our holy members and partners. AAamin."
KPS Gill on Terrorism @ http://indiaview.wordpress.com/2008/03/14/secularism-encouraging-terrorism/
http://www.dailypioneer.com//131427/BJP-accuses-Congress-of-communal-mindset.html ---
Thursday, October 23, 2008
** Tamils & LTTE:Update
Update:
UPA takes U-Turn @ http://www.dailypioneer.com/130172/UPA-takes-U-turn-on-Lanka-Tamils.html
---------------------------------------------------------------
Of Tamils and Tamil Tigers
Kalyani Shankar, Pioneer
The UPA Government is in a fix over the mounting clamour in Tamil Nadu for Delhi to stop Colombo from clobbering the LTTE. The Congress, no friend of the Tamil Tigers, could lose the DMK as an ally if it does not act. Yet it can’t be seen defending the Tigers.
Is the Government going to interfere in the ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka or is it simply going through the motions to pacify its ally, the DMK, in Tamil Nadu? The reason for the concern is that the Sri Lankan military forces are carrying out a serious offensive against the LTTE and are said to be very close to Kilinochchi, the headquarters of the LTTE.
Lankan authorities are almost on the verge of breaking the banned LTTE and capture its leader V Prabhakaran. The Government stand makes it clear that while the matter is being taken up at the highest level, there may not be any major shift on the Sri Lankan policy because of its limited options.
Although the clashes between the armed forces and the Tamil Tigers have been going on for long, the Indian Government’s urgency to take up the issue with the Sri Lankan Government arose now because of the pressure from the ruling DMK in Tamil Nadu.
For the past week, a lively political drama was being enacted in the southern State. Chief Minister M Karunanidhi had gone to the extent of issuing an ultimatum to the Centre to put pressure on the Sri Lankan Government for a ceasefire, giving two weeks’ time which ends on October 29. However, the present indications are that he may not take any drastic measures to pull out from the UPA Government at the Centre.
Why have the political parties in Tamil Nadu taken up the Tamil issue now?
According to the UN, more than two lakh people have been displaced because of the military offensive in Sri Lanka.
This has led to the fear of a refugee inflow from the island nation. Political parties, including the DMK, PMK and MDMK, are concerned at the military action.
The critics of the DMK Government say that the ruling party wants to divert attention from the severe power crisis in the State. Others point out that elections are round the corner and the DMK wants to make a case for itself that it had taken up the cause of the Tamil people in Sri Lanka. It is also likely the party is anxious to distance itself from the UPA to keep its options open for a post-election realignment of political parties.
The Congress, without whose support the DMK Government in Tamil Nadu would fall, is playing its own game. To show solidarity with the Tamil people, Congress MPs had attended the all-party meeting convened by Mr Karunanidhi but did not resign from the Lok Sabha as demanded by the DMK chief.
The Congress cleverly took the stand that it was all for protecting the interests of the Tamils but it was certainly against the LTTE, thereby differentiating between the Tamils and the LTTE.
The Congress has to tread carefully because there is a warrant pending against LTTE chief Prabhakaran in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case. On the other hand, local Congressmen are now keen to have a tie-up with the AIADMK. The Congress has in the past tied up both with the DMK and the AIADMK.
The dilemma facing the Centre is that New Delhi has been following a hands-off policy on Sri Lanka after the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi. Officially, India’s stand is that it wants a negotiated settlement within a united Sri Lanka, knowing that any fragmentation of that country could have serious consequences. Therefore, New Delhi cannot go beyond a point to put pressure on Colombo.
The Sri Lankan Government on its part is sending the President’s special envoy to New Delhi on October 26 while External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee may travel to Colombo later for further negotiations. However, these are mere signals. At the most, the Sri Lankan envoy may come up with a message that the military attack would be stopped if the LTTE gives up its arms and come for negotiations, but the LTTE is not ready to do so.
So where is the meeting point?
The Rajapaksa Government is determined to put down Prabhakaran now when the LTTE is weak and when the Government has an edge over the Tigers militarily. However, even if the military were to succeed in taking over Kilinochchi, Prabhakaran could flee with his followers to the dense forest. In addition, the locals may not support the military if they are still supporting the LTTE. While the Tigers are ready for an indefinite fight, the Sri Lankan Government will also worry about its international image if brutal military action is taken against LTTE.
Ultimately, the two sides should realise that a military solution is not desirable and a political solution alone would yield peace. For a political solution, both sides need to be a little more flexible. The LTTE should realise that its demand for an independent Tamil Eelam will never become a reality. The Sri Lankan Government, which shuns the idea of federalism, should be a little more flexible and offer a face-saving formula to the LTTE. Negotiations can begin only if there is readiness on their part and as of now, the Government has an upper hand.
Back in India, the Prime Minister has a difficult task. He not only has to deal with a foreign Government on a sensitive issue but also tackle the UPA partners in Tamil Nadu with kid gloves.
India has not forgotten the lessons of sending the IPKF to Sri Lanka. Above all, the political parties in Tamil Nadu should draw a line between Tamils and Tamil Tigers.
Related stories:
Deadly Triangle @ http://www.srilankawatch.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=172&Itemid=1
LTTE & Churches @ http://www.christianaggression.org/item_display.php?type=ARTICLES&id=1112887194
UPA takes U-Turn @ http://www.dailypioneer.com/130172/UPA-takes-U-turn-on-Lanka-Tamils.html
---------------------------------------------------------------
Of Tamils and Tamil Tigers
Kalyani Shankar, Pioneer
The UPA Government is in a fix over the mounting clamour in Tamil Nadu for Delhi to stop Colombo from clobbering the LTTE. The Congress, no friend of the Tamil Tigers, could lose the DMK as an ally if it does not act. Yet it can’t be seen defending the Tigers.
Is the Government going to interfere in the ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka or is it simply going through the motions to pacify its ally, the DMK, in Tamil Nadu? The reason for the concern is that the Sri Lankan military forces are carrying out a serious offensive against the LTTE and are said to be very close to Kilinochchi, the headquarters of the LTTE.
Lankan authorities are almost on the verge of breaking the banned LTTE and capture its leader V Prabhakaran. The Government stand makes it clear that while the matter is being taken up at the highest level, there may not be any major shift on the Sri Lankan policy because of its limited options.
Although the clashes between the armed forces and the Tamil Tigers have been going on for long, the Indian Government’s urgency to take up the issue with the Sri Lankan Government arose now because of the pressure from the ruling DMK in Tamil Nadu.
For the past week, a lively political drama was being enacted in the southern State. Chief Minister M Karunanidhi had gone to the extent of issuing an ultimatum to the Centre to put pressure on the Sri Lankan Government for a ceasefire, giving two weeks’ time which ends on October 29. However, the present indications are that he may not take any drastic measures to pull out from the UPA Government at the Centre.
Why have the political parties in Tamil Nadu taken up the Tamil issue now?
According to the UN, more than two lakh people have been displaced because of the military offensive in Sri Lanka.
This has led to the fear of a refugee inflow from the island nation. Political parties, including the DMK, PMK and MDMK, are concerned at the military action.
The critics of the DMK Government say that the ruling party wants to divert attention from the severe power crisis in the State. Others point out that elections are round the corner and the DMK wants to make a case for itself that it had taken up the cause of the Tamil people in Sri Lanka. It is also likely the party is anxious to distance itself from the UPA to keep its options open for a post-election realignment of political parties.
The Congress, without whose support the DMK Government in Tamil Nadu would fall, is playing its own game. To show solidarity with the Tamil people, Congress MPs had attended the all-party meeting convened by Mr Karunanidhi but did not resign from the Lok Sabha as demanded by the DMK chief.
The Congress cleverly took the stand that it was all for protecting the interests of the Tamils but it was certainly against the LTTE, thereby differentiating between the Tamils and the LTTE.
The Congress has to tread carefully because there is a warrant pending against LTTE chief Prabhakaran in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case. On the other hand, local Congressmen are now keen to have a tie-up with the AIADMK. The Congress has in the past tied up both with the DMK and the AIADMK.
The dilemma facing the Centre is that New Delhi has been following a hands-off policy on Sri Lanka after the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi. Officially, India’s stand is that it wants a negotiated settlement within a united Sri Lanka, knowing that any fragmentation of that country could have serious consequences. Therefore, New Delhi cannot go beyond a point to put pressure on Colombo.
The Sri Lankan Government on its part is sending the President’s special envoy to New Delhi on October 26 while External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee may travel to Colombo later for further negotiations. However, these are mere signals. At the most, the Sri Lankan envoy may come up with a message that the military attack would be stopped if the LTTE gives up its arms and come for negotiations, but the LTTE is not ready to do so.
So where is the meeting point?
The Rajapaksa Government is determined to put down Prabhakaran now when the LTTE is weak and when the Government has an edge over the Tigers militarily. However, even if the military were to succeed in taking over Kilinochchi, Prabhakaran could flee with his followers to the dense forest. In addition, the locals may not support the military if they are still supporting the LTTE. While the Tigers are ready for an indefinite fight, the Sri Lankan Government will also worry about its international image if brutal military action is taken against LTTE.
