IN order to promote the feeling of social harmony and apprise the devotees of the rich traditions of Sikh Gurus, the Rashtriya Sikh Sangat organised various camps in Haridwar Mahakumbh from March 21 to April 18. The langar and boarding arrangements were made at the huge premises of 12 bighas at Nirmal Virakta Kutia near Prem Nagar Ashram Chowk. Around 5000 people in normal days and over 10,000 on the days of Shahi snan had prasad at the langar.
In the medical camp organised under the banner of Bhai Kanhaiyaji, from 3000 to 4000 patients were treated every day. A huge exhibition displaying the rich sacrificial traditions of Sikh Gurus was also organised at this premises. More than five lakh people including the devotees from Bangladesh, Nepal, America, Canada, France, Italy, Sri Lanka, Japan, Hong Kong etc. not only had langar but also visited the exhibition. The Sikh Sangat workers from 28 Prants also visited the camps.
Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Dr Raman Singh and many of his cabinet colleagues, former Union Law Minister Dr Subramanian Swamy, National Executive Member of RSS Shri Madhubhai Kulkarni, VHP general secretary (organisation) Shri Dinesh Chandra, VHP vice president Shri Balkrishna Naik, founder of Sikh Sangat Sardar Chiranjiv Singh, Sikh Sangat national president Sardar Gurucharan Singh Gill and many others were also present at the inaugural ceremony.
A Kavi Darbar was organised at Neeldhara Pandal in which many leading poets including Shri Nirala from Punjab, Shri Sajan, Shri Mohan Singh Mohani, Shri Divana, Dr Dayashankar Vidyalankar, Dr Buddhadev Sharma, etc. recited their poems.
National president of Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad Mahant Gyandas Maharaj was the chief guest at the concluding ceremony. He lauded the activities of the Sikh Sangat. Shrimahant of Nirmal Akhara Sant Shri Gyandev, representative of Sri Sri Ravi Shanakar Guruji Shri Bhanuji Maharaj, Mahamandaleshwar Shri Hansdevacharya Maharaj also blessed the devotees.
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Catholic clergy want all Christians under Congress tent
By Arun Lakshman from Thiruvananthapuram
Catholic clergy forces Kerala Congress (Joseph) to merge with Kerala Congress (Mani) and join Congress led UDF
However the Congress camp led by Oomen Chandy is not happy at the merger between the Kerala Congress groups as the party knows that there would be bargain for more seats to the Assembly and impossible demands for plum postings for the cadres and second rung leaders will create new fissures.
THE Catholic clergy is again getting active in Kerala .The Catholic clergy which was instrumental in ousting the first communist government in the State in 1957 and has always been a major bargaining power in the political landscape of the State is now in the process of unifying the Kerala Congress splinter groups to enter into a major bargaining position in the run-up to the 2011 Assembly elections and in the new government to be formed.
The Kerala Congress (Joseph) group which has been an old ally with the LDF is now in the process of merging the party with the Kerala Congress (Mani) led by the veteran leader KM Mani. Sources in both the parties told Organiser that it was at the behest of the Catholic church that both the leaders, who were bitter opponents, buried their differences of opinion and decided to merge into the Kerala Congress. The former Arch Bishop of Changanachery and one of the most respected voices in the Catholic community Mar Joseph Powathil has initiated the discussion between the two groups on behalf of the Catholic church .
The Kerala Congress(Joseph) group chairman PJ Joseph is now a minister in the CPI-M led LDF government and sources said that he would put in his papers in a day or two .The Chief Minister is also, according to CPI-M sources, calling for the resignation of Joseph after reports have started appearing in local media about the merger of the two Kerala Congress entities .
The Kerala Congress (Mani) has now eight MLAs in the State Assembly while the Kerala Congress (Joseph) has four MLAs. After the merger, the Kerala Congress party would be the biggest block in the UDF after the Congress pushing Indian Union Muslim League to the third spot. The IUML has seven MLAs.
The Kothamangalam Arch Bishop and the Pala Arch Bishop were also instrumental in the discussions to bring both the Kerala Congress groups together and sources told this correspondent that these discussions were first held at the Divine Retreat Centre at Muringoor at the behest of Mar Joseph Powathil.
However the Congress camp led by Oomen Chandy is not all that happy at the merger between the Kerala Congress groups as the party knows that there would be bargain for more seats to the Assembly and demands would throng for plum postings for the cadres and second rung leaders. They have to be accommodated into several corporations and boards.
Sources also indicated that the Congress party has already communicated with both Mani and Joseph that they would have to share the total number of seats allocated and that there should not be a fresh demand for more seats showing the collective bargain power. However the Congress leaders in private do admit that they may have to make some compromises as there could be a huge demand from the unified Kerala Congress party for more seats. With the Catholic church supporting the unity move there could be a landslide victory for the UDF in the 2011 Assembly elections and this idea of a major victory for the UDF would be one reason for the Congress to soft pedal in the issue .
However the estranged Kerala Congress (Joseph) leader PC Thomas has announced that a section of the party would continue with the LDF and that there would be Kerala Congress representation in the present LDF government even if PJ Joseph walks out of the LDF. This has given rise to speculation that the lone non Christian Kerala Congress MLA V Surendran Pillai may continue in the LDF and become a minister in place of PJ Joseph.
Catholic clergy forces Kerala Congress (Joseph) to merge with Kerala Congress (Mani) and join Congress led UDF
However the Congress camp led by Oomen Chandy is not happy at the merger between the Kerala Congress groups as the party knows that there would be bargain for more seats to the Assembly and impossible demands for plum postings for the cadres and second rung leaders will create new fissures.
THE Catholic clergy is again getting active in Kerala .The Catholic clergy which was instrumental in ousting the first communist government in the State in 1957 and has always been a major bargaining power in the political landscape of the State is now in the process of unifying the Kerala Congress splinter groups to enter into a major bargaining position in the run-up to the 2011 Assembly elections and in the new government to be formed.
The Kerala Congress (Joseph) group which has been an old ally with the LDF is now in the process of merging the party with the Kerala Congress (Mani) led by the veteran leader KM Mani. Sources in both the parties told Organiser that it was at the behest of the Catholic church that both the leaders, who were bitter opponents, buried their differences of opinion and decided to merge into the Kerala Congress. The former Arch Bishop of Changanachery and one of the most respected voices in the Catholic community Mar Joseph Powathil has initiated the discussion between the two groups on behalf of the Catholic church .
The Kerala Congress(Joseph) group chairman PJ Joseph is now a minister in the CPI-M led LDF government and sources said that he would put in his papers in a day or two .The Chief Minister is also, according to CPI-M sources, calling for the resignation of Joseph after reports have started appearing in local media about the merger of the two Kerala Congress entities .
The Kerala Congress (Mani) has now eight MLAs in the State Assembly while the Kerala Congress (Joseph) has four MLAs. After the merger, the Kerala Congress party would be the biggest block in the UDF after the Congress pushing Indian Union Muslim League to the third spot. The IUML has seven MLAs.
The Kothamangalam Arch Bishop and the Pala Arch Bishop were also instrumental in the discussions to bring both the Kerala Congress groups together and sources told this correspondent that these discussions were first held at the Divine Retreat Centre at Muringoor at the behest of Mar Joseph Powathil.
However the Congress camp led by Oomen Chandy is not all that happy at the merger between the Kerala Congress groups as the party knows that there would be bargain for more seats to the Assembly and demands would throng for plum postings for the cadres and second rung leaders. They have to be accommodated into several corporations and boards.
Sources also indicated that the Congress party has already communicated with both Mani and Joseph that they would have to share the total number of seats allocated and that there should not be a fresh demand for more seats showing the collective bargain power. However the Congress leaders in private do admit that they may have to make some compromises as there could be a huge demand from the unified Kerala Congress party for more seats. With the Catholic church supporting the unity move there could be a landslide victory for the UDF in the 2011 Assembly elections and this idea of a major victory for the UDF would be one reason for the Congress to soft pedal in the issue .
However the estranged Kerala Congress (Joseph) leader PC Thomas has announced that a section of the party would continue with the LDF and that there would be Kerala Congress representation in the present LDF government even if PJ Joseph walks out of the LDF. This has given rise to speculation that the lone non Christian Kerala Congress MLA V Surendran Pillai may continue in the LDF and become a minister in place of PJ Joseph.
Hindu villagers attacked by Muslim mafia in Birbhum
Hindu villagers attacked by Muslim mafia in Birbhum, West Bengal
SURI: One person was killed and several others were injured in a clash at several Hindu tribal-dominated villages in Birbhum’s Mohammad Bazaar, the heart of the stone mining belt on April 29, 2010.
A mob, reportedly backed by the local stone crushers and mine owners (all Muslims), launched an attack on the Hindu villages early in the morning. The attack was reportedly in retaliation to the killing of a corrupt Muslim stone crusher supervisor on April 26, 2010.
The Hindu villages have seen simmering tension for the past couple of months, with villagers alleging that poor tribals were exploited and their land snatched away by the Muslims in the stone-crushing industry. They had also been complaining that villagers were often injured during blasting in stone mines. Also, there has been rampant complaints of Hindu women being attacked and assaulted by Muslim activists along the whole mining belt in West Bengal and Jharkhand.
On April 26, night, a supervisor of a stone crushing unit, Basirul Seikh (50, a Muslim and known Hindu baiter), was killed by a group of villagers at Talbandi. Though Basirul worked in a stone product company, he recently procured a plot of land to set up a stone mine in the area. His brother, Jamirul, alleged that his elder brother was summoned to resolve a dispute over the plot with some locals. He reached the house of one Debu Hansda, with whom he was acquainted. Suddenly, a group of armed villagers attacked Basirul and hacked him to death. Both the brothers were involved in various anti-social activities and often conspired with Muslims in the area to torture and molest local Hindu tribal women.
Early on April 26, morning, thousands of people-labourers and villagers backed by stone crushing unit owners-gathered at a place near Sagarbandi village, said police. The heavily armed mob rushed to Talbandi and Sagarbandi, which is dominated by Santhal tribals. More than 100 thatched houses were set on fire, people were dragged out of their homes and beaten up mercilessly and bombs hurled indiscriminately. Women were molested and raped, children were not spared.
Though it took some time for the initial shock to go away, the tribal Hindu victims-numbering thousands-regrouped and started attacking the nearby stone crusher units, many of them owned by Muslim mining mafia bosses. A weighbridge and some crushers were set ablaze. The situation was so tense that police could not enter the trouble zone initially. It was only after six hours that senior officers - District Magistrate Saumitra Mohan, DIG, Burdwan range, Jagmohan, SP Rabindranath Mukherjee and ASP Farhat Abbas - managed to get in with force backup.
The angry tribals surrounded them for some time. Two injured Hindu men-Mangala Murdi and Kabiraj Murmu, who received serious bomb injuries-were taken to Suri hospital in serious condition. A large team- including combat force and EFR jawans-was deployed in the area, but stray clashes continued to occur in some areas. The forces discovered the body of a Hindu villager, Motilal Tudu, from Sagarbandhi.
The media, too, was not allowed into the villages. A cameraperson who tried to enter was chased out. The District Magistrate said: "We are discussing the situation with villagers. The villagers are cooperating with us." When asked whether they were encircled by the villagers, he denied it.
The District Magistrate said that they would distribute relief materials and the district administration would help the villagers to reconstruct the destroyed homes.
Najir Hossain Mallik (a known Islamist), the president of Panchami Stone Mines and Owners Association, said: "We, the owners, were not at all involved in the attack. We have requested the administration to bring back peace at any cost." Mallik is known as ‘Mr Terror’ in the area and the non-Muslim crowd in the area has expressed serious concerns about this man and his unholy Islamic nexus.
SURI: One person was killed and several others were injured in a clash at several Hindu tribal-dominated villages in Birbhum’s Mohammad Bazaar, the heart of the stone mining belt on April 29, 2010.
A mob, reportedly backed by the local stone crushers and mine owners (all Muslims), launched an attack on the Hindu villages early in the morning. The attack was reportedly in retaliation to the killing of a corrupt Muslim stone crusher supervisor on April 26, 2010.
The Hindu villages have seen simmering tension for the past couple of months, with villagers alleging that poor tribals were exploited and their land snatched away by the Muslims in the stone-crushing industry. They had also been complaining that villagers were often injured during blasting in stone mines. Also, there has been rampant complaints of Hindu women being attacked and assaulted by Muslim activists along the whole mining belt in West Bengal and Jharkhand.
On April 26, night, a supervisor of a stone crushing unit, Basirul Seikh (50, a Muslim and known Hindu baiter), was killed by a group of villagers at Talbandi. Though Basirul worked in a stone product company, he recently procured a plot of land to set up a stone mine in the area. His brother, Jamirul, alleged that his elder brother was summoned to resolve a dispute over the plot with some locals. He reached the house of one Debu Hansda, with whom he was acquainted. Suddenly, a group of armed villagers attacked Basirul and hacked him to death. Both the brothers were involved in various anti-social activities and often conspired with Muslims in the area to torture and molest local Hindu tribal women.
Early on April 26, morning, thousands of people-labourers and villagers backed by stone crushing unit owners-gathered at a place near Sagarbandi village, said police. The heavily armed mob rushed to Talbandi and Sagarbandi, which is dominated by Santhal tribals. More than 100 thatched houses were set on fire, people were dragged out of their homes and beaten up mercilessly and bombs hurled indiscriminately. Women were molested and raped, children were not spared.
Though it took some time for the initial shock to go away, the tribal Hindu victims-numbering thousands-regrouped and started attacking the nearby stone crusher units, many of them owned by Muslim mining mafia bosses. A weighbridge and some crushers were set ablaze. The situation was so tense that police could not enter the trouble zone initially. It was only after six hours that senior officers - District Magistrate Saumitra Mohan, DIG, Burdwan range, Jagmohan, SP Rabindranath Mukherjee and ASP Farhat Abbas - managed to get in with force backup.
The angry tribals surrounded them for some time. Two injured Hindu men-Mangala Murdi and Kabiraj Murmu, who received serious bomb injuries-were taken to Suri hospital in serious condition. A large team- including combat force and EFR jawans-was deployed in the area, but stray clashes continued to occur in some areas. The forces discovered the body of a Hindu villager, Motilal Tudu, from Sagarbandhi.
The media, too, was not allowed into the villages. A cameraperson who tried to enter was chased out. The District Magistrate said: "We are discussing the situation with villagers. The villagers are cooperating with us." When asked whether they were encircled by the villagers, he denied it.
The District Magistrate said that they would distribute relief materials and the district administration would help the villagers to reconstruct the destroyed homes.
