By Dr Pravin Togadia
GENERALLY, restraint in language is expected in the civilized society. Generally Hindus abide by this social norm. Generally, Hindus abide by not only all social norms but also the legal processes set up in a democracy named Bharat. But as a practice what civilised behaviour is so very natural for Hindus, is being specially treated as a ‘general weakness’ in the same democratic Bharat by the vote-mongers, news-mongers and international attention seeking Human (?) Rights award mongers. Therefore, generally, even if Hindus are docile, are known to use most civilised language and tolerate persecution to the hilt, NO MORE! When there was jehadi attack on Mumbai on 26/11, there followed a candle light march holding placards ‘Enough is Enough’.
Hindus should have said it much earlier: 1,000 years back when Bharat was first attacked by the very 1st jehadi. Then it continued and Bharat was ruled for 400 years by jehadis. The rule is over long back but its Hindu persecution mentality got transferred on to today’s ruling class for vote-bank politics. Political band wagon has been riding on the Muslim vote boogey for long now in the name of minority welfare. To tom tom about love for the so-called second largest majority but for benefits - minority - even the 58 Hindus burnt alive in Godhra Gujarat in the train from Ayodhya were too not allowed to rest in peace! This vote beggar political class, pseudo-secular media and those so-called Human Rights activists made a tandoor chicken out of those burnt Hindus - they relished 58 Hindus’ burnt bodies and their families’ pain for 9 years now! Sounds crude? Then think of little girls and boys who saw their parents being burnt in that train; think of old parents who hoped that their sons would look after them; think of young wives who had dreams of a simple family... Any kind-hearted person would weep with their pain; but this crude political class, voyeuristic media and sadistic activists cry only for jehadis! We all saw the recent example of how one award winning writer claimed that Kashmir is not Bharat and the political class had to be directed by the highest court to slap case against her.
And when Hindus speak of their pain and agony of about all such jehadi attacks-not just in Godhra but also in Mewat, Assam, Kashmir, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Delhi, Coimbatore, Pune, Hyderabad, Bengal, Somnath, Kashi, Ayodhya, Malaysia, Libya, America, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Bali in Indonesia etc, these tandoor chewers make a mockery of them and showcase post Godhra Hindus do not truly believe in killing any living thing themselves. ‘Eye for an eye’, ‘Blood for blood’ are Islamic concepts from Sharia law. Every time there is any jehadi attack on Bharat, the ruling political class appeals to Hindus to be peaceful and give a lame excuse that because of the govt’s development, terrorists are desperate. Governments never seem to get desperate to save majority of Bharat that is Hindu.
Godhra train carnage was not a one off act; it was a part and parcel of a larger conspiracy to kill Hindus. The Honourable Court says so. Killing anyone who is not like them is always a jehadi conspiracy. But these tandoor chewers do not accept even the judiciary when it comes to Hindus getting a bit of justice. One such activist was heard saying on media after the punishment announcement that there was not an iota of evidence against the convicts of Godhra. This is contempt of court. Those who piled on Hindus to accept the court judgment in Ram temple are shouting against the death penalty to 11 conspirators of Godhra. Hindus will get justice only when all 95 accused get death penalty by the honorable courts and obviously the concerned governments must appeal ahead.
Bharat has seen how viciously many governments are going after Hindus, creating NIA and giving simple cases to NIA so that they get Muslim votes. Why blame them when Hindus do not stand together in voting against such vote - mongers? Until Hindus are divided in castes, regions, languages and so on, Hindus will be treated as non-human beings in Bharat. No human rights will ever be for Hindus if Hindus do not stand united democratically against such vote-mongers, cruel lop sided media and sadistic activists.
Solution? There should be voting rights only to the Hindus. Those whose forefathers opted out for Pakistan and those who do not follow 2 kids norm have no right to vote in Bharat. The political parties who loot national coffer on Muslims in the name of minority should be banned from elections. There must be a common civil code - if it is not now then there will sure be a common civil code but that will be Sharia in Bharat.
Now, at this moment, Hindus in Bharat are watching if the governments, work for bringing all 95 accused - not just 31 convicts - of Godhra train carnage are brought to final justice or not by further appeal by the concerned government. Any interference by anyone in full and final justice to the victims’ families will be definitely perceived-and correctly so-as anti-Hindu and therefore, anti-national. Hindus are not tandoor chicken to be chewed and relished; Hindu is a formidable majority in Bharat and its not time to teach civilised language!
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Amar Chitra Katha
Tribute to Anant Pai, the creator of Indian comic Amar Chitra Katha
THE creator and founder of Indian comic series Amar Chitra Katha, Anant Pai popularly known as Uncle Pai, passed away in Mumbai on February 24. He was 81. He suffered a heart attack. He is survived by his wife Smt Lalitha.
Pai launched the Amar Chitra Katha series in 1967, which was an instant hit. In 1980, he launched Tinkle, a children’s anthology, which was started under Rang Rekha Features, India’s first comic and cartoon syndicate that lasted till 1998.
Today, Amar Chitra Katha, sells about three million comic books a year, in English and more than 20 Indian languages, and has sold about 100 million copies since its inception in 1967 by Anant Pai, and in 2007 was taken over by ACK Media.
Born on September 17, 1929 in Karkala, Karnataka, Pai lost his parents at the age of two. At the age of 12, he came to Mumbai, where he studied in Orient School, Mahim. He studied Chemistry, physics and chemical technology at the University of Bombay Department of Chemical Technology (UDCT now UICT) and was a dual degree holder from the University of Bombay.
Endowed with a passion for publishing and comics, his failed attempt at creating a children’s magazine (Manav, 1954) was followed by a career as a junior executive in the Times of India books division, putting him in the thick of affairs when Indrajal comics was launched by the Times Group.
The idea behind starting a comic book series devoted to Indian culture and history came to Pai from a quiz contest aired on Doordarshan in February 1967, in which participants could easily answer questions pertaining to Greek mythology, but were unable to reply to the question "In the Ramayana, who was Rama’s mother?"
He left his job and started Amar Chitra Katha the same year, with the help of the late GL Mirchandani of India Book House, when most other publishers had rejected the concept. Later, he took on the role of writer, editor and publisher. The series went on to become a publishing milestone for the Indian comic book scene, selling over 86 million copies of about 440 titles.
In 1969, Anant Pai founded Rang Rekha Features, India’s first comic and cartoon syndicate, and started the children’s magazine Tinkle in 1980. His involvement with the above and the rapport he shared with his readers earned him the title "Uncle Pai".
Ramu and Shamu, Kapish, Little Raji, Rekha, Fact Fantasy, Funland and Funtime are some of the comic strips created by Pai, most of which continue to appear in newspapers and magazines. He has written and produced two video films, Ekam Sat (the Vedic Concept of God) and The Secret of Success, in English and Hindi. Pai’s other works include a number of books on personality development for children and teenagers, (How To Develop Self-confidence, How to Achieve Success, How To Develop A Super Memory) and a series of audio book versions of Amar Chitra Katha stories, Storytime with Uncle Pai (Universal Music India, December 2001), where he plays the role of narrator-storyteller.
THE creator and founder of Indian comic series Amar Chitra Katha, Anant Pai popularly known as Uncle Pai, passed away in Mumbai on February 24. He was 81. He suffered a heart attack. He is survived by his wife Smt Lalitha.
Pai launched the Amar Chitra Katha series in 1967, which was an instant hit. In 1980, he launched Tinkle, a children’s anthology, which was started under Rang Rekha Features, India’s first comic and cartoon syndicate that lasted till 1998.
Today, Amar Chitra Katha, sells about three million comic books a year, in English and more than 20 Indian languages, and has sold about 100 million copies since its inception in 1967 by Anant Pai, and in 2007 was taken over by ACK Media.
Born on September 17, 1929 in Karkala, Karnataka, Pai lost his parents at the age of two. At the age of 12, he came to Mumbai, where he studied in Orient School, Mahim. He studied Chemistry, physics and chemical technology at the University of Bombay Department of Chemical Technology (UDCT now UICT) and was a dual degree holder from the University of Bombay.
Endowed with a passion for publishing and comics, his failed attempt at creating a children’s magazine (Manav, 1954) was followed by a career as a junior executive in the Times of India books division, putting him in the thick of affairs when Indrajal comics was launched by the Times Group.
The idea behind starting a comic book series devoted to Indian culture and history came to Pai from a quiz contest aired on Doordarshan in February 1967, in which participants could easily answer questions pertaining to Greek mythology, but were unable to reply to the question "In the Ramayana, who was Rama’s mother?"
He left his job and started Amar Chitra Katha the same year, with the help of the late GL Mirchandani of India Book House, when most other publishers had rejected the concept. Later, he took on the role of writer, editor and publisher. The series went on to become a publishing milestone for the Indian comic book scene, selling over 86 million copies of about 440 titles.
In 1969, Anant Pai founded Rang Rekha Features, India’s first comic and cartoon syndicate, and started the children’s magazine Tinkle in 1980. His involvement with the above and the rapport he shared with his readers earned him the title "Uncle Pai".
Ramu and Shamu, Kapish, Little Raji, Rekha, Fact Fantasy, Funland and Funtime are some of the comic strips created by Pai, most of which continue to appear in newspapers and magazines. He has written and produced two video films, Ekam Sat (the Vedic Concept of God) and The Secret of Success, in English and Hindi. Pai’s other works include a number of books on personality development for children and teenagers, (How To Develop Self-confidence, How to Achieve Success, How To Develop A Super Memory) and a series of audio book versions of Amar Chitra Katha stories, Storytime with Uncle Pai (Universal Music India, December 2001), where he plays the role of narrator-storyteller.
Chera History
Ancient inscription throws light on Chera history
By Mallikarjun Janardan
MALAPPURAM: An inscription that could prove to be a landmark in the history of Chera rule in South India has been found at a temple in Kurumathur, near Areekode here.
Epigraphist MR Raghava Varier, who deciphered the inscription, said "the epigraph provided the first objective and direct proof to establish the date and rule of the first Perumal of Mahodayapura (Kodungallur)."
The inscription, unearthed during the renovation of the Kurumathur Vishnu Temple, gives not only the date of the first Chera king but also his name in full. It validates the inferences made by historian M.G.S. Narayanan about the name of the first Chera king.
The inscription, engraved on a granite slab in the Pallava Grantha Script, is in the form of eulogy or "prasasthi," praising and legitimising the rule of King Rama Rajasekhara of Mahodayapura.
Composed in Sardula Vikridita Metre in Sanskrit, the three-stanza inscription says that King Rama Rajasekhara’s glory be spread across the oceans. Even when connecting the ancestry of Perumals to the epic hero Sri Rama, the inscription gives May 24, AD 871, as an exact regnal date of Rajasekhara Perumal in the form of a "kali dina" chronogram. "You will get this exact regnal date if you decipher the chronogram with the help of Swamikannu Pillai’s Ephemeral Calculator," said Dr. Varier.
This was the first record to give an exact date of the first Chera king, he said. So far, historians were dependent on the Vazhappalli Copper Plate found near Changanassery to link the Chera rule to the ninth century.
According to Professor Narayanan, who studied extensively about the Chera rule, the Vazhappalli Copper Plate mentions the 11th regnal year of a Chera king.
Professor Narayanan, after referring various supplementary records, had inferred that King Rajasekhara’s first name was Rama. The Kurumathur inscription has validated his finding.
"This inscription has proved to be the earliest document of Chera Perumal. It demands some revision in the existing chronology of the formative period of Kerala history," said Dr Varier.
Professor Narayanan, a former Chairman of the Indian Council of Historical Research, congratulated Dr Varier for this "valuable discovery." He told The Hindu that he concurred with the decipherment, but felt the dating of the inscription needed further investigation.
By Mallikarjun Janardan
MALAPPURAM: An inscription that could prove to be a landmark in the history of Chera rule in South India has been found at a temple in Kurumathur, near Areekode here.
Epigraphist MR Raghava Varier, who deciphered the inscription, said "the epigraph provided the first objective and direct proof to establish the date and rule of the first Perumal of Mahodayapura (Kodungallur)."
The inscription, unearthed during the renovation of the Kurumathur Vishnu Temple, gives not only the date of the first Chera king but also his name in full. It validates the inferences made by historian M.G.S. Narayanan about the name of the first Chera king.
The inscription, engraved on a granite slab in the Pallava Grantha Script, is in the form of eulogy or "prasasthi," praising and legitimising the rule of King Rama Rajasekhara of Mahodayapura.
Composed in Sardula Vikridita Metre in Sanskrit, the three-stanza inscription says that King Rama Rajasekhara’s glory be spread across the oceans. Even when connecting the ancestry of Perumals to the epic hero Sri Rama, the inscription gives May 24, AD 871, as an exact regnal date of Rajasekhara Perumal in the form of a "kali dina" chronogram. "You will get this exact regnal date if you decipher the chronogram with the help of Swamikannu Pillai’s Ephemeral Calculator," said Dr. Varier.
This was the first record to give an exact date of the first Chera king, he said. So far, historians were dependent on the Vazhappalli Copper Plate found near Changanassery to link the Chera rule to the ninth century.
