CPM’s Muslim reservation in West Bengal
Challenged in Supreme Court
By Asim Kumar Mitra
The State government which has followed the recommendation of Justice Ranganath Mishra Commission Report, is not tenable here for the simple reason that the Commission’s report has only been submitted to the Parliament. But it has not yet been tabled in the Parliament for discussion let alone any decision taken on the matter. When the Central government has yet to take any decision on its implementation, how come that the State government could take any such decision?
PENDING Assembly elections of West Bengal, all political parties including CPM, INC, TMC etc. are busy appeasing the Muslim community in their own way. The ruling conglomerate of the State - CPM-led Left Front has outwitted other parties by offering extraordinary facilities of 10 per cent job reservation in government offices for the Muslims.
This has sparked off a strong State-wide reaction. They are of the opinion that after the judgment of the Apex Court prohibiting reservation on the basis religion in the case of Andhra Pradesh, the West Bengal government cannot take such decision. It is not only unethical, it is illegal.
One Joydeep Mukherjee has gone to the Supreme Court to lodge a Public Interest Litigation (PIL). The apex court has accepted the case. The constitution bench of the apex court headed by the Chief Justice S H Kapadia has admitted this case and they have fixed up the hearing date after Deepavali.
In the meantime State government officials have said that they have not yet received any notice from the Supreme Court. But they have information that such a PIL has been admitted by the Supreme Court. They have said that as they are aware of the judgment given in AP case regarding reservation on religious basis, they have taken all precautions so they could not be caught on wrong foot. They have claimed that the notification circulated by the State government in this regard on 24-2-2010 is a testimony for it. The government has minutely followed the recommendations of Justice Ranganath Mishra Commission report on minority. The State government officials have further pointed out that the Supreme Court, after admitting the PIL, did not stay the notification circulated by the State government.
But Joydeep Mukherjee has demanded that the State government circular has specifically mentioned that out of 108 OBC (Other Backward Classes) groups the State government has chosen only 56 OBC groups for providing with the facility of 10 per cent job reservation, and these groups are essentially Muslims. Of course, mention of one or two other community is also there. But with this they could not hide their ill motive behind this circular.
Mukherjee further mentioned that the State government which has followed the recommendation of Justice Ranganath Mishra Commission Report, is not tenable here for the simple reason that the Commission’s report has only been submitted to the Parliament. But it has not yet been tabled in the Parliament for discussion let alone any decision taken on the matter. When the Central government has yet to take any decision on its implementation, how come that the State government could take any such decision?
Hence it is obvious that the ruling conglomerate of the State is all out to take advantage of the situation without caring the constitutionality of the matter. He is confident that the Supreme Court will not allow this unconstitutional step to be implemented.
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Obama visiting Tomb
This is UPA secularism
Veil on Hindu India, minority extravagance
By Dr R Balashankar
Arriving a day after Deepawali, the UPA government could have shown the visiting dignitaries how the festival lights up the city and hearts of people. A trip to Jantar Mantar would have gladdened the President. For a modern architectural wonder, a private initiative, Akshardam temple would have given him the fragrance of India.
THE government’s handling of the visit of US President Barack Obama and his wife set yet another black milestone in the UPA’s track of undermining the Hindu ethos of India.
The government selectively showcased places and people that had no touch of Hindu. The visiting dignitary was taken to a mausoleum first thing when he arrived. Can there be a more inappropriate beginning to a trip? And that mausoleum happened to be that of an invader ruler who laid the foundations of Islamic rule in this country. Was that the reason that spot was chosen? So far we had not heard that Humayun Tomb was such an architectural splendour. Is Humayun’s tomb an architectural marvel or is Humayun considered historically such a tall person? To our understanding neither is the case.
The minister in waiting was Salman Khurshid, again the question why? The answer seems to be that he is a Muslim, more importantly not a Hindu.
In fact, as though to compensate for the UPA’s indiscretion or deliberate ignoring of India’s rich cultural history and heritage, Obama reminded our MPs about the greatness of our nation. ‘You invented the zero’ he said. ‘You unlocked the intricacies of the human body and the vastness of our universe’ he highlighted.