Najir Hossain Mallik (a known Islamist), the president of Panchami Stone Mines and Owners Association, said: "We, the owners, were not at all involved in the attack. We have requested the administration to bring back peace at any cost." Mallik is known as ‘Mr Terror’ in the area and the non-Muslim crowd in the area has expressed serious concerns about this man and his unholy Islamic nexus.
Children fathered by Holy Fathers to sue Church!
By John Folain and Bojan Pancevski
The Church, already reeling under a series of scandals, faces a new battle over the children of priests. Many former lovers and their offspring are preparing to mount lawsuits.
ROME/VIENNA: When Pat Bond told her lover Henry Willenborg, a Franciscan priest, she was pregnant, he urged her to have an abortion. Bond, who was 28, had a miscarriage, then became pregnant again. This time Willenborg’s superiors urged her to give up the child for adoption. Bond kept the child but agreed to a vow of silence. In a signed contract with the Catholic Church, she undertook to keep the priest’s identity secret in exchange for financial support for her son, Nathan.
In America, Britain, Ireland, Germany, France, Italy and Austria, women made pregnant by priests have signed such pledges in exchange for hush money from the Church.
The Church, already reeling under a series of scandals, faces a new battle over the children of priests. Many former lovers and their offspring are preparing to mount lawsuits.
Bond was 25 when she started a five-year relationship with Willenborg in 1983, after going to him for marriage counselling. He kissed her passionately as she left his parlour, she left her husband. After Bond became pregnant for the second time in 1986, Willenborg’s order, the Order of Friars Minor, offered her $50,000 and a confidentiality contract. "They said: ‘Take this money, sign this contract and you’ll have support for your child’. I signed," said Bond. She broke her vow last year after the Franciscans refused to meet part of the cost of treatment for Nathan, then 22, who died in November from a brain tumour.
When Willenborg’s liaisons with Bond, now 53, and another woman became public, the priest was suspended from his parish in Ashland, Wisconsin.
He was treated for sex addiction, then returned to his pastoral duties. Catherine Schroeder, a St Louis lawyer for the Order of Friars Minor, declined to comment. Willenborg and the order failed to return calls and emails.
Other cases are reaching the American courts. In Maryland, two children of the late Father Francis Ryan are filing a lawsuit against their local archdiocese and a religious order for $10 million after discovering through DNA tests that he was their father.
Carla Latty, 58, and Adrian Senna, 65, say Ryan never admitted he was their father or made any payments to their late mother. Senna was sent to an orphanage, while Latty was put up for adoption.
Cait Finnegan, of the Good Tidings association, an American charity for priests and their lovers, has been contacted by nearly 2,000 women who had relationships with priests. She said one pregnant friend had been told by a bishop to "get rid of the child" - a comment she took to mean she should have an abortion.
The woman kept the baby.
Thousands of priests in German-speaking countries are believed to have fathered children. Paul Zuhlener, an Austrian theologian, has estimated that up to 22 per cent of Austrian priests have sexual relationships.
In Britain, Adrianna Alsworth, who has two children by a priest and runs the Sonflowers helpline for those who have had relationships with priests, said she knew of several women who had been offered confidentiality contracts in return for child support. "The children aren’t given an opportunity to have a normal family life, and they suffer," she said.
(Courtesy: Sunday Times, London April 19, 2010)
The Church, already reeling under a series of scandals, faces a new battle over the children of priests. Many former lovers and their offspring are preparing to mount lawsuits.
ROME/VIENNA: When Pat Bond told her lover Henry Willenborg, a Franciscan priest, she was pregnant, he urged her to have an abortion. Bond, who was 28, had a miscarriage, then became pregnant again. This time Willenborg’s superiors urged her to give up the child for adoption. Bond kept the child but agreed to a vow of silence. In a signed contract with the Catholic Church, she undertook to keep the priest’s identity secret in exchange for financial support for her son, Nathan.
In America, Britain, Ireland, Germany, France, Italy and Austria, women made pregnant by priests have signed such pledges in exchange for hush money from the Church.
The Church, already reeling under a series of scandals, faces a new battle over the children of priests. Many former lovers and their offspring are preparing to mount lawsuits.
Bond was 25 when she started a five-year relationship with Willenborg in 1983, after going to him for marriage counselling. He kissed her passionately as she left his parlour, she left her husband. After Bond became pregnant for the second time in 1986, Willenborg’s order, the Order of Friars Minor, offered her $50,000 and a confidentiality contract. "They said: ‘Take this money, sign this contract and you’ll have support for your child’. I signed," said Bond. She broke her vow last year after the Franciscans refused to meet part of the cost of treatment for Nathan, then 22, who died in November from a brain tumour.
When Willenborg’s liaisons with Bond, now 53, and another woman became public, the priest was suspended from his parish in Ashland, Wisconsin.
He was treated for sex addiction, then returned to his pastoral duties. Catherine Schroeder, a St Louis lawyer for the Order of Friars Minor, declined to comment. Willenborg and the order failed to return calls and emails.
Other cases are reaching the American courts. In Maryland, two children of the late Father Francis Ryan are filing a lawsuit against their local archdiocese and a religious order for $10 million after discovering through DNA tests that he was their father.
Carla Latty, 58, and Adrian Senna, 65, say Ryan never admitted he was their father or made any payments to their late mother. Senna was sent to an orphanage, while Latty was put up for adoption.
Cait Finnegan, of the Good Tidings association, an American charity for priests and their lovers, has been contacted by nearly 2,000 women who had relationships with priests. She said one pregnant friend had been told by a bishop to "get rid of the child" - a comment she took to mean she should have an abortion.
The woman kept the baby.
Thousands of priests in German-speaking countries are believed to have fathered children. Paul Zuhlener, an Austrian theologian, has estimated that up to 22 per cent of Austrian priests have sexual relationships.
In Britain, Adrianna Alsworth, who has two children by a priest and runs the Sonflowers helpline for those who have had relationships with priests, said she knew of several women who had been offered confidentiality contracts in return for child support. "The children aren’t given an opportunity to have a normal family life, and they suffer," she said.
(Courtesy: Sunday Times, London April 19, 2010)
The annual ritual of greeting on the new year
How many new years do we have?
By Ram Gopal Ratnam
Most of our festivals are lunar based and are located in lunar calendar. The earth’s movement around the Sun is not cognizable for a common man. We can infer the same by observing the climatic changes. We can merely know it is winter or summer or rainy season. All these are solar phenomenons. It is a matter for the scientists or the Astro mathematicians who computes the Panchang. The solar calendar can be called a scientist’s calendar. Festivals are common man’s domain.
There was one GU Pope in Tamil Nadu in the 15th century. He was a European Christian pastor. He learnt Tamil and interpreted, rather misinterpreted the Tamil literature and sowed the seeds of separatism. Karunanidhi and other Tamil ‘scholars’ quote him for all their separatist ideologies. The British, under the chairmanship of Macaulay, layed the trap (and it is a well laid trap) and all our leaders, administrators, teachers and other ‘intellectuals’ have innocently, ignorantly, foolishly or wilfully fallen in the trap.
EVERY year we witness a ritual of the political leaders right from the Prime Minister down to city Mayor wishing the people for a happy new year. The Tamils for a Tamil new year, the Bengalis for a Bengali new year, the Malayalies for a Malayali new year, the Assamese for an Assami new year. and believe me, all fall on the same day. Simple logic tells me that if it is new year for so many regions, it has to be a single, common new year and not different new years. Yet, thanks to Goebbels, this falsehood has percolated down and now newspapers, teachers, temples and social organisations have joined senseless chorus. The effect? A common Tamilian has started to believe that it is Tamil’s new year. Now, it has gone beyond mere belief. He firmly knows that it is Tamil’s new year. Is it so? Is it Tamil new year or a Bengali new year or an Assami new year or would you call January 1st as American new year, British new year, French new year, Australian new year? No. It is just Christian new year and is the new year wherever the Christians live.
What is a new year day? It is the first day of a calendar. There are many calendars, the Christian or Gregorian calendar, the Muslim calendar, the Chinese calendar, etc. Basically, there are two types of calendars, the solar and the lunar. The solar one is based on the Earth’s rotation around the Sun and the lunar is based on the Moon’s rotation around the Earth. These two calendars are different as these have different basis for calculation. The Christian calendar is solar and the Muslim one is lunar and we, the Hindus have both. This so-called ‘Tamil’ new year is a Hindu solar calendar and the other one, which is ignorantly called Telugu new year by all the ‘great’ leaders in Tamil Nadu and a Marathi new year by the same catagory of leaders in the North, is actually Hindu lunar calendar.
Let me elaborate. Why do you need a calendar? To know your festivals. When is the Christmas? December 25th. Where did you find it? In the Christian calendar of course. You can not find it in the Muslim calendar. This year it is on the 13th of the month called Moharram. Next year, it will fall in the month of Julhej. It will be a different month every year. Can you locate the Deepavali day in the Christian calendar? You can not? It may fall in October or November. It was in October last year and this year it will be in November. You have to refer to the lunar calendar to know the Deepavali date. It falls on Ashwin Amavasya day.
Which are the festivals celebrated in Tamil Nadu? The same as those celebrated in other parts of our nation. The Deepavali, Vijayadashami, Navaratri, Ramnavami, Skanda Sasti, Gokulashtami, Ganesh Chaturthi, Maha Shivaratri, Vaikuntha Ekadashi, Shravan Poornima, etc. etc. I challange you to locate any of these festival days in the so-called ‘Tamil’ calendar. You can not, because this calendar is solar based and all these festivals fall on lunar days like Sashti, Ashtami, Navami, Amavasya, Poornima. How sad that a community has a calendar of its own, but all its major festivals have to be located from the calendar of a different community, the Telugu calendar in this instance?
It is not Tamil calendar or Telugu calendar. It is a Hindu solar calendar and a Hindu lunar calendar. Most of our festivals are lunar based and are located in lunar calendar. The Earth’s movement around the Sun is not cognizable for a common man. We can infer the same by observing the climatic changes. We can merely know it is winter or summer or rainy season. All these are solar phenomenons. It is a matter for the scientist or the Astro mathematician who computes the Panchang. The solar calendar can be called a scientist’s calendar. Festivals are common man’s domain. You need a more ‘user-friendly’ calendar. The lunar movement is visible. Even a lay man can observe and understand the lunar movement. You have to just observe the sky and do some simple calculations and you can arrive at the festival days. So, you can call this common man’s calendar.
Both are Hindu calendars. Both are referred to and used in all parts of our nation. All the major festivals are to be found in the lunar calendar, except Makara Sankranti. This is an important festival for all Hindus and is found in the solar calendar. The ‘Kumbh’, Uttarayana and Dakshinayana Punya Kala, and monthly Pitru Tarpanam on every Sankranti day (Sankranti is the 1st of a solar month and makara sankranti is the 1st of the month called Makara.) are the other special days in the solar calendar. These are special not only to the Tamils, but to all the Hindus, throughout the length and breadth of Bharat. Is not Makara Sankranti an important festival for the Marathis? How is it that they do not have it in their calendar and have to reach out to the ‘Tamil calendar’ for finding it? It is neither Marathi calendar nor Tamil calendar, but just lunar and solar calendars.
Our formal education system does not teach these subjects which help us to know who we are. Long after Independance in 1947, we continue to churn out Mc’Caulay-putras from our schools. In my school days, Avani Avittam fell in the month of Aadi. Aavani Avittam is Shravan Poornima and Aavani and Aadi are names of fourth and fifth solar months. How can Aavani Avittam fall in the month of Aadi? It is like celebrating October revolution in November or Good Friday falling on a Thursday. This simple question arose in my childish mind and I used to ask many of my teachers, the social leaders in Tamil community. Unfortunately, none were able to give me a convincing answer. I had three options before me. I could have concluded that our ancestors were ignorant. I could have ignored and forgotten the question and concentrated on more practical things like career building, money making, etc. I could have pondered over the question spending restless moments till I found an answer. I chose the third option and was awestruck by the genius of our ancestors. The western mind wants to standardise everything. Uni-sex clothing, Uniform (American) breakfasts, uniform way of worship, uniform structures. It can not comprehend variety. It is not mature enough to appreciate more complex things. It wants to simplify everything. Many of our own English-educated are in the same mind frame. Nature is full of variety and is very complex. It requires a more mature mind and higher intelligence to understand, even appreciate complexities.
Our nation has nourished variety in every walk of life. We have so many ways of wearing our Dhoti and saree. (I’ve found 28 ways of wearing a saree in Tamil Nadu.) We have so many languages and dialects. Recipes? We do not have an Indian food. These words south Indian food and north Indian food are misnomers. There is no Tamil food either. The food system varies from community to community and region to region within Tamil Nadu and is very different from food in Andhra or Kerala or Karnataka. The same is the case in Maharashtra. The Warhadi is different from Konkani, which is again different from Khandeshi. That which is known as south Indian food is more a Tamil Brahmin food type. This vast variety flourishing in Bharat was exploited by the British, to drive a wedge, sorry, drive many wedges in the Hindu community. There was one GU Pope in Tamil Nadu in the 15th century. He was a European Christian Pastor. He learnt Tamil and interpreted, rather misinterpreted the Tamil literature and sowed the seeds of separatism. Karunanidhi and other Tamil ‘scholars’ quote him for all their separatist ideologies. The British, under the chairmanship of Macaulay, layed the trap (and it is a well laid trap) and all our leaders, administrators, teachers and other ‘intellectuals’ have innocently, ignorantly, foolishly or wilfully fallen in the trap. There is a Panchtantra story of a monkey fooling a crocodile wanting to kill and devour it, by saying that it has removed its heart and left the same in the tree. Now, it seems, all our intellectuals have removed and thrown their brains and thinking capacity and have decided never to use it again.
