June 2009
Monthly Archive
June 24, 2009
The Christian community is being rewarded for their undiluted support to Sonia Congress led UPA. Prior to the polls they had openly called for en bloc vote against the BJP. Post poll they were optimistic that it will “definitely benefit the growth of Christianity in the next five years”.
Now the government is planning to repeal the Anti conversion laws that exist in the few states of India to facilitate ‘harvesting of souls’ and to de-Hinduise and Christianise India.
It is significant that after crushing the Church backed LTTE secessionist movement, while the small neighbouring country of Sri Lanka’s Buddhist religious leadership has risen to redeem the Indic tradition by repudiating inter-faith dialogue and demanding national legislation against conversions, the UPA government blatantly promotes the gangrenous spread of Christian proselytization.
The majority of the 800 million Hindus of Bharat are either oblivious or dispassionate about their religion and civilization being gradually eroded, ignorantly playing into the hands of the forces that plans to disintegrate the nation. They easily succumb to the propaganda machinery of the pseudosecular media and politicians and fail to see the the colonial design of Christian missionaries who use unlimited foreign funds and medical, educational and employment opportunities to lure impoverished indigenous populations for conversion to Christianity
Those who belive in the claim that “there are no forcible conversion” should read this recent news item of Conversion at Gunpoint.
Finally, there might be some good news for Christians in states where anti-conversion laws are in force. The newly elected government has agreed to repeal bills that have restricted the freedom of religion in India.
According to sources, Home Minister P Chidambaram will be reviewing and making recommendations on the controversial anti-conversion bill also known as “Freedom of Religion Acts”.
Presently, anti-conversion laws are in force in five states – Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat. In two other states – Arunachal Pradesh and Rajasthan, the laws have been passed but its implementation is awaited.
However, it is unlikely that Rajasthan will enact the bill after Congress wrested power from the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The Centre is set to invalidate the bill after the immediate consent of Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot.
In Madhya Pradesh, where the ruling BJP had proposed amendments to make the existing law stricter, the Centre has decided to withhold assent.
Former chief minister of Madhya Pradesh and senior politician of the Congress, Digvijay Singh, strongly opposed the bill and echoed with the Centre that the bill subjugates religious freedom enshrined in the constitution.
He also pointed that when he was CM for 10 years “there was no case of forcible conversion.”
Recently, there was speculation over BJP-led Karnataka government adopting a similar law aimed to restrict conversions.
Minister of State for Law, Suresh Kumar, said there was a strong demand to introduce the anti-conversion law in Karnataka.
This, he said, would be introduced by examining the Tamil Nadu State where the law was introduced but withdrawn shortly.
In Himachal Pradesh, the stringent anti-conversion bill declares that anyone found guilty of forcing an individual to change religion can be punished with a two-year jail term, a fine of up to 25,000 rupees (US$560) or both.
The law also states that a person intending to change her or his religion should inform the government 30 days in advance. Failure to do so is also punishable. The same restrictions are mentioned in the Gujarat bill as well.
Christians argue that such a bill violates the fundamental right of freedom of conscience and freedom to profess, practice and propagate religion under the Article 25 of the constitution.
June 23, 2009
Yes it happens in India.
It is not an isolated event and it is not restricted to one geographic area in India. The only thing that is rare about it is that it has been reported.
The implications of Congress winning a neighbouring state is much more than a mere speculation.
The secular media will not report it.
The pseudosecular intelligentsia will overlook it.
The apologetic, ignorant and gullible Hindus will pretend that it does not happen.
The ‘invisible’ anti national forces will rejoice it.
There will be no apology, no national or international decry, no denouncement as national shame, no surveillance by human and religious rights group.
But you can bet that if any Hindu group retaliates, it will be a different story….
SILCHAR, June 22 – Bhuvan Pahar, one of the most holy places in south Assam, particularly in Barak Valley, 38 km from Silchar town, has come under the threat of miscreants. Gun-totting members of a newly formed militant group, named Manmasi National Christian Army, comprising 15 rebels, has been forcing the residents of Bhuban Pahar under the threat of gun to convert to Christianity.
This information was forwarded to SonaiPolice which along with the 5th Assam Rifles conducted a search operation which led to the arrest of 13 miscreants, including their commander-in-chief. Two SBBLguns and a country-made pistol along with sufficient quantity of ammunition were seized from their possession. All the miscreants were handed over to Sonai Police for further investigation.
This group of miscreants, dressed in black witha red cross on their back, along with arms, enter from Tipaimukh through Barak river by boat and mount Bhuvan Pahar. They threatened and asked the Hindu people of Tezpur village, including the priest of this famous Hindu temple, to convert into Christianity.
The problem there began when some Hmar miscreants stated themselves to be members of Manmasi National Christian Armyand had started putting pressure on the Hindu residents of Bhuvan Pahar to become Christians. The local residents also said that Manmasi National Christian Army cadres had painted cross symbol on the walls of the temples with their blood.
Sources said, the pressure from the Hmar militants began at least two months back when the Congress, led by Lalthanhwala, acquired power in the neighboring State of Mizoram.
At least seven to eight Hmar youths were frequently visiting Bhuvan Pahar, which had nearly 700 Hindu people as well as eight Hindu temples. These Hmaryouths approached with gun in one hand and the Bible in the other.
Sources said that the Hmaryouths had a meeting with the villagers in Tezpur village on the Bhuvan Pahar and distributed Bible among the villagers. They had even built up a church in Tezpur village.
Meanwhile, Rajkumar, priest of Naga mandir on Bhuvan Pahar, told VHP members that he was forced by the Hmars to show them the tracks on the Pahar at gunpoint. Further, the Hmars posted a flag, a tabloid and a Holy Cross on the wall of one of the temples bearing date May 29, 2009.
VHP leaders were shown the video footage containing the Hindu temples which had blood-stained Holy Cross symbol. A local resident of the area said that pilgrims from various parts of the country had been visiting Bhuvan Pahar since 1816, but now Christians were forcing the Hindus to convert. These Hmar youths come from Mizoram and they have powerful patrons behind them. The VHP had asked the administration to arrange for security of the Hindu temples, priests as well as the Hindu residents there.