Ultimately, the two sides should realise that a military solution is not desirable and a political solution alone would yield peace. For a political solution, both sides need to be a little more flexible. The LTTE should realise that its demand for an independent Tamil Eelam will never become a reality. The Sri Lankan Government, which shuns the idea of federalism, should be a little more flexible and offer a face-saving formula to the LTTE. Negotiations can begin only if there is readiness on their part and as of now, the Government has an upper hand.
Back in India, the Prime Minister has a difficult task. He not only has to deal with a foreign Government on a sensitive issue but also tackle the UPA partners in Tamil Nadu with kid gloves.
India has not forgotten the lessons of sending the IPKF to Sri Lanka. Above all, the political parties in Tamil Nadu should draw a line between Tamils and Tamil Tigers.
Related stories:
Deadly Triangle @ http://www.srilankawatch.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=172&Itemid=1
LTTE & Churches @ http://www.christianaggression.org/item_display.php?type=ARTICLES&id=1112887194
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
** Indian Muslims/Muslims of India
Indian Muslims vs Muslims of India
10/21/08 - ivarta.com
Once in the US, it so happened that a lady was being chased by a dog. She ran until the dog was stopped and made to run for its life by a brave young man. Looking in awe, among the spectators, was a young journalist. "You are a brave guy. You must be featured in the newspaper. "Brave young American saves lady from dog", is the headline I am planning on. Hearing this, the lad said "Sorry, but I am not an American." "Oh is it?", Where are you from?" asked the journo. "I am from the Middle East," replied the man. "Oh. so, are you a Muslim?" "Yes, very much", he admitted. "Oh, nice to see you. Please read tomorrow"s edition of my newspaper", said the journo handing over his card. The next day, however, the young man was flabbergasted to see the headline which read, "A terrorist terrorizes a dog!"
That was a joke, of course. But the way the world is looking at Muslims today is not much different from the perspective of the imaginative journalist in the joke. "Not all Muslims are terrorists," admit supporters of Islam. This is countered by its critics who say "But most, if not all, of the terrorists are Muslims!"
Islam is at the height of unpopularity today. Muslims are regarded with great skepticism and the credibility of Islam seems to be at stake.
Recently, my distinguished friend M J Akbar answered this with a lot of vitality in his article, "Is credibility of Islam at stake"? But not many were moved by it.
The skepticism Islam is encountering globally, is a strange phenomenon. To rebuild the credibility of the religion it is important that the terrorists-call them "Islamists", "Islamic terrorist", or just a "terrorist"-stop making use of Islam as a pillar of their propaganda. Until and unless this subsides, the credibility of Islam, I fear, would certainly be at stake. And no justification of Islam would truly help. All would certainly be seen by its critics as"propaganda".
Islam is certainly "a religion of peace". It has in it a great "passion" for peace. But that peace is not to be equalized with conventional peace which others, mostly non-Muslims or "kafirs", understand.
Like Christianity, Islam is a religion which talks of exclusivity.
The greatest gift of being a Muslim, or rather converting to it, is the prospect of "heaven"- a heaven which is full of "virgin girls and boys" and where there is a "river of milk" and all that which is never found in Arabia.
Islam"s core maxim is simple. In Arabic it reads "Lailaha Illalah, Mahamdurasullah", which means "No God but Allah, and no Prophet but Mohammad". This clearly states that Islam recognizes no other religion and shuns all gods and prophets. It is stated very clearly in Islam that though Moses and Jesus were also among the prophets, they were intended for a different time and now only Mohammad is to be follow and only Allah deserves worship.
Of recent, the Muslims in India have started justifying acts of violence by terrorists as "a result of their frustration and alienation". They say Muslims have been looked down upon; they have been deprived economically. Special privileges have been demanded for which is being justified by using the Justice Sachar Committee report. While the Sachar report explains the state of Muslims, it totally fails in stating the reasons behind this. Muslims themselves are responsible for their situation, as it is they who pursue religious education instead of the conventional education system.
I am a Brahmin. But to be more specific I am a Gowda Saraswat Brahmin (GSB). From time immemorial, our people have been deprived and have faced constant struggle. History says that our ancestors lived on the banks of the river Saraswati, and when the river dried up we moved to various parts of the country.
First the Mughals, and later the Portuguese, persecuted us. A lot of our numbers were converted first to Islam and then to Christianity, forcefully.
Today, we have a modest population. Our composite population in this country would not be more than six lakh. We form a faction of the population, but we have had no special privileges. Starting from the 1950s, we were deprived of education and many were forced to change their surnames because they were denied education.
In the name of providing special privileges to the lower classes, we were deprived. Given this, we had every right to resort to arms and fight and kill people of the lower castes. But that we didn"t do it is a historical fact. The contribution of my community is vibrantly visible. Three distinguished banks of this country were founded by GSBs. First private medical college was founded by Dr. TMA Pai was himself as GSB.
A great many of those who built India"s IT industry are fellow GSBs. Without any privileges, whatsoever, we found our way.
As a community, we contributed so much and so well to the economy of this country and that is something none can negate.
But how did the GSBs achieve so much and contribute even more? Why didn"t they resort to arms, malign the government, and resort to anti-government actions? The reason is simple-we believed in ourselves.
We know very well that India is our nation. We love this land and are passionate enough to contribute to its greatness. Instead of asking for opportunities, we created them. Not only GSBs; there are several other communities who have made similar contributions under identical conditions.
I am baffled when I read Muslim writers who talk of deprivation. If they were deprived then how is it that India had Muslims as Prime Ministers and Presidents? Who is stopping them? No one-that"s for sure.
The only thing that is keeping Muslims from accomplishments is their mindset. If not all, a majority of Muslims of this country believe that "they were the rulers of this land". They still seek to identify themselves with the Mughals.
Until that mindset is remedied, and until they recognize themselves not as Muslims but as Indians first, their deprivation will continue against all odds. Even no matter of appeasements, or reservations, will work.
I categorize Muslims of this country into two. The first, are the Indian Muslims-the people who think themselves as Indians first and Muslims later. The second category is the Muslims of India-Muslims who think of themselves as Muslims first and last. Muslims of India are the real problem that needs to be handled properly.
Indian Muslims have contributed lot to this land. Dr. Zakir Hussain and Dr. A P J Abdul Kalam are distinguished personalities who belong to this category. All Hindus, including those in the RSS, and Bajarang Dal, appreciate and honor them.
The Muslims of India, however, still look at the fanatic seminaries of "Darul-Uloom" and the "Wahhabi" school of thought, for their greatness. You can never convince the Muslims of India until they shed their "rulers-of-India" mindset and come to terms with the modern world and contribute proactively to THEIR nation"s progress.
http://www.blogs.ivarta.com/india-usa-blog-column186.htm - - -
10/21/08 - ivarta.com
Once in the US, it so happened that a lady was being chased by a dog. She ran until the dog was stopped and made to run for its life by a brave young man. Looking in awe, among the spectators, was a young journalist. "You are a brave guy. You must be featured in the newspaper. "Brave young American saves lady from dog", is the headline I am planning on. Hearing this, the lad said "Sorry, but I am not an American." "Oh is it?", Where are you from?" asked the journo. "I am from the Middle East," replied the man. "Oh. so, are you a Muslim?" "Yes, very much", he admitted. "Oh, nice to see you. Please read tomorrow"s edition of my newspaper", said the journo handing over his card. The next day, however, the young man was flabbergasted to see the headline which read, "A terrorist terrorizes a dog!"
That was a joke, of course. But the way the world is looking at Muslims today is not much different from the perspective of the imaginative journalist in the joke. "Not all Muslims are terrorists," admit supporters of Islam. This is countered by its critics who say "But most, if not all, of the terrorists are Muslims!"
Islam is at the height of unpopularity today. Muslims are regarded with great skepticism and the credibility of Islam seems to be at stake.
Recently, my distinguished friend M J Akbar answered this with a lot of vitality in his article, "Is credibility of Islam at stake"? But not many were moved by it.
The skepticism Islam is encountering globally, is a strange phenomenon. To rebuild the credibility of the religion it is important that the terrorists-call them "Islamists", "Islamic terrorist", or just a "terrorist"-stop making use of Islam as a pillar of their propaganda. Until and unless this subsides, the credibility of Islam, I fear, would certainly be at stake. And no justification of Islam would truly help. All would certainly be seen by its critics as"propaganda".
Islam is certainly "a religion of peace". It has in it a great "passion" for peace. But that peace is not to be equalized with conventional peace which others, mostly non-Muslims or "kafirs", understand.
Like Christianity, Islam is a religion which talks of exclusivity.
The greatest gift of being a Muslim, or rather converting to it, is the prospect of "heaven"- a heaven which is full of "virgin girls and boys" and where there is a "river of milk" and all that which is never found in Arabia.
Islam"s core maxim is simple. In Arabic it reads "Lailaha Illalah, Mahamdurasullah", which means "No God but Allah, and no Prophet but Mohammad". This clearly states that Islam recognizes no other religion and shuns all gods and prophets. It is stated very clearly in Islam that though Moses and Jesus were also among the prophets, they were intended for a different time and now only Mohammad is to be follow and only Allah deserves worship.