Let me conclude by narrating an encounter with a school principal. Shri Narayanan is MGR’s brother-in-law and runs many schools and colleges in and around Chennai. His daughter, Smt Latha Rajendran was the principal of Janaki Ramachandran School in Chennai in the eighties. She is double MA, MPhil, and PhD. I used to go to these schools once a week to teach ‘patriotism’, as they called it. On one occassion, I was invited to be the chief guest in their annual social gathering. There was the usual tamasha of filmy dances and filmy dialogues. There was one group dance with Bharat Mata, holding the tricolour, in the centre and girls and boys in pairs dancing around Bharat Mata. The Principal turned to me and proudly said, “We also instill patriotism through such programmes”. “Who are these pairs dancing around Bharat Mata?” I asked her. “You don’t know. I can’t believe it. The third pair is a Marathi pair. That one is a Bengali pair. This a Manipuri, the next a Punjabi. These are all pairs from various parts of Bharat and the message is “We are One”. said the principal. “The last pair on this side and the last one on that side. Which state do they belong to?” I asked her innocently. “That is a Muslim pair and this a Christian pair”, she replied. One was dressed in lungi and purdah and the other in coat-suit and skirt. “So you are teaching the Muslim and Christian students in your school that they are not Tamils, but Muslims or Christians. Are you teaching patriotism or separatism?”, I asked her. You should have been there to see her face and know the intensity of shock she got. She was so much disturbed that she came out of the pandal. She was dumb-struck for a few moments and then she said, “I have gone to so many institutions and got so many degrees. I have been the Principal here since last eighteen years. I have always heard the same thing everywhere and have been talking the same thing to students all these years. Now, this was the first time I have heard something different. I feel I have done injustice to thousands of my students all these years.” She was so much disturbed that she went on talking, no, blabbering for the next half an hour.
The incident is not connected to calendar issue, but reveals the trapped mind set. So, what do you intend to do when someone accosts you with ‘Happy Tamil New Year’ wish next time?
How many new years do we have?
By Ram Gopal Ratnam
Most of our festivals are lunar based and are located in lunar calendar. The earth’s movement around the Sun is not cognizable for a common man. We can infer the same by observing the climatic changes. We can merely know it is winter or summer or rainy season. All these are solar phenomenons. It is a matter for the scientists or the Astro mathematicians who computes the Panchang. The solar calendar can be called a scientist’s calendar. Festivals are common man’s domain.
There was one GU Pope in Tamil Nadu in the 15th century. He was a European Christian pastor. He learnt Tamil and interpreted, rather misinterpreted the Tamil literature and sowed the seeds of separatism. Karunanidhi and other Tamil ‘scholars’ quote him for all their separatist ideologies. The British, under the chairmanship of Macaulay, layed the trap (and it is a well laid trap) and all our leaders, administrators, teachers and other ‘intellectuals’ have innocently, ignorantly, foolishly or wilfully fallen in the trap.
EVERY year we witness a ritual of the political leaders right from the Prime Minister down to city Mayor wishing the people for a happy new year. The Tamils for a Tamil new year, the Bengalis for a Bengali new year, the Malayalies for a Malayali new year, the Assamese for an Assami new year. and believe me, all fall on the same day. Simple logic tells me that if it is new year for so many regions, it has to be a single, common new year and not different new years. Yet, thanks to Goebbels, this falsehood has percolated down and now newspapers, teachers, temples and social organisations have joined senseless chorus. The effect? A common Tamilian has started to believe that it is Tamil’s new year. Now, it has gone beyond mere belief. He firmly knows that it is Tamil’s new year. Is it so? Is it Tamil new year or a Bengali new year or an Assami new year or would you call January 1st as American new year, British new year, French new year, Australian new year? No. It is just Christian new year and is the new year wherever the Christians live.
What is a new year day? It is the first day of a calendar. There are many calendars, the Christian or Gregorian calendar, the Muslim calendar, the Chinese calendar, etc. Basically, there are two types of calendars, the solar and the lunar. The solar one is based on the Earth’s rotation around the Sun and the lunar is based on the Moon’s rotation around the Earth. These two calendars are different as these have different basis for calculation. The Christian calendar is solar and the Muslim one is lunar and we, the Hindus have both. This so-called ‘Tamil’ new year is a Hindu solar calendar and the other one, which is ignorantly called Telugu new year by all the ‘great’ leaders in Tamil Nadu and a Marathi new year by the same catagory of leaders in the North, is actually Hindu lunar calendar.
Let me elaborate. Why do you need a calendar? To know your festivals. When is the Christmas? December 25th. Where did you find it? In the Christian calendar of course. You can not find it in the Muslim calendar. This year it is on the 13th of the month called Moharram. Next year, it will fall in the month of Julhej. It will be a different month every year. Can you locate the Deepavali day in the Christian calendar? You can not? It may fall in October or November. It was in October last year and this year it will be in November. You have to refer to the lunar calendar to know the Deepavali date. It falls on Ashwin Amavasya day.
Which are the festivals celebrated in Tamil Nadu? The same as those celebrated in other parts of our nation. The Deepavali, Vijayadashami, Navaratri, Ramnavami, Skanda Sasti, Gokulashtami, Ganesh Chaturthi, Maha Shivaratri, Vaikuntha Ekadashi, Shravan Poornima, etc. etc. I challange you to locate any of these festival days in the so-called ‘Tamil’ calendar. You can not, because this calendar is solar based and all these festivals fall on lunar days like Sashti, Ashtami, Navami, Amavasya, Poornima. How sad that a community has a calendar of its own, but all its major festivals have to be located from the calendar of a different community, the Telugu calendar in this instance?
It is not Tamil calendar or Telugu calendar. It is a Hindu solar calendar and a Hindu lunar calendar. Most of our festivals are lunar based and are located in lunar calendar. The Earth’s movement around the Sun is not cognizable for a common man. We can infer the same by observing the climatic changes. We can merely know it is winter or summer or rainy season. All these are solar phenomenons. It is a matter for the scientist or the Astro mathematician who computes the Panchang. The solar calendar can be called a scientist’s calendar. Festivals are common man’s domain. You need a more ‘user-friendly’ calendar. The lunar movement is visible. Even a lay man can observe and understand the lunar movement. You have to just observe the sky and do some simple calculations and you can arrive at the festival days. So, you can call this common man’s calendar.
Both are Hindu calendars. Both are referred to and used in all parts of our nation. All the major festivals are to be found in the lunar calendar, except Makara Sankranti. This is an important festival for all Hindus and is found in the solar calendar. The ‘Kumbh’, Uttarayana and Dakshinayana Punya Kala, and monthly Pitru Tarpanam on every Sankranti day (Sankranti is the 1st of a solar month and makara sankranti is the 1st of the month called Makara.) are the other special days in the solar calendar. These are special not only to the Tamils, but to all the Hindus, throughout the length and breadth of Bharat. Is not Makara Sankranti an important festival for the Marathis? How is it that they do not have it in their calendar and have to reach out to the ‘Tamil calendar’ for finding it? It is neither Marathi calendar nor Tamil calendar, but just lunar and solar calendars.
Our formal education system does not teach these subjects which help us to know who we are. Long after Independance in 1947, we continue to churn out Mc’Caulay-putras from our schools. In my school days, Avani Avittam fell in the month of Aadi. Aavani Avittam is Shravan Poornima and Aavani and Aadi are names of fourth and fifth solar months. How can Aavani Avittam fall in the month of Aadi? It is like celebrating October revolution in November or Good Friday falling on a Thursday. This simple question arose in my childish mind and I used to ask many of my teachers, the social leaders in Tamil community. Unfortunately, none were able to give me a convincing answer. I had three options before me. I could have concluded that our ancestors were ignorant. I could have ignored and forgotten the question and concentrated on more practical things like career building, money making, etc. I could have pondered over the question spending restless moments till I found an answer. I chose the third option and was awestruck by the genius of our ancestors. The western mind wants to standardise everything. Uni-sex clothing, Uniform (American) breakfasts, uniform way of worship, uniform structures. It can not comprehend variety. It is not mature enough to appreciate more complex things. It wants to simplify everything. Many of our own English-educated are in the same mind frame. Nature is full of variety and is very complex. It requires a more mature mind and higher intelligence to understand, even appreciate complexities.
Our nation has nourished variety in every walk of life. We have so many ways of wearing our Dhoti and saree. (I’ve found 28 ways of wearing a saree in Tamil Nadu.) We have so many languages and dialects. Recipes? We do not have an Indian food. These words south Indian food and north Indian food are misnomers. There is no Tamil food either. The food system varies from community to community and region to region within Tamil Nadu and is very different from food in Andhra or Kerala or Karnataka. The same is the case in Maharashtra. The Warhadi is different from Konkani, which is again different from Khandeshi. That which is known as south Indian food is more a Tamil Brahmin food type. This vast variety flourishing in Bharat was exploited by the British, to drive a wedge, sorry, drive many wedges in the Hindu community. There was one GU Pope in Tamil Nadu in the 15th century. He was a European Christian Pastor. He learnt Tamil and interpreted, rather misinterpreted the Tamil literature and sowed the seeds of separatism. Karunanidhi and other Tamil ‘scholars’ quote him for all their separatist ideologies. The British, under the chairmanship of Macaulay, layed the trap (and it is a well laid trap) and all our leaders, administrators, teachers and other ‘intellectuals’ have innocently, ignorantly, foolishly or wilfully fallen in the trap. There is a Panchtantra story of a monkey fooling a crocodile wanting to kill and devour it, by saying that it has removed its heart and left the same in the tree. Now, it seems, all our intellectuals have removed and thrown their brains and thinking capacity and have decided never to use it again.
Let me conclude by narrating an encounter with a school principal. Shri Narayanan is MGR’s brother-in-law and runs many schools and colleges in and around Chennai. His daughter, Smt Latha Rajendran was the principal of Janaki Ramachandran School in Chennai in the eighties. She is double MA, MPhil, and PhD. I used to go to these schools once a week to teach ‘patriotism’, as they called it. On one occassion, I was invited to be the chief guest in their annual social gathering. There was the usual tamasha of filmy dances and filmy dialogues. There was one group dance with Bharat Mata, holding the tricolour, in the centre and girls and boys in pairs dancing around Bharat Mata. The Principal turned to me and proudly said, “We also instill patriotism through such programmes”. “Who are these pairs dancing around Bharat Mata?” I asked her. “You don’t know. I can’t believe it. The third pair is a Marathi pair. That one is a Bengali pair. This a Manipuri, the next a Punjabi. These are all pairs from various parts of Bharat and the message is “We are One”. said the principal. “The last pair on this side and the last one on that side. Which state do they belong to?” I asked her innocently. “That is a Muslim pair and this a Christian pair”, she replied. One was dressed in lungi and purdah and the other in coat-suit and skirt. “So you are teaching the Muslim and Christian students in your school that they are not Tamils, but Muslims or Christians. Are you teaching patriotism or separatism?”, I asked her. You should have been there to see her face and know the intensity of shock she got. She was so much disturbed that she came out of the pandal. She was dumb-struck for a few moments and then she said, “I have gone to so many institutions and got so many degrees. I have been the Principal here since last eighteen years. I have always heard the same thing everywhere and have been talking the same thing to students all these years. Now, this was the first time I have heard something different. I feel I have done injustice to thousands of my students all these years.” She was so much disturbed that she went on talking, no, blabbering for the next half an hour.
The incident is not connected to calendar issue, but reveals the trapped mind set. So, what do you intend to do when someone accosts you with ‘Happy Tamil New Year’ wish next time?
Mahakumbh-2010 concludes peacefully
The biggest-ever Hindu congregation
The silken threadof Hindu oneness
By Ravindra Saini
Over six crore pilgrims from 140 countries took holy dip in the Ganga during the Kumbh
MAHAKUMBH-2010, the unique cultural, religious festival unfurled the flag of Indian philosophy in the whole world by giving the message of spiritualism, peace and unity. Despite the fact that about six crore devotees from more than 140 countries speaking 56 languages visited Haridwar and took a dip in the holy river Ganga, the Kumbh concluded peacefully. It was in fact an opportunity for Uttarakhand to showcase the rich and varied cultural heritage of India, and everyone felt the state successfully managed to do so.
All the 13 akharas participated in this Mahakumbh in the four shahi snans that took place; and one of the best things that was witnessed during this Mahakumbh was that numerous saints from all parts of Uttarakhand assembled at Haridwar along with thousands of devotees and took a holy dip in the Ganga.
It was for the first time in the history of the Kumbh that 80 per cent of the total works done during the Kumbh were of permanent nature, and only 20 per cent were of temporary nature. The Government of Uttarakhand had made elaborate arrangements for parking of about one lakh vehicles in an area of 300 hectare land at 45 places. Six permanent bridges and 5.35-km-long ghats were constructed for the Mahakumbh.
The security system was perfect and it had 25 companies of PAC, 20 companies of CRPF, 10 companies of RAF, 10 companies of ITBP, one company of BMP, and 50 police horse-riders were deployed during the Mahakumbh; and 32 sector police stations, 38 police posts, and 10 police lines were established for the smooth conduct of the Mahakumbh.
The Chief Minister Dr Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ himself made many visits to the Kumbh area without informing the Mela authorities, in order to ensure that the security and other systems remained alert during the course of the Kumbh. Six permanent base hospitals, 20 temporary 10 bed hospitals, and 19 primary health centres were established, while 264 doctors and 50 ambulances were placed in the Kumbh area.
About 14,000 temporary toilets were constructed out of which 4,000 toilets were of semi permanent nature. Many new roads were constructed and maintenance of 170 km-long roads made the access to Kumbh area at Haridwar easy.
The Mahakumbh concluded after a span of three-and-half months with 15 lakh devotees taking a holy dip in river Ganga on the occasion of Vaishakh Adhimaas Purnima. More than six crore pilgrims, including around 3.5 crore on 11 major auspicious days, attended the Mela which started on January 14 in Haridwar. Barring the death of eight persons in a road accident followed by a stampede on the last shahi snan on April 14, when around 1.6 crore pilgrims thronged Haridwar in a single day, the event was peaceful.
More than 1,6000 personnel of state police, central paramilitary forces and 125 close circuit cameras (CCTVs) were used to monitor and regulate the movement of pilgrims. It was made mandatory for pilgrims including saints to carry their identity proof if they wanted to stay in Haridwar. And keeping in view the terror activities across the country, for the first time coconut and flower bowls used in “Ganga Puja” were banned on bathing ghats.
Lakhs of saints belonging to 13 akharas participated in this Kumbh. They took dips in river Ganga on four shahi snans on February 12 (Maha Shivratri), March 15 (Somvati Amavasya), March 30 (Chaitra Poornima) and April 14 (Mesh Sankranti).
As the security arrangements were tight and the vehicles of devotees were stopped at temporary parkings on the outskirts of Haridwar, the devotees were seen walking on foot ranging from 6 kilometres to 12 kilometres to take a dip at the bathing ghats of their choice. The parking arrangements made at a distance from bathing ghats helped in keeping the queues of devotees thin and manageable.
Chief Minister Dr ‘Nishank’ said the Mahakumbh deserved a Nobel Prize for being the world’s largest religious gathering. He noted that Kumbh Mela during the current year had attracted more than six crore pilgrims, which was the highest-ever number for a religious gathering anywhere in the world. The High Commissioner of Britain Sir Richard Stagg called on Chief Minister Dr Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ at the Secretariat and congratulated him on the successful conduct of Kumbh Mela 2010 at Haridwar. Sir Stagg said that managing a crowd of millions of people in a small city like Haridwar during the Kumbh Mela was truly praiseworthy.