Arriving a day after Deepawali, the UPA government could have shown the visiting dignitaries how the festival lights up the city and hearts of people. A trip to Jantar Mantar would have gladdened the President. For a modern architectural wonder, a private initiative, Akshardam temple would have given him the fragrance of India. The President could have been taken to Chandni Chowk where Guru Teg Bahadur laid his life down in protecting the cause of the Hindus, taking on the emperor Aurangzeb. It would have sent the message of our courage and zero-tolerance to terror.
The list of people who were invited to the official dinner also was queer. Shabana Azmi and her husband Javed Akhtar, A R Rehman, Amir Khan, and the list goes on in these lines. It was as though the government, led by a selected Sikh PM and controlled by a Catholic Christian wanted to give a message to the US President, that India today is dominated in all spheres by non-Hindus.
Obama and his wife were introduced to Indian music, only it turned out to be the Christian choir from Meghalaya.
At the hotel, girls decked up as brides received the President. What a vulgar gesture! Brides are decked up to receive their husbands-to-be, not some stranger, and definitely not a respected visitor. If only someone had told Obama this, he might have had second thoughts accepting the welcome. And the hotel prides itself in ‘reserving’ this welcome to ‘special dignitaries.’
In fact ever since the UPA took over, both its first and second versions, there has been a systematic attempt to deny the nation its Hindu character. Does anyone recall the last time Deepawali and Holi were celebrated in the official residence of the Prime Minister?
On the eve of the Commonwealth games, newspapers took out sponsored supplements on the landmarks of Delhi. All the sites mentioned were mausoleums of known and unknown Muslims. There was not even a mention anywhere that the first city of Delhi was created by the Pandavas or there is a Delhi from which Prithviraj Chauhan ruled.
William Darlymple in his book City of Djinns has wondered why the Archaeological Survey of India never made any attempt to excavate the area that was known as Indraprastha. The Purana Quila region, including where the Pragati Maidan stands today are full of potential archaeological evidences that would throw light on the connection to Mahabharata.
In the last term, UPA closed the Saraswati exploration project. The Dwarka underwater exploration, a pet project of Indira Gandhi was never taken to its logical conclusion.
An on-going exhibition in the heart of the capital, Delhi-The Heritage City has no space for the Hindu heritage. It is full of tombs and mausoleums. Hindus celebrate life, worship the dead in spirit. But never make them a showcase to tread on.
Veil on Hindu India, minority extravagance
By Dr R Balashankar
Arriving a day after Deepawali, the UPA government could have shown the visiting dignitaries how the festival lights up the city and hearts of people. A trip to Jantar Mantar would have gladdened the President. For a modern architectural wonder, a private initiative, Akshardam temple would have given him the fragrance of India.
THE government’s handling of the visit of US President Barack Obama and his wife set yet another black milestone in the UPA’s track of undermining the Hindu ethos of India.
The government selectively showcased places and people that had no touch of Hindu. The visiting dignitary was taken to a mausoleum first thing when he arrived. Can there be a more inappropriate beginning to a trip? And that mausoleum happened to be that of an invader ruler who laid the foundations of Islamic rule in this country. Was that the reason that spot was chosen? So far we had not heard that Humayun Tomb was such an architectural splendour. Is Humayun’s tomb an architectural marvel or is Humayun considered historically such a tall person? To our understanding neither is the case.
The minister in waiting was Salman Khurshid, again the question why? The answer seems to be that he is a Muslim, more importantly not a Hindu.
In fact, as though to compensate for the UPA’s indiscretion or deliberate ignoring of India’s rich cultural history and heritage, Obama reminded our MPs about the greatness of our nation. ‘You invented the zero’ he said. ‘You unlocked the intricacies of the human body and the vastness of our universe’ he highlighted.
Arriving a day after Deepawali, the UPA government could have shown the visiting dignitaries how the festival lights up the city and hearts of people. A trip to Jantar Mantar would have gladdened the President. For a modern architectural wonder, a private initiative, Akshardam temple would have given him the fragrance of India. The President could have been taken to Chandni Chowk where Guru Teg Bahadur laid his life down in protecting the cause of the Hindus, taking on the emperor Aurangzeb. It would have sent the message of our courage and zero-tolerance to terror.