Of recent, the Muslims in India have started justifying acts of violence by terrorists as "a result of their frustration and alienation". They say Muslims have been looked down upon; they have been deprived economically. Special privileges have been demanded for which is being justified by using the Justice Sachar Committee report. While the Sachar report explains the state of Muslims, it totally fails in stating the reasons behind this. Muslims themselves are responsible for their situation, as it is they who pursue religious education instead of the conventional education system.
I am a Brahmin. But to be more specific I am a Gowda Saraswat Brahmin (GSB). From time immemorial, our people have been deprived and have faced constant struggle. History says that our ancestors lived on the banks of the river Saraswati, and when the river dried up we moved to various parts of the country.
First the Mughals, and later the Portuguese, persecuted us. A lot of our numbers were converted first to Islam and then to Christianity, forcefully.
Today, we have a modest population. Our composite population in this country would not be more than six lakh. We form a faction of the population, but we have had no special privileges. Starting from the 1950s, we were deprived of education and many were forced to change their surnames because they were denied education.
In the name of providing special privileges to the lower classes, we were deprived. Given this, we had every right to resort to arms and fight and kill people of the lower castes. But that we didn"t do it is a historical fact. The contribution of my community is vibrantly visible. Three distinguished banks of this country were founded by GSBs. First private medical college was founded by Dr. TMA Pai was himself as GSB.
A great many of those who built India"s IT industry are fellow GSBs. Without any privileges, whatsoever, we found our way.
As a community, we contributed so much and so well to the economy of this country and that is something none can negate.
But how did the GSBs achieve so much and contribute even more? Why didn"t they resort to arms, malign the government, and resort to anti-government actions? The reason is simple-we believed in ourselves.
We know very well that India is our nation. We love this land and are passionate enough to contribute to its greatness. Instead of asking for opportunities, we created them. Not only GSBs; there are several other communities who have made similar contributions under identical conditions.
I am baffled when I read Muslim writers who talk of deprivation. If they were deprived then how is it that India had Muslims as Prime Ministers and Presidents? Who is stopping them? No one-that"s for sure.
The only thing that is keeping Muslims from accomplishments is their mindset. If not all, a majority of Muslims of this country believe that "they were the rulers of this land". They still seek to identify themselves with the Mughals.
Until that mindset is remedied, and until they recognize themselves not as Muslims but as Indians first, their deprivation will continue against all odds. Even no matter of appeasements, or reservations, will work.
I categorize Muslims of this country into two. The first, are the Indian Muslims-the people who think themselves as Indians first and Muslims later. The second category is the Muslims of India-Muslims who think of themselves as Muslims first and last. Muslims of India are the real problem that needs to be handled properly.
Indian Muslims have contributed lot to this land. Dr. Zakir Hussain and Dr. A P J Abdul Kalam are distinguished personalities who belong to this category. All Hindus, including those in the RSS, and Bajarang Dal, appreciate and honor them.
The Muslims of India, however, still look at the fanatic seminaries of "Darul-Uloom" and the "Wahhabi" school of thought, for their greatness. You can never convince the Muslims of India until they shed their "rulers-of-India" mindset and come to terms with the modern world and contribute proactively to THEIR nation"s progress.
http://www.blogs.ivarta.com/india-usa-blog-column186.htm - - -
Sunday, October 19, 2008
** The Red Capitalists
'Red capitalists' unravel the party line
By Wu Zhong, Asia Times
HONG KONG - In an apparent move to defuse a decades-old ideological debate, China's Vice President Xi Jingpin, who is widely tipped to succeed President Hu Jintao, has proclaimed that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has turned itself from a "revolutionary party" into the "ruling party".
For observers, it is plain to see that the CCP is the ruling party of China, so Xi's statement seems to be tautologous. But for party members and Chinese people in general, this is a new definition of the CCP which is of great significance in theory and in practice.
It may even be a breakthrough for a new round of the "emancipation of minds".
Late paramount leader Deng Xiaoping's political wisdom was to shelve thorny issues that might impede progress. For example, in April 1978, a dispute rising from the sovereignty over the Diaoyu Islands (called Senkaku Islands in Japan), a cluster of barren islets north of Taiwan and south of the Ryukyu Islands, flared up and threatened to disrupt the signing of a peace treaty between China and Japan.
Deng demanded the territorial dispute be shelved. In October of that year, Deng visited Japan and attended a ceremony to exchange the instruments of ratification for the Sino-Japanese Peace and Friendship Treaty. When he was asked about the Diaoyu Islands issue, he said, "The issue of Diaoyu Island ... could be set aside for the moment; probably the later generations would be cleverer than us and would find a practical solution."
At home later that year, Deng started economic reforms aimed at turning the socialist command economy into a capitalist-style market economy. He was fully aware this was a revolution that would spark fierce political and ideological debates which could ruin his goal.
In turn, he used all his authority to suppress attempts to instigate such debate. The issue of whether the economic reforms were socialist or capitalist "must never be debated, not in 100 years", Deng said in what was later called his "political will" during an inspection trip to the south in 1992, his last public appearance.
Deng's pragmatic approach proved successful in pushing forward economic reforms. However, the tough stance also meant many necessary political and ideological changes were put off and now must be clarified in face of fundamental changes in Chinese society.
Foremost among these issues is how to define the CCP in a capitalist-style market economy.
According to classical Marxist, Leninist and Maoist theories, political parties are products of class struggles with each party representing the interests of a certain social class. A communist party is thus the vanguard of the proletariat.
In fact, the current CCP constitution still stipulates just that: "The CCP is the vanguard of the Chinese proletariat ... The highest ideal and ultimate goal of the party is to achieve communism."
According to the charter, China must "uphold [the] socialist road, uphold people's democratic dictatorship, uphold the CCP's leadership, uphold Marxism, Leninism and Mao Zedong thought ... and oppose bourgeois liberalization".
But if the CCP remains a revolutionary party representing the interests of the working class, how can it lead reforms aimed at developing a capitalist-style market economy?
After Deng's death in 1997, this "contradiction" has been used by orthodox Marxist ideologues led by Deng Liqun, the CCP's former propaganda tsar, to attack economic reform and open-door policies as trying to "restore capitalism". In the view of Deng Liqun and his cohorts, this goes against the principles of the party itself. In recent years, Deng Liqun has found dozens of young followers mainly based in Beijing.
Nevertheless, in practice the CCP has quietly adopted a pragmatic approach toward this problem by accepting people from various social sectors - including "red capitalists". This approach has gradually changed the CPP into an "all-peoples party" rather than the so-called "vanguard of the proletariat".
According to Vice President Xi, the number of CCP members was 4.4 million in 1949 when it seized power, growing to more than 36 million by 1978. By end of 2007, party membership jumped to 74 million, of which 70% were new members who joined the party after Deng's economic reforms.
The number of CCP members in the private sector now totals more than 4 million.
But change has come quietly for the CCP. The party shied away from publicly abandoning revolutionary rhetoric until now. The timing is good: after 30 years, Deng's reform and open-door policy have taken root. The few surviving senior revolutionaries and orthodox ideologues are getting old (Deng Liqun is now 93 years old) and their young followers wield little influence. Addressing the issue in today's political and economic climate is unlikely to stir up serious debate.
It was against this backdrop that Xi Jingpin on September 1 told new students at the Central Party School, the CCP's top training center of which Xi is the president, that the:
CCP has matured from a party of revolution into one which "holds the power to rule the country in the long term".
His full speech - 23,000 Chinese characters in total - was later published by the Study Times, the official newspaper of the Central Party School.
Analysts say Xi certainly wasn't just offering his personal opinion, but announcing a policy decision made by the top CCP leadership.
This signals - after 30 years of economic reforms and openness - the CCP is finally willing to declare its departure from revolution.
"It is good that finally the CCP explicitly says goodbye to revolution. 'Revolution' always reminds people of the cruel struggles during the early CCP rule under Mao. And declaring itself as the ruling party, it must try to continue and consolidate its rule by devoting its efforts to better serve, and thus 'flatter', the majority in society, rather than relying on violent means. This is big progress," a retired political science professor at Nankai University told Asia Times Online.
Still, the CCP may have to revise its charter to reflect this change and its new emphasis on putting people first, he added.
Chinese dissidents in exile, however, have criticized the announcement, claiming that it does nothing to change the actual nature of the party. For example, Xu Shuiliang wrote that calling the CCP a "ruling party" does not change the fact that it remains a one-party dictatorship. After all, opposition parties are still not allowed.
There is difference, however, between a revolutionary party and a ruling party. By calling itself a "ruling party", the CCP must be responsible for its rule. Therefore, CCP officials must take responsibility for what happens under their jurisdiction. The CCP must now be subject to public supervision, while as a revolutionary party, it could always suppress dissent in the name of "the revolution".
On celebrating the 30th anniversary of Deng's reforms, Chinese leaders, including Hu himself, have encouraged officials to further "emancipate their minds". In this regard, Vice President Xi has set a fine example by addressing a thorny ideological issue.
Hopefully, this will encourage more officials to follow suit, and more new ideas to take root.
http://atimes.com/atimes/China/JJ17Ad01.html ---
COMMUNISTS IN INDIA NEED INTROSPECTION
Dr. Ravindra Kumar
American Chronicle
Generally I should have no reason to question the integrity and patriotism of the Indian Communists. Rather, I should admire them when they talk of downtrodden and raise issues related to commonmen on the one hand, and express their confidence in democracy and its process on the other.