On the successful completion of the Kumbh all the ministers of Uttarakhand took a bath in the Ganga on April 30. This followed a meeting of the Council of Ministers on the banks of the river. At the meeting the ministers took a pledge to make the stretch of the Ganga from Gaumukh to Haridwar pollution free. They also passed a resolution that the Ganga, which is a national heritage, should be declared an international heritage and so they have decided to send a request to the union government to take up this matter at UNESCO.
Initially, the state would run the Gangotri Nirmal project and clean the Ganga from Gangotri to Uttarkashi by the end of 2010. The Cabinet has also decided to upgrade the Chardham Yatra route on the pattern of Kumbh Mela. A Save Ganga Authorities Board will also be constituted for the purpose.
Shri ‘Nishank’ said that in order to provide better facilities to common devotees and pilgrims, the Government of Uttarakhand had appealed to the VIPs from India and abroad not to visit Haridwar at the time of the major snans, so that the common pilgrims did not face any inconvenience. Despite this appeal, about six crore people took a dip in the Ganga in addition to many VIPs who visited there.
The silken threadof Hindu oneness
By Ravindra Saini
Over six crore pilgrims from 140 countries took holy dip in the Ganga during the Kumbh
MAHAKUMBH-2010, the unique cultural, religious festival unfurled the flag of Indian philosophy in the whole world by giving the message of spiritualism, peace and unity. Despite the fact that about six crore devotees from more than 140 countries speaking 56 languages visited Haridwar and took a dip in the holy river Ganga, the Kumbh concluded peacefully. It was in fact an opportunity for Uttarakhand to showcase the rich and varied cultural heritage of India, and everyone felt the state successfully managed to do so.
All the 13 akharas participated in this Mahakumbh in the four shahi snans that took place; and one of the best things that was witnessed during this Mahakumbh was that numerous saints from all parts of Uttarakhand assembled at Haridwar along with thousands of devotees and took a holy dip in the Ganga.
It was for the first time in the history of the Kumbh that 80 per cent of the total works done during the Kumbh were of permanent nature, and only 20 per cent were of temporary nature. The Government of Uttarakhand had made elaborate arrangements for parking of about one lakh vehicles in an area of 300 hectare land at 45 places. Six permanent bridges and 5.35-km-long ghats were constructed for the Mahakumbh.
The security system was perfect and it had 25 companies of PAC, 20 companies of CRPF, 10 companies of RAF, 10 companies of ITBP, one company of BMP, and 50 police horse-riders were deployed during the Mahakumbh; and 32 sector police stations, 38 police posts, and 10 police lines were established for the smooth conduct of the Mahakumbh.
The Chief Minister Dr Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ himself made many visits to the Kumbh area without informing the Mela authorities, in order to ensure that the security and other systems remained alert during the course of the Kumbh. Six permanent base hospitals, 20 temporary 10 bed hospitals, and 19 primary health centres were established, while 264 doctors and 50 ambulances were placed in the Kumbh area.
About 14,000 temporary toilets were constructed out of which 4,000 toilets were of semi permanent nature. Many new roads were constructed and maintenance of 170 km-long roads made the access to Kumbh area at Haridwar easy.
The Mahakumbh concluded after a span of three-and-half months with 15 lakh devotees taking a holy dip in river Ganga on the occasion of Vaishakh Adhimaas Purnima. More than six crore pilgrims, including around 3.5 crore on 11 major auspicious days, attended the Mela which started on January 14 in Haridwar. Barring the death of eight persons in a road accident followed by a stampede on the last shahi snan on April 14, when around 1.6 crore pilgrims thronged Haridwar in a single day, the event was peaceful.
More than 1,6000 personnel of state police, central paramilitary forces and 125 close circuit cameras (CCTVs) were used to monitor and regulate the movement of pilgrims. It was made mandatory for pilgrims including saints to carry their identity proof if they wanted to stay in Haridwar. And keeping in view the terror activities across the country, for the first time coconut and flower bowls used in “Ganga Puja” were banned on bathing ghats.
Lakhs of saints belonging to 13 akharas participated in this Kumbh. They took dips in river Ganga on four shahi snans on February 12 (Maha Shivratri), March 15 (Somvati Amavasya), March 30 (Chaitra Poornima) and April 14 (Mesh Sankranti).
As the security arrangements were tight and the vehicles of devotees were stopped at temporary parkings on the outskirts of Haridwar, the devotees were seen walking on foot ranging from 6 kilometres to 12 kilometres to take a dip at the bathing ghats of their choice. The parking arrangements made at a distance from bathing ghats helped in keeping the queues of devotees thin and manageable.
Chief Minister Dr ‘Nishank’ said the Mahakumbh deserved a Nobel Prize for being the world’s largest religious gathering. He noted that Kumbh Mela during the current year had attracted more than six crore pilgrims, which was the highest-ever number for a religious gathering anywhere in the world. The High Commissioner of Britain Sir Richard Stagg called on Chief Minister Dr Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ at the Secretariat and congratulated him on the successful conduct of Kumbh Mela 2010 at Haridwar. Sir Stagg said that managing a crowd of millions of people in a small city like Haridwar during the Kumbh Mela was truly praiseworthy.
On the successful completion of the Kumbh all the ministers of Uttarakhand took a bath in the Ganga on April 30. This followed a meeting of the Council of Ministers on the banks of the river. At the meeting the ministers took a pledge to make the stretch of the Ganga from Gaumukh to Haridwar pollution free. They also passed a resolution that the Ganga, which is a national heritage, should be declared an international heritage and so they have decided to send a request to the union government to take up this matter at UNESCO.
Initially, the state would run the Gangotri Nirmal project and clean the Ganga from Gangotri to Uttarkashi by the end of 2010. The Cabinet has also decided to upgrade the Chardham Yatra route on the pattern of Kumbh Mela. A Save Ganga Authorities Board will also be constituted for the purpose.
Shri ‘Nishank’ said that in order to provide better facilities to common devotees and pilgrims, the Government of Uttarakhand had appealed to the VIPs from India and abroad not to visit Haridwar at the time of the major snans, so that the common pilgrims did not face any inconvenience. Despite this appeal, about six crore people took a dip in the Ganga in addition to many VIPs who visited there.
The ISI plot to depict India unsafe
By MD Nalapat
Unless the US understands that the military in Pakistan is part of the problem, and begins to support moderates in civil society and in the administration, Pakistan will soon evolve into what Taliban Afghanistan was, a haven for those seeking to attack the world’s biggest economy. Rather than play the ISI game of painting India as unsafe, what Washington needs to do is to understand that the distinction between the "Afghan Taliban" and the "Pakistan Taliban" is illusory and that the two together have fused into a machine that endangers the globe.
THE quality of "Chutzpah" is exemplified by the twins who murdered their parents and then asked for mercy on the grounds that they were orphans. In other words,it means a situation where an individual creates a situation, and then claims himself to be a victim of it. No other word can describe the outburst of US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Pakistan,that the country will have to pay "serious consequences" should a terror attack on the US get traced back to its shores. Of course, this is the exact opposite of the course Clinton is urging on India. In our case, her advice is to ignore Pakistan-directed terror attacks and continue on the path of giving concessions to the only military that has jehad as its motto, the Pakistan army.
When Asif Ali Zardari became President of Pakistan in 2008, a window of opportunity opened to cleanse the higher echelons of the army from the infestation of jihadist elements that have remained dominant since Zia-ul-Haq began the talibanisation of Pakistan. While Zardari’s affinity for money puts him in the same wealth league as many heavyweight Indian politicians (especially former chief ministers), the man himself is a Sufi, far removed from the religious zeal that characterises both General Pervez Ashfaq Kayani and his faithful lieutenant, Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani, both Sunni Punjabis. The new Head of the State was aware that his ambitious prime minister reported not to him but to the army chief with whom he had regular meetings, often at Army HQ. Had the US backed him, Zardari would have removed from office more than thirty officers who are in league with the Taliban, thus delivering a lethal blow to that outfit. However, in 2009, Hillary Clinton backed the Punjabi lobby in Pakistan by agreeing to return to the office of Iftikhar Hussein Choudhury, the Punjabi who had been removed as Chief Justice of Pakistan by President Musharraf two years previously.
While very friendly to the Sharif brothers-neither of whom is known to be Mr Clean-as well as to other Punjabis, Justice Choudhury has contempt for Mohajirs such as Pervez Musharraf and Sindhis such as President Zardari, who is also a Shia rather than a Wahabbi, the way Kayani and Gilani are. Both have roots in the Jamaat-i-Islami Pakistan, which (unlike its Indian counterpart) has been taken over by the Wahabbis since the 1980s and has very close links with both the military as well as the Taliban, often serving as the go-between. Most of these linkages are invisible to the CIA,the Defense Intelligence Agency and other US Intelligence Agencies, because of the fact that these have outsourced much of their field activity to the Pakistan army. The overwhelming majority of CIA and other US "assets" in Pakistan (and more disturbingly, in Afghanistan) are double agents, with their primary loyalty being to the ISI and its agenda of ensuring that the Taliban return to power in Kabul by 2013-15.
Most of what passes for "field intelligence" in the US-especially that collected from human sources-is in fact disinformation created and disseminated by the Pakistan army. The purpose of such deceit is to ensure that those inconvenient to Kayani and his allies (including the Taliban) get picked up by the US, while those who are secretly in league with the ISI and its Taliban-centred gameplan are presented as "moderates" deserving of the huge cash handouts that the US regularly disburses in Afghanistan "to keep moderate tribal leaders happy" and-it is assumed-out of the clutches of the Taliban. The fact is that more than 80 per cent of the present Taliban leadership has been the receipient of US cash and assistance, funneled to them on the advice of the ISI. In exchange, more mock-Taliban get arrested or killed, and desultory sweeps get conducted in those areas where the Taliban are known to be concentrating. Of course,few get caught, given that they are warned in advance of the approaching raid.
Nine days after 9/11, the US lost the longer-term war against the Taliban, by taking a decision to once again repeat the mistake of Zbigniew Brezezinski and Bob Casey in outsourcing operations to the Pakistan military. Most of the "independent" analysts in the US of Afghanistan are dependent on the ISI for logistics and contacts, and faithfully sing the song that has been scripted for them,which is that "cooperation with the Pakistan army is essential" to success. Indeed, that would be the case, were that army to get cleansed of its jihadist elements. Unfortunately, as these enjoy the sponsorship of a powerful intelligence agency based in the Arabian Peninsula, such elements have never been weeded out, including by Pervez Musharraf, who considered himself less as the leader of Pakistan than as the trade union leader for his beloved army and invariably took the military’s side in a dispute. It was only when Zardari came to power that Pakistan had a President willing to cleanse the military of jihadist elements, but he was soon rendered powerless by the Clinton-backed Punjabi lobby.
What passes off as "Pakistan occupied Kashmir" is in reality a territory that has been almost totally cleansed of Kashmiris.The Mirpuris who demonstrate-at a handsome profit in terms of the business opportunities they are given in Pakistan-speak not Kashmiri but a Punjabi dialect. Having colonised PoK, they seek to ensure Punjabi dominance in the Valley of Kashmir, which is why they have (through inter-marriage and through clandestine cash payments, often routed through the Gulf countries) converted most of the so-called "Azaadi" lobby into foot soldiers serving the Punjabi cause. Should the separatists ever succeed in taking over the Valley, it would soon become as dominated by the Punjabis as Mirpur or Muzaffarabad has become. Kashmiris would be reduced to a second-class status, the way some of their "Azaadi" politicians already are. It is surprising that those in the higher policy circles of India who favour "making borders irrelevant" do not understand that this would inevitably result in the drowning of Kashmiri identity under the weight of the Punjabi strand that already dominates PoK and which has infiltrated into "Azaadi" groups in the Valley.
Since the time of Zia-ul-Haq, the Sunni Punjabi component that dominates the Pakistan military has cast its fortunes with jihadists. And because of the backing they have got from Hillary Clinton (who was known as the "Senator from Punjab" some years ago), they have administratively finished off President Zardari,thus leaving Army Chief of Staff Kayani as the paramount authority in the country. Small wonder that when US officials visit Pakistan, they spend far more time at Army HQ than in offices nominally controlled by civilians, thereby further weakning the civilian government.
The ISI has been extremely effective in using the CIA and other foreign intelligence agencies to spread a global panic about India. A week ago, one more of a long list of US "Terror Advisories" was issued, which warned of an "imminent attack" in Delhi on May 1 or May 2. This columnist spent most of those two days going to several shopping malls in Delhi and Gurgaon, and was happy to see the contempt with which this warning was treated. On cue, Australia, Canada and the UK joined the US in portraying India as a country that is as prone to terrorism as Pakistan, when the reality is that the country is still resistant to this scourge. Clearly, the bogus information about the "imminent" threat was given to the CIA by the ISI, which-as has been the case for fifty years-swallowed it entirely. The objective of the ISI is to generate an international perception that India is as unstable as Pakistan, so that economic growth gets affected. By their uncritical reliance on ISI inputs about India,the CIA and its allied agencies are acting to the ISI’s game plan.
The reality is that not a single one of the many US terror advisories about India has been followed by a terror attack. Clearly, when it does execute an attack, as in Mumbai two years ago,the ISI takes care to ensure that no foreign agency gets warned about its plans. In the case of the May 1-2 advisory, it transpired, the Terror Advisory was right about the attack, but wrong about the city. For an attempt was made not on Delhi but on New York. Thanks to the benign neglect by the US of the jihadi core of the Pakistan army leadership, the Taliban have been facilitated in setting up a network across the US that is estimated to become fully operational within the next two years.Once this terror network establishes roots across major cities, it would be able to carry out mass terror attacks almost every month. Such are the fruits
of the Clinton-Bush-Obama policy of relying on the Pakistan army to fight the very terrorists that this force has created and continues to nurture. It will take more than synthetic tough talk from Hillary Clinton to retrieve the US from the abyss into which it is being pushed by the proliferation of Pakistan-sponsored groups that nestle in Houston, Detroit, Chicago and Miami.