June 21, 2009
Gregory F. Fegel
Christian missionaries make no secret of the fact that they use medical services, education, and employment opportunities to lure impoverished indigenous populations throughout the world into conversion to Christianity.
According to the popular and scholarly history of Christianity, the early Christian Church found its greatest appeal and attracted its greatest number of converts from the poor people of the Roman Empire. The early Christian churches raised money through a tithe, or ten per cent income tax, levied on their members, and the early Christian church is said to have had a strong ‘sense of community’, which implies that it had a well-organized social, financial, and political network among its membership.
Using your wealth to purchase other people’s loyalty is a game as old as humanity itself. Rich men use their wealth to attract women, unscrupulous employers use material incentives and disincentives to manipulate their workers, and wealthy countries like the USA use their national wealth to keep their citizens loyal to the cause of aggressive and genocidal Imperialism. But historical longevity and common practice don’t make the manipulation or exploitation morally or ethically right.
Organized religions are inherently POLITICAL organizations. There is a fundamental difference between the financial enterprise and political machinations of an organized religion versus a mass of independent, unaffiliated believers, philosophers, and mystics who do not support any organized religion.
Christianity and Islam are known as proselytizing religions because they make an organized and systematic effort to gain converts, and they often provide services, products, or employment to attract converts. Judaism, Hinduism, and Buddhism show far less zeal about gaining converts, which is why you almost never hear about Jewish, Hindu, or Buddhist missionaries.
Modern medical and nursing schools usually teach their students the moral principle that the provision of medical services should never be used as a means to proselytize or promote a religion, but that does not deter many Christian health care providers from doing exactly that. Most of the medical and charitable organizations based in Christian countries are fronts for Christian proselytizing activities.
One of the largest international medical relief organizations based in the USA, Northwest Medical Teams, states in their recruitment brochure that their chief ‘mission’ is to ‘spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ’, that their medical relief services are subordinate to their stated goal of proselytizing Christianity, and that their medical relief work is merely an ‘aegis’, or facade, for spreading Christianity.
The religious and cultural Imperialism performed by missionaries nearly always goes hand-in-hand with political and economic Imperialism. Christian missionaries often work in partnership with the CIA, with the US government, and with wealthy corporations to subvert the religion, the culture, the economy, and the politics of vulnerable indigenous populations. The CIA often uses planes owned by Christian missionary organizations and flown by Christian missionary pilots to smuggle drugs, arms, and prisoners.
During the CIA’s illegal Iran/Contra scam of the 1980s, Christian missionary pilots and planes smuggled drugs into the USA and arms into Central America and Iran. Now the CIA is using Christian missionary planes to smuggle heroin from Afghanistan, cocaine from Latin America, and for ‘rendition’ flights of ‘Terrorist’ prisoners to secret prisons that practice torture and commit extra-judicial executions.
The USA’s Faith Based Initiative law provides Christian missionary organizations with taxpayer funds that are used to proselytize Christianity to indigenous populations throughout the world. Christian missionaries are the leading edge of a religious, cultural, economic, and political aggression supported by the US government.
When missionaries bring outside wealth to an impoverished Third World country and use that wealth to provide services that are meant to attract converts, they are interfering with the local social and economic structure as well as the local cultural traditions. Indigenous people who take advantage of the privileges provided by the missionaries and convert to Christianity partake in a social organization that uses foreign wealth as a tool to eliminate the indigenous culture and replace it with Christianity.
A small and reclusive population of a few hundred people with a primitive Stone Age culture lives on North Sentinel Island, in the Andaman chain, which is administered by the government of India. To protect the culture of the inhabitants of North Sentinel Island, the Indian government has wisely banned anyone from visiting the island. I approve of the Indian government’s policy of protecting the unique culture of the North Sentinels from outside influence. If anyone on North Sentinel Island should ever desire to leave, they can build a boat and do so.
Among a total of 195 nations in the world today, fifty-seven of those nations have a legally established, official State Religion. There are fourteen nations that claim Christianity as their State Religion, twenty-six nations that claim Islam as their State Religion, six nations that claim Buddhism as their State Religion, and the Jewish State of Israel. The Jewish State of Israel discriminates against its non-Jewish citizens and within its borders Israel officially prohibits the proselytizing of any religion other than Judaism. Many people believe that Israel has a ‘right to exist’ in this manner as a Jewish State.
Many Islamic countries strive to protect the cultural identity of their citizens by enforcing a ban on preaching any religion but Islam. Considering the aggressive, insidious, and highly political nature of Christian missionary programs, the banning of non-Moslem religious preaching by Moslem governments makes sense.
Currently there is no officially Hindu State anywhere in the world, but perhaps India should become a Hindu State in order to protect its indigenous religion and culture from the predatory missionaries and State-sponsored cultural Imperialism that are coming from both Christian and Moslem countries. If the Jews have the right to establish and maintain Israel as a Jewish State, then the Hindus certainly have a right to establish and maintain India as a Hindu State.
When Western leaders talk about a ‘Clash of Civilizations’, what they really mean is Judeo-Christianity and corporate Capitalism versus all non-Christians and non-Capitalists. Christian missionaries are essentially colonialists working for Christian cultural Imperialism.
When the Hindus of India rise up in riot and drive out the Christian missionaries and the Christian ‘cash converts’, they are doing what the Iraqi, Afghani, and Palestinian Freedom Fighters are doing. They are protecting themselves and their indigenous culture from wealthy and unscrupulous invaders who have no respect for them or for their culture. I wish the Hindu nationalists well in their efforts to defend and maintain the independence and survival of their indigenous culture and religion against the onslaught of predatory and disrespectful foreigners whose goal is to replace indigenous traditional cultures with a global Christian empire.
If Christian missionaries want to come to India and try to make converts to Christianity, let them come with empty pockets and compete on a level playing field. And if most of the locals don’t want the missionaries interfering with their traditional way of life, they have the right to make the missionaries and their converts leave.