According to Professor Narayanan, who studied extensively about the Chera rule, the Vazhappalli Copper Plate mentions the 11th regnal year of a Chera king.
Professor Narayanan, after referring various supplementary records, had inferred that King Rajasekhara’s first name was Rama. The Kurumathur inscription has validated his finding.
"This inscription has proved to be the earliest document of Chera Perumal. It demands some revision in the existing chronology of the formative period of Kerala history," said Dr Varier.
Professor Narayanan, a former Chairman of the Indian Council of Historical Research, congratulated Dr Varier for this "valuable discovery." He told The Hindu that he concurred with the decipherment, but felt the dating of the inscription needed further investigation.
A scam a day..congress motto
A scam a day, each new scam dwarfs the previous ones
By Dr Rakesh Kumar Pandey
CORRUPTION has now spread its roots deep into the soil of our conscience. In our arguments we all silently acknowledge the existence of some acceptable limits in corruption. It is in this light that recently we have developed a dangerous trend of pleading innocence by showing that the scale of irregularity in which the person cornered is involved is negligible as compared to the other scams. This trend is visible in the parliament which has come a long way in finally establishing that the Bofors scam falls under ignorable limits.
In this run up, instead of taking measures to nail the scamsters, a new scam is being unearthed each day that dwarfs all other scams known till then. Taking money for something that you don’t deserve to demand legally and use/misuse of your facility/power beyond what the rules permit, defines corruption. Ignoring filing of income tax returns; paying agents to get some work done in any office; paying/demanding a payment over and above or sometimes less than the metered or billed amount; making cash transactions; paying bribe in return of favor; using the official vehicle/phone or such facilities for personal purposes and forcing your subordinates to work for your personal needs, all these are different forms of corruption.
You want to buy/sell a property, you want to construct your house, you need to throw a huge party, you want to get a loan sanctioned or you want to get your project approved, you can neither avoid cash transactions nor withhold payments to the commission agents. If you are picked up for scrutiny under income tax act, believe me probably you will never be able to convince them that you were observing all the rules. If you are under police custody for any reason it will be difficult to plead your innocence without paying bribe. No business can survive if you try paying all kinds of taxes. Nobody will be able to explain/remember each entry in his/her passbook for a period spanning last three years.
There is no way that one can avoid corruption in India. We must finally admit that we all are corrupt and the difference is only in the scales involved in each case.
Let us try to find a way out from this desperate situation.
Hope lies in the conclusion that this state of hopelessness is actually forced one on us. It seems we have not changed even after becoming independent. We somehow still live in a situation similar to the pre-independence era. The government still identifies itself with the ruler-class and engages itself in enacting rules that are simply non-observable so that it only helps them in providing teeth to bite the commoners and get away with any corruption in return. On the other hand we posses no respect to the rules, the attitude that we used to carry proudly before independence, as we still think that government is an entity separate from us and working against our welfare. With this sense we feel committing nothing wrong while draining out the government funds. Another factor that hugely contributes to the unlimited rise of corruption is the non-existence of social security to the citizens. While high end corruption is driven by an urge for acquiring luxury, the seeds of low scale corruption are generally sown with the social insecurity prevailing everywhere in our country. We become corrupt in our resolve to secure future of all our future family members.
Instead of raising the acceptable limits of corruption by each passing day, let us resolve to wipe out corruption from our attitude itself. Let us urge the government first to make rules with an intention to make all of us feel that we all are living in an independent country where we are not merely stakeholders but also part of the policy makers and then follow a zero tolerance regime for any kind of corruption. Let us have simple rules to follow. Let us follow 5 per cent tax rule on all our expenditures. Let us abolish all tax saving schemes. Let the government start a decent social security scheme. Let us also end the era of cash transactions as these have the potential to go unnoticed. After this let us follow the rules strictly as now there are no soft options left. We must confront this menace by declaring a war against this or otherwise this has a potential to end our independence.
By Dr Rakesh Kumar Pandey
CORRUPTION has now spread its roots deep into the soil of our conscience. In our arguments we all silently acknowledge the existence of some acceptable limits in corruption. It is in this light that recently we have developed a dangerous trend of pleading innocence by showing that the scale of irregularity in which the person cornered is involved is negligible as compared to the other scams. This trend is visible in the parliament which has come a long way in finally establishing that the Bofors scam falls under ignorable limits.
In this run up, instead of taking measures to nail the scamsters, a new scam is being unearthed each day that dwarfs all other scams known till then. Taking money for something that you don’t deserve to demand legally and use/misuse of your facility/power beyond what the rules permit, defines corruption. Ignoring filing of income tax returns; paying agents to get some work done in any office; paying/demanding a payment over and above or sometimes less than the metered or billed amount; making cash transactions; paying bribe in return of favor; using the official vehicle/phone or such facilities for personal purposes and forcing your subordinates to work for your personal needs, all these are different forms of corruption.
You want to buy/sell a property, you want to construct your house, you need to throw a huge party, you want to get a loan sanctioned or you want to get your project approved, you can neither avoid cash transactions nor withhold payments to the commission agents. If you are picked up for scrutiny under income tax act, believe me probably you will never be able to convince them that you were observing all the rules. If you are under police custody for any reason it will be difficult to plead your innocence without paying bribe. No business can survive if you try paying all kinds of taxes. Nobody will be able to explain/remember each entry in his/her passbook for a period spanning last three years.
There is no way that one can avoid corruption in India. We must finally admit that we all are corrupt and the difference is only in the scales involved in each case.
Let us try to find a way out from this desperate situation.
Hope lies in the conclusion that this state of hopelessness is actually forced one on us. It seems we have not changed even after becoming independent. We somehow still live in a situation similar to the pre-independence era. The government still identifies itself with the ruler-class and engages itself in enacting rules that are simply non-observable so that it only helps them in providing teeth to bite the commoners and get away with any corruption in return. On the other hand we posses no respect to the rules, the attitude that we used to carry proudly before independence, as we still think that government is an entity separate from us and working against our welfare. With this sense we feel committing nothing wrong while draining out the government funds. Another factor that hugely contributes to the unlimited rise of corruption is the non-existence of social security to the citizens. While high end corruption is driven by an urge for acquiring luxury, the seeds of low scale corruption are generally sown with the social insecurity prevailing everywhere in our country. We become corrupt in our resolve to secure future of all our future family members.
Instead of raising the acceptable limits of corruption by each passing day, let us resolve to wipe out corruption from our attitude itself. Let us urge the government first to make rules with an intention to make all of us feel that we all are living in an independent country where we are not merely stakeholders but also part of the policy makers and then follow a zero tolerance regime for any kind of corruption. Let us have simple rules to follow. Let us follow 5 per cent tax rule on all our expenditures. Let us abolish all tax saving schemes. Let the government start a decent social security scheme. Let us also end the era of cash transactions as these have the potential to go unnoticed. After this let us follow the rules strictly as now there are no soft options left. We must confront this menace by declaring a war against this or otherwise this has a potential to end our independence.
Granting minority status to Jamia Milia
Granting minority status to Jamia Milia
Opening of another den of Islamic politics
By Ram Gopal
The NCMEI has argued that this University was established by the Muslims in 1920 for the benefit of the Muslims and, therefore, it has only been given its due as a minority institution. If this is true, why should the Central government of India finance it?
THE recent decision of the National Commission for Minority Educational Institutions (NCMEI) granting minority status to the Jamia Milia Islamia, Delhi, is unfortunate and satisfies only the fissiparous and secessionist elements of India. It will mean just converting this Central University into another pocket of Islamic politics, at the cost of the Hindu majority, like the Aligarh Muslim University. Already, the Jamia Milia Islamia is wholly funded by the Government of India. In its editorial, "A flawed decision", of February 25, the pioneer daily has rightly stated: "What is jarring is that a Central university in a secular country such as ours should have a communal colour".
The NCMEI has argued that this University was established by the Muslims in 1920 for the benefit of the Muslims and, therefore, it has only been given its due as a minority institution. If this is true, why should the Central government of India finance it?
Article 30 (1) gives all minorities, whether based on religion or language, the right to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice. There is nothing in it or any other part of the Constitution saying that such minority institutions should be financed by the State. Article 30(2) only states that, in granting aid to educational institutions, the State will not discriminate against any educational institution on the ground that it is under the management of a minority. So, after getting State aid, the aided minority educational institutions come under Article 29(2), which reads, "No citizen shall be denied admission into any educational institution maintained by the State or receiving aid out of State funds on grounds only of religion, race, caste, language or any of them". If a minority education institution is wholly maintained out of State funds, it will also be subject to Article 28 (1) which reads, "No religious instruction shall be provided in any educational institution wholly maintained out of State funds". In all probability, it is under this Article that the Central and State government do not allow religious instruction in aided educational institutions under Hindu management. Strangely enough, but aided or even wholly financed minority institutions, especially the madrasas, seem to be exempt from it.
The question whether admission of students to aided or unaided minority educational institution can be regulated by the government or by the university to which it is affiliated, was examined in detail by an eleven Judges Bench of the Supreme Court in the famous T.M.A. Pai Foundation case, ((2002) 8 SCC 713). The majority judgment of six Judges, dated October 31, 2002, ruled, "The moment aid is received or taken by a minority educational institution it would be governed by Article 29(2), and would then not be able to refuse admission on grounds of religion, race, caste, language or any of them. In other words it cannot then give preference to students of its own community". The judgment also said "whilst giving aid to professional institutions, it would permissible for the authority giving aid to prescribe bye-rules or regulations, the conditions on the basis of which admission will be granted to different aided colleges by virtue of merit, coupled with the reservation policy of the State". According to it, it is also permissible for the State to provide that the consideration should be shown on the weaker sections of the society.
Already, 51 per cent of the seats of the Jamia Milia are reserved for the Muslims and the rest are equally divided between the SC/ST and the general category students. With the minority status, the intention of the institute is to do away with the quota of the SC/ST and divert it also to Muslim community. Thus, Muslims would be having 75 per cent of the seats, leaving 25 per cent only for the general category candidates.
Incidentally, in answer to a question (no.11), whether non-minorities have also the right to establish and administer educational institutions under Articles 21 and 29(1), read with Articles 14 and 15(1), in the same manner and to the same extent as minority institutions, the above mentioned Bench stated: "The right to establish and administer educational institutions is guaranteed under the Constitution to all citizens under Articles 19(1)(g) and 26, but this right will be subject to the provisions of Articles 19(6) and 26(a)". It may be stated that Article 19(6) relates to the State power to impose restrictions and to provide qualifications for professional or technical subjects and Article 26(a) is bout the normal State power of putting restrictions on account of public order, morality and health.
On the first question of the above mentioned case, namely, meaning of the term "minorities" in Article 30, the Bench ruled, "Since reorganisation of the States in India has been on linguistic lines, therefore, the purpose of determining the minority, the unit will be the State and not the whole of India." Thus, religious and linguistic minorities who have been put on a par in Article 30, have to be considered State wise.
Ground reality is that every metropolitan city - like Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai - has around linguistics minority communities. Suppose, on the basis of the above interpretation of the Supreme Court, every linguistic minority in each cosmopolitan city starts establishing and administering educational institutions of its choice and claims State funds for them, there will be all round anarchy. It would be difficult to find where India exists. In a way, Articles 29 and 30, as interpreted and executed by the Indian governments, have become the gateway of complete disintegration of India and its people.
It is actually a test case for the Indian nationalists, especially Hindus, both in their individual and collective capacity, to force the government and the Parliament to rectify the existing perverse policy of giving extraordinary privileges to the Muslims and Christians in the deceptive name of minority protection, and that too at the cost of the majority, by way of huge financial aid to their educational institutions, various scholarships to their children and setting up various commissions and committees with a view to empowering them, obviously against the docile Hindu majority.
Besides the above, the decision of the NCMEI is a violation of the HRD Ministry’s stand to defer consideration of the matter about declaring Jamia Milia Islamia as a minority institutions so long as the question of declaring the AMU, (a similar university), as a minority educational institution is not decided by the Supreme Court. It raises an important question of law as to whether the NCMEI is a superior executive authority over the HRD Ministry or a semi judicial body as generally understood. Needless to say that granting a minority status to an educational institution is an executive matter falling within the jurisdiction of the HRD Ministry. Tht Ministry will be well advised to take up the issue with the Prime Minister, the Ministry of Law and if necessary, the Supreme Court.
Opening of another den of Islamic politics
By Ram Gopal
The NCMEI has argued that this University was established by the Muslims in 1920 for the benefit of the Muslims and, therefore, it has only been given its due as a minority institution. If this is true, why should the Central government of India finance it?
THE recent decision of the National Commission for Minority Educational Institutions (NCMEI) granting minority status to the Jamia Milia Islamia, Delhi, is unfortunate and satisfies only the fissiparous and secessionist elements of India. It will mean just converting this Central University into another pocket of Islamic politics, at the cost of the Hindu majority, like the Aligarh Muslim University. Already, the Jamia Milia Islamia is wholly funded by the Government of India. In its editorial, "A flawed decision", of February 25, the pioneer daily has rightly stated: "What is jarring is that a Central university in a secular country such as ours should have a communal colour".