Unless the jihadi elements within the Pakistan army are identified and removed, that institution will continue to be a breeding ground for terrorists. However, the chance for that has disappeared after Hillary Clinton blessed the neutralisation of President Zardari by siding with old followers of Zia-ul-Haq, Prime Minister Gilani and Army Chief Kayani. Since Justice Choudhury has been brought back as Chief Justice, terror attacks have gone up sharply, because it has become clear that the protective shield of the army over the jihadists will continue. Every now and then, some jihadi found to be inconvenient will be apprehended or killed, but no action will be taken to prevent the large-scale recruitment of youths into the jihad machine, something that has accelerated since President Zardari was reduced to the status of a figurehead.
Unless the US understands that the military in Pakistan is part of the problem, and begins to support moderates in civil society and in the administration, Pakistan will soon evolve into what Taliban Afghanistan was, a haven for those seeking to attack the world’s biggest economy. Rather than play the ISI game of painting India as unsafe, what Washington needs to do is to understand that the distinction between the "Afghan Taliban" and the "Pakistan Taliban" is illusory and that the two together have fused into a machine that endangers the globe. George W Bush made a historic blunder in 2001, when he took the advice of the CIA and the Pentagon and chose Pakistan as his principal regional ally against the terrorists, even ensuring the escape of leading Al Qaeda elements at Kunduz into Pakistan. Sadly, President Barack Obama is making the same mistake, embracing an enemy while ignoring a friend.
Unless the US understands that the military in Pakistan is part of the problem, and begins to support moderates in civil society and in the administration, Pakistan will soon evolve into what Taliban Afghanistan was, a haven for those seeking to attack the world’s biggest economy. Rather than play the ISI game of painting India as unsafe, what Washington needs to do is to understand that the distinction between the "Afghan Taliban" and the "Pakistan Taliban" is illusory and that the two together have fused into a machine that endangers the globe.
THE quality of "Chutzpah" is exemplified by the twins who murdered their parents and then asked for mercy on the grounds that they were orphans. In other words,it means a situation where an individual creates a situation, and then claims himself to be a victim of it. No other word can describe the outburst of US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Pakistan,that the country will have to pay "serious consequences" should a terror attack on the US get traced back to its shores. Of course, this is the exact opposite of the course Clinton is urging on India. In our case, her advice is to ignore Pakistan-directed terror attacks and continue on the path of giving concessions to the only military that has jehad as its motto, the Pakistan army.
When Asif Ali Zardari became President of Pakistan in 2008, a window of opportunity opened to cleanse the higher echelons of the army from the infestation of jihadist elements that have remained dominant since Zia-ul-Haq began the talibanisation of Pakistan. While Zardari’s affinity for money puts him in the same wealth league as many heavyweight Indian politicians (especially former chief ministers), the man himself is a Sufi, far removed from the religious zeal that characterises both General Pervez Ashfaq Kayani and his faithful lieutenant, Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani, both Sunni Punjabis. The new Head of the State was aware that his ambitious prime minister reported not to him but to the army chief with whom he had regular meetings, often at Army HQ. Had the US backed him, Zardari would have removed from office more than thirty officers who are in league with the Taliban, thus delivering a lethal blow to that outfit. However, in 2009, Hillary Clinton backed the Punjabi lobby in Pakistan by agreeing to return to the office of Iftikhar Hussein Choudhury, the Punjabi who had been removed as Chief Justice of Pakistan by President Musharraf two years previously.
While very friendly to the Sharif brothers-neither of whom is known to be Mr Clean-as well as to other Punjabis, Justice Choudhury has contempt for Mohajirs such as Pervez Musharraf and Sindhis such as President Zardari, who is also a Shia rather than a Wahabbi, the way Kayani and Gilani are. Both have roots in the Jamaat-i-Islami Pakistan, which (unlike its Indian counterpart) has been taken over by the Wahabbis since the 1980s and has very close links with both the military as well as the Taliban, often serving as the go-between. Most of these linkages are invisible to the CIA,the Defense Intelligence Agency and other US Intelligence Agencies, because of the fact that these have outsourced much of their field activity to the Pakistan army. The overwhelming majority of CIA and other US "assets" in Pakistan (and more disturbingly, in Afghanistan) are double agents, with their primary loyalty being to the ISI and its agenda of ensuring that the Taliban return to power in Kabul by 2013-15.
Most of what passes for "field intelligence" in the US-especially that collected from human sources-is in fact disinformation created and disseminated by the Pakistan army. The purpose of such deceit is to ensure that those inconvenient to Kayani and his allies (including the Taliban) get picked up by the US, while those who are secretly in league with the ISI and its Taliban-centred gameplan are presented as "moderates" deserving of the huge cash handouts that the US regularly disburses in Afghanistan "to keep moderate tribal leaders happy" and-it is assumed-out of the clutches of the Taliban. The fact is that more than 80 per cent of the present Taliban leadership has been the receipient of US cash and assistance, funneled to them on the advice of the ISI. In exchange, more mock-Taliban get arrested or killed, and desultory sweeps get conducted in those areas where the Taliban are known to be concentrating. Of course,few get caught, given that they are warned in advance of the approaching raid.
Nine days after 9/11, the US lost the longer-term war against the Taliban, by taking a decision to once again repeat the mistake of Zbigniew Brezezinski and Bob Casey in outsourcing operations to the Pakistan military. Most of the "independent" analysts in the US of Afghanistan are dependent on the ISI for logistics and contacts, and faithfully sing the song that has been scripted for them,which is that "cooperation with the Pakistan army is essential" to success. Indeed, that would be the case, were that army to get cleansed of its jihadist elements. Unfortunately, as these enjoy the sponsorship of a powerful intelligence agency based in the Arabian Peninsula, such elements have never been weeded out, including by Pervez Musharraf, who considered himself less as the leader of Pakistan than as the trade union leader for his beloved army and invariably took the military’s side in a dispute. It was only when Zardari came to power that Pakistan had a President willing to cleanse the military of jihadist elements, but he was soon rendered powerless by the Clinton-backed Punjabi lobby.
What passes off as "Pakistan occupied Kashmir" is in reality a territory that has been almost totally cleansed of Kashmiris.The Mirpuris who demonstrate-at a handsome profit in terms of the business opportunities they are given in Pakistan-speak not Kashmiri but a Punjabi dialect. Having colonised PoK, they seek to ensure Punjabi dominance in the Valley of Kashmir, which is why they have (through inter-marriage and through clandestine cash payments, often routed through the Gulf countries) converted most of the so-called "Azaadi" lobby into foot soldiers serving the Punjabi cause. Should the separatists ever succeed in taking over the Valley, it would soon become as dominated by the Punjabis as Mirpur or Muzaffarabad has become. Kashmiris would be reduced to a second-class status, the way some of their "Azaadi" politicians already are. It is surprising that those in the higher policy circles of India who favour "making borders irrelevant" do not understand that this would inevitably result in the drowning of Kashmiri identity under the weight of the Punjabi strand that already dominates PoK and which has infiltrated into "Azaadi" groups in the Valley.
Since the time of Zia-ul-Haq, the Sunni Punjabi component that dominates the Pakistan military has cast its fortunes with jihadists. And because of the backing they have got from Hillary Clinton (who was known as the "Senator from Punjab" some years ago), they have administratively finished off President Zardari,thus leaving Army Chief of Staff Kayani as the paramount authority in the country. Small wonder that when US officials visit Pakistan, they spend far more time at Army HQ than in offices nominally controlled by civilians, thereby further weakning the civilian government.
The ISI has been extremely effective in using the CIA and other foreign intelligence agencies to spread a global panic about India. A week ago, one more of a long list of US "Terror Advisories" was issued, which warned of an "imminent attack" in Delhi on May 1 or May 2. This columnist spent most of those two days going to several shopping malls in Delhi and Gurgaon, and was happy to see the contempt with which this warning was treated. On cue, Australia, Canada and the UK joined the US in portraying India as a country that is as prone to terrorism as Pakistan, when the reality is that the country is still resistant to this scourge. Clearly, the bogus information about the "imminent" threat was given to the CIA by the ISI, which-as has been the case for fifty years-swallowed it entirely. The objective of the ISI is to generate an international perception that India is as unstable as Pakistan, so that economic growth gets affected. By their uncritical reliance on ISI inputs about India,the CIA and its allied agencies are acting to the ISI’s game plan.
The reality is that not a single one of the many US terror advisories about India has been followed by a terror attack. Clearly, when it does execute an attack, as in Mumbai two years ago,the ISI takes care to ensure that no foreign agency gets warned about its plans. In the case of the May 1-2 advisory, it transpired, the Terror Advisory was right about the attack, but wrong about the city. For an attempt was made not on Delhi but on New York. Thanks to the benign neglect by the US of the jihadi core of the Pakistan army leadership, the Taliban have been facilitated in setting up a network across the US that is estimated to become fully operational within the next two years.Once this terror network establishes roots across major cities, it would be able to carry out mass terror attacks almost every month. Such are the fruits
of the Clinton-Bush-Obama policy of relying on the Pakistan army to fight the very terrorists that this force has created and continues to nurture. It will take more than synthetic tough talk from Hillary Clinton to retrieve the US from the abyss into which it is being pushed by the proliferation of Pakistan-sponsored groups that nestle in Houston, Detroit, Chicago and Miami.
Unless the jihadi elements within the Pakistan army are identified and removed, that institution will continue to be a breeding ground for terrorists. However, the chance for that has disappeared after Hillary Clinton blessed the neutralisation of President Zardari by siding with old followers of Zia-ul-Haq, Prime Minister Gilani and Army Chief Kayani. Since Justice Choudhury has been brought back as Chief Justice, terror attacks have gone up sharply, because it has become clear that the protective shield of the army over the jihadists will continue. Every now and then, some jihadi found to be inconvenient will be apprehended or killed, but no action will be taken to prevent the large-scale recruitment of youths into the jihad machine, something that has accelerated since President Zardari was reduced to the status of a figurehead.
Unless the US understands that the military in Pakistan is part of the problem, and begins to support moderates in civil society and in the administration, Pakistan will soon evolve into what Taliban Afghanistan was, a haven for those seeking to attack the world’s biggest economy. Rather than play the ISI game of painting India as unsafe, what Washington needs to do is to understand that the distinction between the "Afghan Taliban" and the "Pakistan Taliban" is illusory and that the two together have fused into a machine that endangers the globe. George W Bush made a historic blunder in 2001, when he took the advice of the CIA and the Pentagon and chose Pakistan as his principal regional ally against the terrorists, even ensuring the escape of leading Al Qaeda elements at Kunduz into Pakistan. Sadly, President Barack Obama is making the same mistake, embracing an enemy while ignoring a friend.
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Hindu Bhatias were the kings of Bahrain
By Antony Kuriakose
THE most prominent indigenous Hindu is Kanaksi Khimji. The great consideration Oman has towards Hindus in Oman, is largely due to the Khimjis—a powerful business family, that has great say in the various ministries of the country. In fact the world’s only Hindu Sheikh is Kanaksi Khimji, the head of Khimji Ramdas Group of Companies, as the title was granted by the Sultan of Muscat to him. His grandfather came to Oman in 1870 and since then the Khimjis have prospered.
The present head of the family happens to be an uncompromising vegetarian, his devotion is anchored to Lord Shreenathji, and though his admired entrepreneurship branches out across the globe, his roots lie in Gujarat. His business acumen is so well recognised, that, the Sultan of Oman gave his yacht Lo’Lo’ to this person of Indian origin, for developing tourism business in the Sultanate. Dressed in a flowing full-length robe and wearing the kaffiyeh, the cloth that covers the head, Khimji easily passes off as an Omani. When he married in 1960, Khimji was presented with a silver jug by Sultan Said Taimur Bin Faisal. The queen mother, Bibi Mahezun, had given him two of her photographs, a privilege accorded to only a few. His firm is a leading corporate house in Oman. It represents over 100 global brands in a wide spectrum of businesses and services in that Gulf nation. Thanks to the pioneering spirit of Kanaksi Khimji in education, there are now 14 Indian schools in Oman, with 17,000 NRI students pursuing their education.
When it comes to UAE, the bilateral contacts between the UAE and India date back to the early 19th century when pearls and dates from the former and spices, provisions and clothing from the latter, were energetically traded to their mutual advantage. Although some Indian trading families began settling down in places like Dubai, Sharjah and Fujairah around that time, it was only after World War-I that their numbers started increasing exponentially. The local government’s relatively liberal policy towards religions other than Islam, has enabled the NRIs to build Krishna Temple (Srinathji) and a Shiv temple and a Gurudwara. They have also been allowed to set up a number of cremation grounds, one of which has even been built at government expense, for the benefit of persons who are not permitted by their religion to bury their dead. The Hindus also respect these signal concessions and during Ramadan fasting period, the prasad in these temples is distributed only after the Iftar time (breaking fast).
With a population of 643,000 and a total area of 691 sq.kms., Bahrain is the smallest of the Middle East States. Indians are known to have gone to Bahrain in pursuit of trade as early as 3000 BC when their ships plied from the Harappan settlements to Oman and Bahrain, on their way to Mesopotamia. In fact Bahrain was under the British Government in India, prior to Indian Independence in 1947, like the other princely Indian states. During that era, the prime ministers to the Emir (king) of Bahrain were the Hindu Bhatias and their family temple was and is in the centre of the town.
Bahrain’s distinguishing features have been an enlightened and modern education policy and a moderate policy towards non-Islamic religions. Religious freedom is prevailing really well in Bahrain. There are four temples, a Krishna temple, Durga temple, an Ayyappan temple, ISKON temple and three gurudwaras for the Sikh community. Though several Indian families have been residing in Bahrain for many decades, only a few of them have been granted local citizenship.
To be sure, life for the Hindus, in these largely Muslim states ranges widely, from religiously intolerant Saudi Arabia, through a laid-back existence in easy-going Oman, to the relative excess of Dubai. But even in Dubai, it is hard to forget, that you are in an Islamic country, and this, mixed with mutual stereotyping, and expat-unfriendly residence laws, makes the Hindu in the Middle East always a little nervous, but more prosperous than he would be in India.
THE most prominent indigenous Hindu is Kanaksi Khimji. The great consideration Oman has towards Hindus in Oman, is largely due to the Khimjis—a powerful business family, that has great say in the various ministries of the country. In fact the world’s only Hindu Sheikh is Kanaksi Khimji, the head of Khimji Ramdas Group of Companies, as the title was granted by the Sultan of Muscat to him. His grandfather came to Oman in 1870 and since then the Khimjis have prospered.