But, when many a times, leaving aside the gospel of nationalism, which itself is the first and basic step of internationalism, and national interest, they, guided by external elements, talk of internationalism, they in fact flee from the national cause, or in other words keep at distance from the welfare of commonmen.
It was in 1942 when during the course of the Quit India Movement the role of the Indian Communists proved to be the most shameful.
As the people familiar to the series of events of the contemporary Indian history know that formerly the Communists to accede to the call of Mahatma Gandhi declared their participation in that movement. It was in fact for the reason that there was a treaty betwixt Soviet Union, their guiding force, and Germany and Germany was involved in war with Britain and its allies. The cycle of time underwent change and Hitler, the Nazi dictator of Germany, by breaking the bonds of treaty, attacked Soviet Union. In such state of affairs, to counter the attacks of Germany a new alliance comprising of Soviet Union, Britain, America and France emerged at the international level.
The Indian Communists, due to this new friendship betwixt Soviet Union and Britain [and its allies], started favouring the English on the one hand, and they began to oppose the Quit India Movement on the other.
In support of Stalin, who himself was an ardent supporter of ‘Socialism in one Country’ or the theory of ‘Nation First’, by ignoring the basic tenet of internationalism, the Indian Communists like opportunists began to talk of internationalism; they forgot that without expressing devotion to nationalism, the talk of internationalism was baseless.
Again in 1948 when the whole nation was worried for the safety of innocent people facing atrocities in the State of Hyderabad, and its ruler, the Nizam, with the support of communal forces was willing of freeing the State by getting involved in anti-Indian activities, the hidden role of Communists was also filled with shame.
Simultaneously, the behaviour of one of the groups of the Indian Communists at the time of war betwixt India and China in 1962, and of the other during the declaration of emergency in 1975 was definitely grievous.
At that time they neither gave a thought to the larger national interests nor they cared for the commonmen; rather they gave a thought to or cared for the interests of their guiding forces.
Now, again their behaviour in context of Indo-US Nuclear Deal is totally ungraceful.
India has given a lot to the entire world including knowledge. Indians are wise; they know what their interest is. That is why; majority of them are in favour of this deal, and they wish for more economic and political cooperation with the US.
So, it is high time that keeping the interest of the nation nucleus, the Indian Communists should introspect; they should realize and by learning a lesson from the past should come forward to care for their countrymen first instead of caring for the others, failing of which they will loose their political ground more than ever.
Universally renowned Gandhian scholar, Indologist and writer Dr. Ravindra Kumar is the Former Vice-Chancellor of CCS University of Meerut
http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/36593 -----
By Wu Zhong, Asia Times
HONG KONG - In an apparent move to defuse a decades-old ideological debate, China's Vice President Xi Jingpin, who is widely tipped to succeed President Hu Jintao, has proclaimed that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has turned itself from a "revolutionary party" into the "ruling party".
For observers, it is plain to see that the CCP is the ruling party of China, so Xi's statement seems to be tautologous. But for party members and Chinese people in general, this is a new definition of the CCP which is of great significance in theory and in practice.
It may even be a breakthrough for a new round of the "emancipation of minds".
Late paramount leader Deng Xiaoping's political wisdom was to shelve thorny issues that might impede progress. For example, in April 1978, a dispute rising from the sovereignty over the Diaoyu Islands (called Senkaku Islands in Japan), a cluster of barren islets north of Taiwan and south of the Ryukyu Islands, flared up and threatened to disrupt the signing of a peace treaty between China and Japan.
Deng demanded the territorial dispute be shelved. In October of that year, Deng visited Japan and attended a ceremony to exchange the instruments of ratification for the Sino-Japanese Peace and Friendship Treaty. When he was asked about the Diaoyu Islands issue, he said, "The issue of Diaoyu Island ... could be set aside for the moment; probably the later generations would be cleverer than us and would find a practical solution."
At home later that year, Deng started economic reforms aimed at turning the socialist command economy into a capitalist-style market economy. He was fully aware this was a revolution that would spark fierce political and ideological debates which could ruin his goal.
In turn, he used all his authority to suppress attempts to instigate such debate. The issue of whether the economic reforms were socialist or capitalist "must never be debated, not in 100 years", Deng said in what was later called his "political will" during an inspection trip to the south in 1992, his last public appearance.
Deng's pragmatic approach proved successful in pushing forward economic reforms. However, the tough stance also meant many necessary political and ideological changes were put off and now must be clarified in face of fundamental changes in Chinese society.
Foremost among these issues is how to define the CCP in a capitalist-style market economy.
According to classical Marxist, Leninist and Maoist theories, political parties are products of class struggles with each party representing the interests of a certain social class. A communist party is thus the vanguard of the proletariat.
In fact, the current CCP constitution still stipulates just that: "The CCP is the vanguard of the Chinese proletariat ... The highest ideal and ultimate goal of the party is to achieve communism."
According to the charter, China must "uphold [the] socialist road, uphold people's democratic dictatorship, uphold the CCP's leadership, uphold Marxism, Leninism and Mao Zedong thought ... and oppose bourgeois liberalization".
But if the CCP remains a revolutionary party representing the interests of the working class, how can it lead reforms aimed at developing a capitalist-style market economy?
After Deng's death in 1997, this "contradiction" has been used by orthodox Marxist ideologues led by Deng Liqun, the CCP's former propaganda tsar, to attack economic reform and open-door policies as trying to "restore capitalism". In the view of Deng Liqun and his cohorts, this goes against the principles of the party itself. In recent years, Deng Liqun has found dozens of young followers mainly based in Beijing.
Nevertheless, in practice the CCP has quietly adopted a pragmatic approach toward this problem by accepting people from various social sectors - including "red capitalists". This approach has gradually changed the CPP into an "all-peoples party" rather than the so-called "vanguard of the proletariat".
According to Vice President Xi, the number of CCP members was 4.4 million in 1949 when it seized power, growing to more than 36 million by 1978. By end of 2007, party membership jumped to 74 million, of which 70% were new members who joined the party after Deng's economic reforms.
The number of CCP members in the private sector now totals more than 4 million.
But change has come quietly for the CCP. The party shied away from publicly abandoning revolutionary rhetoric until now. The timing is good: after 30 years, Deng's reform and open-door policy have taken root. The few surviving senior revolutionaries and orthodox ideologues are getting old (Deng Liqun is now 93 years old) and their young followers wield little influence. Addressing the issue in today's political and economic climate is unlikely to stir up serious debate.
It was against this backdrop that Xi Jingpin on September 1 told new students at the Central Party School, the CCP's top training center of which Xi is the president, that the:
CCP has matured from a party of revolution into one which "holds the power to rule the country in the long term".
His full speech - 23,000 Chinese characters in total - was later published by the Study Times, the official newspaper of the Central Party School.
Analysts say Xi certainly wasn't just offering his personal opinion, but announcing a policy decision made by the top CCP leadership.
This signals - after 30 years of economic reforms and openness - the CCP is finally willing to declare its departure from revolution.
"It is good that finally the CCP explicitly says goodbye to revolution. 'Revolution' always reminds people of the cruel struggles during the early CCP rule under Mao. And declaring itself as the ruling party, it must try to continue and consolidate its rule by devoting its efforts to better serve, and thus 'flatter', the majority in society, rather than relying on violent means. This is big progress," a retired political science professor at Nankai University told Asia Times Online.
Still, the CCP may have to revise its charter to reflect this change and its new emphasis on putting people first, he added.
Chinese dissidents in exile, however, have criticized the announcement, claiming that it does nothing to change the actual nature of the party. For example, Xu Shuiliang wrote that calling the CCP a "ruling party" does not change the fact that it remains a one-party dictatorship. After all, opposition parties are still not allowed.
There is difference, however, between a revolutionary party and a ruling party. By calling itself a "ruling party", the CCP must be responsible for its rule. Therefore, CCP officials must take responsibility for what happens under their jurisdiction. The CCP must now be subject to public supervision, while as a revolutionary party, it could always suppress dissent in the name of "the revolution".
On celebrating the 30th anniversary of Deng's reforms, Chinese leaders, including Hu himself, have encouraged officials to further "emancipate their minds". In this regard, Vice President Xi has set a fine example by addressing a thorny ideological issue.
Hopefully, this will encourage more officials to follow suit, and more new ideas to take root.
http://atimes.com/atimes/China/JJ17Ad01.html ---
COMMUNISTS IN INDIA NEED INTROSPECTION
Dr. Ravindra Kumar
American Chronicle
Generally I should have no reason to question the integrity and patriotism of the Indian Communists. Rather, I should admire them when they talk of downtrodden and raise issues related to commonmen on the one hand, and express their confidence in democracy and its process on the other.
But, when many a times, leaving aside the gospel of nationalism, which itself is the first and basic step of internationalism, and national interest, they, guided by external elements, talk of internationalism, they in fact flee from the national cause, or in other words keep at distance from the welfare of commonmen.
It was in 1942 when during the course of the Quit India Movement the role of the Indian Communists proved to be the most shameful.