The NCMEI has argued that this University was established by the Muslims in 1920 for the benefit of the Muslims and, therefore, it has only been given its due as a minority institution. If this is true, why should the Central government of India finance it?
Article 30 (1) gives all minorities, whether based on religion or language, the right to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice. There is nothing in it or any other part of the Constitution saying that such minority institutions should be financed by the State. Article 30(2) only states that, in granting aid to educational institutions, the State will not discriminate against any educational institution on the ground that it is under the management of a minority. So, after getting State aid, the aided minority educational institutions come under Article 29(2), which reads, "No citizen shall be denied admission into any educational institution maintained by the State or receiving aid out of State funds on grounds only of religion, race, caste, language or any of them". If a minority education institution is wholly maintained out of State funds, it will also be subject to Article 28 (1) which reads, "No religious instruction shall be provided in any educational institution wholly maintained out of State funds". In all probability, it is under this Article that the Central and State government do not allow religious instruction in aided educational institutions under Hindu management. Strangely enough, but aided or even wholly financed minority institutions, especially the madrasas, seem to be exempt from it.
The question whether admission of students to aided or unaided minority educational institution can be regulated by the government or by the university to which it is affiliated, was examined in detail by an eleven Judges Bench of the Supreme Court in the famous T.M.A. Pai Foundation case, ((2002) 8 SCC 713). The majority judgment of six Judges, dated October 31, 2002, ruled, "The moment aid is received or taken by a minority educational institution it would be governed by Article 29(2), and would then not be able to refuse admission on grounds of religion, race, caste, language or any of them. In other words it cannot then give preference to students of its own community". The judgment also said "whilst giving aid to professional institutions, it would permissible for the authority giving aid to prescribe bye-rules or regulations, the conditions on the basis of which admission will be granted to different aided colleges by virtue of merit, coupled with the reservation policy of the State". According to it, it is also permissible for the State to provide that the consideration should be shown on the weaker sections of the society.
Already, 51 per cent of the seats of the Jamia Milia are reserved for the Muslims and the rest are equally divided between the SC/ST and the general category students. With the minority status, the intention of the institute is to do away with the quota of the SC/ST and divert it also to Muslim community. Thus, Muslims would be having 75 per cent of the seats, leaving 25 per cent only for the general category candidates.
Incidentally, in answer to a question (no.11), whether non-minorities have also the right to establish and administer educational institutions under Articles 21 and 29(1), read with Articles 14 and 15(1), in the same manner and to the same extent as minority institutions, the above mentioned Bench stated: "The right to establish and administer educational institutions is guaranteed under the Constitution to all citizens under Articles 19(1)(g) and 26, but this right will be subject to the provisions of Articles 19(6) and 26(a)". It may be stated that Article 19(6) relates to the State power to impose restrictions and to provide qualifications for professional or technical subjects and Article 26(a) is bout the normal State power of putting restrictions on account of public order, morality and health.
On the first question of the above mentioned case, namely, meaning of the term "minorities" in Article 30, the Bench ruled, "Since reorganisation of the States in India has been on linguistic lines, therefore, the purpose of determining the minority, the unit will be the State and not the whole of India." Thus, religious and linguistic minorities who have been put on a par in Article 30, have to be considered State wise.
Ground reality is that every metropolitan city - like Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai - has around linguistics minority communities. Suppose, on the basis of the above interpretation of the Supreme Court, every linguistic minority in each cosmopolitan city starts establishing and administering educational institutions of its choice and claims State funds for them, there will be all round anarchy. It would be difficult to find where India exists. In a way, Articles 29 and 30, as interpreted and executed by the Indian governments, have become the gateway of complete disintegration of India and its people.
It is actually a test case for the Indian nationalists, especially Hindus, both in their individual and collective capacity, to force the government and the Parliament to rectify the existing perverse policy of giving extraordinary privileges to the Muslims and Christians in the deceptive name of minority protection, and that too at the cost of the majority, by way of huge financial aid to their educational institutions, various scholarships to their children and setting up various commissions and committees with a view to empowering them, obviously against the docile Hindu majority.
Besides the above, the decision of the NCMEI is a violation of the HRD Ministry’s stand to defer consideration of the matter about declaring Jamia Milia Islamia as a minority institutions so long as the question of declaring the AMU, (a similar university), as a minority educational institution is not decided by the Supreme Court. It raises an important question of law as to whether the NCMEI is a superior executive authority over the HRD Ministry or a semi judicial body as generally understood. Needless to say that granting a minority status to an educational institution is an executive matter falling within the jurisdiction of the HRD Ministry. Tht Ministry will be well advised to take up the issue with the Prime Minister, the Ministry of Law and if necessary, the Supreme Court.
Monday, February 7, 2011
Amen - Autobiography of a nun
Startling revelations trigger a debate in Catholic church
By S Chandrasekhar
Amen - Autobiography of a nun penned by Sister Jesme, who quit the Congragate of Carmallite Church, after 33 years of nunhood and published by DC Books, Kottayam, is breaking news stands records earning lakhs for the penner and publisher. Three editions of the book in Malayalam have already been sold out and the fourth is in print. Owing to great demand from all over Bharat and the globe, English, Hindi and Marati versions of the book are coming out shortly, with print order of each exceeding a lakh. This will certainly make the nun and DC Books millionaires. ?A Harry Potter? like aura is encircling the book and Sr. Jesme has acquired a JK Rowling halo.
Sr. Jesme, a PhD in English literature, author of three books on poetry and Principal of St. Marys and Vimala College, Thrissur, was forced to resign from the convent as she had fought against evil tendencies like commercialisation of education, financial irregularities, etc. She was branded as a psychiatric and forced to take drugs. Fearing death, she resigned from the convent.
In the 183-page best-seller she has devoted five pages to lesbian and sexual acts perpetuated by nuns, mothers, brothers and fathers.
On page 54, she says how a fellow sister crept into her bed and did indecent things despite her protest. On page 89, she reveals how a father deputed to take care of her at Bangalore, misbehaved with her, molested her and indulged in body-exhibitionism.
In other pages she speaks about financial irregularities, corruption, nepotism, intrigue, patriarchy prevailing in church. She says churches maintained two sets of books, one for public consumption and the other for private consumption. She says the educational institutions, medical and engineering collages, hospitals are only for the rich and powerful. The medical and engineering colleges are money-making factories with amount from Rs. 50 lakh to Rs. 100 lakh being charged for medical seats, affordable only to affluent NRI?s.
The bishops live in absolute luxury dining the richest food and partaking finest liquors. They travel in the latest and costliest cars.
She says she left the convent since there was conspiracy to confine her to the dark corners of a nunnery citing psychiatric illness.
Sr. Abhaya and Sr. Anupa Mary and countless nuns through their mysterious deaths have revealed the lesbian and sexual perversions prevalent in the church. Fathers and brothers who are ?vultures personified? are preying on hapless girls, who join as nuns, to escape from poverty in homes.
Despite 974 mysterious deaths being reported from the ?Christian Divine Retreat Centre? at Muringoor, Thrissur, despite billions of dollars coming to Pentecost Missions for conversion and anti-national activities, despite the Kerala Women?s Commission mooting minimum 18 years for nunnery and retention of family property in nun?s name (the Church usurps the nuns property) the CPM and Congress are not doing anything for fear of losing the 25 per cent Christian vote-bank of Kerala.
The present Pope and John Paul II may have asked pardon for atrocities committed on nuns and sisters by brothers and priests, but the fact remains that the Church spends billions of dollars every year as compensation for victims of sexual atrocities by priests. Owing to dwindling number of churches and priests in Europe, those opting for priesthood are given two months holidays, every year, to freak out at any tourist resort in any corner of the world and enjoy material pleasures!
May the tribe of whistle blowers like Sr. Jesme increase! Amen!
By S Chandrasekhar
Amen - Autobiography of a nun penned by Sister Jesme, who quit the Congragate of Carmallite Church, after 33 years of nunhood and published by DC Books, Kottayam, is breaking news stands records earning lakhs for the penner and publisher. Three editions of the book in Malayalam have already been sold out and the fourth is in print. Owing to great demand from all over Bharat and the globe, English, Hindi and Marati versions of the book are coming out shortly, with print order of each exceeding a lakh. This will certainly make the nun and DC Books millionaires. ?A Harry Potter? like aura is encircling the book and Sr. Jesme has acquired a JK Rowling halo.
Sr. Jesme, a PhD in English literature, author of three books on poetry and Principal of St. Marys and Vimala College, Thrissur, was forced to resign from the convent as she had fought against evil tendencies like commercialisation of education, financial irregularities, etc. She was branded as a psychiatric and forced to take drugs. Fearing death, she resigned from the convent.
In the 183-page best-seller she has devoted five pages to lesbian and sexual acts perpetuated by nuns, mothers, brothers and fathers.
On page 54, she says how a fellow sister crept into her bed and did indecent things despite her protest. On page 89, she reveals how a father deputed to take care of her at Bangalore, misbehaved with her, molested her and indulged in body-exhibitionism.
In other pages she speaks about financial irregularities, corruption, nepotism, intrigue, patriarchy prevailing in church. She says churches maintained two sets of books, one for public consumption and the other for private consumption. She says the educational institutions, medical and engineering collages, hospitals are only for the rich and powerful. The medical and engineering colleges are money-making factories with amount from Rs. 50 lakh to Rs. 100 lakh being charged for medical seats, affordable only to affluent NRI?s.
The bishops live in absolute luxury dining the richest food and partaking finest liquors. They travel in the latest and costliest cars.
She says she left the convent since there was conspiracy to confine her to the dark corners of a nunnery citing psychiatric illness.
Sr. Abhaya and Sr. Anupa Mary and countless nuns through their mysterious deaths have revealed the lesbian and sexual perversions prevalent in the church. Fathers and brothers who are ?vultures personified? are preying on hapless girls, who join as nuns, to escape from poverty in homes.
Despite 974 mysterious deaths being reported from the ?Christian Divine Retreat Centre? at Muringoor, Thrissur, despite billions of dollars coming to Pentecost Missions for conversion and anti-national activities, despite the Kerala Women?s Commission mooting minimum 18 years for nunnery and retention of family property in nun?s name (the Church usurps the nuns property) the CPM and Congress are not doing anything for fear of losing the 25 per cent Christian vote-bank of Kerala.
The present Pope and John Paul II may have asked pardon for atrocities committed on nuns and sisters by brothers and priests, but the fact remains that the Church spends billions of dollars every year as compensation for victims of sexual atrocities by priests. Owing to dwindling number of churches and priests in Europe, those opting for priesthood are given two months holidays, every year, to freak out at any tourist resort in any corner of the world and enjoy material pleasures!
May the tribe of whistle blowers like Sr. Jesme increase! Amen!
It?s Manmohan?s weakness that made Sonia select him
By MD Nalapat
It has been nearly two months since the Swiss parliament decreed that tax evasion is a crime if committed by citizen of a country where it has that legal status. But no request has gone from India with a list of names, asking for details of their bank accounts. This despite the fact that substantial evidence exists about fund transfers to foreign countries.
It ought to be a simple matter to get, for instance, details on the stays abroad of leading political, official and businesspersons, and check if the funds recorded as spent are matched by legal transfers.
At the outset, let it be clear that this columnist does not blame
Manmohan Singh for the failures of the UPA. He has only a solitary MP supporting him in Parliament, that too in the Rajya Sabha, and his name is Manmohan Singh. Indeed, this very weakness is why he has been selected by the owner of the Congress Party, ?Madam? Sonia Maino, to handle the job of Prime Minister of India, together with other senior colleagues who are similarly challenged politically. Which is why each of them is so obsequious to her, seeking frenetically to translate each whim of hers into reality. The most effective has been Palaniappan Maino, now Home Minister of India, during the stint while he was in charge of the Finance portfolio. Small wonder that there are no questions raised in the ?free? media about yet another unnatural death among the close (Indian) relatives of the Mainos, or any effort at asking if an exhaustive post-mortem was conducted, and what the reasons could be for the apparent suicide of Rajinder Vadra, father-in-law of Priyanka Vadra. Contrast this with the shrillness of the pack of hounds going after the middle-class, zero-influence parents of Arushi Talwar. Without a shred of evidence, the most astonishing sexual and social innuendos were brandished before the cameras about the Talwars and their friends, in contrast to the veil of silence that has descended on the death of Rajinder Vadra, who lost other loved ones in the past, in circumstances that remain unexplained. Perhaps the charm of the surviving son, Robert Vadra, and the way in which the authorities act in a manner that can charitably be described as deferential, can explain the silence of the media over the goings-on in the Vadra household, as it does their reticence on the Mainos.
Sonia Maino has on record said that her ancestral property in Italy is worth Rs 18 lakh. If the value mentioned by the lady is correct?and we should not doubt the word of the boss of India?s PM?then Sonia Maino?s ancestors must have come from a hole in the ground, for even that is these days worth a lot more than Rs 18 lakh in Italy.