The present head of the family happens to be an uncompromising vegetarian, his devotion is anchored to Lord Shreenathji, and though his admired entrepreneurship branches out across the globe, his roots lie in Gujarat. His business acumen is so well recognised, that, the Sultan of Oman gave his yacht Lo’Lo’ to this person of Indian origin, for developing tourism business in the Sultanate. Dressed in a flowing full-length robe and wearing the kaffiyeh, the cloth that covers the head, Khimji easily passes off as an Omani. When he married in 1960, Khimji was presented with a silver jug by Sultan Said Taimur Bin Faisal. The queen mother, Bibi Mahezun, had given him two of her photographs, a privilege accorded to only a few. His firm is a leading corporate house in Oman. It represents over 100 global brands in a wide spectrum of businesses and services in that Gulf nation. Thanks to the pioneering spirit of Kanaksi Khimji in education, there are now 14 Indian schools in Oman, with 17,000 NRI students pursuing their education.
When it comes to UAE, the bilateral contacts between the UAE and India date back to the early 19th century when pearls and dates from the former and spices, provisions and clothing from the latter, were energetically traded to their mutual advantage. Although some Indian trading families began settling down in places like Dubai, Sharjah and Fujairah around that time, it was only after World War-I that their numbers started increasing exponentially. The local government’s relatively liberal policy towards religions other than Islam, has enabled the NRIs to build Krishna Temple (Srinathji) and a Shiv temple and a Gurudwara. They have also been allowed to set up a number of cremation grounds, one of which has even been built at government expense, for the benefit of persons who are not permitted by their religion to bury their dead. The Hindus also respect these signal concessions and during Ramadan fasting period, the prasad in these temples is distributed only after the Iftar time (breaking fast).
With a population of 643,000 and a total area of 691 sq.kms., Bahrain is the smallest of the Middle East States. Indians are known to have gone to Bahrain in pursuit of trade as early as 3000 BC when their ships plied from the Harappan settlements to Oman and Bahrain, on their way to Mesopotamia. In fact Bahrain was under the British Government in India, prior to Indian Independence in 1947, like the other princely Indian states. During that era, the prime ministers to the Emir (king) of Bahrain were the Hindu Bhatias and their family temple was and is in the centre of the town.
Bahrain’s distinguishing features have been an enlightened and modern education policy and a moderate policy towards non-Islamic religions. Religious freedom is prevailing really well in Bahrain. There are four temples, a Krishna temple, Durga temple, an Ayyappan temple, ISKON temple and three gurudwaras for the Sikh community. Though several Indian families have been residing in Bahrain for many decades, only a few of them have been granted local citizenship.
To be sure, life for the Hindus, in these largely Muslim states ranges widely, from religiously intolerant Saudi Arabia, through a laid-back existence in easy-going Oman, to the relative excess of Dubai. But even in Dubai, it is hard to forget, that you are in an Islamic country, and this, mixed with mutual stereotyping, and expat-unfriendly residence laws, makes the Hindu in the Middle East always a little nervous, but more prosperous than he would be in India.
Cuttak city was founded by Oriya King Nrupakesari in 985 AD
Cuttak city was founded by Oriya King Nrupakesari in 985 AD
By Arya S Das
FOUNDED by the famous Oriya King Nrupakesari in 985 AD, Cuttack was once a gem of a city. Situated on a delta shaped piece of land and surrounded by two mighty rivers the Mahanadi and the Kathajodi, Cuttack remained the capital of Orissa for about 1,000 years. Places of archeological importance, exotic temples, forts, rich handicraft traditions, colourful festivals and picturesque river banks bordered with green hills and forest preserve huge employment potential. Though the city has thrived as a commercial centre, the economic potential in other sectors has not been tapped to address the growing unemployment problem in the city.
Tourism can be the money spinner due to the city’s proximity with the golden triangle: Konark, Puri and Bhubaneswar. Tourists will love to see the prehistoric cave paintings in Naraj Hills towards the western part of the city. The historic Baliyatra Maidan which is the mute testimony to Orissa’s maritime trade with Greece can be a tourist attraction if a museum chronicling Orissa’s long maritime history is built here. Every year a fair called Bali Yatra is celebrated here commemorating the sea voyage of Oriya traders to foreign nations from this river port. The remnants of the famous Barabati Fort which was once a nine story palace can be preserved with documentation. The mote around the Barabati fort can be turned into a magnificent venue for water sport activity. There is an 11th century stone embankment protecting the city from flood which is an engineering marvel. The stone embankment constructed by Raja Markata Kesari protected the city from flood for centuries. The city sky line is decorated with exotic ancient temples namely Lakshmi Narayan temple, Raghunathjew temple, Jain temple and Chandi Mandir. Magnificent Dantan Saheb Gurudwar, churches and mosques are also part of the city’s heritage. There was once a magnificent sacred mango groove adjacent to the Raghunathjew Temple which was destroyed due to the poor attitude of the local residents. There is a need to restore the glory of this sacred groove which is originally the property of the famous Raghunathjew temple.
Cuttack is known as silver city for its world famous silver filigree work. Many other handicraft traditions like horn craft, clay work, wood work and gold jewelry work still survive in the lanes and by lanes of the city which can generate employment with the conscious efforts of the State government and other development agencies. Over the years many artisans from the city have migrated to Gujrat, Mumbai and New Delhi for better opportunity. The young generation of artisans have switched over to other professions due to their uncertain future. There is an urgent need to ban the machine made silver filigree products as this has eroded the traditional skill of artisans and is responsible for the untimely death of the silver filigree craft.
An exclusive market place for genuine artisan products can be carved out in the city to attract tourists. Faster train connectivity from Cuttack to India’s financial capital Mumbai will definitely help thousands of Oriya artisans to access the global craft market. Cuttack city has become very much chaotic due to lack of development vision. British Historian William Hunter describes the magnificence of the city which had wide roads with beautiful bunglow type houses resembling pictures on a drawing board. Disappearance of jobs in fishery and in other traditional sectors have forced people to put shops on roads and in residential areas which cause permanent nuisance for residents. There is an urgent need to carve out vendor zones in the city which will improve tourism prospect.
By Arya S Das
FOUNDED by the famous Oriya King Nrupakesari in 985 AD, Cuttack was once a gem of a city. Situated on a delta shaped piece of land and surrounded by two mighty rivers the Mahanadi and the Kathajodi, Cuttack remained the capital of Orissa for about 1,000 years. Places of archeological importance, exotic temples, forts, rich handicraft traditions, colourful festivals and picturesque river banks bordered with green hills and forest preserve huge employment potential. Though the city has thrived as a commercial centre, the economic potential in other sectors has not been tapped to address the growing unemployment problem in the city.
Tourism can be the money spinner due to the city’s proximity with the golden triangle: Konark, Puri and Bhubaneswar. Tourists will love to see the prehistoric cave paintings in Naraj Hills towards the western part of the city. The historic Baliyatra Maidan which is the mute testimony to Orissa’s maritime trade with Greece can be a tourist attraction if a museum chronicling Orissa’s long maritime history is built here. Every year a fair called Bali Yatra is celebrated here commemorating the sea voyage of Oriya traders to foreign nations from this river port. The remnants of the famous Barabati Fort which was once a nine story palace can be preserved with documentation. The mote around the Barabati fort can be turned into a magnificent venue for water sport activity. There is an 11th century stone embankment protecting the city from flood which is an engineering marvel. The stone embankment constructed by Raja Markata Kesari protected the city from flood for centuries. The city sky line is decorated with exotic ancient temples namely Lakshmi Narayan temple, Raghunathjew temple, Jain temple and Chandi Mandir. Magnificent Dantan Saheb Gurudwar, churches and mosques are also part of the city’s heritage. There was once a magnificent sacred mango groove adjacent to the Raghunathjew Temple which was destroyed due to the poor attitude of the local residents. There is a need to restore the glory of this sacred groove which is originally the property of the famous Raghunathjew temple.
Cuttack is known as silver city for its world famous silver filigree work. Many other handicraft traditions like horn craft, clay work, wood work and gold jewelry work still survive in the lanes and by lanes of the city which can generate employment with the conscious efforts of the State government and other development agencies. Over the years many artisans from the city have migrated to Gujrat, Mumbai and New Delhi for better opportunity. The young generation of artisans have switched over to other professions due to their uncertain future. There is an urgent need to ban the machine made silver filigree products as this has eroded the traditional skill of artisans and is responsible for the untimely death of the silver filigree craft.
An exclusive market place for genuine artisan products can be carved out in the city to attract tourists. Faster train connectivity from Cuttack to India’s financial capital Mumbai will definitely help thousands of Oriya artisans to access the global craft market. Cuttack city has become very much chaotic due to lack of development vision. British Historian William Hunter describes the magnificence of the city which had wide roads with beautiful bunglow type houses resembling pictures on a drawing board. Disappearance of jobs in fishery and in other traditional sectors have forced people to put shops on roads and in residential areas which cause permanent nuisance for residents. There is an urgent need to carve out vendor zones in the city which will improve tourism prospect.
Modi a victim of Left-Islamist witch-hunt
Facts reveal a different story
By OP Gupta, IFS (Retd)
The SIT has no written manual of its procedures laying down principles and procedures of its investigation, therefore, SIT has potential to work arbitrarily and at whims and fancies of its members. So a citizen is not bound to cooperate with SIT. In the light of these it was not necessary for Modi to present himself to SIT as this SIT is neither a statutory body nor it has any police or judicial powers to summon a citizen.
THESE days a lot of media hype is being created against Narendra Modi based on the complaint of Zakia Jaffery that her late husband Ehsan Jaffery made telephone calls to Modi but Modi did not send police in time so Modi is personally responsible for murder, aid & abetment of murder of Muslims in her Society. She has named 63 persons in her complaint filed before the Supreme Court. She has completely hidden the fact that Police Commissioner PC Pandey had visited Ehsan Jaffery at 10 AM on February 28, 2002 and offered them safe passage but Jaffery did not accept the offer. Even the Information Department of the Government of Gujarat has not highlighted this fact. It is further reported that Jaffery incited the mob by opening fire at them.
It is known that in our administrative culture, Chief Ministers and Ministers are required to limit themselves only to laying down policies and hold periodic review thereof. And Chief Minister and Ministers are neither authorised by law nor by convention to get involved into day-to-day operations, much less directing deployment of platoons and battalions of police constables. Whether police force should go to place X or to place Y is to be decided by district SP and not by a Chief Minister. Therefore the question why did Modi not send police to Jaffery residence is just not maintainable.
A Minister cannot be personally and individually held responsible for death of persons if police does not reach in time to save those persons. Can Naveen Patnaik, Chief Minister of Orissa, be held criminally liable for murder of Swami Laxamanananda and his four disciples as he had failed to provide police security to Swamiji though Swamiji had written to Chief Minister months before his murder seeking police protection?
But despite Commissioner Pandey offering safe exit to Jaffery at 10 AM on February 28, 2002, Modi was grilled on March 27, 2010, by the Special Investigation Team constituted by the Supreme Court.
RK Raghavan and other members of the SIT should tell the public whether they expected/expect a Minister to order the actual deployment of police units and if so under which rule.
The five-member SIT was constituted by a three-judge bench of the Supreme Court on March 25, 2008, to re-investigate the Gujarat riot cases. The apex court directive came in the wake of a complaint filed by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) seeking transfer of probe and trial of riot-related cases outside the state. Decision to form a special team was announced by the bench comprising Justices Arijit Pasayat, P Sathasivam and Aftab Alam after hearing amicus curiae Harish Salve.
The SIT initially consisted of three IPS officers from Gujarat, Geeta Johri, Shivanand Jha and Ashish Bhatia, and two retired IPS officers from outside the state-ex-CBI chief RK Raghavan and former UP cadre IPS officer CV Satpathy.
Setting up the SIT and handing over cases to SIT by the three-member bench of the Supreme Court is violative of the decision of the seven-member bench of the Supreme Court in the AR Antulay case (1988 AIR 1531). In this case, in a nutshell, it was decided that no special procedure can be laid down by the Supreme Court for prosecution of any citizen other than that laid down in statutes as every citizen is entitled to equal protection of law (Articles 14 and 21).
Secondly, handing over complaint of Zakia Jaffery to SIT, without first hearing the 63 persons accused by Zakia amounts to violation of the principles of natural justice by this three-member bench of the Supreme Court. Principles of natural justice lay down that no one shall be condemned unheard.
The Indian Express (Anita Saluja, March 29, 2010) has quoted Raghavan as saying: "Petition of Zakia was SIT’s bible." It means that every allegation made in Zakia’s complaint is gospel truth for SIT. This shows biased attitude of SIT chief.
Thirdly, this SIT has no written manual of its procedures laying down principles and procedures of its investigation, therefore, SIT has potential to work arbitrarily and at whims and fancies of its members. So a citizen is not bound to cooperate with SIT. In the light of these it was not necessary for Modi to present himself to SIT as this SIT is neither a statutory body nor it has any police or judicial powers to summon a citizen.
It may be recalled that Indira Gandhi had refused to cooperate with the Shah Commission as the Shah Commission set up its own special procedure though it was set up under the Commission of Inquiry Act.
Since SIT has no written manual it may work arbitrarily is not a hype as Justice Alam on April 6, 2010, hearing observed: "SIT should have a uniform approach. There is no uniformity in the SIT." At this hearing the three-member bench decided to drop Geeta Johri and Jha from the SIT.
On April 14, 2009, The Times of India and The Economic Times reported: The Special Investigation Team severely censured NGOs and social activist Teesta Setalvad who campaigned for the riot victims. In a significant development, the SIT led by former CBI director RK Raghavan told the Supreme Court that the celebrated rights activist cooked up macabre tales of wanton killings.
Affidavits of 22 witnesses were found to be identical and were drafted, typed and printed from same computer. When SIT questioned those who had signed the affidavits it was found that they were not aware of the incidents covered in affidavits.
Generally foreign-funded pro-Islamist NGOs and a section of Indian media having foreign equity have been in the forefront to defame and demonise Narendra Modi, Chief Minister of Gujarat, by repeating ad nauseum falsehood and canards since the 2002 Gujarat riots, and have been partially successful in creating a public perception that post- Godhra riots were organised by Modi as the Information Department of the Government of Gujarat, in my view, has not been proactive and persistent in presenting full fact sheet before the people of India as often as Gujarat is maligned by such NGOs and their sympathisers.
While serving as Ambassador to Finland I was called upon to speak to local pressmen who wanted to know factual position about stories appearing in Indian media about the so-called ‘massacre and genocide’ of Muslims in Gujarat. I sought report from the Home Department of Gujarat and was furnished with data which showed that the Modi government was not biased in handling the post-Godhra riots, and in fact the Modi government arrested a very large number of Hindus.