June 21, 2009
Using Science, Abusing Power
More examples of Institutionalised corruption, this time of Forensic laboratories, in the cases of Sister Abhaya and Varun Gandhi.
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: ‘Invisible hands’ seem to have worked once again to sabotage the CBI inquiry into the Sister Abhaya murder case. The socalled master tapes of the narco analysis test, conducted on the three accused have been tampered with, a team of technical experts in the Centre for Development of Imaging Technology (C-DIT) here, found out.
The report of the C-DIT team will be submitted in the CJM court, Ernakulam, which is monitoring the inquiry of the case, on Monday. Sources said that there was excessive editing and the use of the dissolve technique in the narco analysis CDs of Fr Thomas M Kottoor, Fr Jose Puthrukkaayil and Sister Sephy – the three accused in the case. The findings of the committee suggest that the original master tapes were kept out of the CBI’s reach by the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL), Bangalore.
The editing, suspected to have been carried out at FSL Bangalore, was allegedly done to provide enough loopholes for the culprits to break free from the clutches of the law. Earlier, CBI DySP R K Agrawal who had inquired into the case, informed the High Court that the FSL authorities had edited the tapes before handing over them to the CBI. But the court ignored the scientific argument of Agrawal and concluded that it was the CBI that had manipulated the tapes.
The 32-minute, 50-second CD of the narco analysis performed on Fr Kottoor was edited in 30 places. The CD of Fr Puthrukkaayil (40-minute, 55-second) was edited in 19 places and the 18-minute, 42-second CD of Sister Sephy was edited at 23 places.
Apart from this, professional techniques such as dissolve were also used on the CDs.
Moreover, in many places the audio track failed to synchronise with lip movements.
The master tapes of the narco analysis were seized from the FSL Bangalore, by the CBI team led by DySP Nandakumar. The tapes were later converted to CD format and examined by the technical committee in the presence of an advocate commission appointed by the CJM court and CBI DySP Nandakumar.
The directive of CJM court, Ernakulam, to examine the authenticity of narco test master tapes, followed a petition filed by Sister Abhaya’s father Thomas Aikkarakunnel.
New Delhi: The investigation into the alleged hate speeches given by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Varun Gandhi in his constituency Pilibhit has come out with two conflicting versions.
Sources in the Central Scientific Forensic Laboratory (CFSL) in Chandigarh have told CNN-IBN that a CD which contained Varun’s voice had been doctored.
Sources in the Chandigarh laboratory say the voice in the CD matches Varun’s but it could have been edited to join sentences and make it look like one continuous speech by the Pilibhit MP.
The Chandigarh laboratory’s opinion contradicts what a FSL laboratory in Lucknow has said. The Lucknow laboratory said videotapes showing Varun giving speeches were not doctored and it was Varun’s voice.
“The FSL report, which was received by police yesterday (Sunday), has confirmed that the voice in the tapes is that of Varun Gandhi and the CD is not doctored,” said police officer Mani Ram Rao, who is investigating the complaints filed against Varun for his speeches at public meetings on March 7 and March 8.
Dr R S Varma, director of CFSL in Lucknow, refused to comment on his laboratory’s findings. “A CD on Varun Gandhi’s speech was sent to us, which was examined here in CSFL. We have sent the report to UP police,” he said.
(deleted)
June 19, 2009
Source: Deccan Chronicle, India
June 19th, 2009
By Joginder Singh
Several states, like Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh, are facing terrible internal insurgency by Naxals and Maoists, which Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has described as the “biggest internal security challenge ever faced by our country”.
The Naxals and Maoists have gone on many killing sprees, targeting policemen, using bullets, landmines and bombs looted from the police itself in almost all the above mentioned states. In fact in the last two months, at least 112 security personnel have been killed in Naxal attacks in Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Jharkhand and Orissa.
About 162 security personnel were killed in 2009, till May 31, in attacks by Naxals. The toll in Naxal-related violence was 231 in 2008. Unfortunately, there does not appear to be a clear government strategy or policy to deal with the Naxal problem. Depending on the political exigencies, political parties sing different tunes. During elections, all parties woo everybody, including the devils, whether they be Maoists or Naxals, for the sake of votes.
In 1863, at the time of framing the present laws, nobody could foresee the grave problems posed by Naxals and Maoists in our country, or envision areas where the writ of the government would not run. The law requires that there should be independent witnesses to any Naxal or Maoist killings, even in thick forest areas and places where people are in mortal fear of losing their lives and won’t dare step outside their homes. Where then do you get intelligence or witnesses who would have the guts to come to court for years, depose and stand cross-examination? How can you gather any intelligence when even armed security personnel are killed in large numbers every week?
Our present laws are not only wholly inadequate to deal with this, but are also not enforceable. In fact, there is no law to deal with Naxals and Maoists, or the types of crimes committed by them.
There have been reports of Naxals trying to kill former chief minister of Andhra Pradesh N. Chandrababu Naidu and the present chief minister of West Bengal. A Maoist leader is reported to have said, “We wanted to give the death sentence to Buddhadeb Babu because the people of Bengal demanded he be hanged”. He was referring to a landmine blast near the chief minister’s convoy in November 2008.
The Lalgarh area in West Bengal reportedly looks like a “liberated zone” where the state government’s writ does not run. The Maoists and the tribals’ People’s Committee seem to be calling all the shots as police camps in Belatkri, Dharampur and Koima, and an outpost at Ramgarh, have been abandoned. Even a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) contingent was forced by the tribals to return to base.
The argument that a law aimed at Naxals would not stop their activities is both outrageous and puerile. Laws exist against rapes, murders, dacoities, dowries and rash driving, but none of these crimes have stopped. So should we not have criminal laws against these crimes? Should the law ignore criminal elements who are playing hell with the country?
It would be good practice if those dealing with the drafting of laws in the law and home ministries are deputed, at least for one month, to live in Naxal and Maoist-infested areas so that they can have a clear perception of the ground situation. Naxalism and Maoism look different on paper in the safe and air-conditioned environment of New Delhi’s North and South Blocks.