Of course, we are told nothing about her family in Italy, including the travails of her father during World War II, when credible information states that he took an extended (in terms of time) tour of the then USSR, settling (hopefully comfortably) in a room in a state-run facility near Vladimir, an establishment recently visited by a VVIP from India in transport provided by the Russian government, of course without any media attention. Not one of our numerous television channels has examined the purported value of the farmhouse mentioned among the assets, which is presumably the same as that bought by Indira Gandhi. If what has been claimed to be the value is correct, this farmhouse must be only a few square yards in area, and having perhaps a mud hut on it. However, Chief Election Commissioner Navin Chawla?whose mother was tutor to Sanjay and Rajiv Gandhi?seems to have accepted Sonia Gandhi?s declaration of assets at face value. Certainly his close ties to the Mainos must have played no part in such a curious decision. In contrast, Varun Gandhi?the son of the man who was responsible for the rise to prominence of Navin, Sanjay?seems to have grabbed the attention of the Election Commission in a spectacular way, although this must surely not be because his rise in politics may represent a threat to the other branch of the family, that having a bevy of (disappearing) Indian relatives and a joyous lot of Italian kinsfolk, many of whom seems to love India enough to attract them towards making long stays in the country, again unremarked upon by the media of ?the world?s biggest democracy?.
But why blame the media? Since the UPA came to power, the powers of the Income-tax department have been increased to a level where a relatively junior officer can send into financial ruin any target of his or her attention. Sadly, such zeal seems to extend only to those seen as distant from the power centre now in command in Delhi, and hoping to be given a fresh lease of life on May 16. Had the Prime Minister (an individual who deserves compassion) been a free agent, he would surely have ordered the income-tax department to begin collecting details of the foreign assets of the key luminary residents of the country, so that these can be sent to Switzerland and other tax havens for further investigation. Although it has been nearly two months since the Swiss parliament decreed that tax evasion is a crime if committed by a citizen of a country where it has that legal status. But no request has gone from India with a list of names, asking for details of their bank accounts. This despite the fact that substantial evidence exists about fund transfers to foreign countries. It ought to be a simple matter to get, for instance, details on the stays abroad of leading political, official and businesspersons, and check if the funds recorded as spent are matched by legal transfers.
Hopefully, those officials within the income-tax department who are conscientious and honest?and there are still several?will now be quietly gathering data on such persons, so that in time, a patriotic government can formally ask the Swiss banks to reveal the details of such bank accounts.
Instead of doing this, Manmohan Singh has deliberately downplayed the estimate of $1.4 trillion in Indian money in foreign tax havens, when he is aware that the Institute of Global Banking & Research has estimated such funds at more than Rs 8.5 lakh crore, or about $1.68 trillion
Even 20 per cent of this sum would be equal to the country?s foreign exchange reserves, and an amnesty scheme reach double-digit growth in a period of global recession), Manmohan Singh is in effect seeking to prevent the erosion of deposits of foreign banks that would take place, in case an amnesty was to be announced in India. Even a tax rate of 15 per cent on the returned savings would be enough to fund the deficit, thus returning to health the country?s fiscal situation, and leading to a rise in the value of the rupee to Rs 30 per US$. It is a shame that the Indian rupee has so diminished in value even against a dollar that it is facing meltdown in its home economy. Of course, foreign banks benefit, as seems to be the intention in some quarters.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has presided over a regime of crippling tax rates, a vicious and regressive tax administration and interest rates that are at least double of what they ought to be. Those abroad who benefit from the slowdown that such policies have caused to the Indian economy will be gambling on the return to power of Sonia Maino. Others will look forward to a government that acts on behalf of the people of India, and puts in place a regime of low-interest rates and low taxes, as well as an amnesty scheme for foreign assets that can bring in at least Rs 2 lakh crore into India, at the cost of foreign banks.
It has been nearly two months since the Swiss parliament decreed that tax evasion is a crime if committed by citizen of a country where it has that legal status. But no request has gone from India with a list of names, asking for details of their bank accounts. This despite the fact that substantial evidence exists about fund transfers to foreign countries.
It ought to be a simple matter to get, for instance, details on the stays abroad of leading political, official and businesspersons, and check if the funds recorded as spent are matched by legal transfers.
At the outset, let it be clear that this columnist does not blame
Manmohan Singh for the failures of the UPA. He has only a solitary MP supporting him in Parliament, that too in the Rajya Sabha, and his name is Manmohan Singh. Indeed, this very weakness is why he has been selected by the owner of the Congress Party, ?Madam? Sonia Maino, to handle the job of Prime Minister of India, together with other senior colleagues who are similarly challenged politically. Which is why each of them is so obsequious to her, seeking frenetically to translate each whim of hers into reality. The most effective has been Palaniappan Maino, now Home Minister of India, during the stint while he was in charge of the Finance portfolio. Small wonder that there are no questions raised in the ?free? media about yet another unnatural death among the close (Indian) relatives of the Mainos, or any effort at asking if an exhaustive post-mortem was conducted, and what the reasons could be for the apparent suicide of Rajinder Vadra, father-in-law of Priyanka Vadra. Contrast this with the shrillness of the pack of hounds going after the middle-class, zero-influence parents of Arushi Talwar. Without a shred of evidence, the most astonishing sexual and social innuendos were brandished before the cameras about the Talwars and their friends, in contrast to the veil of silence that has descended on the death of Rajinder Vadra, who lost other loved ones in the past, in circumstances that remain unexplained. Perhaps the charm of the surviving son, Robert Vadra, and the way in which the authorities act in a manner that can charitably be described as deferential, can explain the silence of the media over the goings-on in the Vadra household, as it does their reticence on the Mainos.
Sonia Maino has on record said that her ancestral property in Italy is worth Rs 18 lakh. If the value mentioned by the lady is correct?and we should not doubt the word of the boss of India?s PM?then Sonia Maino?s ancestors must have come from a hole in the ground, for even that is these days worth a lot more than Rs 18 lakh in Italy.
Of course, we are told nothing about her family in Italy, including the travails of her father during World War II, when credible information states that he took an extended (in terms of time) tour of the then USSR, settling (hopefully comfortably) in a room in a state-run facility near Vladimir, an establishment recently visited by a VVIP from India in transport provided by the Russian government, of course without any media attention. Not one of our numerous television channels has examined the purported value of the farmhouse mentioned among the assets, which is presumably the same as that bought by Indira Gandhi. If what has been claimed to be the value is correct, this farmhouse must be only a few square yards in area, and having perhaps a mud hut on it. However, Chief Election Commissioner Navin Chawla?whose mother was tutor to Sanjay and Rajiv Gandhi?seems to have accepted Sonia Gandhi?s declaration of assets at face value. Certainly his close ties to the Mainos must have played no part in such a curious decision. In contrast, Varun Gandhi?the son of the man who was responsible for the rise to prominence of Navin, Sanjay?seems to have grabbed the attention of the Election Commission in a spectacular way, although this must surely not be because his rise in politics may represent a threat to the other branch of the family, that having a bevy of (disappearing) Indian relatives and a joyous lot of Italian kinsfolk, many of whom seems to love India enough to attract them towards making long stays in the country, again unremarked upon by the media of ?the world?s biggest democracy?.
But why blame the media? Since the UPA came to power, the powers of the Income-tax department have been increased to a level where a relatively junior officer can send into financial ruin any target of his or her attention. Sadly, such zeal seems to extend only to those seen as distant from the power centre now in command in Delhi, and hoping to be given a fresh lease of life on May 16. Had the Prime Minister (an individual who deserves compassion) been a free agent, he would surely have ordered the income-tax department to begin collecting details of the foreign assets of the key luminary residents of the country, so that these can be sent to Switzerland and other tax havens for further investigation. Although it has been nearly two months since the Swiss parliament decreed that tax evasion is a crime if committed by a citizen of a country where it has that legal status. But no request has gone from India with a list of names, asking for details of their bank accounts. This despite the fact that substantial evidence exists about fund transfers to foreign countries. It ought to be a simple matter to get, for instance, details on the stays abroad of leading political, official and businesspersons, and check if the funds recorded as spent are matched by legal transfers.
Hopefully, those officials within the income-tax department who are conscientious and honest?and there are still several?will now be quietly gathering data on such persons, so that in time, a patriotic government can formally ask the Swiss banks to reveal the details of such bank accounts.
Instead of doing this, Manmohan Singh has deliberately downplayed the estimate of $1.4 trillion in Indian money in foreign tax havens, when he is aware that the Institute of Global Banking & Research has estimated such funds at more than Rs 8.5 lakh crore, or about $1.68 trillion
Even 20 per cent of this sum would be equal to the country?s foreign exchange reserves, and an amnesty scheme reach double-digit growth in a period of global recession), Manmohan Singh is in effect seeking to prevent the erosion of deposits of foreign banks that would take place, in case an amnesty was to be announced in India. Even a tax rate of 15 per cent on the returned savings would be enough to fund the deficit, thus returning to health the country?s fiscal situation, and leading to a rise in the value of the rupee to Rs 30 per US$. It is a shame that the Indian rupee has so diminished in value even against a dollar that it is facing meltdown in its home economy. Of course, foreign banks benefit, as seems to be the intention in some quarters.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has presided over a regime of crippling tax rates, a vicious and regressive tax administration and interest rates that are at least double of what they ought to be. Those abroad who benefit from the slowdown that such policies have caused to the Indian economy will be gambling on the return to power of Sonia Maino. Others will look forward to a government that acts on behalf of the people of India, and puts in place a regime of low-interest rates and low taxes, as well as an amnesty scheme for foreign assets that can bring in at least Rs 2 lakh crore into India, at the cost of foreign banks.
Judev: A crusader against conversions
Varun is being condemned before his so-called crime was investigated and tried in a court of law. The Election Commission in his case acted in post-haste and functioned as a complainant, investigator, forensic expert, prosecutor, and the court? all by itself. He was not accorded the opportunity to defend himself which is his right.
We in BJP have always respected the freedom of every individual to have faith in any religion and adopt any mode of worship. My stand against conversion is too obvious and well known. I will not allow a single dalit to be converted through coercion and allurements.
Shri Dalip Singh Judev is much more than just a BJP candidate for Bilaspur parliamentary constituency in Chhattisgarh. Although an erstwhile Jashpur ruler, in reality he is a faqir owing less property (worth Rs 1.70 crore) than does his opponent (worth Rs. 2.47 crore), Dr. Renu Jogi, wife of former CM Shri Ajit Jogi. He is an untiring crusader against conversions on false promises, through coercion and allurements. He is a person who himself washes the feet of the tribals who return to their religion on realising that they had been misled into it. He is perhaps the only person in the world on whom more than a lakh youth have reportedly applied tilak with their own blood offering their support to his crusade. Amba Charan Vashishth spoke to Shri Judev during his hectic campaign in Bilaspur a few days back. Excerpts:
What does it mean to you, fighting as the BJP candidate for the Bilaspur Lok Sabha seat?
It means a lot to me. I am a disciplined soldier of BJP. I have always taken-up my position at whatever post of duty I was assigned by the Party to fight.
I feel overwhelmed by the love, affection and trust with which the party has nominated me to contest. I am equally overwhelmed by the faith of the people with which they are supporting me in every way. Equally beholden I am to the rank and file of the party sweating it out for me at this hour.
Now that Congress has ?substituted? its candidate with Smt. Renu Jogi as its candidate, the contest has become interesting. How do you see this challenge?
It is no challenge at all. With the support of the people I shall defeat the Congress. That is sure.
Now that a woman is your main opponent in the election, do you see it as an advantage or disadvantage?
I am looking at it as an electoral fight to win. I am not concerned who is my rival ? a man or a woman. For me my opponent is not Smt. Renu Jogi, it is only the Congress. This feeling is also shared by the electorates in the constituency. Actually Shri Jogi is waging a proxy electoral fight against me.
But why did the Congress not nominated Shri Jogi and instead fielded his wife?
It is for the Congress to explain. But to me, it looks, the Congress thought he was a losing candidate and had many minus points. So they did not bet for him and preferred his wife.
How does it make an effect in the elections?
Nothing at all. For all intents and purposes, for me and for the people Shri Ajit Jogi is the candidate. People will make Smt Jogi to pay for the sins of her husband.
Then why was she nominated?
It appears to be their strategy. They know we Indians respect women the most. Because of this our opponents are repeating the old trick which our foreign invaders used in similar circumstances when faced with imminent defeat. They would put a row of women or cows to stand in the front row of their troops. They knew Indian forces will never use their weapons against women and cows. Our opponents have adopted that very strategy. But the Congress leaders should also not forget that our forces adopted some other techniques to defeat their enemies. BJP will defeat Shri Ajit Jogi and the Congress decisively frustrating all their ill designs.
Congress is alleging that you are an ?outsider? for this seat. What would you say?
It is again a ploy by Shri Ajit Jogi and the Congress who are trying to befool the people. They have nothing to say against me and the BJP. Congress has always adopted the ?divide and rule? policy of the British. It was because of this that the Congress was able to rule the country for so long. But now the people have seen through their game. By raising this bogey they have indirectly admitted their defeat beforehand. In desperation they are now trying to divide Chhattisgarh into regions, castes, creeds and dialects. But their game will not succeed. People know Judev and know that for me the whole of Chhattisgarh is one for all intents and purposes socially, culturally and historically.