The Principal Secretary Home wrote to me that during the period from February 27 to April 30, 2002, number of Hindus killed in the police firing was 80, number of Hindus arrested in crime was 10432 as against 4533 Muslims, number of Hindus arrested in preventive action was 20,082 as against 4133 Muslims. Hindus constituted about 78 per cent of all arrests made by the Gujarat Police. When I presented this data the mediamen got satisfied that the allegation of being pro-Hindu and anti-Muslim against the Modi government was just not sustainable. And, that the allegations against the Gujarat Police being inactive or partial towards Hindus, or doing too little and too late were unsustainable. Gujarat has a history of communal riots and had about 443 riots between 1970 and 2002.
It may be recalled that despite communal riots legacy of the past the 2002 communal riots broke out only in 12 out of 25 districts of Gujarat. It means that about half of Gujarat remained unaffected and credit for this must go to Modi and to civil servants of Gujarat.
In Panchgani district Police rescued and saved about 3700 Muslims during February 28 to March 3. More than ten thousand Muslims were saved by the Gujarat Police in Ahmedabad, Mehsana, Nardipur, Bhavnagar, Surat, Dahod and Vadodara. But a section of Indian media suppressed these facts and presented to the world news as if entire Gujarat was burning deflecting foreign investments away from India.
During the 2002 communal riots 190 Hindus were killed and 662 Muslims got killed. So number being below a thousand it could hardly be called ‘massacre’ or ‘genocide’ of Muslims in Gujarat as many more Sikhs had died in the 1984 riots.
In the anti-Sikh riots of 1984 many thousands of Sikhs were killed. According to the Ranganath Mishra Commission 3874 Sikhs were killed out of which 2307 Sikhs were killed in Delhi alone. According to Sikh sources 4733 Sikhs were killed all over India out of which 2733 were killed in Delhi. Khushwant Singh told the Nanavati Commission: "The 1984 bloodbath left me feeling like a Jew in Nazi Germany." The Ranganath Mishra Commission reported: "In the mobs attacking Sikhs were people with sympathy for the Congress (I) and associated with the party’s activities."
Anti-Modi forces keep harping that post-Godhara riots were pre-planned and not spontaneous reaction to brutal burning alive of 58 Hindus including 26 women and 12 children at the Godhara railway station on February 27, 2002. If post-Godhra riots were pre-planned by the Modi government, why did violence not break out in the remaining 13 districts of Gujarat?
On this question of spontaneous response, Vir Sanghvi, Editor of the Hindustan Times wrote in the Sunday HT (April 21, 2002): " As much as some of us may try and pretend otherwise, no body with any intellectual honesty can dispute that riots were a response to Godhra."
Namita Bhandare, another journalist, wrote (HT, April 15, 2002) that according to an opinion poll conducted in Gujarat 70 per cent people believed that riots were spontaneous reaction to Godhra, and only 9.3 per cent believed it was backed by the government. And as we know neither the Hindustan Times nor Vir Sanghvi is supporter of Modi.
We know the role of Teesta Setalvad in case of Zahira Sheikh who was jailed by the court for giving false evidence. Zahira blamed Teesta for forcing her to give false evidence. It is high time that the Supreme Court bench should clarify this matter of 22 identical affidavits and order speedy trial of those who manufacture and manipulate evidences to misuse the judicial process.
In brief, the Information Department of the Government of Gujarat should aggressively and repeatedly place fact sheet before the people of India, and, the persons being falsely accused must file complaints u/s 500 of IPC against the so-called activists, and the Government of Gujarat must act against them under Section 153A for inciting communal feelings of one community against another by manufacturing evidences.
By OP Gupta, IFS (Retd)
The SIT has no written manual of its procedures laying down principles and procedures of its investigation, therefore, SIT has potential to work arbitrarily and at whims and fancies of its members. So a citizen is not bound to cooperate with SIT. In the light of these it was not necessary for Modi to present himself to SIT as this SIT is neither a statutory body nor it has any police or judicial powers to summon a citizen.
THESE days a lot of media hype is being created against Narendra Modi based on the complaint of Zakia Jaffery that her late husband Ehsan Jaffery made telephone calls to Modi but Modi did not send police in time so Modi is personally responsible for murder, aid & abetment of murder of Muslims in her Society. She has named 63 persons in her complaint filed before the Supreme Court. She has completely hidden the fact that Police Commissioner PC Pandey had visited Ehsan Jaffery at 10 AM on February 28, 2002 and offered them safe passage but Jaffery did not accept the offer. Even the Information Department of the Government of Gujarat has not highlighted this fact. It is further reported that Jaffery incited the mob by opening fire at them.
It is known that in our administrative culture, Chief Ministers and Ministers are required to limit themselves only to laying down policies and hold periodic review thereof. And Chief Minister and Ministers are neither authorised by law nor by convention to get involved into day-to-day operations, much less directing deployment of platoons and battalions of police constables. Whether police force should go to place X or to place Y is to be decided by district SP and not by a Chief Minister. Therefore the question why did Modi not send police to Jaffery residence is just not maintainable.
A Minister cannot be personally and individually held responsible for death of persons if police does not reach in time to save those persons. Can Naveen Patnaik, Chief Minister of Orissa, be held criminally liable for murder of Swami Laxamanananda and his four disciples as he had failed to provide police security to Swamiji though Swamiji had written to Chief Minister months before his murder seeking police protection?
But despite Commissioner Pandey offering safe exit to Jaffery at 10 AM on February 28, 2002, Modi was grilled on March 27, 2010, by the Special Investigation Team constituted by the Supreme Court.
RK Raghavan and other members of the SIT should tell the public whether they expected/expect a Minister to order the actual deployment of police units and if so under which rule.
The five-member SIT was constituted by a three-judge bench of the Supreme Court on March 25, 2008, to re-investigate the Gujarat riot cases. The apex court directive came in the wake of a complaint filed by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) seeking transfer of probe and trial of riot-related cases outside the state. Decision to form a special team was announced by the bench comprising Justices Arijit Pasayat, P Sathasivam and Aftab Alam after hearing amicus curiae Harish Salve.
The SIT initially consisted of three IPS officers from Gujarat, Geeta Johri, Shivanand Jha and Ashish Bhatia, and two retired IPS officers from outside the state-ex-CBI chief RK Raghavan and former UP cadre IPS officer CV Satpathy.
Setting up the SIT and handing over cases to SIT by the three-member bench of the Supreme Court is violative of the decision of the seven-member bench of the Supreme Court in the AR Antulay case (1988 AIR 1531). In this case, in a nutshell, it was decided that no special procedure can be laid down by the Supreme Court for prosecution of any citizen other than that laid down in statutes as every citizen is entitled to equal protection of law (Articles 14 and 21).
Secondly, handing over complaint of Zakia Jaffery to SIT, without first hearing the 63 persons accused by Zakia amounts to violation of the principles of natural justice by this three-member bench of the Supreme Court. Principles of natural justice lay down that no one shall be condemned unheard.
The Indian Express (Anita Saluja, March 29, 2010) has quoted Raghavan as saying: "Petition of Zakia was SIT’s bible." It means that every allegation made in Zakia’s complaint is gospel truth for SIT. This shows biased attitude of SIT chief.
Thirdly, this SIT has no written manual of its procedures laying down principles and procedures of its investigation, therefore, SIT has potential to work arbitrarily and at whims and fancies of its members. So a citizen is not bound to cooperate with SIT. In the light of these it was not necessary for Modi to present himself to SIT as this SIT is neither a statutory body nor it has any police or judicial powers to summon a citizen.
It may be recalled that Indira Gandhi had refused to cooperate with the Shah Commission as the Shah Commission set up its own special procedure though it was set up under the Commission of Inquiry Act.
Since SIT has no written manual it may work arbitrarily is not a hype as Justice Alam on April 6, 2010, hearing observed: "SIT should have a uniform approach. There is no uniformity in the SIT." At this hearing the three-member bench decided to drop Geeta Johri and Jha from the SIT.
On April 14, 2009, The Times of India and The Economic Times reported: The Special Investigation Team severely censured NGOs and social activist Teesta Setalvad who campaigned for the riot victims. In a significant development, the SIT led by former CBI director RK Raghavan told the Supreme Court that the celebrated rights activist cooked up macabre tales of wanton killings.
Affidavits of 22 witnesses were found to be identical and were drafted, typed and printed from same computer. When SIT questioned those who had signed the affidavits it was found that they were not aware of the incidents covered in affidavits.
Generally foreign-funded pro-Islamist NGOs and a section of Indian media having foreign equity have been in the forefront to defame and demonise Narendra Modi, Chief Minister of Gujarat, by repeating ad nauseum falsehood and canards since the 2002 Gujarat riots, and have been partially successful in creating a public perception that post- Godhra riots were organised by Modi as the Information Department of the Government of Gujarat, in my view, has not been proactive and persistent in presenting full fact sheet before the people of India as often as Gujarat is maligned by such NGOs and their sympathisers.
While serving as Ambassador to Finland I was called upon to speak to local pressmen who wanted to know factual position about stories appearing in Indian media about the so-called ‘massacre and genocide’ of Muslims in Gujarat. I sought report from the Home Department of Gujarat and was furnished with data which showed that the Modi government was not biased in handling the post-Godhra riots, and in fact the Modi government arrested a very large number of Hindus.
The Principal Secretary Home wrote to me that during the period from February 27 to April 30, 2002, number of Hindus killed in the police firing was 80, number of Hindus arrested in crime was 10432 as against 4533 Muslims, number of Hindus arrested in preventive action was 20,082 as against 4133 Muslims. Hindus constituted about 78 per cent of all arrests made by the Gujarat Police. When I presented this data the mediamen got satisfied that the allegation of being pro-Hindu and anti-Muslim against the Modi government was just not sustainable. And, that the allegations against the Gujarat Police being inactive or partial towards Hindus, or doing too little and too late were unsustainable. Gujarat has a history of communal riots and had about 443 riots between 1970 and 2002.
It may be recalled that despite communal riots legacy of the past the 2002 communal riots broke out only in 12 out of 25 districts of Gujarat. It means that about half of Gujarat remained unaffected and credit for this must go to Modi and to civil servants of Gujarat.
In Panchgani district Police rescued and saved about 3700 Muslims during February 28 to March 3. More than ten thousand Muslims were saved by the Gujarat Police in Ahmedabad, Mehsana, Nardipur, Bhavnagar, Surat, Dahod and Vadodara. But a section of Indian media suppressed these facts and presented to the world news as if entire Gujarat was burning deflecting foreign investments away from India.
During the 2002 communal riots 190 Hindus were killed and 662 Muslims got killed. So number being below a thousand it could hardly be called ‘massacre’ or ‘genocide’ of Muslims in Gujarat as many more Sikhs had died in the 1984 riots.
In the anti-Sikh riots of 1984 many thousands of Sikhs were killed. According to the Ranganath Mishra Commission 3874 Sikhs were killed out of which 2307 Sikhs were killed in Delhi alone. According to Sikh sources 4733 Sikhs were killed all over India out of which 2733 were killed in Delhi. Khushwant Singh told the Nanavati Commission: "The 1984 bloodbath left me feeling like a Jew in Nazi Germany." The Ranganath Mishra Commission reported: "In the mobs attacking Sikhs were people with sympathy for the Congress (I) and associated with the party’s activities."
Anti-Modi forces keep harping that post-Godhara riots were pre-planned and not spontaneous reaction to brutal burning alive of 58 Hindus including 26 women and 12 children at the Godhara railway station on February 27, 2002. If post-Godhra riots were pre-planned by the Modi government, why did violence not break out in the remaining 13 districts of Gujarat?
On this question of spontaneous response, Vir Sanghvi, Editor of the Hindustan Times wrote in the Sunday HT (April 21, 2002): " As much as some of us may try and pretend otherwise, no body with any intellectual honesty can dispute that riots were a response to Godhra."
Namita Bhandare, another journalist, wrote (HT, April 15, 2002) that according to an opinion poll conducted in Gujarat 70 per cent people believed that riots were spontaneous reaction to Godhra, and only 9.3 per cent believed it was backed by the government. And as we know neither the Hindustan Times nor Vir Sanghvi is supporter of Modi.
We know the role of Teesta Setalvad in case of Zahira Sheikh who was jailed by the court for giving false evidence. Zahira blamed Teesta for forcing her to give false evidence. It is high time that the Supreme Court bench should clarify this matter of 22 identical affidavits and order speedy trial of those who manufacture and manipulate evidences to misuse the judicial process.
In brief, the Information Department of the Government of Gujarat should aggressively and repeatedly place fact sheet before the people of India, and, the persons being falsely accused must file complaints u/s 500 of IPC against the so-called activists, and the Government of Gujarat must act against them under Section 153A for inciting communal feelings of one community against another by manufacturing evidences.
A blasphemous film by an American cartoonist
By Shachi Rairikar
As expected Nina Paley’s response to protests from some Hindu groups was: "Art and artists are major targets of some right-wing nationalist groups in India." We would love to see the reactions of India’s secular left-wing if Paley similarly ridicules Islam or Christianity.
Swami Vivekanand told the Christians in America, "If all India stands up, and takes all the mud that is at the bottom of the Indian Ocean and throws it up against the Western countries, it will not be doing an infinitesimal part of that which you are doing to us." More than a century has passed since then but the situation remains unchanged even today.
Nina Paley, an American cartoonist, in her animated film Sita Sings the Blues has left no stone unturned to denigrate the most revered icons of Hinduism, Ram and Sita, and the holy epic Ramayana. The film has turned the Ramayana into a laughing stock, is outrightly blasphemous and cannot be expected to be tolerated by even the most tolerant people.
In the film the commentators say that the Ramayana is not as true a story as the Bible. Sri Ram is depicted kicking Sita into the fire at the time of her agnipariksha and at the time of banishing her from the kingdom, even walking over her pregnant stomach. Sri Ram is shown as sweating and then fainting in fear on hearing from Hanuman what he saw in Lanka.
In the Ramayana, Ravan’s devotion to Shiva is described as such that the 72 thousand nadis or energy channels in his body created a sound (anahat nada). This has been interpreted in the film as "Ravan played the veena for Shiva with his intestines". Ravan’s intestines are shown tumbling out of his body and playing veena.
The holy Ramayana has been transformed into a pervert cheap lowly jester. Sita speaks in an uncouth manner telling Ravan, "Your ass is grass once Lord Ram comes here." Ravan’s sister describes Sita’s beauty saying that her breasts are like big round juicy lotuses. Sita is shown wearing a cholie that reveals her breasts in one outfit from above, and in another outfit from below the blouse.