As the people familiar to the series of events of the contemporary Indian history know that formerly the Communists to accede to the call of Mahatma Gandhi declared their participation in that movement. It was in fact for the reason that there was a treaty betwixt Soviet Union, their guiding force, and Germany and Germany was involved in war with Britain and its allies. The cycle of time underwent change and Hitler, the Nazi dictator of Germany, by breaking the bonds of treaty, attacked Soviet Union. In such state of affairs, to counter the attacks of Germany a new alliance comprising of Soviet Union, Britain, America and France emerged at the international level.
The Indian Communists, due to this new friendship betwixt Soviet Union and Britain [and its allies], started favouring the English on the one hand, and they began to oppose the Quit India Movement on the other.
In support of Stalin, who himself was an ardent supporter of ‘Socialism in one Country’ or the theory of ‘Nation First’, by ignoring the basic tenet of internationalism, the Indian Communists like opportunists began to talk of internationalism; they forgot that without expressing devotion to nationalism, the talk of internationalism was baseless.
Again in 1948 when the whole nation was worried for the safety of innocent people facing atrocities in the State of Hyderabad, and its ruler, the Nizam, with the support of communal forces was willing of freeing the State by getting involved in anti-Indian activities, the hidden role of Communists was also filled with shame.
Simultaneously, the behaviour of one of the groups of the Indian Communists at the time of war betwixt India and China in 1962, and of the other during the declaration of emergency in 1975 was definitely grievous.
At that time they neither gave a thought to the larger national interests nor they cared for the commonmen; rather they gave a thought to or cared for the interests of their guiding forces.
Now, again their behaviour in context of Indo-US Nuclear Deal is totally ungraceful.
India has given a lot to the entire world including knowledge. Indians are wise; they know what their interest is. That is why; majority of them are in favour of this deal, and they wish for more economic and political cooperation with the US.
So, it is high time that keeping the interest of the nation nucleus, the Indian Communists should introspect; they should realize and by learning a lesson from the past should come forward to care for their countrymen first instead of caring for the others, failing of which they will loose their political ground more than ever.
Universally renowned Gandhian scholar, Indologist and writer Dr. Ravindra Kumar is the Former Vice-Chancellor of CCS University of Meerut
http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/36593 -----
Saturday, October 18, 2008
** Treason Respectable?
Treason can’t be made respectable
Swapan Dasgupta
Daily Pioneer
No political party and no political and religious leader have made such a preposterous suggestion. Yet, for the past month, important bodies of India’s Muslim community and “secular” politicians have worked themselves into a frenzy about the complete equation of Muslims with terrorism. What began as a run-of-the-mill protest by a nervous ghetto and a grandstanding Vice-Chancellor has escalated into a mischievous movement to scare Muslims into seeking the protective embrace of sectarian groups.
Mobilisation through fear and panic has become the signature tune of those who want to divert attention from terror and confine the Muslim community to an emotional ghetto. Worse, there is an organised attempt to coerce a confused Government into abandoning the war on terror with the threat of withdrawal of political support by an entire religious community.
The game plan is insidious but it has already had a measure of success. Under pressure, the Delhi Police has more or less put on hold the follow-up investigations into the terrorist ring that was operating in Delhi. Mercifully, the Gujarat and Maharashtra Police have not followed suit. In other words, there have been no attempts to explore the wider links of the cell operating from Batla House. Have the leads given by Gujarat Police been pursued? Has there, for example, been any follow-up of why the group maintained close links with some who nominally claim to be journalists?
There is an orchestrated attempt to undermine the faith of Muslim in all the institutions of the State. There is, per se, nothing out of the ordinary in the demand for an inquiry into the Batla House encounter made, among others, by the Minority Cell of the Congress Party. It is routine for all those with any grievance to put forward such proposals and it is not obligatory for any Government to accede to the protesters.
Yet, there is something sinister in the demand by Samajwadi Party MP Abu Azmi that 25 per cent of any inquiry panel must comprise Muslims. From here to the demand that Muslims must be tried only by Muslims is a small jump and this jump will, probably, be made during the General Election campaign.
Other institutions, too, are being transformed into extensions of the ghetto. The Minority Commission has turned into a sectarian pressure point and spends taxpayers’ money sloganeering. The National Integration Council meet last week had the usual quota of chief ministerial platitudes but beyond that it was turned into an unreal demonstration of a bid to cripple the fight against terrorism. One participant confided that there were moments the NIC resembled a working committee meeting of the pre-1947 Muslim League.
Likewise, a function last Friday in Aligarh Muslim University to commemorate the 191st birth anniversary of Sir Syed Ahmed Khan turned, predictably, into a political demonstration of angst. But it was also marked by a very revealing assertion of separateness. According to the Indian Express, “the audience jeered as a student’s dupatta slipped off her head while she was on stage to talk about Sir Syed. In her confusion, the student looked around. Someone pointed at the dupatta. Only after she pulled it back did the audience let her speak.”
The innocuous incident raises a pertinent question: Have public-funded universities like AMU and Jamia Millia accepted Mushirul Hasan’s assertion that “we owe no explanation to anyone except ourselves and to our faith” as their operating principle?
A dangerous social divide is being created between those who believe that terrorism must be stamped out and those who want to give the terrorists a protective cover built on a religious identity.
The Muslim community must not allow itself to become a shield for those who want to disfigure India. Treason can’t be made respectable.
Related stories
1) Muslims should Join Mainstream @ http://indiasecular.wordpress.com/2008/10/15/to-join-the-mainstream/
2) M. Hussain on Past @ http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_30-8-2004_pg3_4
3) Dealing with past @ http://www.blogs.ivarta.com/india-usa-blog-column168.htm
4) Respect Others' Faith @ http://www.dailypioneer.com/128164/Respect-the-faith-of-others.html
Swapan Dasgupta
Daily Pioneer
Having closely followed the debate on terrorism for a decade, I am mystified by the suggestion — made by those who have transformed Batla House in Delhi’s Jamia Nagar into a pilgrimage site — that the Indian Establishment has come to view every Muslim as a terrorist. Which person of consequence has said so? What is the evidence that the Indian State views 13 per cent of India as outlaws?
No political party and no political and religious leader have made such a preposterous suggestion. Yet, for the past month, important bodies of India’s Muslim community and “secular” politicians have worked themselves into a frenzy about the complete equation of Muslims with terrorism. What began as a run-of-the-mill protest by a nervous ghetto and a grandstanding Vice-Chancellor has escalated into a mischievous movement to scare Muslims into seeking the protective embrace of sectarian groups.
Mobilisation through fear and panic has become the signature tune of those who want to divert attention from terror and confine the Muslim community to an emotional ghetto. Worse, there is an organised attempt to coerce a confused Government into abandoning the war on terror with the threat of withdrawal of political support by an entire religious community.
The game plan is insidious but it has already had a measure of success. Under pressure, the Delhi Police has more or less put on hold the follow-up investigations into the terrorist ring that was operating in Delhi. Mercifully, the Gujarat and Maharashtra Police have not followed suit. In other words, there have been no attempts to explore the wider links of the cell operating from Batla House. Have the leads given by Gujarat Police been pursued? Has there, for example, been any follow-up of why the group maintained close links with some who nominally claim to be journalists?
There is an orchestrated attempt to undermine the faith of Muslim in all the institutions of the State. There is, per se, nothing out of the ordinary in the demand for an inquiry into the Batla House encounter made, among others, by the Minority Cell of the Congress Party. It is routine for all those with any grievance to put forward such proposals and it is not obligatory for any Government to accede to the protesters.
Yet, there is something sinister in the demand by Samajwadi Party MP Abu Azmi that 25 per cent of any inquiry panel must comprise Muslims. From here to the demand that Muslims must be tried only by Muslims is a small jump and this jump will, probably, be made during the General Election campaign.
Other institutions, too, are being transformed into extensions of the ghetto. The Minority Commission has turned into a sectarian pressure point and spends taxpayers’ money sloganeering. The National Integration Council meet last week had the usual quota of chief ministerial platitudes but beyond that it was turned into an unreal demonstration of a bid to cripple the fight against terrorism. One participant confided that there were moments the NIC resembled a working committee meeting of the pre-1947 Muslim League.
Likewise, a function last Friday in Aligarh Muslim University to commemorate the 191st birth anniversary of Sir Syed Ahmed Khan turned, predictably, into a political demonstration of angst. But it was also marked by a very revealing assertion of separateness. According to the Indian Express, “the audience jeered as a student’s dupatta slipped off her head while she was on stage to talk about Sir Syed. In her confusion, the student looked around. Someone pointed at the dupatta. Only after she pulled it back did the audience let her speak.”
The innocuous incident raises a pertinent question: Have public-funded universities like AMU and Jamia Millia accepted Mushirul Hasan’s assertion that “we owe no explanation to anyone except ourselves and to our faith” as their operating principle?
A dangerous social divide is being created between those who believe that terrorism must be stamped out and those who want to give the terrorists a protective cover built on a religious identity.
The Muslim community must not allow itself to become a shield for those who want to disfigure India. Treason can’t be made respectable.