Whenever there is talk of a tough law, a bogey of violation of human rights of the Maoists, Naxalites and other terrorists groups is raised. The result is that laws are not only diluted but are made outlandish. People who are out to kill innocent civilians and are ruthless cannot be controlled by sermons on human rights violations or be tackled with kid gloves.
The Central government says that fighting such elements is the responsibility of the states, but unfortunately the states have neither the money, the weaponry, a trained force, nor the wherewithal of electronic surveillance. States religiously and fanatically safeguard their turf and boundaries, whereas terrorists and insurgents groups do not respect boundaries.
A Maoist or a Naxalite is a guerrilla enemy. The Central government is setting up National Security Guards (NSG) hubs all over the country to promptly respond to terrorism, but no need for a strategy has been felt by it to fight the Maoist threat or even to train state police forces to deal with it.
Whenever there is any killing of policemen at the hands of terrorists or Maoists, not a tear is shed. The standard excuse given by the so-called intellectuals is that it was either due to the problem of unemployment, or poverty, or that it was an agrarian problem. They never call any problem by its simple, direct name. Nobody denies that there is dire poverty and unemployment in the country. But skewed movements like Naxalism and Maoism make it impossible for such problems to be solved.
Who will invest in an industry or any other enterprise, or build roads in an area where there is no safety or security. Whether we like it not, if we are to survive and thrive as a nation, we have to make war on all disruptive movements, including Naxalism, and Maoists, so that people may live in peace. The new Central government has its first-100-days plans in every area. If there is one to fight Naxals and Maoists, its impact is yet to be felt. Good intentions are not enough. They have to be translated into action on the ground. The government must act, and act quickly, before the situation goes from bad to worse and then completely out of hand. It is time to say goodbye to the policy of “willing to wound, but afraid to strike”.
* Joginder Singh is a former director of the Central Bureau of Investigation
June 19, 2009
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Shahrukh Khan in ‘Islamic’ trouble: Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham
The BADSHAH of Bollywood is in trouble for blasphemy. He has been accused to have listed Prophet Mohammed as one of the most unimpressive personalities in history. Moreover he has bracketed the Prophet along with Adolf Hitler and Winston Churchill. If the case is proved, Khan could go to jail for three years, according to police source.
Just the other day Newsweek magazine named him one of the 50 most powerful people in the world.
The celluloid BAAZIGAAR, indulged by his success in SWADES and PARDES, became so DEEWANA, that CHALTE CHALTE, without any DARR, he made some comments on Islam and the Prophet.
RAM JANE, why he did so! It may remain a PAHELI forever.
Perhaps he overestimated his filmy JOSH and SHAKTI: THE POWER and thus got carried away. “MAIN HOON NA”, he must have thought. The poor guy did not even think of the ANJAAM – forgot the likes of Rushdie and Tasleema.
Now some people have got offended.
He istrying hard to clarify to his religious SAATHIYA that HUM TUMHARE HAIN SANAM. He claimed that his comments to a magazine were misinterpreted due to a “writing error” and that he had named the Prophet among the most impressive personalities in history.
“YES BOSS, main IDIOT hoon! Mera DIL TO PAGAL HAIN! Mere batein DIL SE maat lena!”
What else can he do? Better to behave like a PAGLA, when ZAMANA DEEWANA hai.
Who wants to be a DUSHMAN DUNIYA KA, specially of the Islamic duniya?
When you cross Islam even the DON has to worry whether KAL HO NA HO.
No more CHAMATKAR.
No more ONE TWO KA FOUR.
From now onwards, RAJU BAN GAYA GENTLEMAN.
OM SHANTI OM!!!!!!!!!!
June 19, 2009
There is a subdued ripple going around in news, articles and blogs that all was not fair and square in the recent Loksabha Election 2009 which brought the Congress again into power. There are numerous refrences that EVM machines are not fraud proof and can be easily manipulated. Several countries have banned use of EVM.
It is interesting that Congress party would now complain about manipulation in the state where they did not do well. The question does arise whether the reverse is true. Was it manipulated in their favor in places where they had unexpected victories and their chosen oppositions were routed?
Does it call for some inquiry?
Bhubaneswar, June 18 : Congress general secretary in charge of the party’s affairs in Orissa Ghulam Nabi Azad Thursday alleged ‘manipulation’ of electronic voting machines (EVMs) had led to the party’s defeat in the assembly and parliamentary elections in the state.
“EVMs were manipulated during the poll which resulted in defeat of many Congress candidates,” Azad said in a press conference here.
The Congress won only 27 of the state’s 147 assembly seats and six of the 21 Lok Sabha constituencies in Orissa. The ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD), led by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, bagged 103 assembly and 14 Lok Sabha seats.
Azad met the candidates in the twin polls and reviewed the reasons of dismal show, constituency wise. After the review meeting, he also charged the BJD with misusing the official machinery during the polls.
“There was a wide-scale misuse of official machinery by the ruling BJD, which led to the debacle of the Congress party in the poll,” he alleged.
Azad blamed the BJD for converting the flagship schemes initiated by the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) into other schemes of state government, extracting all the mileage. He conceded the “last minute changes in leadership and failure to choose the right candidate” were also responsible for the Congress’s defeat.
The meeting was attended by all the candidates, district level office-bearers and other senior leaders of the party. However, Azad did not say anything about any likely change in the state unit leadership following the poll debacle.
— IANS
June 18, 2009
BJP’s defeat: the Hindu perspective
Arindam Bandyopadhyay
(also published in
http://www.blogs.ivarta.com/BJPs-defeat-The-Hindu-perspective/blog-289.htm)
The BJP has lost in the recently concluded Lokshabha 2009 elections. The political party, conceived as the face of Hindu interest has lost to the dynastic Congress Party. The people of India, the land of ancient Hindu civilization, with over 700 million electorate, arguably 80% of whom are Hindus, participated and chose not to elect the party that is accused of being communal and non-secular for promoting Hindu agendas and looking after Hindu concerns. Logically then one has to raise the following questions: Are there really any Hindu specific agendas? Are the majority Hindus disinterested in Hindu agendas and concerns? Or are the Hindus disenchanted with the BJP and believe that they do not represent Hindu interest in the way they should?