The list of people who were invited to the official dinner also was queer. Shabana Azmi and her husband Javed Akhtar, A R Rehman, Amir Khan, and the list goes on in these lines. It was as though the government, led by a selected Sikh PM and controlled by a Catholic Christian wanted to give a message to the US President, that India today is dominated in all spheres by non-Hindus.
Obama and his wife were introduced to Indian music, only it turned out to be the Christian choir from Meghalaya.
At the hotel, girls decked up as brides received the President. What a vulgar gesture! Brides are decked up to receive their husbands-to-be, not some stranger, and definitely not a respected visitor. If only someone had told Obama this, he might have had second thoughts accepting the welcome. And the hotel prides itself in ‘reserving’ this welcome to ‘special dignitaries.’
In fact ever since the UPA took over, both its first and second versions, there has been a systematic attempt to deny the nation its Hindu character. Does anyone recall the last time Deepawali and Holi were celebrated in the official residence of the Prime Minister?
On the eve of the Commonwealth games, newspapers took out sponsored supplements on the landmarks of Delhi. All the sites mentioned were mausoleums of known and unknown Muslims. There was not even a mention anywhere that the first city of Delhi was created by the Pandavas or there is a Delhi from which Prithviraj Chauhan ruled.
William Darlymple in his book City of Djinns has wondered why the Archaeological Survey of India never made any attempt to excavate the area that was known as Indraprastha. The Purana Quila region, including where the Pragati Maidan stands today are full of potential archaeological evidences that would throw light on the connection to Mahabharata.
In the last term, UPA closed the Saraswati exploration project. The Dwarka underwater exploration, a pet project of Indira Gandhi was never taken to its logical conclusion.
An on-going exhibition in the heart of the capital, Delhi-The Heritage City has no space for the Hindu heritage. It is full of tombs and mausoleums. Hindus celebrate life, worship the dead in spirit. But never make them a showcase to tread on.
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Changing face of Russo-Pakistan ties
By MV Kamath
If Afghanistan will get Russian help, why would it want aid from India which would now have to face a Moscow-Kabul-Islamabad entente? But will a Russian-Pakistan relationship help in resolving Indo-Pakistan conflict? With Russia present once again in Afghanistan in a big way, would Pakistan be able to treat Afghanistan as a place to fall-back in case of a conflict with India?
IS Russia slowly but noticeably turning away from India for a more profitable relationship with Pakistan, unbelievable as it may seem? Is India’s tilt towards the United States slowly pushing Moscow to improve its relations with our immediate and hostile western neighbour, at our cost? For over half a century, during the Cold War and after, the Soviet Union and later Russia has stood by India, but now, it seems, the situation is perceptibly changing. It has now been brought to the notice of Indians by a remarkable expose in The Hindu (September 9) by a Russian correspondent, Vladimir Radyuhin which must wake up India from its political slumber.
The story is that early in August, this year, President Medvedev of Russia hosted a quadripartite summit, by inviting leaders of Afghanistan, Tajikistan and Pakistan to a Black Sea resort Sochi, for high-level discussions. Pakistan was represented by Asaf Ali Zardari. And what is the significance of this meeting? One, Moscow has decisively moved to de-hyphenate its relations with Delhi and Islamabad. Two, it has shown that Russo-Pak relations have been promoted to the highest-presidential-level. And three, that Moscow has overcome its former reluctance to develop full-fledged relations with Islamabad. These are ominous developments. Delhi remains stunned.
As Radyuhin remarks: "Little wonder then, that even after three weeks after the Summit, there has been no reaction from New Delhi". What has made Moscow do a turn-around in its relations with Pakistan? Radyuhin himself provides the answer. It is, he says, the realisation that seeing Islamabad as part of the region’s problems does not help to advance the Russian goal of playing a bigger role in the region". Moscow’s current belief is that "Pakistan must be part of the solution". Pakistan has so far had two powerful friends: the United States and China.