In these circumstances, what is your main strategy?
My strategy is simple. To defeat Shri Ajit Jogi for whatever he stands for. I will be exposing all his lies and wrongs he has done to the State and its people.
We in BJP have always respected the freedom of every individual to have faith in any religion and adopt any mode of worship. My stand against conversion is too obvious and well known. I will not allow a single dalit to be converted through coercion and allurements. I have always welcomed with open arms by cleansing the feet, with my own hands, of all those who had been made to go astray on false promises.
By ?substituting? its earlier candidate with Smt. Renu Jogi, the Congress has tried to polarise the elections between those who support and those who oppose conversions. Of all the 11 parliamentary constituencies in Chhattisgarh, Congress President Smt. Sonia Gandhi has singled out Bilaspur only for her election campaign. This message is clear and loud to the people and they have seen through the Congress intentions. BJP is fully geared up to defeat their design.
What is your strength?
My strength is my people, my party, my own conviction, my determination to serve the people at all costs and the righteousness of my stand. Truth will prevail, I am sure.
Would you like to say something on Varun episode?
Invoking of NSA against Varun is palpably wrong. This has obviously been done only to prevent Varun from fighting the election himself and campaigning for BJP. My only regret is that he is being condemned before his so-called crime was investigated and tried in a court of law. The Election Commission in his case acted in post haste and functioned as a complainant, investigator, forensic expert, prosecutor, and the court ? all by itself. He was not accorded the opportunity to defend himself which is his right. The Union Government is providing every help, assistance and opportunity to Kasab involved in 26/11 terrorist attack on Mumbai to defend himself and prove himself innocent, but denying it to Varun.
Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav had said that had he been Home Minister, he would have crushed Varun under a roadroller come what may. Would you like to comment?
What Shri Lalu Prasad has said is no less a crime than that alleged against Varun. Lalu cannot be treated differently and the least that should be done is to give the same treatment as given to Varun. EC too is now in the dock.
What will your victory mean?
It will be a defeat of the forces which were playing a divisive vote bank politics and of those who had failed to curb prices, to curb terrorism, and of those who are responsible for making thousands of farmers to commit suicides.
We in BJP have always respected the freedom of every individual to have faith in any religion and adopt any mode of worship. My stand against conversion is too obvious and well known. I will not allow a single dalit to be converted through coercion and allurements.
Shri Dalip Singh Judev is much more than just a BJP candidate for Bilaspur parliamentary constituency in Chhattisgarh. Although an erstwhile Jashpur ruler, in reality he is a faqir owing less property (worth Rs 1.70 crore) than does his opponent (worth Rs. 2.47 crore), Dr. Renu Jogi, wife of former CM Shri Ajit Jogi. He is an untiring crusader against conversions on false promises, through coercion and allurements. He is a person who himself washes the feet of the tribals who return to their religion on realising that they had been misled into it. He is perhaps the only person in the world on whom more than a lakh youth have reportedly applied tilak with their own blood offering their support to his crusade. Amba Charan Vashishth spoke to Shri Judev during his hectic campaign in Bilaspur a few days back. Excerpts:
What does it mean to you, fighting as the BJP candidate for the Bilaspur Lok Sabha seat?
It means a lot to me. I am a disciplined soldier of BJP. I have always taken-up my position at whatever post of duty I was assigned by the Party to fight.
I feel overwhelmed by the love, affection and trust with which the party has nominated me to contest. I am equally overwhelmed by the faith of the people with which they are supporting me in every way. Equally beholden I am to the rank and file of the party sweating it out for me at this hour.
Now that Congress has ?substituted? its candidate with Smt. Renu Jogi as its candidate, the contest has become interesting. How do you see this challenge?
It is no challenge at all. With the support of the people I shall defeat the Congress. That is sure.
Now that a woman is your main opponent in the election, do you see it as an advantage or disadvantage?
I am looking at it as an electoral fight to win. I am not concerned who is my rival ? a man or a woman. For me my opponent is not Smt. Renu Jogi, it is only the Congress. This feeling is also shared by the electorates in the constituency. Actually Shri Jogi is waging a proxy electoral fight against me.
But why did the Congress not nominated Shri Jogi and instead fielded his wife?
It is for the Congress to explain. But to me, it looks, the Congress thought he was a losing candidate and had many minus points. So they did not bet for him and preferred his wife.
How does it make an effect in the elections?
Nothing at all. For all intents and purposes, for me and for the people Shri Ajit Jogi is the candidate. People will make Smt Jogi to pay for the sins of her husband.
Then why was she nominated?
It appears to be their strategy. They know we Indians respect women the most. Because of this our opponents are repeating the old trick which our foreign invaders used in similar circumstances when faced with imminent defeat. They would put a row of women or cows to stand in the front row of their troops. They knew Indian forces will never use their weapons against women and cows. Our opponents have adopted that very strategy. But the Congress leaders should also not forget that our forces adopted some other techniques to defeat their enemies. BJP will defeat Shri Ajit Jogi and the Congress decisively frustrating all their ill designs.
Congress is alleging that you are an ?outsider? for this seat. What would you say?
It is again a ploy by Shri Ajit Jogi and the Congress who are trying to befool the people. They have nothing to say against me and the BJP. Congress has always adopted the ?divide and rule? policy of the British. It was because of this that the Congress was able to rule the country for so long. But now the people have seen through their game. By raising this bogey they have indirectly admitted their defeat beforehand. In desperation they are now trying to divide Chhattisgarh into regions, castes, creeds and dialects. But their game will not succeed. People know Judev and know that for me the whole of Chhattisgarh is one for all intents and purposes socially, culturally and historically.
In these circumstances, what is your main strategy?
My strategy is simple. To defeat Shri Ajit Jogi for whatever he stands for. I will be exposing all his lies and wrongs he has done to the State and its people.
We in BJP have always respected the freedom of every individual to have faith in any religion and adopt any mode of worship. My stand against conversion is too obvious and well known. I will not allow a single dalit to be converted through coercion and allurements. I have always welcomed with open arms by cleansing the feet, with my own hands, of all those who had been made to go astray on false promises.
By ?substituting? its earlier candidate with Smt. Renu Jogi, the Congress has tried to polarise the elections between those who support and those who oppose conversions. Of all the 11 parliamentary constituencies in Chhattisgarh, Congress President Smt. Sonia Gandhi has singled out Bilaspur only for her election campaign. This message is clear and loud to the people and they have seen through the Congress intentions. BJP is fully geared up to defeat their design.
What is your strength?
My strength is my people, my party, my own conviction, my determination to serve the people at all costs and the righteousness of my stand. Truth will prevail, I am sure.
Would you like to say something on Varun episode?
Invoking of NSA against Varun is palpably wrong. This has obviously been done only to prevent Varun from fighting the election himself and campaigning for BJP. My only regret is that he is being condemned before his so-called crime was investigated and tried in a court of law. The Election Commission in his case acted in post haste and functioned as a complainant, investigator, forensic expert, prosecutor, and the court ? all by itself. He was not accorded the opportunity to defend himself which is his right. The Union Government is providing every help, assistance and opportunity to Kasab involved in 26/11 terrorist attack on Mumbai to defend himself and prove himself innocent, but denying it to Varun.
Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav had said that had he been Home Minister, he would have crushed Varun under a roadroller come what may. Would you like to comment?
What Shri Lalu Prasad has said is no less a crime than that alleged against Varun. Lalu cannot be treated differently and the least that should be done is to give the same treatment as given to Varun. EC too is now in the dock.
What will your victory mean?
It will be a defeat of the forces which were playing a divisive vote bank politics and of those who had failed to curb prices, to curb terrorism, and of those who are responsible for making thousands of farmers to commit suicides.
Western duplicity An Indian response
By Kunal Ghosh, Professor, Aerospace Engineering, IIT Kanpur
The only justification seems to me that it has a Catholic majority population and therefore is a part of a civilisation characterised by Western Christianity, a la Huntington (Ref: Clash of Civilizations and Remaking of World Order, published in 1996). Timor Leste?s independence in 1999 was immediately followed by large scale Muslim-Christian violence in different parts of Indonesia.
I discover a calculated and calibrated method where Harsh V. Pant discovers only a ?muddle-headed approach?. To start my arguments I must first give the reader an idea of the clout wielded by Jewish Americans and Jewish Britishers, while the former in very large numbers hold dual citizenship of Israel and USA.
He signals coming out of Obama?s Washington DC and the message conveyed by foreign secretary of UK, David Miliband during his trip in India (January 2009) are concerted. Miliband conveyed in no uncertain terms that Kashmir is an issue and India should get a move on with the Kashmir issue and not stick to the status quo. So there is a method and it is designed to take the eye off the Israel-Palestinian conflict. Israel?s invasion in January 2009 of Gaza was brutal and has been condemned by global human rights activists. It has attracted tremendous media coverage all over the world. Israel continues to occupy illegally large chunk of Palestinian land in the West bank. It continues to expand its illegal settlements on Arab land and construct more concrete walls, complete with barbed wire and watch towers, to cut off Arabs from their cultivable lands, schools, mosques etc which become reachable only through check-posts.
Initially President Obama toyed with the idea of appointing Richard Holbrook, as a Special South Asia envoy and bringing the Kashmir issue under his purview, integrated with the Pakistan-Afghanistan imbroglio. Hard-nosed Indian diplomacy has made him change tack and Holbrook has been made only a Pakistan-Afghanistan envoy. But India should not think that Democrats in America has gone off their pet Kashmir theme. The statements coming out of Washington and London in late March and April 2009 show that western powers are once again submitting to Pakistani blackmail and are once again connecting war against the Taliban in Af-Pak Theater to a shift from status quo in Kashmir to Pakistan?s satisfaction. The renewed and massive infiltration of terrorist columns across the LoC, even before the snow has melted, in April 2009 is a Pakistani tactic to goad the West to pressurise India.
In an article, titled, ?Obama Magic Unlikely to Work with India?, Harsh V Pant (Ref; Feb. 1, 2009, Special to The Japan Times, http://search.japantimes.co.jp), says,
...clearly the most troubling aspect of Obama?s foreign policy for India is a suggestion gaining ground in the policymaking circles in Washington that the success of US endeavours in Afghanistan depends on greater American activism with regard to Kashmir. It is the sort of muddle-headed approach to South Asia that historically has made US policy toward the region such a catastrophic failure, and it is once again coming back with a vengeance.?
I discover a calculated and calibrated method where Harsh V. Pant discovers only a ?muddle-headed approach?. To start my arguments I must first give the reader an idea of the clout wielded by Jewish Americans and Jewish Britishers, while the former in very large numbers hold dual citizenship of Israel and USA. Jewish financiers such as George Soros and the Rothschilds and their likes hold an enormous stake in the banking and finance industry of the USA and UK. The number of Jewish millionaires in both these countries is out of proportion to their number in the population. The Jews have a huge control on the mass media such as the print media and film industry. They are more than well represented in the senate and Parliament, in the membership of both the mainstream parties (Republican and Democrats in the USA; Conservatives and Labour in the UK) and the corridors of power. USA and UK are consistently following a policy in geo-politics for the last two decades that is influenced by the Western-Christianity-Judaism-Kinship factor or in short WCJK factor. I have opted to use the term Western-Christianity instead of Protestant-Catholic because Samuel Huntington uses this term in his famous book ?Clash of Civilizations and Remaking of World Order?. He deliberately avoids clubbing Judaism and Israel along with Western Christianity in the same ?civilisation group? and avoids discussing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as a ?Fault-Line Conflict?. His motive, I suspect, is to avoid rubbing the powerful Jewish lobby in America the wrong way up and embarrassing the American foreign policy top brass (Ref: Ghosh Kunal (2007), ?Strategic Alliance with the USA in a World of ?Civilization?-based Alignment, Mainstream, New Delhi, Oct 26 - Nov 01, pp. 15 - 22).
The western policy
The policy, referred to above, is simple. It conveys an unambiguous message to the Palestinian freedom fighters and their Islamist-terrorist global allies that if they attack America, West Europe or Israel, the retribution would be swift and Western powers would come down on them like a ton of bricks and smash them to smithereens. But if they attack other countries/civilisations such as Orthodox Russia and Serbia, Hindu India, Buddhist Thailand or Communist China, then they can expect at least moral support and in some cases even material support from the Western powers. The appeasement of Islamism in certain locations/situations is necessary to counter-balance the hostility the West manifests to Islamic sentiments in the Israeli-Palestinian Theater or wherever there is a conflict between Western Christianity and Islam. It should be expressly noted that the Western economies depend much on the petroleum issues of the Islamic world. I shall cite five examples to prove my point: 1. Indonesia-East Timor, 2. Serbia-Kosovo, 3. Kashmir of India, 4.. Xinjiang of China, and 5. Russia-Chechnya.