It appears that the Muslim community who dumped the Communists and the Laloos, Mulayams, Paswans and Mayabatis this time, have returned to the fold of the Congress with renewed hope that the Congress lead government will finally address their problems and concerns, rather than continuing with their appeasements policies for vote banks. The small Christian community, empowered by the support of the ruling caucus of India as well as the international solidarity with the global Christian world and emboldened by their success in Orissa and Karnataka in recent times, had openly called for en bloc vote against the BJP. Post poll they are optimistic that it will “definitely benefit the growth of Christianity in the next five years”. Such calls for mass voting on religious lines are not perceived as communal in case of the minorities; it is defended as their religious freedom.
But despite the swings of minority votes, it is conceivable that, barring a few pockets in the country, most Indian who voted would still be from the majority population, the Hindu community. So are there any Hindu specific issues and if so why does it fail to be important to the Hindus? Religion to most Hindus is a private affair. Perhaps resulting from centuries of oppression, Hindus generally do not openly claim their religiosity. Even in socio-political issues related to Hindu interest, they hardly ever want to take any collective stand as a religious body but prefer to appear neutral and secular. Neither do they take interest in the consequences of religiously divisive politics.
India is a secular nation because Indian Hindus want it to be secular. Religious plurality is integral to the Hindu Dharma which is way beyond one scripture and one prophet and preaches “truth is one; sages call it by various names.” Hindu India had given shelter and coexisted harmoniously with the early Syrian Christians, Jews, the Parsees and more recently the Dalai Lama and had seen the birth of Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism in its land. And this continued until the advent of the proselytizing Abrahmanic religions. Post-independence while Pakistan chose to be Islamic, India opted to be religiously secular and barring stray communal tension, in a land of one billions, have had a peaceful path of development. India has the second largest Muslim population in the world and the Indian Muslims are the only Muslims in the world to enjoy sustained democracy. But India must also be the only country in the current world and even perhaps in history where the majority population, sacrifices their own interests and failing to take a united stand, allows the minorities to dictate terms. Hindus, largely socio-politically dispassionate, fail to realize implications of such blatant communal calls like’ ‘Muslims must have first claim on national resources’ or the significance of the fact that their temple donations, instead of being used for uplift of the temples, its priests and its facilities are funneled to fund madrassas and Haj pilgrimage. Hindu parents are media managed to harm and hurt educational, employment, economic and business opportunities of their own children and grandchildren by giving their notes and votes to such political parties which shout from their political rooftops that they will give special preferences to Muslims and Christians over Hindu youth in matters of education, training facilities, government jobs, jobs under police and paramilitary forces, employment in banks and other public sector undertakings and bank loans, educational loans etc.
The unconstitutional, undemocratic and divisive politics of minority appeasements is not only depriving the Hindus of their rightful claims but is also fragmenting the country.
On the other hand, if and when Hindus raise any issue it is throttled as communal? Secularism has a different meaning in Congress ruled India. When the Morarji Desai government moved the 45th Constitutional Amendment Bill in 1978 which, among other issues, defined secularism as equal respect to all religions, that bill was passed in the Lok Sabha, but turned down by the Congress majority in the Rajya Sabha. Is secularism a burden of Hindus alone? Do Hindus have to prove it at every step – in thoughts, words and deeds, casting their own religion, tradition and faith into oblivion? Is it communal to portray the glory of Pre-Islamic Hindu civilization or to demand an accurate Indian history to be taught to our children? Is it communal to call for a uniform civil code for all Indian citizens? Is it communal to challenge Bangladeshi infiltration or to integrate Kashmir to the rest of India? Is it communal to expect strong laws against terrorism and to see it implemented, irrespective of political affiliation, religion, caste or creed? If a Hindus laments for the Palestinians he is lauded as a liberal but if he demands rehabilitation of Hindu Kashmiri Pundits or protests Hindu decimation in Bangladesh or Pakistan, he becomes a religious narrow-minded hardliner. If the Muslims riot for a Muslim cause like Danish cartoon or Saddam Hussein, it is defended as their religious sentiment but if Taslima Nasreen happens to speak of Muslim atrocities on Hindus, she is driven out of the country.
The Hindu majority cannot be unaware of these Hindu issues but they do not seem to be concerned. Even if they are, their voice does not reach the required decibel to penetrate the ears of authorities or to influence the media. Or else they allow themselves to be cleverly manipulated to maintain religious amity. Hindus are required to self sacrifice for communal harmony for the sake of national interest and minority rights protection. The same is not required from the other religious denominations.
Each individual Hindu is been delicately trapped into this game of communalism and pseudo- secularism that the media and the politicos play with the mass, such that he or she is hesitant to fight for his or her own rights now, in fear of becoming branded as nonsecular.
The BJP or any so called ‘Hindu’ party or organization had never been any favorite of the media, neither has any Hindu cause ever been given a decent hearing by the self proclaimed judges of secularism. A demolition of (Ram) Janmasthan Mosque (aka Babri Masjid) is a subject of eternal condemnation because it gives an perpetual opportunity for Hindu bashing. One hardly sees similar criticism verbalized in defense of the Hindu issues of Amarnath or Ram Sethu. Hindu agendas, like control of temple funds and educational institutions, are dealt only with conventional formality because defending Hindu cause in India is equated with being communal. Most political parties and leaders are careful to appear politically correct by dissociating themselves from Hindu issues. They pretend to be ignorant or noncommittal even if the issue is of such national interest as terrorism and defense of the country or accountability of NGO funding or retrieving illegal foreign bank funds, lest they appear as against minorities. On the other hand, the same so called ‘secular and liberal’ politicians, leaders, media personnel’s, statesmen or activists are ever alert not to miss any opportunity to hog the limelight and get some brownie points by condemning Hindus on the slightest provocation.
On the one hand, by continuously harping on special status and minority victim hood for vote bank politics, the secular brigade of post independent India, like their English predecessors, have successfully mixed the poison of distrust against the majorities, thus alienating the minorities from the national main stream. On the other hand they continue to divide the plural Hindu society – each individual is either a dalit, an OBC or a brahmin, a Marathi, Gujrati or a Punjabi, a Jadav or a Thakur, never a Hindu, never an Indian.