Related stories
1) Muslims should Join Mainstream @ http://indiasecular.wordpress.com/2008/10/15/to-join-the-mainstream/
2) M. Hussain on Past @ http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_30-8-2004_pg3_4
3) Dealing with past @ http://www.blogs.ivarta.com/india-usa-blog-column168.htm
4) Respect Others' Faith @ http://www.dailypioneer.com/128164/Respect-the-faith-of-others.html
Thursday, October 16, 2008
** A Muslim's Real Jehad...
http://www.indianmuslims.info/news/articles?page=41
A Muslim's Real Jehad is to Expose Terrorists
Firoz Bakht Ahmed
With so many voices stating that the religion advocates violence, Islam is today under the scanner. Not all of them can be wrong – people judge by what they see and today these terrorists speak and act violently in the name of Islam.
The familiar drill after every terror attack was repeated last month after the twin Hyderabad blasts killing about 50 people – the government passing the buck to foreign involvement, the announcement of compensation to the dead and news updates that normalcy has been restored and, finally, the worn out cliché that terrorist designs to upset peace are defeated.
More Muslims need to realise that Islamist terrorists are not simply "misguided" individuals acting on a whim but are people who know what they are doing and are doing it deliberately in the name of Islam. It is simply not enough just to condemn their demoniac acts without actually doing something as observed by London-based journalist, Hasan Suroor. Islamic terrorism hasn't descended from another galaxy, rather it breeds within the community and is a result of a particular mindset that misinterprets Islam.
These suicide bombers - criminals against humanity - often invoke Islam for their dirty criminal deeds and assume Arabic sounding names and call themselves mujahids (holy warriors) to pass their misdeeds as an act of jehad. Muslims must come out openly on the streets against terror outfits like the Lashkar-e-Toiba(LeT), Harkat-ul-Jihad-e-Islam (HuJi), Al Qaeda, Sipah-e-Sahaba and other.
Many of the terrorists acting in the name of Islam cite Palestine, Chechnya, Iraq and Afghanistan to justify their killings. They have lost their moral compass. For them anyone who does not agree with their point of view is an infidel and can be eliminated. From 9/11 to 25/8 Hyderabad now, theirs is a bloody tale of hate and retribution.
The word jehad comes from its Arabic root jahada meaning 'to struggle'. The word jehad has been so badly misused both by wayward Muslim terrorists and Islam-baiters that it has completely lost its meaning.
The term jehad has been misinterpreted to conjure up bizarre images of violent Muslims forcing people to submit under duress. Islam rejects violence in all its forms but the jehadis take that path without caring as to what impact it can have on a common Muslim by making him a usual suspect.
According to Prophet Mohammed, jehad is the inner struggle for virtue to submit to god in all walks of life. Do these jehadis know that murder is prohibited by the Quran and that during fighting non-combatants are guaranteed security of life if the state is at war? They don't read those verses that declare that taking the life of one innocent individual means killing the whole humanity. They have a skewed vision. They are able to misinterpret verses from the Quran to justify their heinous and horrendous designs of killing innocent people.
According to Prophet Mohammed, "Indeed whoever intentionally kills, himself will be punished in the fire of hell, wherein he shall dwell forever." Regardless of how legitimate the cause may be, the Quran does not condone killing of innocent people. Terrorising defenceless civilians, bombing, killing and maiming of innocent men, women and children are most abhorred by Islam and those who indulge in these in the name of religion are not to be termed as Muslims.
Frankly speaking, this is not the time to quote from the Quran on peace, but to act. Truly, those who have killed innocents, have nothing to do with Islam. Sura Al-Baqr (Verse: 114) in the Quran states that Allah dislikes those who indulge in arson, loot and killings. Sura Al-Kafirun (Chapter: 30) mentions: Lakum dinokum waley yadeen (You follow your religion; let them follow theirs). Islam's very meaning is submission.
As a long term strategy of dealing with the menace of terrorism, the government should absorb patriotic Muslims in their departments to spy upon their fanatical co-religionists -- as we see in the role of Zaid Khan, a devoted ACP in the Mumbai police force in Mahesh Bhatt's latest film "Dhokha" that goes into the roots of terrorism and aims at finding a solution based on reason and sanity.
The SIMI (Students Islamic Movement of India), Shahi Imam Bukhari, fanatics in Coimbatore and Maharashtra, the calls for jehad and the distribution of inflammatory posters have enraged middle class Hindus. Minor issues like a few Muslim leaders opposing the singing of Vande Mataram on national occasions add fuel to the fire increasing animosity between the two communities over the years.
Also, a large majority of Muslims remain isolated from people belonging to other faiths. During these times, there's a distinct divide between Islam and the West that is the worst thing to happen.
Muslims should interact with people of other faiths. Interaction and dialogue inculcates tolerance in one's self. Isolation will deprive the world from getting to know the true spirit of Islam and will let all the stereotypes keep getting reinforced. The Muslim clergy, on its part, must get involved in weaning away the obdurate followers of Islam, following the message from the Quran that killing innocent people is a sin.
Let us not wage a war of religion but one of reason and tolerance. Let us engage in a dialogue. Let us prove all those who link Islam with violence wrong. The need of the hour in Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and other cities is that the moment the community observes any suspicious person living in their neighbourhood, they must without ado inform the local police. These jehadis prefer Muslim ghettoes, as nobody is bothered what activities are going on.
It is also important that the Muslim community itself develops a broad range of tactics - from traditional counter-terrorist methods to softer more sophisticated strategies - to destroy this jehadi trend. Jehadi groups are relentlessly pursuing their roadmap to extremism in their effort to establish Dar-ul-Islam (land of Islam) in India that is already Dar-ul-Aman (land of peace) by brainwashing and inciting innocent youth. What is lamentable is that there is no sign of a debate in the community. This is a matter of serious concern.
A liberal Muslim must check a communalist Muslim and a communal Hindu should be checked by a liberal Hindu. Muslim voices of sanity aren't loudly heard. There shouldn't be "ifs" and "buts" while condemning terror acts. We have to agree to the principle that the killing of innocents cannot be justified irrespective of race, religion, place or ethnicity.
Related Story:
When will Muslims join the mainstream? @
http://indiasecular.wordpress.com/
A Muslim's Real Jehad is to Expose Terrorists
Firoz Bakht Ahmed
With so many voices stating that the religion advocates violence, Islam is today under the scanner. Not all of them can be wrong – people judge by what they see and today these terrorists speak and act violently in the name of Islam.
The familiar drill after every terror attack was repeated last month after the twin Hyderabad blasts killing about 50 people – the government passing the buck to foreign involvement, the announcement of compensation to the dead and news updates that normalcy has been restored and, finally, the worn out cliché that terrorist designs to upset peace are defeated.
More Muslims need to realise that Islamist terrorists are not simply "misguided" individuals acting on a whim but are people who know what they are doing and are doing it deliberately in the name of Islam. It is simply not enough just to condemn their demoniac acts without actually doing something as observed by London-based journalist, Hasan Suroor. Islamic terrorism hasn't descended from another galaxy, rather it breeds within the community and is a result of a particular mindset that misinterprets Islam.
These suicide bombers - criminals against humanity - often invoke Islam for their dirty criminal deeds and assume Arabic sounding names and call themselves mujahids (holy warriors) to pass their misdeeds as an act of jehad. Muslims must come out openly on the streets against terror outfits like the Lashkar-e-Toiba(LeT), Harkat-ul-Jihad-e-Islam (HuJi), Al Qaeda, Sipah-e-Sahaba and other.
Many of the terrorists acting in the name of Islam cite Palestine, Chechnya, Iraq and Afghanistan to justify their killings. They have lost their moral compass. For them anyone who does not agree with their point of view is an infidel and can be eliminated. From 9/11 to 25/8 Hyderabad now, theirs is a bloody tale of hate and retribution.
The word jehad comes from its Arabic root jahada meaning 'to struggle'. The word jehad has been so badly misused both by wayward Muslim terrorists and Islam-baiters that it has completely lost its meaning.
The term jehad has been misinterpreted to conjure up bizarre images of violent Muslims forcing people to submit under duress. Islam rejects violence in all its forms but the jehadis take that path without caring as to what impact it can have on a common Muslim by making him a usual suspect.
According to Prophet Mohammed, jehad is the inner struggle for virtue to submit to god in all walks of life. Do these jehadis know that murder is prohibited by the Quran and that during fighting non-combatants are guaranteed security of life if the state is at war? They don't read those verses that declare that taking the life of one innocent individual means killing the whole humanity. They have a skewed vision. They are able to misinterpret verses from the Quran to justify their heinous and horrendous designs of killing innocent people.
According to Prophet Mohammed, "Indeed whoever intentionally kills, himself will be punished in the fire of hell, wherein he shall dwell forever." Regardless of how legitimate the cause may be, the Quran does not condone killing of innocent people. Terrorising defenceless civilians, bombing, killing and maiming of innocent men, women and children are most abhorred by Islam and those who indulge in these in the name of religion are not to be termed as Muslims.
Frankly speaking, this is not the time to quote from the Quran on peace, but to act. Truly, those who have killed innocents, have nothing to do with Islam. Sura Al-Baqr (Verse: 114) in the Quran states that Allah dislikes those who indulge in arson, loot and killings. Sura Al-Kafirun (Chapter: 30) mentions: Lakum dinokum waley yadeen (You follow your religion; let them follow theirs). Islam's very meaning is submission.