Indonesia-East Timor
Here is an example of how the West acts, under the influence of the WCJK factor, against the legitimate sentiments of a Muslim majority country just because a Catholic Christian kin is involved. Portugal had a tiny enclave of a colony in the Indonesian archipelago called East Timor. It was the eastern half of a small island called Timor, with a population of less than a million (lesser than the cities of Agra or Mysore) and size of approximately 69 miles by 80 miles (5500 square miles). Before colonial times all of Timor had been a part of different kingdoms, usually based on Java, ruling the Indonesian archipelago. During the Portuguese rule the eastern half of the island became Catholic Christian majority, although a small Muslim and Hindu minority remained. In 1975 Portugal relinquished control and East Timor declared independence, but Indonesian army promptly occupied it. Since then there was a resistance movement against Indonesian rule led by Leftist FRELIMO guerrillas. General Suharto, the army strongman who ruled Indonesia, crushed the Left all over Indonesia and also East Timor, and his American mentors were quite happy. In late 1980s and early 1990s the Soviet Union collapsed, China embraced Capitalism in the garb of Market Socialism and there was a decline of the Left in the East Timorese resistance. The resistance movement started aligning more and more with the ex-colonial master Portugal and the Catholic element came to the fore. Bishop Carlos F.X. Belo travelled widely in the West, championed the cause of independence from Indonesia and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1996. In late 1990s all of South East Asia suffered an economic melt down and Indonesian military dictatorship became weak. It wilted under Western pressure led by Australia and America and gave independence to East Timor that immediately adopted a Portuguese name, Timor Leste, and the Portuguese language as the official language.
East Timor?s history is very similar to India?s Goa which was liberated by the Indian army from Portuguese rule in 1961, except that Goa never became Catholic majority in spite of the strenuous and highly coercive efforts of Saint Xavier. What is the justification of separating such a tiny economically unviable one-half of an island, Timor Leste, from Indonesia? The only justification seems to me that it has a Catholic majority population and therefore is a part of a civilisation characterised by Western Christianity, a la Huntington (Ref: Clash of Civilizations and Remaking of World Order, published in 1996). Timor Leste?s independence in 1999 was immediately followed by large scale Muslim-Christian violence in different parts of Indonesia. In my opinion the Wahhabisation process of Indonesia and growth of radical Islam started in true earnest from that event. The world still remembers the Bali terrorist bombings of 2002 and 2005 that killed more than a hundred Western tourists.
The only justification seems to me that it has a Catholic majority population and therefore is a part of a civilisation characterised by Western Christianity, a la Huntington (Ref: Clash of Civilizations and Remaking of World Order, published in 1996). Timor Leste?s independence in 1999 was immediately followed by large scale Muslim-Christian violence in different parts of Indonesia.
I discover a calculated and calibrated method where Harsh V. Pant discovers only a ?muddle-headed approach?. To start my arguments I must first give the reader an idea of the clout wielded by Jewish Americans and Jewish Britishers, while the former in very large numbers hold dual citizenship of Israel and USA.
He signals coming out of Obama?s Washington DC and the message conveyed by foreign secretary of UK, David Miliband during his trip in India (January 2009) are concerted. Miliband conveyed in no uncertain terms that Kashmir is an issue and India should get a move on with the Kashmir issue and not stick to the status quo. So there is a method and it is designed to take the eye off the Israel-Palestinian conflict. Israel?s invasion in January 2009 of Gaza was brutal and has been condemned by global human rights activists. It has attracted tremendous media coverage all over the world. Israel continues to occupy illegally large chunk of Palestinian land in the West bank. It continues to expand its illegal settlements on Arab land and construct more concrete walls, complete with barbed wire and watch towers, to cut off Arabs from their cultivable lands, schools, mosques etc which become reachable only through check-posts.
Initially President Obama toyed with the idea of appointing Richard Holbrook, as a Special South Asia envoy and bringing the Kashmir issue under his purview, integrated with the Pakistan-Afghanistan imbroglio. Hard-nosed Indian diplomacy has made him change tack and Holbrook has been made only a Pakistan-Afghanistan envoy. But India should not think that Democrats in America has gone off their pet Kashmir theme. The statements coming out of Washington and London in late March and April 2009 show that western powers are once again submitting to Pakistani blackmail and are once again connecting war against the Taliban in Af-Pak Theater to a shift from status quo in Kashmir to Pakistan?s satisfaction. The renewed and massive infiltration of terrorist columns across the LoC, even before the snow has melted, in April 2009 is a Pakistani tactic to goad the West to pressurise India.
In an article, titled, ?Obama Magic Unlikely to Work with India?, Harsh V Pant (Ref; Feb. 1, 2009, Special to The Japan Times, http://search.japantimes.co.jp), says,
...clearly the most troubling aspect of Obama?s foreign policy for India is a suggestion gaining ground in the policymaking circles in Washington that the success of US endeavours in Afghanistan depends on greater American activism with regard to Kashmir. It is the sort of muddle-headed approach to South Asia that historically has made US policy toward the region such a catastrophic failure, and it is once again coming back with a vengeance.?
I discover a calculated and calibrated method where Harsh V. Pant discovers only a ?muddle-headed approach?. To start my arguments I must first give the reader an idea of the clout wielded by Jewish Americans and Jewish Britishers, while the former in very large numbers hold dual citizenship of Israel and USA. Jewish financiers such as George Soros and the Rothschilds and their likes hold an enormous stake in the banking and finance industry of the USA and UK. The number of Jewish millionaires in both these countries is out of proportion to their number in the population. The Jews have a huge control on the mass media such as the print media and film industry. They are more than well represented in the senate and Parliament, in the membership of both the mainstream parties (Republican and Democrats in the USA; Conservatives and Labour in the UK) and the corridors of power. USA and UK are consistently following a policy in geo-politics for the last two decades that is influenced by the Western-Christianity-Judaism-Kinship factor or in short WCJK factor. I have opted to use the term Western-Christianity instead of Protestant-Catholic because Samuel Huntington uses this term in his famous book ?Clash of Civilizations and Remaking of World Order?. He deliberately avoids clubbing Judaism and Israel along with Western Christianity in the same ?civilisation group? and avoids discussing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as a ?Fault-Line Conflict?. His motive, I suspect, is to avoid rubbing the powerful Jewish lobby in America the wrong way up and embarrassing the American foreign policy top brass (Ref: Ghosh Kunal (2007), ?Strategic Alliance with the USA in a World of ?Civilization?-based Alignment, Mainstream, New Delhi, Oct 26 - Nov 01, pp. 15 - 22).
The western policy
The policy, referred to above, is simple. It conveys an unambiguous message to the Palestinian freedom fighters and their Islamist-terrorist global allies that if they attack America, West Europe or Israel, the retribution would be swift and Western powers would come down on them like a ton of bricks and smash them to smithereens. But if they attack other countries/civilisations such as Orthodox Russia and Serbia, Hindu India, Buddhist Thailand or Communist China, then they can expect at least moral support and in some cases even material support from the Western powers. The appeasement of Islamism in certain locations/situations is necessary to counter-balance the hostility the West manifests to Islamic sentiments in the Israeli-Palestinian Theater or wherever there is a conflict between Western Christianity and Islam. It should be expressly noted that the Western economies depend much on the petroleum issues of the Islamic world. I shall cite five examples to prove my point: 1. Indonesia-East Timor, 2. Serbia-Kosovo, 3. Kashmir of India, 4.. Xinjiang of China, and 5. Russia-Chechnya.
Indonesia-East Timor
Here is an example of how the West acts, under the influence of the WCJK factor, against the legitimate sentiments of a Muslim majority country just because a Catholic Christian kin is involved. Portugal had a tiny enclave of a colony in the Indonesian archipelago called East Timor. It was the eastern half of a small island called Timor, with a population of less than a million (lesser than the cities of Agra or Mysore) and size of approximately 69 miles by 80 miles (5500 square miles). Before colonial times all of Timor had been a part of different kingdoms, usually based on Java, ruling the Indonesian archipelago. During the Portuguese rule the eastern half of the island became Catholic Christian majority, although a small Muslim and Hindu minority remained. In 1975 Portugal relinquished control and East Timor declared independence, but Indonesian army promptly occupied it. Since then there was a resistance movement against Indonesian rule led by Leftist FRELIMO guerrillas. General Suharto, the army strongman who ruled Indonesia, crushed the Left all over Indonesia and also East Timor, and his American mentors were quite happy. In late 1980s and early 1990s the Soviet Union collapsed, China embraced Capitalism in the garb of Market Socialism and there was a decline of the Left in the East Timorese resistance. The resistance movement started aligning more and more with the ex-colonial master Portugal and the Catholic element came to the fore. Bishop Carlos F.X. Belo travelled widely in the West, championed the cause of independence from Indonesia and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1996. In late 1990s all of South East Asia suffered an economic melt down and Indonesian military dictatorship became weak. It wilted under Western pressure led by Australia and America and gave independence to East Timor that immediately adopted a Portuguese name, Timor Leste, and the Portuguese language as the official language.
East Timor?s history is very similar to India?s Goa which was liberated by the Indian army from Portuguese rule in 1961, except that Goa never became Catholic majority in spite of the strenuous and highly coercive efforts of Saint Xavier. What is the justification of separating such a tiny economically unviable one-half of an island, Timor Leste, from Indonesia? The only justification seems to me that it has a Catholic majority population and therefore is a part of a civilisation characterised by Western Christianity, a la Huntington (Ref: Clash of Civilizations and Remaking of World Order, published in 1996). Timor Leste?s independence in 1999 was immediately followed by large scale Muslim-Christian violence in different parts of Indonesia. In my opinion the Wahhabisation process of Indonesia and growth of radical Islam started in true earnest from that event. The world still remembers the Bali terrorist bombings of 2002 and 2005 that killed more than a hundred Western tourists.
Compromising Indian citizens? lives for vote bank
UPA has failed India on terror
G-20 slams India for going soft on terrorism
By Naresh Minocha
India scores ?nil? against the parameter titled ?number of other terrorists under UNSCR 1373 for which a freeze order has been issued?.
The report says that India?s six casinos operating in Goa are not regulated for AMF and CFT. The implicit message is terrorists can thus easily channel funds through casinos in India as well as Nepal, which has also kept casinos out of the ambit of AML and CFT.
Minority vote-bank politics has delayed the enforcement of amended laws as well as amendment of other laws.
The outgoing UPA government is leaving the aam aadami and the nation highly vulnerable to terrorists, according to irrefutable evidence emerging from both within and outside the country.
What the aam aadami knows is that the Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh earlier this month rubbed shoulders with other Heads of State from the world?s most powerful group of 20 countries (G-20) in London.
What the public does not know the UPA government?s shameful record in preventing terrorism as assessed on the G-20 report card titled Measures to Combat the Financing of Terrorism?Summary of Country Measures.
It compares 19 countries and the European Union that collectively constitute the G-20 on 15 parameters. India?s performance on most crucial parameters is nothing but a scandal.
The UPA-led India scored ?nil? on three crucial parameters and ?No? on two other vital parameters.
The country scored ?nil? against the parameter regarding the number of Al-Qaida and Taliban terrorists listed under two United Nations Security Council Resolutions (UNSCR) 1333/1390 for which assets freeze order has been issued.
It is obvious that the United Progressive Alliance?s (UPA?s) obsession for minority community votes that compels it either go soft or drag feet against terrorism. Islamic countries such as Turkey and Saudi Arabia, on the other hand, don?t have such minority fixation. The latter thus reported 503 cases and the former 182 against this parameter.
India again scores ?nil? against the parameter titled ?number of other terrorists under UNSCR 1373 for which a freeze order has been issued?.
The report card assigns India zero on the issue of amount of assets accounts (of terrorists) frozen.
The country has been assigned a big ?No? against the query: ?Can freeze be simultaneously??
It again gets ?No? against the query titled specific risk-based measures in place to ensure that non-profit organisations (NPOs) cannot be abused for the financing of terrorism.
India?s laxity in the area of anti-money laundering (AML) and CFT has also been reported in an international study titled Vulnerabilities of Casinos and Gaming Sector, which was released a few days back.
The study has been prepared jointly by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and a global informal forum named Financial Action Task Force (FATF), which spearheads AML and countering the financing of terrorism (CFT) initiatives.
The report says that India?s six casinos operating in Goa are not regulated under AML and CFT.
The implicit message is terrorists can thus easily channel funds through casinos in India as well as Nepal, which have also kept casinos out of the ambit of AML and CFT.
Here it is pertinent to remind aam aadami about UPA?s half-heartedness in implementing recommendations from various government-constituted entities.
The Administrative Reforms Commission (ARC?s) recommendation on (CFT), for instance, has not been acted upon.
In its report submitted in June 2008, ARC recommended incorporation of a separate chapter in the ational Security Act (NSA) to provide legal framework for freezing assets including bank accounts in cases ?when there is reasonable suspicion of their intended use in terrorist activities?.
UPA government has to simply issue an ordinance to implement such a sage recommendation and thus avoid hundreds of terrorist-inflicted casualties in a year.
In its report on terrorism, ARC observed: ?When faced with the need to protect national security and integrity, there is ample justification for having strong anti-terrorism provisions in the law. In fact, many western countries with strong traditions of democracy and civil liberty have enacted such legislations to deal with the threat of terrorism.?