A lot has been written about the state of BJP in the post election phase. From regional to national and international news media, blogs, news articles, letters and editorials have flooded with analyses and advices, both from supporters and adversaries. Understandably many are obviously relieved to see BJP’s defeat. In some cases, the mood of gleeful over joy at their dismal failure is hardly suppressible. It is a defeat of Hindus and of Hindutva, a decisive blow to majority communalism, the rejection of the Hindu hardliners, the end of Hindu nationalism – claims the pundits. It was a vote for Congress on the basis of development and stability, they analyze. They fail to explain why there are several states starting from Gujarat which are developing rapidly in the country but are not blessed by the Congress government. India, as they say, is developing despite the government and thankfully so.
As for stability, the statistics on terrorism speaks for itself. Even before the Mumbai carnage of 26/11/08 in which at least 172 people died, in 69 Islamic terrorist attacks since 2000, there were 1,120 deaths. In 2007, the United States’ National Institute of Counter Terrorism calculated that between January 2004 and March 2007, the death toll in India from all terrorist attacks was 3,674, second only to Iraq during the same period. After each terrorist punch, India reels and falls, chants ‘zero tolerance to terror’ and assures to ‘bring all culprits to justice’, stands up wobbly, only to be knocked down again with the next punch. The farce after the Mumbai carnage was there for the world to see and is still continuing. Not a single terrorist has ever been punished in India. The whole world knows now that India is a soft state, unable to take care of herself, but the government remains paralyzed from fear of disturbing the minority votes. The same paralysis also prevails in dealing with Maoist terror. Is that the stability we are counting upon?
The well wishers of BJP themselves are divided whether BJP should embrace Hindu interest more vigorously or shun it to present an acceptable face to all religious factions. Those who want BJP to shed their Hindu character are forgetting that it is the Hindus who made BJP what they are now. Asking BJP to discard its Hindu interest would be endorsing the toxic propaganda of the pseudo-secular brigade that Hindu nationalists will ruin the country and retard its development. It would be naivety to think that the BJP, already branded as a Hindu nationalist party all over the world, can convince the minorities enough to get any significant share of their votes in future. The party has been trying to ‘reach out’ to minorities, but that hardly made any impact to their conviction. BJP in the process forgot the basis of its birth and the reason for its existence. On top of the failure to connect to the millions of Hindus who are sitting on the fence, unsure of their rights and ignorant of their collective political power, the party risks losing the faith of the millions of its Hindu supporters who looked up to it with an expectation of being a party with a difference, that will not hesitate or provide lame excuses to address the problems of the country, including those of the Hindus. The BJP has been accused to imitate others and try to appear ‘secular’ and shy away from their commitment to the nation and to the Hindus, which had brought them to power in the first place. They squandered their initial opportunity five years ago and then, without any media support of their own, failed to counter the relentless propaganda of the anti Hindu, pseudo secular media and politicians. They needed to convince the electorate that they wanted to build a strong nation with an essential Hindu character that had defined India civilization from ancient times and had identified it as separate from all other countries of the world. It would have been the proverbial Ram Rajya, based on Dharma, which included equal rights and benefits for all its proja or citizens, including the nationalistic minorities. They had to convince that they were capable of fighting all internal and external influences that would otherwise love to see India disintegrate. They had to provide the vision of putting the nation of India, ahead of all its fractions but they have been unable to do so. A lot of self analysis and introspection is required for the party to come back to their right path. The pseudo-secular intelligentsia and media which have tasted blood will try hard to ensure that there is no easy recovery and that is perhaps the first thing that the party has to counter.
But even if the BJP fail the Hindus and moves away from its ideology, should it be the end of the dream of the Hindus? BJP is merely a blip, tumbling in its infancy, in the eternal history of Sanatan Hindu Dharma. Not too long ago the Hindus of Hindustan, the home of over 80% of the world’s billion plus Hindu population, used to find solace in the fact that Nepal was the only Hindu country of the world. They cannot relish the idea anymore. India is not a declared Hindu country but still is the land of Hindu civilization. The sons of the soil are either Hindus or mostly of Hindu ancestry, with a culture and tradition that perhaps distinguishes even an Indian Muslim or Indian Christian from its co-religionist abroad. It is that Indian-ness of the country, which is essentially a Hindu identity and its continuity that is in danger. That is all the Hindus have and they have to fight to preserve it, with or without the BJP. India is at crossroad. The violent religious aggression of Islam and the more subtle cultural and religious invasion of Christianity to what is remaining of the once mighty Indian civilization are very real. The Naxal-Christian alliance is true no matter how much our media and politicians want to downplay it. India is the last bastion of ancient civilization that has resisted the aggression and maintained its continuity for millennia, because of the Hindus. Hindus have fought for centuries against foreign invaders, now it is time to clean their own house as well.
The political leaders and media should be careful not to play with Hindu sentiments with divisive politics. The people of India have successfully reduced the stature of the small players in this election. The big teams are thus warned to stay away from politics of minorityism. But to ensure that Hindus themselves need to be much more vigilant and socio-politically active. They need to verbalize their resentment and unite to fight together irrespective of their caste, creed and individual interest. Every swami or sadhu should encourage his followers, every temple should become grounds for sociopolitical awareness, and every Hindu gathering should be an opportunity of active discussion. Each and every person who cares for Hinduism and is proud to be a Hindu is to join hands. And above all, they need to be prepared for a long battle that can become ugly, for a noble cause.
Related posts:
Why Hindus lost faith in BJP
Was BJP not Hindu enough?
June 17, 2009
Better late than never; thanks for the delayed awakening.
India denies visa to US religious freedom watchdogs
17 Jun 2009,
WASHINGTON: The Manmohan Singh government has scuppered a proposed visit to India this week by the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), a US Congress-mandated organization that monitors religious rights worldwide and gives independent policy recommendations to the US President and his administration.