In order to fight India, from the beginning, Islamabad agreed to be the running dog of American imperialism. That paid Pakistan handsomely, in terms of money and material. It went overboard to obey Washington’s dictat and has now realised that this has only landed it in the soup.
The United States is now the most hated country in Pakistan and Zardari has to find a way out. For a long time, to balance US interests, Islamabad courted China, which willingly gave its support because it had its own ulterior motives. In the first place, it wanted to encircle India and cultivating Pakistan was a sound decision from Beijing’s point of view. Secondly, it wanted direct access to the Indian Ocean and the Persian Gulf and a friendly and purchaseable government in Islamabad was to China’s advantage. China has helped build Gwadar port in Baluchistan and can, in no time, send its forces from Zinjiang in Central Asia to Gwadar in 48 hours.
Now Moscow has woken up. In olden times Britain had tried to keep Russia away from the Indian Ocean-and succeeded. Now Britain is no longer in the picture. The United States by its unscrupulous high-handedness has not only humiliated Pakistan but has made it a victim of the very forces US helped raise for throwing Soviet forces out of Afghanistan -the jihadis. For Pakistan, closer cooperation with Russia would be more paying then continued subservience to Washington-and forget the painful past.
To gain Pakistan’s goodwill Russia has promised to aid in two major projects: One project-CASA (Central Asia South Asia) 1000, involves the export of electricity from power-rich Kyrgyzstan to Afghanistan and Pakistan. The other is a motorable road and a railway from Tajikistan to Pakistani across the Wakhan border in extreme northeast Afghanistan, thereby giving Pakistan direct access to the markets of Central Asia and Russia, while Tajikistan-and Russia-will get access to Pakistani ports, a dream long entertained by Russia.
It is suggested that China, too, will stand to gain, as the road is likely to be linked with the Karakorum Highway, connecting Pakistan with China’s Xinjinag region. That should slowly make US help irrelevant to Pakistan. What is significant is that Russia may go still further and become a donor of economic, social and military-political security for Afghanistan, Tajikistan and Pakistan-the ultimate irony! Understandably, Russia has a good reason to help the Islamic trio: it will clear the region of US and NATO forces. Already, it would appear that Dimitry Medvedev has renewed his country’s offer to re-build about 140 industrial and infra-structure projects in Afghanistan which the Soviet Union had originally set up during its decade-old military interception.
The deal may be worth one billion dollars, but it may help Moscow to get access to Afghanistan’s oil, gas and minerals. The investment would be eminently worthwhile. Russia’s come-back, in the circumstances, may also help persuade some two lakh Soviet-educated Afghans who had fled the Taliban to Russia, to return to their motherland.
What would this mean to India? It is too early to come to any conclusions. If Afghanistan will get Russian help, why would it want aid from India which would now have to face a Moscow-Kabul-Islamabad entente? But will a Russian -Pakistan relationship help in resolving Indo-Pakistan conflict? With Russia present once again in Afghanistan in a big way, would Pakistan be able to treat Afghanistan as a place to fall-back in case of a conflict with India? Alternately, will Russia be able to get Pakistan out of its anti-India mind-set and help set up peace at last in the Indian sub-continent? That is anybody’s guess.
Writes Radyuhin: "The Sochi Summit has dimmed India’s hope of gaining a strategic foothold in Tajikistan. India and Russia had planned to jointly use the Ayni airfield which India helped to renovate, but Indian presence there looks doubtful now, in the context of the emerging Russia-Afghanistan-Tajikistan axis. India will of course, remain Russia’s close friend and strategic partner but it will have to learn to live with the new Russian- Pakistani bonhomie, just as Russia has taken in its stride India’s entitlement with the US".
What seems obvious is that a whole new political equation is emerging in Central Asian sub-continental politics with consequences yet to be clear. With Pakistan likely to slip out of US control, Washington may wish to be courting India. Delhi would be wise to keep its distance from the US. Russia would still be its best bet, as it has been all these years. We don’t need to be America’s cat’s paw in South Asia.