As a long term strategy of dealing with the menace of terrorism, the government should absorb patriotic Muslims in their departments to spy upon their fanatical co-religionists -- as we see in the role of Zaid Khan, a devoted ACP in the Mumbai police force in Mahesh Bhatt's latest film "Dhokha" that goes into the roots of terrorism and aims at finding a solution based on reason and sanity.
The SIMI (Students Islamic Movement of India), Shahi Imam Bukhari, fanatics in Coimbatore and Maharashtra, the calls for jehad and the distribution of inflammatory posters have enraged middle class Hindus. Minor issues like a few Muslim leaders opposing the singing of Vande Mataram on national occasions add fuel to the fire increasing animosity between the two communities over the years.
Also, a large majority of Muslims remain isolated from people belonging to other faiths. During these times, there's a distinct divide between Islam and the West that is the worst thing to happen.
Muslims should interact with people of other faiths. Interaction and dialogue inculcates tolerance in one's self. Isolation will deprive the world from getting to know the true spirit of Islam and will let all the stereotypes keep getting reinforced. The Muslim clergy, on its part, must get involved in weaning away the obdurate followers of Islam, following the message from the Quran that killing innocent people is a sin.
Let us not wage a war of religion but one of reason and tolerance. Let us engage in a dialogue. Let us prove all those who link Islam with violence wrong. The need of the hour in Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and other cities is that the moment the community observes any suspicious person living in their neighbourhood, they must without ado inform the local police. These jehadis prefer Muslim ghettoes, as nobody is bothered what activities are going on.
It is also important that the Muslim community itself develops a broad range of tactics - from traditional counter-terrorist methods to softer more sophisticated strategies - to destroy this jehadi trend. Jehadi groups are relentlessly pursuing their roadmap to extremism in their effort to establish Dar-ul-Islam (land of Islam) in India that is already Dar-ul-Aman (land of peace) by brainwashing and inciting innocent youth. What is lamentable is that there is no sign of a debate in the community. This is a matter of serious concern.
A liberal Muslim must check a communalist Muslim and a communal Hindu should be checked by a liberal Hindu. Muslim voices of sanity aren't loudly heard. There shouldn't be "ifs" and "buts" while condemning terror acts. We have to agree to the principle that the killing of innocents cannot be justified irrespective of race, religion, place or ethnicity.
Related Story:
When will Muslims join the mainstream? @
http://indiasecular.wordpress.com/
** Open Letter to Pope
An open letter to Pope by Shri Indresh Kumar
Stop conversion in the guise of service
Ashok Chaurasia, Organiser
Patron and Convener of Himalaya Pariwar, Friends of International Society and Nationalist Muslim Forum, Shri Indresh Kumar, wrote an open letter to the Pope Benedict XVI requesting him to do away with the service activities being done by the Christian missionaries with the motive of converting people to Christianity.
“Conversion to Christianity in the pretext of service, health, education and co-operation is an insult and devaluation to the service itself and a crime against humanity,” he said adding that charity in many forms is done by several religious people, their groups to serve humanity, but they do not persuade the served people to change their religion, original faith and culture, but Christianity in the name of services do it.
“It proves that your services are selfish motivated and expansionist as well as intolerant,” he added. “When I learn the Christians’ demand for reservation in India, a question flashes in my mind that Christianity, which claims to constitute a society free from untouchables and believes in equality, its followers have belied all its claims and proved that their religion differentiates between people on the basis of their birth.
May be, that the time has now come when the Christianity should transform itself from its imperialistic past to a modern, humane and compassionate faith. Would you please be kind enough to take upon yourself the responsibility of accomplishing this?”, he added.
He further said in all the states, districts, areas, where Christian missionaries are active and powerful, the hatred, crime, social unrest, separatism, addiction are on the increase and the environment of peace, harmony, brotherhood and happiness is fading away. “Would you like to accept this face of Christianity,” he asked the Pope.
RELATED STORIES:
What made Hindus Angry @ http://worldmonitor.wordpress.com/2008/10/13/what-made-hindus-angry/
Looking back at Past @ http://www.organiser.org/dynamic/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=259&page=6
Chimney calling Kettle black @ http://www.ivarta.com/columns/OL_060523.htm
http://www.organiser.org/dynamic/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=259&page=22 ---
Stop conversion in the guise of service
Ashok Chaurasia, Organiser
Patron and Convener of Himalaya Pariwar, Friends of International Society and Nationalist Muslim Forum, Shri Indresh Kumar, wrote an open letter to the Pope Benedict XVI requesting him to do away with the service activities being done by the Christian missionaries with the motive of converting people to Christianity.
“Conversion to Christianity in the pretext of service, health, education and co-operation is an insult and devaluation to the service itself and a crime against humanity,” he said adding that charity in many forms is done by several religious people, their groups to serve humanity, but they do not persuade the served people to change their religion, original faith and culture, but Christianity in the name of services do it.
“It proves that your services are selfish motivated and expansionist as well as intolerant,” he added. “When I learn the Christians’ demand for reservation in India, a question flashes in my mind that Christianity, which claims to constitute a society free from untouchables and believes in equality, its followers have belied all its claims and proved that their religion differentiates between people on the basis of their birth.
May be, that the time has now come when the Christianity should transform itself from its imperialistic past to a modern, humane and compassionate faith. Would you please be kind enough to take upon yourself the responsibility of accomplishing this?”, he added.
He further said in all the states, districts, areas, where Christian missionaries are active and powerful, the hatred, crime, social unrest, separatism, addiction are on the increase and the environment of peace, harmony, brotherhood and happiness is fading away. “Would you like to accept this face of Christianity,” he asked the Pope.
RELATED STORIES:
What made Hindus Angry @ http://worldmonitor.wordpress.com/2008/10/13/what-made-hindus-angry/
Looking back at Past @ http://www.organiser.org/dynamic/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=259&page=6
Chimney calling Kettle black @ http://www.ivarta.com/columns/OL_060523.htm
http://www.organiser.org/dynamic/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=259&page=22 ---
Monday, October 13, 2008
** What made them angry....
What made Hindus angry in Karnataka
Francois Gautier, expressbuzz.com
WAS born in a Catholic family. My uncle was a priest, a wonderful man of warmth and compassion and I spent most my early years in Catholic boarding schools. When I was young I wanted to become a missionary and to ‘convert’ pagans in Asia. What I was taught by priests was that Hindus worship false gods and they needed to be brought back to the True Word by Jesus Christ.
Then of course, I came to India and discovered that actually Hindus, far from being the heathens, as had been portrayed in Europe, not only believed God’s diversity, the wonderful concept of avatar, but had given refuge to all persecuted minorities of the world, whether the Syrian Christians, the Parsis, the Jews (India is the only country in the world where Jews were not persecuted), the Armenians, or today the Tibetans.
I am also aghast at the one-sided coverage by the Indian media of the Christian- Hindu problem: blasts after blasts have killed hundreds of innocent Hindus in Varanasi, Delhi, Mumbai train blasts, Jaipur, etc. Yet, neither Manmohan Singh nor Sonia Gandhi have pronounced once the word ‘Islamic terrorism.’
But when furious Hindus, tired of being made fun of, of witnessing their brothers and sisters converted by financials traps, of seeing a 84-year-old swami and his Mataji brutally murdered, of reading blasphemy about their Gods, vent their anger against churches, many of them makeshifts, the Indian government goes after the soft target which the Hindus are.
The same thing applies to the United States: they never warned Muslim organisations in India about the killing of Hindus, but when dollars are used to buy new converts and it angers the majority community of India,Washington has the arrogance to issue a warning, and Manmohan Singh does not have the pride to tell the US to mind its own business.
Neither the Indian press nor the western correspondents bothered to write about what made Hindus angry in Karnataka: Newlife, one important westernfunded missionary centre ( http://www.newlifevoice.org), began making conversions in and around Mangalore by accosting poor people in market areas, or in bus stands, befriending them and then taking them to churches to introduce them to the father.
Upon introduction they were paid Rs 2,500 per person and then taken to the Velankanni shrine, in Tamil Nadu, where they would get another Rs. 3,000.
When they finally converted to Christianity by changing the name, they got an incentive of Rs 10,000 onwards.
Newlife would then give them instructions to abandon wearing tilak on forehead, not to visit and offer prayers at the Hindu temples, replacing the photos and idols of Hindu gods and goddesses with a Cross, etc.
But what really angered local Hindus was when Newlife went one step further and published a book in Kannada — Satya Darshini — which was widely distributed by its missionaries.
Here below is the translation of some of the most abusive passages: “Urvashi — the daughter of Lord Vishnu — is a prostitute.
Vashistha is the son of this prostitute.
He in turn married his own Mother. Such a degraded person is the Guru of the Hindu God Rama. (page 48).
When Krishna himself is wallowing in darkness of hell, how can he enlighten others? Since Krishna himself is a shady character, there is a need for us to liberate his misled followers (page 50).
It was Brahma himself who kidnapped Sita.
“Since Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva were themselves victims of lust, it is a sin to consider them as Gods. (page 39).
When the Trinity of Hinduism (Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva) are consumed by lust and anger, how can they liberate others? The projection of them as Gods is nothing but a joke. (page 39).
God, please liberate the sinful people of India who are worshipping False Gods. (Page 39).”