A USCIRF team that was to leave for New Delhi on June 12 was not given visas in time, according to an associate at the commission, who said it was done with the obvious intent of blocking the trip. “They knew we had tickets for June 12 and the visas are yet to be given, so the inference is obvious…they don’t want us to visit,” the associate told TOI.
The Indian Embassy in Washington, the issuing authority for the visa, referred all questions to New Delhi, while acknowledging that the USCIRF team had applied for visas and the applications had been forwarded to New Delhi as is the standard practice for all such visits.
Sources in the government, without acknowledging that the visas were deliberately withheld, said it was not a proper time for such a visit. “We really don’t care about what they report,” an official who spoke on background said. “But a high profile visit seen as having government sanctions would have raised hackles in India.” The USCIRF has in its reports criticized violence against religious minorities in India.
The official said the visa denial was not linked to the criticism of the proposed visit by the Hindu pontiff, Shankaracharya Jayendra Sarawati, who earlier this week described the USCIRF as an “intrusive mechanism of a foreign government which is interfering with the internal affairs of India,” and said the team must not be allowed to enter the country.
The Obama administration too did not press for the visit, given that US Undersecretary of State William Burns was in New Delhi around the time of the proposed USCIRF visit, preparing ground for the visit to India by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton sometime in July. Most “commissioners” and staff of the USCIRF are appointees of the previous Bush administration.
Although the United States acknowledges India’s rich religious and ethnic diversity and plurality, the USCIRF has in its annual reports criticized specific episodes involving violence against religious minority, like the ones in Gujarat and in Orissa.
“We understand India’s sensitivities about being criticized for religious discrimination given its democratic and secular credentials,” a commission associate said Wednesday. “But we are concerned that some of the judicial processes with regards to the incidents in Gujarat and Orissa are not functioning properly and we only wanted to get them going.”
Indian hardliners, especially those on the extreme right, chafe at the idea that any US body would want to scrutinize the country’s religious freedom, given its secular credentials, when it dares not interfere in fundamentalist countries like Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, where minority rights are non-existent. Senior RSS functionaries had specifically inquired repeatedly about the proposed USCIRF visit.
Describing the proposed USCIRF visit to India as “incomprehensible,” the US branch of the Vishwa Hindu Parishat said as the “largest functioning democracy in the world with an independent judiciary, a statutorily constituted Human rights Commission, an independent press and other supporting organizations would appear to be quite capable of taking care of the religious freedoms and human rights of its citizens.”
“India not only offers freedom of religion under its constitution, but does not discriminate based on religion. Similar freedoms are not available in its neighboring countries,” the VHP said on a statement.
But the Indian Left and the “secular” brigade in the US, including organizations representing minorities, argue that allowing such foreign bodies to visit India and examine its record and performance enhances the country’s reputation as an open, democratic nation that has nothing to hide or fear.
Related post
US body should not interfere in Indian affairs: Shankaracharya
Shameless Politics of the UPA – ready to even sell the country
June 15, 2009
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Author: Dr Farrukh Saleem
Publication: irfanpermana.wordpress.com
Date: April 11, 2007
URL: http://irfanpermana.wordpress.com/2007/04/11/why-are-jews-so-powerful-and-muslims-so-powerless/
There are only 14 million Jews in the world; seven million in the Americas, five million in Asia, two million in Europe and 100,000 in Africa. For every single Jew in the world there are 100 Muslims. Yet, Jews are more than a hundred times more powerful than all the Muslims put together. Ever wondered why?
Jesus of Nazareth was Jewish. Albert Einstein, the most influential scientist of all time and TIME magazine’s ‘Person of the Century’, was a Jew. Sigmund Freud — id, ego, superego — the father of psychoanalysis was a Jew. So were Karl Marx, Paul Samuelson and Milton Friedman. Here are a few other Jews whose intellectual output has enriched the whole humanity:
Benjamin Rubin gave humanity the vaccinating needle. Jonas Salk developed the first polio vaccine. AlBert Sabin developed the improved live polio vaccine. Gertrude Elion gave us a leukemia fighting drug. Baruch Blumberg developed the vaccination for Hepatitis B. Paul Ehrlich discovered a treatment for syphilis (a sexually transmitted disease). Elie Metchnikoff won a Nobel Prize in infectious diseases. Bernard Katz won a Nobel Prize in neuro muscular transmission. Andrew Schally won a Nobel in endocrinology (disorders of the endocrine system; diabetes, hyperthyroidism). Aaron Beck founded Cognitive Therapy (psychotherapy to treat mental disorders, depression and phobias). Gregory Pincus developed the first oral contraceptive pill. George Wald won a Nobel for furthering our understanding of the human eye. Stanley Cohen won a Nobel in embryology (study of embryos and their development). Willem Kolff came up with the kidney dialysis machine.
Over the past 105 years, 14 million Jews have won 15-dozen Nobel Prizes while only three Nobel Prizes have been won by 1.4 billion Muslims (other than Peace Prizes).
Why are Jews so powerful? Stanley Mezor invented the first micro-processing chip. Leo Szilard developed the first nuclear chain reactor; Peter Schultz, optical fibre cable; Charles Adler, traffic lights; Benno Strauss, Stainless steel; Isador Kisee, sound movies; Emile Berliner, telephone microphone; Charles Ginsburg, videotape recorder.
Famous financiers in the business world who belong to Jewish faith include Ralph Lauren (Polo), Levis Strauss (Levi’s Jeans), Howard Schultz (Starbuck’s), Sergey Brin (Google), Michael Dell 20(Dell Computers), Larry Ellison (Oracle), Donna Karan (DKNY), Irv Robbins (Baskins & Robbins) and Bill Rosenberg (Dunkin Donuts).