If Afghanistan will get Russian help, why would it want aid from India which would now have to face a Moscow-Kabul-Islamabad entente? But will a Russian-Pakistan relationship help in resolving Indo-Pakistan conflict? With Russia present once again in Afghanistan in a big way, would Pakistan be able to treat Afghanistan as a place to fall-back in case of a conflict with India?
IS Russia slowly but noticeably turning away from India for a more profitable relationship with Pakistan, unbelievable as it may seem? Is India’s tilt towards the United States slowly pushing Moscow to improve its relations with our immediate and hostile western neighbour, at our cost? For over half a century, during the Cold War and after, the Soviet Union and later Russia has stood by India, but now, it seems, the situation is perceptibly changing. It has now been brought to the notice of Indians by a remarkable expose in The Hindu (September 9) by a Russian correspondent, Vladimir Radyuhin which must wake up India from its political slumber.
The story is that early in August, this year, President Medvedev of Russia hosted a quadripartite summit, by inviting leaders of Afghanistan, Tajikistan and Pakistan to a Black Sea resort Sochi, for high-level discussions. Pakistan was represented by Asaf Ali Zardari. And what is the significance of this meeting? One, Moscow has decisively moved to de-hyphenate its relations with Delhi and Islamabad. Two, it has shown that Russo-Pak relations have been promoted to the highest-presidential-level. And three, that Moscow has overcome its former reluctance to develop full-fledged relations with Islamabad. These are ominous developments. Delhi remains stunned.
As Radyuhin remarks: "Little wonder then, that even after three weeks after the Summit, there has been no reaction from New Delhi". What has made Moscow do a turn-around in its relations with Pakistan? Radyuhin himself provides the answer. It is, he says, the realisation that seeing Islamabad as part of the region’s problems does not help to advance the Russian goal of playing a bigger role in the region". Moscow’s current belief is that "Pakistan must be part of the solution". Pakistan has so far had two powerful friends: the United States and China.
In order to fight India, from the beginning, Islamabad agreed to be the running dog of American imperialism. That paid Pakistan handsomely, in terms of money and material. It went overboard to obey Washington’s dictat and has now realised that this has only landed it in the soup.
The United States is now the most hated country in Pakistan and Zardari has to find a way out. For a long time, to balance US interests, Islamabad courted China, which willingly gave its support because it had its own ulterior motives. In the first place, it wanted to encircle India and cultivating Pakistan was a sound decision from Beijing’s point of view. Secondly, it wanted direct access to the Indian Ocean and the Persian Gulf and a friendly and purchaseable government in Islamabad was to China’s advantage. China has helped build Gwadar port in Baluchistan and can, in no time, send its forces from Zinjiang in Central Asia to Gwadar in 48 hours.
Now Moscow has woken up. In olden times Britain had tried to keep Russia away from the Indian Ocean-and succeeded. Now Britain is no longer in the picture. The United States by its unscrupulous high-handedness has not only humiliated Pakistan but has made it a victim of the very forces US helped raise for throwing Soviet forces out of Afghanistan -the jihadis. For Pakistan, closer cooperation with Russia would be more paying then continued subservience to Washington-and forget the painful past.
To gain Pakistan’s goodwill Russia has promised to aid in two major projects: One project-CASA (Central Asia South Asia) 1000, involves the export of electricity from power-rich Kyrgyzstan to Afghanistan and Pakistan. The other is a motorable road and a railway from Tajikistan to Pakistani across the Wakhan border in extreme northeast Afghanistan, thereby giving Pakistan direct access to the markets of Central Asia and Russia, while Tajikistan-and Russia-will get access to Pakistani ports, a dream long entertained by Russia.
It is suggested that China, too, will stand to gain, as the road is likely to be linked with the Karakorum Highway, connecting Pakistan with China’s Xinjinag region. That should slowly make US help irrelevant to Pakistan. What is significant is that Russia may go still further and become a donor of economic, social and military-political security for Afghanistan, Tajikistan and Pakistan-the ultimate irony! Understandably, Russia has a good reason to help the Islamic trio: it will clear the region of US and NATO forces. Already, it would appear that Dimitry Medvedev has renewed his country’s offer to re-build about 140 industrial and infra-structure projects in Afghanistan which the Soviet Union had originally set up during its decade-old military interception.