Similarly, the Law Commission had also recommended a water-tight and comprehensive definition of terrorism that should include raising funds for or fostering activities of the banned organisations. This and several other recommendations to protect the life and limb of aam aadami are contained in the Commission?s 173rd report on Prevention of Terrorism Bill that was submitted in April 2000.
Later, the BJP-led NDA government had enacted Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA), 2002 to deal with terrorism, whose legal definition included raising funds for terrorist activities.
As put by a General Manager of Training College, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in 2003, POTA ?seeks to deal with types of heinous crimes like subversion, insurgency and terrorism in place of the existing criminal justice system, which is not designed to deal with such horrific crimes. The Act replaces the Ordinance that was first promulgated on October 24, 2001 and re-promulgated thereafter in December 2001. The Act also meets the requirement of the United Nations resolution calling upon member nations to enact a model deterrent law to curb the growing menace of internal and global terrorism.?
Turning a blind eye to such independent assessment, UPA government repealed POTA due to compulsions of minority politics, thereby giving a major encouragement to terrorism in 2004.
Forget amending NSA, UPA government has not even framed rules under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Amendment Act 2008, which provides for punishment for raising funds for terrorist activities.
Same is the case with the Prevention of Money Laundering (Amendment) Act (PMLA), which was yet to be notified after its passage by both the houses of Parliament in January 2009. The amended law is supposed to counter financing of terrorism.
Minority vote-bank politics has delayed the enforcement of amended laws as well as amendment of other laws.
The UPA?s lack of political will to take on terrorism is also confirmed from its failure to replace outdated The Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 1976 with a new law, though the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) (FCR) Bill 2006 was prepared in 2006.
India would have won half its war against terrorism had it paid heed to advice from various international entities.
In 2003, Asian Development Bank (ADB), for instance, recommended: ?Countries should review the adequacy of laws and regulations that relate to entities that can be abused for the financing of terrorism. Non-profit organisations (NPOs) are particularly vulnerable, and countries should ensure that they cannot be misused by terrorist organisations posing as legitimate entities?
In its policy paper on combating money laundering and terrorist funding, ADB said terrorists can exploit legitimate entities as conduits for terrorist financing, including for the purpose of escaping asset freezing measures; and to conceal the clandestine diversion of funds intended for legitimate purposes to terrorist organisations.
The US Department of State, in its International Narcotics Control Strategy Report (INCSR), published in March 2009, has also raised alarm bell at the chinks in Indian legal framework in combating terrorism.
INCSR recommends: ?Given the number of terrorist attacks in India and the fact that in India hawala is directly linked to terrorist financing, the GOI (Government of India) should prioritize cooperation with international initiatives that provide increased transparency in alternative remittance systems. India should devote more law enforcement and customs resources to curb abuses in the diamond trade.?
Stressing the urgency for passing the FCR Bill 2006 to prevent terrorist financing through NPOs, the report says: ?GOI regulations governing charities remain antiquated and the process by which charities are governed at the provincial and regional levels is weak.?
Had the FCR bill been enacted into a law, India would have been to crack down on the channeling of terrorism funds through dubious non-government organisations (NGOs)/NPOs.
Had that been the case, India would have moved a step closer to membership of FATF, whose 40 AML recommendations and 9 CFT recommendations (40 plus 9) have become the global gold standard in tackling money laundering and terrorism funding.
The country at present participates in FATF only as an observer though it was invited to file an application for membership way back in 1998.
India is at present a member of two other regional FATF-type groups ? Asia Pacific Group (APG) and Egmont group.
Membership of FATF would not only help India strengthen its capability to take on terrorists but also strengthen its case to access vital data on thousands of crores of rupee of black money stashed away in foreign banks by rich businessmen and politicians in tax havens.
India?s readiness on AML-CFT front would be known only after 2nd independent assessment called ?mutual evaluation? jointly by APG and FATF in the fourth quarter of 2009.
The first such assessment by APG in 2005 found India?s non-compliant with several crucial (40 plus 9) recommendations.
As put by a Finance Ministry official, ?We had not covered all of what are called 20 serious predicate offences.?
The APG report said: ?India has not undertaken any comprehensive threat assessment of money laundering or terrorist financing. Its legislative efforts have been concentrated on fight tax evasion and the large black money component in its economy.?
It is thus not surprising to learn that finance amended the definition of ?suspicious transaction? in PMLA rules in May 2007 only to specifically provide for reporting of suspected transactions relating to terrorist financing.
The ministry?s anti-money laundering arm, Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), is also implementing leisurely its information technology project named FINnet, which was conceived in 2006.
It had twice invited bids for selection of system integrator for the project in 2008 and later extended the last date for submission of bids to January 7, 2009.
FINet is crucial for both AML and CFT initiatives. It, for instance, would be capable of automated detection of suspicious patterns using data mining tools. It would also deploy advanced trend analysis using business intelligence tools.
By the time India becomes fully compliant with 40 plus 9 recommendations, terrorists would continue to get funds easily to carry forward their agenda. Thousands of more aam aadamis would perhaps have to pay for UPA?s lack of political will to nip terrorism in the bud.
Bhay (Fear) Ho! Jai Ho!! Jai Ho!!!
G-20 slams India for going soft on terrorism
By Naresh Minocha
India scores ?nil? against the parameter titled ?number of other terrorists under UNSCR 1373 for which a freeze order has been issued?.
The report says that India?s six casinos operating in Goa are not regulated for AMF and CFT. The implicit message is terrorists can thus easily channel funds through casinos in India as well as Nepal, which has also kept casinos out of the ambit of AML and CFT.
Minority vote-bank politics has delayed the enforcement of amended laws as well as amendment of other laws.
The outgoing UPA government is leaving the aam aadami and the nation highly vulnerable to terrorists, according to irrefutable evidence emerging from both within and outside the country.
What the aam aadami knows is that the Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh earlier this month rubbed shoulders with other Heads of State from the world?s most powerful group of 20 countries (G-20) in London.
What the public does not know the UPA government?s shameful record in preventing terrorism as assessed on the G-20 report card titled Measures to Combat the Financing of Terrorism?Summary of Country Measures.
It compares 19 countries and the European Union that collectively constitute the G-20 on 15 parameters. India?s performance on most crucial parameters is nothing but a scandal.
The UPA-led India scored ?nil? on three crucial parameters and ?No? on two other vital parameters.
The country scored ?nil? against the parameter regarding the number of Al-Qaida and Taliban terrorists listed under two United Nations Security Council Resolutions (UNSCR) 1333/1390 for which assets freeze order has been issued.
It is obvious that the United Progressive Alliance?s (UPA?s) obsession for minority community votes that compels it either go soft or drag feet against terrorism. Islamic countries such as Turkey and Saudi Arabia, on the other hand, don?t have such minority fixation. The latter thus reported 503 cases and the former 182 against this parameter.
India again scores ?nil? against the parameter titled ?number of other terrorists under UNSCR 1373 for which a freeze order has been issued?.
The report card assigns India zero on the issue of amount of assets accounts (of terrorists) frozen.
The country has been assigned a big ?No? against the query: ?Can freeze be simultaneously??
It again gets ?No? against the query titled specific risk-based measures in place to ensure that non-profit organisations (NPOs) cannot be abused for the financing of terrorism.
India?s laxity in the area of anti-money laundering (AML) and CFT has also been reported in an international study titled Vulnerabilities of Casinos and Gaming Sector, which was released a few days back.
The study has been prepared jointly by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and a global informal forum named Financial Action Task Force (FATF), which spearheads AML and countering the financing of terrorism (CFT) initiatives.
The report says that India?s six casinos operating in Goa are not regulated under AML and CFT.
The implicit message is terrorists can thus easily channel funds through casinos in India as well as Nepal, which have also kept casinos out of the ambit of AML and CFT.
Here it is pertinent to remind aam aadami about UPA?s half-heartedness in implementing recommendations from various government-constituted entities.
The Administrative Reforms Commission (ARC?s) recommendation on (CFT), for instance, has not been acted upon.
In its report submitted in June 2008, ARC recommended incorporation of a separate chapter in the ational Security Act (NSA) to provide legal framework for freezing assets including bank accounts in cases ?when there is reasonable suspicion of their intended use in terrorist activities?.
UPA government has to simply issue an ordinance to implement such a sage recommendation and thus avoid hundreds of terrorist-inflicted casualties in a year.
In its report on terrorism, ARC observed: ?When faced with the need to protect national security and integrity, there is ample justification for having strong anti-terrorism provisions in the law. In fact, many western countries with strong traditions of democracy and civil liberty have enacted such legislations to deal with the threat of terrorism.?
Similarly, the Law Commission had also recommended a water-tight and comprehensive definition of terrorism that should include raising funds for or fostering activities of the banned organisations. This and several other recommendations to protect the life and limb of aam aadami are contained in the Commission?s 173rd report on Prevention of Terrorism Bill that was submitted in April 2000.
Later, the BJP-led NDA government had enacted Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA), 2002 to deal with terrorism, whose legal definition included raising funds for terrorist activities.
As put by a General Manager of Training College, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in 2003, POTA ?seeks to deal with types of heinous crimes like subversion, insurgency and terrorism in place of the existing criminal justice system, which is not designed to deal with such horrific crimes. The Act replaces the Ordinance that was first promulgated on October 24, 2001 and re-promulgated thereafter in December 2001. The Act also meets the requirement of the United Nations resolution calling upon member nations to enact a model deterrent law to curb the growing menace of internal and global terrorism.?
Turning a blind eye to such independent assessment, UPA government repealed POTA due to compulsions of minority politics, thereby giving a major encouragement to terrorism in 2004.
Forget amending NSA, UPA government has not even framed rules under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Amendment Act 2008, which provides for punishment for raising funds for terrorist activities.
Same is the case with the Prevention of Money Laundering (Amendment) Act (PMLA), which was yet to be notified after its passage by both the houses of Parliament in January 2009. The amended law is supposed to counter financing of terrorism.
Minority vote-bank politics has delayed the enforcement of amended laws as well as amendment of other laws.
The UPA?s lack of political will to take on terrorism is also confirmed from its failure to replace outdated The Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 1976 with a new law, though the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) (FCR) Bill 2006 was prepared in 2006.
India would have won half its war against terrorism had it paid heed to advice from various international entities.
In 2003, Asian Development Bank (ADB), for instance, recommended: ?Countries should review the adequacy of laws and regulations that relate to entities that can be abused for the financing of terrorism. Non-profit organisations (NPOs) are particularly vulnerable, and countries should ensure that they cannot be misused by terrorist organisations posing as legitimate entities?
In its policy paper on combating money laundering and terrorist funding, ADB said terrorists can exploit legitimate entities as conduits for terrorist financing, including for the purpose of escaping asset freezing measures; and to conceal the clandestine diversion of funds intended for legitimate purposes to terrorist organisations.
The US Department of State, in its International Narcotics Control Strategy Report (INCSR), published in March 2009, has also raised alarm bell at the chinks in Indian legal framework in combating terrorism.
INCSR recommends: ?Given the number of terrorist attacks in India and the fact that in India hawala is directly linked to terrorist financing, the GOI (Government of India) should prioritize cooperation with international initiatives that provide increased transparency in alternative remittance systems. India should devote more law enforcement and customs resources to curb abuses in the diamond trade.?
Stressing the urgency for passing the FCR Bill 2006 to prevent terrorist financing through NPOs, the report says: ?GOI regulations governing charities remain antiquated and the process by which charities are governed at the provincial and regional levels is weak.?
Had the FCR bill been enacted into a law, India would have been to crack down on the channeling of terrorism funds through dubious non-government organisations (NGOs)/NPOs.
Had that been the case, India would have moved a step closer to membership of FATF, whose 40 AML recommendations and 9 CFT recommendations (40 plus 9) have become the global gold standard in tackling money laundering and terrorism funding.
The country at present participates in FATF only as an observer though it was invited to file an application for membership way back in 1998.
India is at present a member of two other regional FATF-type groups ? Asia Pacific Group (APG) and Egmont group.
Membership of FATF would not only help India strengthen its capability to take on terrorists but also strengthen its case to access vital data on thousands of crores of rupee of black money stashed away in foreign banks by rich businessmen and politicians in tax havens.
India?s readiness on AML-CFT front would be known only after 2nd independent assessment called ?mutual evaluation? jointly by APG and FATF in the fourth quarter of 2009.
The first such assessment by APG in 2005 found India?s non-compliant with several crucial (40 plus 9) recommendations.
As put by a Finance Ministry official, ?We had not covered all of what are called 20 serious predicate offences.?
The APG report said: ?India has not undertaken any comprehensive threat assessment of money laundering or terrorist financing. Its legislative efforts have been concentrated on fight tax evasion and the large black money component in its economy.?
It is thus not surprising to learn that finance amended the definition of ?suspicious transaction? in PMLA rules in May 2007 only to specifically provide for reporting of suspected transactions relating to terrorist financing.
The ministry?s anti-money laundering arm, Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), is also implementing leisurely its information technology project named FINnet, which was conceived in 2006.
It had twice invited bids for selection of system integrator for the project in 2008 and later extended the last date for submission of bids to January 7, 2009.