When blasphemy and much worse is brought against the most sacred Hindu Gods, Hindus are supposed to take it meekly as sheep and let themselves be converted to a foreign religion!
There are more than 4,000 foreign Christian missionaries involved in conversion activities across different states.
In Tripura, there were no Christians at the time of independence. There are 1,20,000 today, a 90 per cent increase since 1991.
The figures are even more striking in Arunachal Pradesh, where there were only 1,710 Christians in 1961, but 1.2 million today, as well as 780 churches!
In Andhra Pradesh, churches are coming up every day in far-flung villages and there was even an attempt to set up one near Tirupati.
Christians throughout the ages have strived on the concept of persecution and as a brought up Catholic, I remember feeling bad about all those martyred saints of Christianity. Christians in India like to say that they are only two per cent and can do no harm. But it is a sham: in the Tamil Nadu coastal belt from Chennai to Kanyakumari, there must be now 10 per cent Christians posttsunami and the same may be true in other parts of south India.
My heart goes out to Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa who took a courageous stand against unethical Christian conversions, but is now under pressure from the Centre.
The BJP, having learnt from bitter experience that the Congress has no qualm in invoking President’s rule under fallacious pretexts in states which are ruled by non-Congress governments is in a quandary: it must show some action against militant Hindu groups while remaining true to itself.
This is why Yeddyurappa took some action against Hindu groups while saying that his government will not tolerate forcible conversions and will take stringent action against missionaries involved in conversions.
And ultimately, the blame must fall on Hindus: they are 800 million in India, the overwhelming majority; they have the brains, they have the money and they have the power. But either their intellectual and political class sides with the minorities, out of fear, inferiority complex imbedded by the British or just sheer crass political opportunism, or the bigger mass is indifferent inert, selfish, un-civic conscious.
Every Hindu is the inheritor of the only surviving spiritual knowledge which at the moment is under a concerted attack by Christian missionaries, Americanisation, Marxism and Islamic fundamentalism. fgautier@rediffmail.com
RELATED STORIES:
Murder of a Saint @ http://www.organiser.org/dynamic/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=255&page=14
End fraudulent conversions of Dalits and Tribals @
http://www.vijayvaani.com/FrmPublicDisplayArticle.aspx?id=108
R L Francis
Inducements to lure….@ http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Inducements_lure_poor_to_convert/articleshow/3491637.cms
Baptising Thiruvalluvar @ http://www.crusadewatch.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=990&Itemid=
Project Joshua and Secularism @ http://www.organiser.org/dynamic/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=258&page=10
Media's Handshake @ http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/uncategorized/looking-at-christianitys-handshake-with-media-in-india-book-review_10074366.html
Truth about Media @ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cCEO4Rw9Zd8&feature=related
http://expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?Title=What+made+Hindus+angry+in+Karnataka&artid=oqi6n5w6kGE=&Title=What+made+Hindus+angry+in+Karnataka&SectionID=XVSZ2Fy6Gzo=&MainSectionID=XVSZ2Fy6Gzo=&SEO=NEW+LIFE&SectionName=m3GntEw72ik=
Francois Gautier, expressbuzz.com
WAS born in a Catholic family. My uncle was a priest, a wonderful man of warmth and compassion and I spent most my early years in Catholic boarding schools. When I was young I wanted to become a missionary and to ‘convert’ pagans in Asia. What I was taught by priests was that Hindus worship false gods and they needed to be brought back to the True Word by Jesus Christ.
Then of course, I came to India and discovered that actually Hindus, far from being the heathens, as had been portrayed in Europe, not only believed God’s diversity, the wonderful concept of avatar, but had given refuge to all persecuted minorities of the world, whether the Syrian Christians, the Parsis, the Jews (India is the only country in the world where Jews were not persecuted), the Armenians, or today the Tibetans.
I am also aghast at the one-sided coverage by the Indian media of the Christian- Hindu problem: blasts after blasts have killed hundreds of innocent Hindus in Varanasi, Delhi, Mumbai train blasts, Jaipur, etc. Yet, neither Manmohan Singh nor Sonia Gandhi have pronounced once the word ‘Islamic terrorism.’
But when furious Hindus, tired of being made fun of, of witnessing their brothers and sisters converted by financials traps, of seeing a 84-year-old swami and his Mataji brutally murdered, of reading blasphemy about their Gods, vent their anger against churches, many of them makeshifts, the Indian government goes after the soft target which the Hindus are.
The same thing applies to the United States: they never warned Muslim organisations in India about the killing of Hindus, but when dollars are used to buy new converts and it angers the majority community of India,Washington has the arrogance to issue a warning, and Manmohan Singh does not have the pride to tell the US to mind its own business.
Neither the Indian press nor the western correspondents bothered to write about what made Hindus angry in Karnataka: Newlife, one important westernfunded missionary centre ( http://www.newlifevoice.org), began making conversions in and around Mangalore by accosting poor people in market areas, or in bus stands, befriending them and then taking them to churches to introduce them to the father.
Upon introduction they were paid Rs 2,500 per person and then taken to the Velankanni shrine, in Tamil Nadu, where they would get another Rs. 3,000.
When they finally converted to Christianity by changing the name, they got an incentive of Rs 10,000 onwards.
Newlife would then give them instructions to abandon wearing tilak on forehead, not to visit and offer prayers at the Hindu temples, replacing the photos and idols of Hindu gods and goddesses with a Cross, etc.
But what really angered local Hindus was when Newlife went one step further and published a book in Kannada — Satya Darshini — which was widely distributed by its missionaries.
Here below is the translation of some of the most abusive passages: “Urvashi — the daughter of Lord Vishnu — is a prostitute.
Vashistha is the son of this prostitute.
He in turn married his own Mother. Such a degraded person is the Guru of the Hindu God Rama. (page 48).
When Krishna himself is wallowing in darkness of hell, how can he enlighten others? Since Krishna himself is a shady character, there is a need for us to liberate his misled followers (page 50).
It was Brahma himself who kidnapped Sita.
“Since Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva were themselves victims of lust, it is a sin to consider them as Gods. (page 39).
When the Trinity of Hinduism (Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva) are consumed by lust and anger, how can they liberate others? The projection of them as Gods is nothing but a joke. (page 39).
God, please liberate the sinful people of India who are worshipping False Gods. (Page 39).”
When blasphemy and much worse is brought against the most sacred Hindu Gods, Hindus are supposed to take it meekly as sheep and let themselves be converted to a foreign religion!
There are more than 4,000 foreign Christian missionaries involved in conversion activities across different states.
In Tripura, there were no Christians at the time of independence. There are 1,20,000 today, a 90 per cent increase since 1991.
The figures are even more striking in Arunachal Pradesh, where there were only 1,710 Christians in 1961, but 1.2 million today, as well as 780 churches!
In Andhra Pradesh, churches are coming up every day in far-flung villages and there was even an attempt to set up one near Tirupati.
Christians throughout the ages have strived on the concept of persecution and as a brought up Catholic, I remember feeling bad about all those martyred saints of Christianity. Christians in India like to say that they are only two per cent and can do no harm. But it is a sham: in the Tamil Nadu coastal belt from Chennai to Kanyakumari, there must be now 10 per cent Christians posttsunami and the same may be true in other parts of south India.
My heart goes out to Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa who took a courageous stand against unethical Christian conversions, but is now under pressure from the Centre.
The BJP, having learnt from bitter experience that the Congress has no qualm in invoking President’s rule under fallacious pretexts in states which are ruled by non-Congress governments is in a quandary: it must show some action against militant Hindu groups while remaining true to itself.
This is why Yeddyurappa took some action against Hindu groups while saying that his government will not tolerate forcible conversions and will take stringent action against missionaries involved in conversions.
And ultimately, the blame must fall on Hindus: they are 800 million in India, the overwhelming majority; they have the brains, they have the money and they have the power. But either their intellectual and political class sides with the minorities, out of fear, inferiority complex imbedded by the British or just sheer crass political opportunism, or the bigger mass is indifferent inert, selfish, un-civic conscious.
Every Hindu is the inheritor of the only surviving spiritual knowledge which at the moment is under a concerted attack by Christian missionaries, Americanisation, Marxism and Islamic fundamentalism. fgautier@rediffmail.com
RELATED STORIES:
Murder of a Saint @ http://www.organiser.org/dynamic/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=255&page=14
End fraudulent conversions of Dalits and Tribals @
http://www.vijayvaani.com/FrmPublicDisplayArticle.aspx?id=108
R L Francis
Inducements to lure….@ http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Inducements_lure_poor_to_convert/articleshow/3491637.cms
Baptising Thiruvalluvar @ http://www.crusadewatch.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=990&Itemid=
Project Joshua and Secularism @ http://www.organiser.org/dynamic/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=258&page=10
Media's Handshake @ http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/uncategorized/looking-at-christianitys-handshake-with-media-in-india-book-review_10074366.html
Truth about Media @ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cCEO4Rw9Zd8&feature=related
http://expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?Title=What+made+Hindus+angry+in+Karnataka&artid=oqi6n5w6kGE=&Title=What+made+Hindus+angry+in+Karnataka&SectionID=XVSZ2Fy6Gzo=&MainSectionID=XVSZ2Fy6Gzo=&SEO=NEW+LIFE&SectionName=m3GntEw72ik=
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