The deal may be worth one billion dollars, but it may help Moscow to get access to Afghanistan’s oil, gas and minerals. The investment would be eminently worthwhile. Russia’s come-back, in the circumstances, may also help persuade some two lakh Soviet-educated Afghans who had fled the Taliban to Russia, to return to their motherland.
What would this mean to India? It is too early to come to any conclusions. If Afghanistan will get Russian help, why would it want aid from India which would now have to face a Moscow-Kabul-Islamabad entente? But will a Russian -Pakistan relationship help in resolving Indo-Pakistan conflict? With Russia present once again in Afghanistan in a big way, would Pakistan be able to treat Afghanistan as a place to fall-back in case of a conflict with India? Alternately, will Russia be able to get Pakistan out of its anti-India mind-set and help set up peace at last in the Indian sub-continent? That is anybody’s guess.
Writes Radyuhin: "The Sochi Summit has dimmed India’s hope of gaining a strategic foothold in Tajikistan. India and Russia had planned to jointly use the Ayni airfield which India helped to renovate, but Indian presence there looks doubtful now, in the context of the emerging Russia-Afghanistan-Tajikistan axis. India will of course, remain Russia’s close friend and strategic partner but it will have to learn to live with the new Russian- Pakistani bonhomie, just as Russia has taken in its stride India’s entitlement with the US".
What seems obvious is that a whole new political equation is emerging in Central Asian sub-continental politics with consequences yet to be clear. With Pakistan likely to slip out of US control, Washington may wish to be courting India. Delhi would be wise to keep its distance from the US. Russia would still be its best bet, as it has been all these years. We don’t need to be America’s cat’s paw in South Asia.
Atheism in India
Glimpses
Atheism in India
By MSN Menon
One would imagine that the age of Rama was one of great devotion to god. No, it was not. The Ramayana says that Jabali, the "great Brahmin scholar" tried to persuade Rama to return to Ayodhya. Jabali was an atheist.
TO doubt is the way of the Hindu. It could be traced back to the Vedas.
A hymn in the Rig Veda says:
Who is there who truly knows
And who can say, whence this
Unfathomed world?
And from what cause?
Or, even the gods do not know!
There was a profound doubt in the heart of Hindu thought. The rishi was not even sure whether the gods knew the answers.
No wonder, the Hindu set out on his eternal quest to know the truth about the "unfathomed world". And our first meeting was with Yajnyavalkya.
Yajnyavalkya (1200 BC), the great teacher of Hindu philosophy, perhaps marked the transition from Vedic gods to the Supreme Being (Brahma). The sage says "Brahma is limitless in time and space." The Vedic gods were limited,
Of the six great philosophic systems (Darshanas) (Sankhya, Nyaya, Yoga, Vaisesika and two Mimamsas) four (Sankhya, Nyaya, Yoga and Vaisesika) were not so sure whether gods existed.
Sankhya, the oldest and most profound philosophic system believes that the universe was not created by god, that Prakriti was the mother of everything. The law of Swabhava ruled the world. Even the Buddha took advantage of Sankhya.
Nyaya is more logic than philosophy or religion. There is only a casual reference to God in Nyaya.
Yoga is anterior to Nyaya. It is a means to acquire supernatural powers, even to surpass the gods. It is independent of the Vedas.
As for Vaisesika, it preceded Buddhism and Jainism, it saw no need to introduce god into the cosmic system.
One would imagine that the age of Rama was one of great devotion to god. No, it was not. The Ramayana says that Jabali, the "great Brahmin scholar" tried to persuade Rama to return to Ayodhya. Jabali was an atheist.
Buddhism and Jainism made atheism respectable. In fact, Buddhists were rulers in many parts of India till the advent of Islam. Buddha chose not to speak of god. There was no sharp division between man and god in Buddhism. Sunyata is the apex thought of Buddhism.