FINet is crucial for both AML and CFT initiatives. It, for instance, would be capable of automated detection of suspicious patterns using data mining tools. It would also deploy advanced trend analysis using business intelligence tools.
By the time India becomes fully compliant with 40 plus 9 recommendations, terrorists would continue to get funds easily to carry forward their agenda. Thousands of more aam aadamis would perhaps have to pay for UPA?s lack of political will to nip terrorism in the bud.
Bhay (Fear) Ho! Jai Ho!! Jai Ho!!!
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
CPM’s Muslim reservation in West Bengal
CPM’s Muslim reservation in West Bengal
Challenged in Supreme Court
By Asim Kumar Mitra
The State government which has followed the recommendation of Justice Ranganath Mishra Commission Report, is not tenable here for the simple reason that the Commission’s report has only been submitted to the Parliament. But it has not yet been tabled in the Parliament for discussion let alone any decision taken on the matter. When the Central government has yet to take any decision on its implementation, how come that the State government could take any such decision?
PENDING Assembly elections of West Bengal, all political parties including CPM, INC, TMC etc. are busy appeasing the Muslim community in their own way. The ruling conglomerate of the State - CPM-led Left Front has outwitted other parties by offering extraordinary facilities of 10 per cent job reservation in government offices for the Muslims.
This has sparked off a strong State-wide reaction. They are of the opinion that after the judgment of the Apex Court prohibiting reservation on the basis religion in the case of Andhra Pradesh, the West Bengal government cannot take such decision. It is not only unethical, it is illegal.
One Joydeep Mukherjee has gone to the Supreme Court to lodge a Public Interest Litigation (PIL). The apex court has accepted the case. The constitution bench of the apex court headed by the Chief Justice S H Kapadia has admitted this case and they have fixed up the hearing date after Deepavali.
In the meantime State government officials have said that they have not yet received any notice from the Supreme Court. But they have information that such a PIL has been admitted by the Supreme Court. They have said that as they are aware of the judgment given in AP case regarding reservation on religious basis, they have taken all precautions so they could not be caught on wrong foot. They have claimed that the notification circulated by the State government in this regard on 24-2-2010 is a testimony for it. The government has minutely followed the recommendations of Justice Ranganath Mishra Commission report on minority. The State government officials have further pointed out that the Supreme Court, after admitting the PIL, did not stay the notification circulated by the State government.
But Joydeep Mukherjee has demanded that the State government circular has specifically mentioned that out of 108 OBC (Other Backward Classes) groups the State government has chosen only 56 OBC groups for providing with the facility of 10 per cent job reservation, and these groups are essentially Muslims. Of course, mention of one or two other community is also there. But with this they could not hide their ill motive behind this circular.
Mukherjee further mentioned that the State government which has followed the recommendation of Justice Ranganath Mishra Commission Report, is not tenable here for the simple reason that the Commission’s report has only been submitted to the Parliament. But it has not yet been tabled in the Parliament for discussion let alone any decision taken on the matter. When the Central government has yet to take any decision on its implementation, how come that the State government could take any such decision?
Hence it is obvious that the ruling conglomerate of the State is all out to take advantage of the situation without caring the constitutionality of the matter. He is confident that the Supreme Court will not allow this unconstitutional step to be implemented.
Challenged in Supreme Court
By Asim Kumar Mitra
The State government which has followed the recommendation of Justice Ranganath Mishra Commission Report, is not tenable here for the simple reason that the Commission’s report has only been submitted to the Parliament. But it has not yet been tabled in the Parliament for discussion let alone any decision taken on the matter. When the Central government has yet to take any decision on its implementation, how come that the State government could take any such decision?
PENDING Assembly elections of West Bengal, all political parties including CPM, INC, TMC etc. are busy appeasing the Muslim community in their own way. The ruling conglomerate of the State - CPM-led Left Front has outwitted other parties by offering extraordinary facilities of 10 per cent job reservation in government offices for the Muslims.
This has sparked off a strong State-wide reaction. They are of the opinion that after the judgment of the Apex Court prohibiting reservation on the basis religion in the case of Andhra Pradesh, the West Bengal government cannot take such decision. It is not only unethical, it is illegal.
One Joydeep Mukherjee has gone to the Supreme Court to lodge a Public Interest Litigation (PIL). The apex court has accepted the case. The constitution bench of the apex court headed by the Chief Justice S H Kapadia has admitted this case and they have fixed up the hearing date after Deepavali.
In the meantime State government officials have said that they have not yet received any notice from the Supreme Court. But they have information that such a PIL has been admitted by the Supreme Court. They have said that as they are aware of the judgment given in AP case regarding reservation on religious basis, they have taken all precautions so they could not be caught on wrong foot. They have claimed that the notification circulated by the State government in this regard on 24-2-2010 is a testimony for it. The government has minutely followed the recommendations of Justice Ranganath Mishra Commission report on minority. The State government officials have further pointed out that the Supreme Court, after admitting the PIL, did not stay the notification circulated by the State government.
But Joydeep Mukherjee has demanded that the State government circular has specifically mentioned that out of 108 OBC (Other Backward Classes) groups the State government has chosen only 56 OBC groups for providing with the facility of 10 per cent job reservation, and these groups are essentially Muslims. Of course, mention of one or two other community is also there. But with this they could not hide their ill motive behind this circular.
Mukherjee further mentioned that the State government which has followed the recommendation of Justice Ranganath Mishra Commission Report, is not tenable here for the simple reason that the Commission’s report has only been submitted to the Parliament. But it has not yet been tabled in the Parliament for discussion let alone any decision taken on the matter. When the Central government has yet to take any decision on its implementation, how come that the State government could take any such decision?
Hence it is obvious that the ruling conglomerate of the State is all out to take advantage of the situation without caring the constitutionality of the matter. He is confident that the Supreme Court will not allow this unconstitutional step to be implemented.
Obama visiting Tomb
This is UPA secularism
Veil on Hindu India, minority extravagance
By Dr R Balashankar
Arriving a day after Deepawali, the UPA government could have shown the visiting dignitaries how the festival lights up the city and hearts of people. A trip to Jantar Mantar would have gladdened the President. For a modern architectural wonder, a private initiative, Akshardam temple would have given him the fragrance of India.
THE government’s handling of the visit of US President Barack Obama and his wife set yet another black milestone in the UPA’s track of undermining the Hindu ethos of India.
The government selectively showcased places and people that had no touch of Hindu. The visiting dignitary was taken to a mausoleum first thing when he arrived. Can there be a more inappropriate beginning to a trip? And that mausoleum happened to be that of an invader ruler who laid the foundations of Islamic rule in this country. Was that the reason that spot was chosen? So far we had not heard that Humayun Tomb was such an architectural splendour. Is Humayun’s tomb an architectural marvel or is Humayun considered historically such a tall person? To our understanding neither is the case.
The minister in waiting was Salman Khurshid, again the question why? The answer seems to be that he is a Muslim, more importantly not a Hindu.
In fact, as though to compensate for the UPA’s indiscretion or deliberate ignoring of India’s rich cultural history and heritage, Obama reminded our MPs about the greatness of our nation. ‘You invented the zero’ he said. ‘You unlocked the intricacies of the human body and the vastness of our universe’ he highlighted.
Arriving a day after Deepawali, the UPA government could have shown the visiting dignitaries how the festival lights up the city and hearts of people. A trip to Jantar Mantar would have gladdened the President. For a modern architectural wonder, a private initiative, Akshardam temple would have given him the fragrance of India. The President could have been taken to Chandni Chowk where Guru Teg Bahadur laid his life down in protecting the cause of the Hindus, taking on the emperor Aurangzeb. It would have sent the message of our courage and zero-tolerance to terror.
The list of people who were invited to the official dinner also was queer. Shabana Azmi and her husband Javed Akhtar, A R Rehman, Amir Khan, and the list goes on in these lines. It was as though the government, led by a selected Sikh PM and controlled by a Catholic Christian wanted to give a message to the US President, that India today is dominated in all spheres by non-Hindus.
Obama and his wife were introduced to Indian music, only it turned out to be the Christian choir from Meghalaya.
At the hotel, girls decked up as brides received the President. What a vulgar gesture! Brides are decked up to receive their husbands-to-be, not some stranger, and definitely not a respected visitor. If only someone had told Obama this, he might have had second thoughts accepting the welcome. And the hotel prides itself in ‘reserving’ this welcome to ‘special dignitaries.’
In fact ever since the UPA took over, both its first and second versions, there has been a systematic attempt to deny the nation its Hindu character. Does anyone recall the last time Deepawali and Holi were celebrated in the official residence of the Prime Minister?
On the eve of the Commonwealth games, newspapers took out sponsored supplements on the landmarks of Delhi. All the sites mentioned were mausoleums of known and unknown Muslims. There was not even a mention anywhere that the first city of Delhi was created by the Pandavas or there is a Delhi from which Prithviraj Chauhan ruled.
William Darlymple in his book City of Djinns has wondered why the Archaeological Survey of India never made any attempt to excavate the area that was known as Indraprastha. The Purana Quila region, including where the Pragati Maidan stands today are full of potential archaeological evidences that would throw light on the connection to Mahabharata.
In the last term, UPA closed the Saraswati exploration project. The Dwarka underwater exploration, a pet project of Indira Gandhi was never taken to its logical conclusion.
An on-going exhibition in the heart of the capital, Delhi-The Heritage City has no space for the Hindu heritage. It is full of tombs and mausoleums. Hindus celebrate life, worship the dead in spirit. But never make them a showcase to tread on.
Veil on Hindu India, minority extravagance
By Dr R Balashankar
Arriving a day after Deepawali, the UPA government could have shown the visiting dignitaries how the festival lights up the city and hearts of people. A trip to Jantar Mantar would have gladdened the President. For a modern architectural wonder, a private initiative, Akshardam temple would have given him the fragrance of India.
THE government’s handling of the visit of US President Barack Obama and his wife set yet another black milestone in the UPA’s track of undermining the Hindu ethos of India.
The government selectively showcased places and people that had no touch of Hindu. The visiting dignitary was taken to a mausoleum first thing when he arrived. Can there be a more inappropriate beginning to a trip? And that mausoleum happened to be that of an invader ruler who laid the foundations of Islamic rule in this country. Was that the reason that spot was chosen? So far we had not heard that Humayun Tomb was such an architectural splendour. Is Humayun’s tomb an architectural marvel or is Humayun considered historically such a tall person? To our understanding neither is the case.
The minister in waiting was Salman Khurshid, again the question why? The answer seems to be that he is a Muslim, more importantly not a Hindu.
In fact, as though to compensate for the UPA’s indiscretion or deliberate ignoring of India’s rich cultural history and heritage, Obama reminded our MPs about the greatness of our nation. ‘You invented the zero’ he said. ‘You unlocked the intricacies of the human body and the vastness of our universe’ he highlighted.
Arriving a day after Deepawali, the UPA government could have shown the visiting dignitaries how the festival lights up the city and hearts of people. A trip to Jantar Mantar would have gladdened the President. For a modern architectural wonder, a private initiative, Akshardam temple would have given him the fragrance of India. The President could have been taken to Chandni Chowk where Guru Teg Bahadur laid his life down in protecting the cause of the Hindus, taking on the emperor Aurangzeb. It would have sent the message of our courage and zero-tolerance to terror.
The list of people who were invited to the official dinner also was queer. Shabana Azmi and her husband Javed Akhtar, A R Rehman, Amir Khan, and the list goes on in these lines. It was as though the government, led by a selected Sikh PM and controlled by a Catholic Christian wanted to give a message to the US President, that India today is dominated in all spheres by non-Hindus.
Obama and his wife were introduced to Indian music, only it turned out to be the Christian choir from Meghalaya.
At the hotel, girls decked up as brides received the President. What a vulgar gesture! Brides are decked up to receive their husbands-to-be, not some stranger, and definitely not a respected visitor. If only someone had told Obama this, he might have had second thoughts accepting the welcome. And the hotel prides itself in ‘reserving’ this welcome to ‘special dignitaries.’
In fact ever since the UPA took over, both its first and second versions, there has been a systematic attempt to deny the nation its Hindu character. Does anyone recall the last time Deepawali and Holi were celebrated in the official residence of the Prime Minister?
On the eve of the Commonwealth games, newspapers took out sponsored supplements on the landmarks of Delhi. All the sites mentioned were mausoleums of known and unknown Muslims. There was not even a mention anywhere that the first city of Delhi was created by the Pandavas or there is a Delhi from which Prithviraj Chauhan ruled.
William Darlymple in his book City of Djinns has wondered why the Archaeological Survey of India never made any attempt to excavate the area that was known as Indraprastha. The Purana Quila region, including where the Pragati Maidan stands today are full of potential archaeological evidences that would throw light on the connection to Mahabharata.
In the last term, UPA closed the Saraswati exploration project. The Dwarka underwater exploration, a pet project of Indira Gandhi was never taken to its logical conclusion.
An on-going exhibition in the heart of the capital, Delhi-The Heritage City has no space for the Hindu heritage. It is full of tombs and mausoleums. Hindus celebrate life, worship the dead in spirit. But never make them a showcase to tread on.
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