One commentator viciously says that one needs to ‘give her one little tight thing’ for not returning with Hanuman when he came to rescue her. Another says that Sita stayed back as she wanted Sri Ram to rescue her and defeat Ravan due to the ego of wanting ‘her husband’ to be her rescuer and so she is called a ‘bloodthirsty’ woman and is depicted with blood coming out of her mouth and blood on her hands.
As expected Nina Paley’s response to protests from some Hindu groups was: "Art and artists are major targets of some right-wing nationalist groups in India." We would love to see the reactions of India’s secular left-wing if Paley similarly ridicules Islam or Christianity.
The film is available for free viewing on the internet and the most surprising fact is that it has received many international awards. It has been recommended to children on many parenting sites. There clearly seems to be an international strategy to defame Hinduism and the Hindus.
Another major attempt at denigrating Hinduism has been made by Wendy Doniger in her book The Hindus - An Alternative History. The book is not only ill-researched, full of factual errors but full of derogatory, defamatory and offensive statements.
There are statements like, "If the motto of Watergate was ‘Follow the money’, the motto of the history of Hinduism could well be ‘Follow the monkey’ or, more often ‘Follow the horse’." The author with all her incorrect interpretations alleges that in Rigveda 10.62, it is implied that a woman may find her own brother in her bed! The book likens the Vedic devotee worshipping different Vedic deities to a lying and a philandering boyfriend cheating on his girlfriend(s).
The author’s contempt of the Hindu people is evident in sentences like "...The mosque, whose serene calligraphic and geometric contrasts with the perpetual motion of the figures depicted on the temple, makes a stand against the chaos of India, creating enforced vacuums that India cannot rush into with all its monkeys and people and colors and the smells of the bazaar..."
About the Ramayan there are references like "Dasharatha’s son is certainly ‘lustful’. When Lakshmana learns that Sri Ram has been exiled, he says, "The king is perverse, old, and addicted to sex, driven by lust."
Wales Professor of Sanskrit at Harvard Michael Witzel has described Wendy’s translations of Rig Veda, Jaiminiya Brahmana and Manusmriti in these stark terms - ‘lacking common sense’, ‘unreliable’, ‘idiosyncratic’ and ‘a stream of unconnected George-Bush-like anacolutha’.In the words of the BBC, "Doniger is known for being rude, crude and very lewd in the hallowed portals of Sanskrit Academics."
Even the literary skills of Doniger were questioned by many readers who felt that every chapter seemed to have been written by a different person, suggesting that the book is a collection of writings of Doniger’s students. In spite of all its faults and deliberate mockery of Hinduism the book got nominated for the National Book Critics Circle.
Doniger has faced the wrath of the right-thinking Hindus. A critic had once thrown an egg at her at a conference in London in 2003. In her defence Doniger claims that she has been targeted because her "disadvantage lies in being female, non-Brahmin and more importantly, non-Hindu". Before claiming victimhood on silly grounds, Doniger should take care to take a closer look at Hindu history where eminent personalities like Annie Besant and Sister Nivedita still command respect even though they were females, non-Brahmin and non-Hindu.
When books like Doniger’s and films like Paley’s are considered for awards, serious questions arise about the authenticity, motives and merit of the critics and awards themselves. There is definitely a large section in the Western world which has a well-designed anti-Hindu agenda.
It would be interesting to see the international response if Christianity or Islam become the subject of such derogatory portrayal. Positively, the very first protests would come from our own secular Indian government itself and then the media and the activists. The Prime Minister will lose sleep worrying about the hurt sentiments of the minorities. But they will defend these offending anti-Hindu works with their usual rhetoric of "freedom of expression"; the sentiments of the religious majority, of course, can go to the dogs.
The said film and the book should be instantly withdrawn from circulation and apology rendered by the publishers, writers and creators to the millions of Hindus all over the world. There are online petitions to protest against these anti-Hindu works. Please log on to the following links and sign the petitions to join the protest.
Protest against Nina Paley’s outright denigration of The Ramayan: http://www.hindujagruti.org
Demand for withdrawal of a flawed book on Hindu history published by Penguin: http://www.petitiononline.com
Once when Swami Vivekanand was travelling on a ship, there were some Christian missionaries who abused the Hindus and their religion. The Swami walked over to one of the speakers, seized him by the collar and said firmly, "If you abuse my religion again, I’ll throw you overboard." That’s the message that we have to send out to the world.
As expected Nina Paley’s response to protests from some Hindu groups was: "Art and artists are major targets of some right-wing nationalist groups in India." We would love to see the reactions of India’s secular left-wing if Paley similarly ridicules Islam or Christianity.
Swami Vivekanand told the Christians in America, "If all India stands up, and takes all the mud that is at the bottom of the Indian Ocean and throws it up against the Western countries, it will not be doing an infinitesimal part of that which you are doing to us." More than a century has passed since then but the situation remains unchanged even today.
Nina Paley, an American cartoonist, in her animated film Sita Sings the Blues has left no stone unturned to denigrate the most revered icons of Hinduism, Ram and Sita, and the holy epic Ramayana. The film has turned the Ramayana into a laughing stock, is outrightly blasphemous and cannot be expected to be tolerated by even the most tolerant people.
In the film the commentators say that the Ramayana is not as true a story as the Bible. Sri Ram is depicted kicking Sita into the fire at the time of her agnipariksha and at the time of banishing her from the kingdom, even walking over her pregnant stomach. Sri Ram is shown as sweating and then fainting in fear on hearing from Hanuman what he saw in Lanka.
In the Ramayana, Ravan’s devotion to Shiva is described as such that the 72 thousand nadis or energy channels in his body created a sound (anahat nada). This has been interpreted in the film as "Ravan played the veena for Shiva with his intestines". Ravan’s intestines are shown tumbling out of his body and playing veena.
The holy Ramayana has been transformed into a pervert cheap lowly jester. Sita speaks in an uncouth manner telling Ravan, "Your ass is grass once Lord Ram comes here." Ravan’s sister describes Sita’s beauty saying that her breasts are like big round juicy lotuses. Sita is shown wearing a cholie that reveals her breasts in one outfit from above, and in another outfit from below the blouse.
One commentator viciously says that one needs to ‘give her one little tight thing’ for not returning with Hanuman when he came to rescue her. Another says that Sita stayed back as she wanted Sri Ram to rescue her and defeat Ravan due to the ego of wanting ‘her husband’ to be her rescuer and so she is called a ‘bloodthirsty’ woman and is depicted with blood coming out of her mouth and blood on her hands.
As expected Nina Paley’s response to protests from some Hindu groups was: "Art and artists are major targets of some right-wing nationalist groups in India." We would love to see the reactions of India’s secular left-wing if Paley similarly ridicules Islam or Christianity.
The film is available for free viewing on the internet and the most surprising fact is that it has received many international awards. It has been recommended to children on many parenting sites. There clearly seems to be an international strategy to defame Hinduism and the Hindus.
Another major attempt at denigrating Hinduism has been made by Wendy Doniger in her book The Hindus - An Alternative History. The book is not only ill-researched, full of factual errors but full of derogatory, defamatory and offensive statements.
There are statements like, "If the motto of Watergate was ‘Follow the money’, the motto of the history of Hinduism could well be ‘Follow the monkey’ or, more often ‘Follow the horse’." The author with all her incorrect interpretations alleges that in Rigveda 10.62, it is implied that a woman may find her own brother in her bed! The book likens the Vedic devotee worshipping different Vedic deities to a lying and a philandering boyfriend cheating on his girlfriend(s).
The author’s contempt of the Hindu people is evident in sentences like "...The mosque, whose serene calligraphic and geometric contrasts with the perpetual motion of the figures depicted on the temple, makes a stand against the chaos of India, creating enforced vacuums that India cannot rush into with all its monkeys and people and colors and the smells of the bazaar..."
About the Ramayan there are references like "Dasharatha’s son is certainly ‘lustful’. When Lakshmana learns that Sri Ram has been exiled, he says, "The king is perverse, old, and addicted to sex, driven by lust."
Wales Professor of Sanskrit at Harvard Michael Witzel has described Wendy’s translations of Rig Veda, Jaiminiya Brahmana and Manusmriti in these stark terms - ‘lacking common sense’, ‘unreliable’, ‘idiosyncratic’ and ‘a stream of unconnected George-Bush-like anacolutha’.In the words of the BBC, "Doniger is known for being rude, crude and very lewd in the hallowed portals of Sanskrit Academics."
Even the literary skills of Doniger were questioned by many readers who felt that every chapter seemed to have been written by a different person, suggesting that the book is a collection of writings of Doniger’s students. In spite of all its faults and deliberate mockery of Hinduism the book got nominated for the National Book Critics Circle.
Doniger has faced the wrath of the right-thinking Hindus. A critic had once thrown an egg at her at a conference in London in 2003. In her defence Doniger claims that she has been targeted because her "disadvantage lies in being female, non-Brahmin and more importantly, non-Hindu". Before claiming victimhood on silly grounds, Doniger should take care to take a closer look at Hindu history where eminent personalities like Annie Besant and Sister Nivedita still command respect even though they were females, non-Brahmin and non-Hindu.
When books like Doniger’s and films like Paley’s are considered for awards, serious questions arise about the authenticity, motives and merit of the critics and awards themselves. There is definitely a large section in the Western world which has a well-designed anti-Hindu agenda.
It would be interesting to see the international response if Christianity or Islam become the subject of such derogatory portrayal. Positively, the very first protests would come from our own secular Indian government itself and then the media and the activists. The Prime Minister will lose sleep worrying about the hurt sentiments of the minorities. But they will defend these offending anti-Hindu works with their usual rhetoric of "freedom of expression"; the sentiments of the religious majority, of course, can go to the dogs.
The said film and the book should be instantly withdrawn from circulation and apology rendered by the publishers, writers and creators to the millions of Hindus all over the world. There are online petitions to protest against these anti-Hindu works. Please log on to the following links and sign the petitions to join the protest.
Protest against Nina Paley’s outright denigration of The Ramayan: http://www.hindujagruti.org
Demand for withdrawal of a flawed book on Hindu history published by Penguin: http://www.petitiononline.com
Once when Swami Vivekanand was travelling on a ship, there were some Christian missionaries who abused the Hindus and their religion. The Swami walked over to one of the speakers, seized him by the collar and said firmly, "If you abuse my religion again, I’ll throw you overboard." That’s the message that we have to send out to the world.
CPM atrocity at graveyard
RSS martyr’s memorial demolished
By S Chandrasekhar
SINCE seventies hundreds of brave hearts have sacrificed their lives for holding afloat the saffron flag in the CPM-RSS killing fields of Kannur in north Kerala. Throwing into the Arabian Sea the CPM arrogance of not letting any other ideology flourish in Kannur, the RSS has established a vast network of shakhas and is hitting back for self-defence.
The RSS has been able to create a massive public outrage against CPM murder politics and intolerance, which have led to CPM’s humiliating defeat at Kannur parliamentary and assembly polls.
After a brief lull, CPM is at its game again. On March 31, a steel bomb was found at the martyr tomb of RSS brave- heart Sooraj, near the Muzhippilangad beach. Detailed examination of the tomb by the police on April 1, yielded four more bombs. They were fixed to the four corners, with the aim of blasting it.
A few months back, CPM blasted the same tomb of Sooraj, who was stabbed in the series of CPM-RSS clashes, which took place in 2005, which left several murdered from both sides.
Despite police protection, the CPM continued its tirade against the dead. The RSS repaired the tomb of Sooraj on April 4. But on April 5, the tomb was found demolished! The situation is very tense and heavy police force have been rushed there.
Many see this tomb destruction as a war between CPM secretary Pinarayi Vijayan and Home Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan. With Pinarayi facing CBI probe in Rs 376-crore SNC-Lavlin scam, Kodiyeri is consolidating his position as a future CPM chief minister candidate. The tombs are being demolished to provoke RSS, so as to attack Home Minister Kodiyeri and launch a massive campaign against him.
Meanwhile, the no-nonsence SP of Kannur, Anup K John who was able to contain CPM-RSS clashes and bring peace has been shunted. His determination to arrest CPM hit-squads which were behind murders of RSS men and his threat to demolish CPM tombs, columns and flags, causing tension, are seen as reasons. While BJP had removed most of the tombs and columns, CPM had refused to do so. Anup K John’s refusal to follow the diktats of CPM local secretary Sasi and Home Minister Kodiyeri for acting against RSS has provoked this shifting.
The RSS has warned that its hands will not be tied, if the CPM attempts any mis-adventure against it, in Kannur.
By S Chandrasekhar
SINCE seventies hundreds of brave hearts have sacrificed their lives for holding afloat the saffron flag in the CPM-RSS killing fields of Kannur in north Kerala. Throwing into the Arabian Sea the CPM arrogance of not letting any other ideology flourish in Kannur, the RSS has established a vast network of shakhas and is hitting back for self-defence.
The RSS has been able to create a massive public outrage against CPM murder politics and intolerance, which have led to CPM’s humiliating defeat at Kannur parliamentary and assembly polls.
After a brief lull, CPM is at its game again. On March 31, a steel bomb was found at the martyr tomb of RSS brave- heart Sooraj, near the Muzhippilangad beach. Detailed examination of the tomb by the police on April 1, yielded four more bombs. They were fixed to the four corners, with the aim of blasting it.
A few months back, CPM blasted the same tomb of Sooraj, who was stabbed in the series of CPM-RSS clashes, which took place in 2005, which left several murdered from both sides.
Despite police protection, the CPM continued its tirade against the dead. The RSS repaired the tomb of Sooraj on April 4. But on April 5, the tomb was found demolished! The situation is very tense and heavy police force have been rushed there.
Many see this tomb destruction as a war between CPM secretary Pinarayi Vijayan and Home Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan. With Pinarayi facing CBI probe in Rs 376-crore SNC-Lavlin scam, Kodiyeri is consolidating his position as a future CPM chief minister candidate. The tombs are being demolished to provoke RSS, so as to attack Home Minister Kodiyeri and launch a massive campaign against him.
Meanwhile, the no-nonsence SP of Kannur, Anup K John who was able to contain CPM-RSS clashes and bring peace has been shunted. His determination to arrest CPM hit-squads which were behind murders of RSS men and his threat to demolish CPM tombs, columns and flags, causing tension, are seen as reasons. While BJP had removed most of the tombs and columns, CPM had refused to do so. Anup K John’s refusal to follow the diktats of CPM local secretary Sasi and Home Minister Kodiyeri for acting against RSS has provoked this shifting.
The RSS has warned that its hands will not be tied, if the CPM attempts any mis-adventure against it, in Kannur.
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