The Charvakas and Lokayatas were the greatest propagators of atheism. They gave life and blood to Sankhya. There was no place for god in Chanakya philosophy. Creation took place, they said, because "it is in the nature of things to happen." They called it Swabhava Vada, which is the only law of nature. It is the cornerstone of the Charvaka philosophy. The universe had always existed. It was not created. Virtue and vice were conventions, they said. The only good was the pursuit of pleasure. Hedonism was their ethics. They refused to be swayed by the Vedas. Kautilya hailed their philosophy an important doctrine. Mahabharata speaks highly of the Charvakas as "vanerable sages". It shows how India respected dissent. Charvaka had a powerful impact on the development of atheism in the world. Their remarkable logic and sweep of thought far outstripped the achievements of classical philosophy.
Lokayatas were popular atheists and free thinkers. They opposed the Vedic tradition. But they were not addicted to hedonism. They held moderation a virtue. The Lokayatas believed that the world alone was real. They rejected all authority other than theirs.
The advent of Islam brought about the complete destruction of the incipient civilization of the Hinduism. They took to Bhakti. It also meant the end of Buddhism in India. Islam could not tolerate atheism.
To conclude, the Hindu grew up in the cradle of atheism till the advent of Islam. Atheism brought about tolerance among Hindus. True, the Hindus withdrew into a shell. But that was to protect their faith. But in the process, all disputes ceased and the Hindu quest for the truth came to an end. Dear Reader, our task is to revive our old traditions - the tradition of bold enquiry.
Atheism in India
By MSN Menon
One would imagine that the age of Rama was one of great devotion to god. No, it was not. The Ramayana says that Jabali, the "great Brahmin scholar" tried to persuade Rama to return to Ayodhya. Jabali was an atheist.
TO doubt is the way of the Hindu. It could be traced back to the Vedas.
A hymn in the Rig Veda says:
Who is there who truly knows
And who can say, whence this
Unfathomed world?
And from what cause?
Or, even the gods do not know!
There was a profound doubt in the heart of Hindu thought. The rishi was not even sure whether the gods knew the answers.
No wonder, the Hindu set out on his eternal quest to know the truth about the "unfathomed world". And our first meeting was with Yajnyavalkya.
Yajnyavalkya (1200 BC), the great teacher of Hindu philosophy, perhaps marked the transition from Vedic gods to the Supreme Being (Brahma). The sage says "Brahma is limitless in time and space." The Vedic gods were limited,
Of the six great philosophic systems (Darshanas) (Sankhya, Nyaya, Yoga, Vaisesika and two Mimamsas) four (Sankhya, Nyaya, Yoga and Vaisesika) were not so sure whether gods existed.
Sankhya, the oldest and most profound philosophic system believes that the universe was not created by god, that Prakriti was the mother of everything. The law of Swabhava ruled the world. Even the Buddha took advantage of Sankhya.
Nyaya is more logic than philosophy or religion. There is only a casual reference to God in Nyaya.
Yoga is anterior to Nyaya. It is a means to acquire supernatural powers, even to surpass the gods. It is independent of the Vedas.
As for Vaisesika, it preceded Buddhism and Jainism, it saw no need to introduce god into the cosmic system.
One would imagine that the age of Rama was one of great devotion to god. No, it was not. The Ramayana says that Jabali, the "great Brahmin scholar" tried to persuade Rama to return to Ayodhya. Jabali was an atheist.
Buddhism and Jainism made atheism respectable. In fact, Buddhists were rulers in many parts of India till the advent of Islam. Buddha chose not to speak of god. There was no sharp division between man and god in Buddhism. Sunyata is the apex thought of Buddhism.
The Charvakas and Lokayatas were the greatest propagators of atheism. They gave life and blood to Sankhya. There was no place for god in Chanakya philosophy. Creation took place, they said, because "it is in the nature of things to happen." They called it Swabhava Vada, which is the only law of nature. It is the cornerstone of the Charvaka philosophy. The universe had always existed. It was not created. Virtue and vice were conventions, they said. The only good was the pursuit of pleasure. Hedonism was their ethics. They refused to be swayed by the Vedas. Kautilya hailed their philosophy an important doctrine. Mahabharata speaks highly of the Charvakas as "vanerable sages". It shows how India respected dissent. Charvaka had a powerful impact on the development of atheism in the world. Their remarkable logic and sweep of thought far outstripped the achievements of classical philosophy.