Richard Levin, President of Yale University, is a Jew. So are Henry Kissinger (American secretary of state), Alan Greenspan (Fed chairman under Reagan, Bush, Clinton and Bush), Joseph Lieberman, Madeleine Albright (American secretary of state), Casper Weinberger (American secretary of defense), Maxim Litvinov ( USSR foreign Minister), David Marshal ( Singapore ‘s first chief minister), Issac Isaacs (governor-general of Australia ), Benjamin Disraeli (British statesman and author), Yevgeny Primakov (Russian PM), Barry Goldwater, Jorge Sampaio (president of Portugal ), John Deutsch (CIA director), Herb Gray (Canadian deputy PM), Pierre Mendes (French PM), Michael Howard (British home secretary), Bruno Kreisky (chancellor of Austria ) and Robert Rubin (American secretary of treasury).
In the media, famous Jews include Wolf Blitzer (CNN), Barbara Walters (ABC News), Eugene Meyer (Washington Post), Henry Grunwald (editor-in-chief Time), Katherine Graham (publisher of The Washington Post), Joseph Lelyyeld (Executive editor, The New York Times), and Max Frankel (New York Times).
Can you name the most beneficent philanthropist in the history of the world? The name is George Soros, a Jew, who has so far donated a colossal $4 billion most of which has gone as aid to scientists and universities around the world. Second to George Soros is Walter Annenberg, another Jew, who has built a hundred libraries by donating an estimated $2 billion.
At the Olympics, Mark Spitz set a record of sorts by wining seven gold medals. Lenny Krayzelburg is a three-time Olympic gold medalist. Spitz, Krayzelburg and Boris Becker are all Jewish.
Did you know that Harrison Ford, George Burns, Tony Curtis, Charles Bronson, Sandra Bullock, Billy Crystal, Woody Allen, Paul Newman, Peter Sellers, Dustin Hoffman, Michael Douglas, Ben Kingsley, Kirk Douglas, Goldie Hawn, Cary Grant, William Shatner, Jerry Lewis and Peter Falk are all Jewish?
As a matter of fact, Hollywood itself was founded by a Jew. Among directors and producers, Steven Spielberg, Mel Brooks, Oliver Stone, Aaron Spelling (Beverly Hills 90210), Neil Simon (The Odd Couple), Andrew Vaina (Rambo 1/2/3), Michael Man (Starsky and Hutch), Milos Forman (One flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest), Douglas Fairbanks (The thief of Baghdad ) and Ivan Reitman (Ghostbusters) are all Jewish.
To be certain, Washington is the capital that matters and in Washington the lobby that matters is The American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC. Washington knows that if PM Ehud Olmert were to discover that the earth is flat, AIPAC will make the 109th Congress pass a resolution congratulating Olmert on his discovery.
William James Sidis, with an IQ of 250-300, is the brightest human who ever existed. Guess what faith did he belong to?
So, why are Jews so powerful?
Answer: Education.
Why are Muslims so powerless?
There are an estimated 1,476,233,470 Muslims on the face of the planet: one billion in Asia, 400 million in Africa, 44 million in Europe and six million in the Americas . Every fifth human being is a Muslim; for every single Hindu there are two Muslims, for every Buddhist there are two Muslims and for every Jew there are one hundred Muslims. Ever wondered why Muslims are so powerless?
Here is why: There are 57 member-countries of the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC), and all of them put together have around 500 universities; one university for every three million Muslims. The United States has 5,758 universities and India has 8,407. In 2004, Shanghai Jiao Tong University compiled an ‘Academic Ranking of World Universities’ , and intriguingly, not one university from Muslim-majority states was in the top-500.
As per data collected by the UNDP, literacy in the Christian world stands at nearly 90 per cent and 15 Christian-majority states have a literacy rate of 100 per cent. A Muslim-majority state, as a sharp contrast, has an average literacy rate of around 40 per cent and there is no Muslim-majority state with a literacy rate of 100 per cent. Some 98 per cent of the ‘literates’ in the Christian world had completed primary school, while less than 50 per cent of the ‘literates’ in the Muslim world did the same. Around 40 per cent of the ‘literates’ in the Christian world attended university while no more than two per cent of the ‘literates’ in the Muslim world did the same.
Muslim-majority countries have 230 scientists per one million Muslims. The US has 4,000 scientists per million and Japan has 5,000 per million. In the entire Arab world, the total number of full-time researchers is 35,000 and there are only 50 technicians per one million Arabs (in the Christian world there are up to 1,000 technicians per one million). Furthermore, the Muslim world spends 0.2 per cent of its GDP on research and development, while the Christian world spends around five per cent of its GDP. Conclusion: The Muslim world lacks the capacity to produce knowledge.
Daily newspapers per 1,000 people and number of book titles per million are two indicators of whether knowledge is being diffused in a society. In Pakistan , there are 23 daily newspapers per 1,000 Pakistanis while the same ratio in Singapore is 360. In the UK , the number of book titles per million stands at 2,000 while the same in Egypt is 20. Conclusion: The Muslim world is failing to diffuse knowledge.
Exports of high technology products as a percentage of total exports are an important indicator of knowledge application. Pakistan ‘s export of high technology products as a percentage of total exports stands at one per cent. The same for Saudi Arabia is 0.3 per cent; Kuwait , Morocco , and Algeria are all at 0.3 per cent while Singapore is at 58 per cent. Conclusion: The Muslim world is failing to apply knowledge.
Why are Muslims powerless? Because we aren’t producing knowledge. Why are Muslims powerless? Because we aren’t diffusing knowledge. Why are Muslims powerless? Because we aren’t applying knowledge.
And, the future belongs to knowledge-based societies. Interestingly, the combined annual GDP of 57 OIC-countries is under $2 trillion. America, just by herself, produces goods and services worth $12 trillion; China $8 trillion, Japan $3.8 trillion and Germany $2.4 trillion (purchasing power parity basis).
Oil rich Saudi Arabia , UAE, Kuwait and Qatar collectively produce goods and services (mostly oil) worth $500 billion; Spain alone produces goods and services worth over $1 trillion, Catholic Poland $489 billion and Buddhist Thailand $545 billion. (Muslim GDP as a percentage of world GDP is fast declining). So, why are Muslims so powerless?
Answer: Lack of education.
All we do is shout to Allah the whole day and blame everyone else for our multiple failures.
– Dr Farrukh Saleem. The writer is an Islamabad-based freelance columnist
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