Lokayatas were popular atheists and free thinkers. They opposed the Vedic tradition. But they were not addicted to hedonism. They held moderation a virtue. The Lokayatas believed that the world alone was real. They rejected all authority other than theirs.
The advent of Islam brought about the complete destruction of the incipient civilization of the Hinduism. They took to Bhakti. It also meant the end of Buddhism in India. Islam could not tolerate atheism.
To conclude, the Hindu grew up in the cradle of atheism till the advent of Islam. Atheism brought about tolerance among Hindus. True, the Hindus withdrew into a shell. But that was to protect their faith. But in the process, all disputes ceased and the Hindu quest for the truth came to an end. Dear Reader, our task is to revive our old traditions - the tradition of bold enquiry.
KALIDAS
The scientific genius of Kalidas
By NR Waradpande
The phenomenon of day and night was well understood even in the days of the Rigveda. Hymn 1138 of the Rigveda speaks of the messengers of Vrtra wheering round the parinaha or the globe of the earth. The Aitareya Brahman affirms that the Sun neither sets nor rises, He takes a turn and causes day and night.
KALIDAS flourished at the court of Agnimitra Shunga of Vidisha as is clear from the Bharatavakya of the play Malavikagnimitra which says that when Agnimitra is ruling the subjects feel secure from calamities. The Bharatavakya is not a part of the play. It is sung after the play is over and even those characters which are dead in the play participate in it as actors and not as characters. So Agnimitra is not praised here by the characters but by living actors who have just performed the play.
This proves beyond doubt that Kalidas flourished at the time of Agnimitra Shunga in 150 BC. There are other arguments supporting this view but this is not the place to go into them. It is necessary to bear in mind the date of Kalidas for viewing the scientific statements of Kalidas in the background of science that is known to have existed in 150 BC.
Imagination is necessary for the poet as well as the scientist, but the poet and the scientist use their imagination for different purposes. The poet uses it for creating beauty while the scientist uses it for describing natural phenomena in a way which helps in predicting and even controlling it. But the two types of imaginations are seldom found in the same person. Kalidas is such a rare person.
The phenomenon of day and night was well understood even in the days of the Rigveda. Hymn 1138 of the Rigveda speaks of the messengers of Vrtra wheering round the parinaha or the globe of the earth. The Aitareya Brahman affirms that the Sun neither sets nor rises, He takes a turn and causes day and night.
Kalidas knows in addition to this that the movement takes place around the Meru or the North pole. I was surprised to note that even some students of Sanskrit do not know that Meru is the name of the North Pole though Bhaskaracharya clearly mentions it while explaining the day and night phenomenon at the poles and even Apte’s dictionary clearly mentions that Meru is the name of the north pole.
Kalidas recalls all this while describing the circumlocution of Aja and Indumati around the fire as a part of their marriage rite. The verse says: "The couple circumlocuting hand in hand around the fire whose flames were ascending, looked like the day and night circumlocuting the high peaked Meru with their limits marked by a common line.
Kalidas says that it is the day and night that rotate around the earth and not vice versa as Aryabhatta said in the fifth century. In this he was following science contemporary to him. But his genius lies in visualising how the phenomenon would appear to an observer outside the earth when he is stationary in relation to the Sun. I have met people who are incapable of visualising that to those who land on the moon, the earth will appear above them and not below.
Kalidas however anticipates science in places. In the 14th canto of the Raghuvansha Rama says about the calumny that befell Seeta: "Calumny is irresitible. Even the moon can not escape it. What is merely the earth’s shadow is proclaimed as a stain by all and sundry".
This statement is often mistaken to refer to the shadow of the eclipse. But the shadow of the eclipse is transitory. Again it is not regarded as a permanent stain on the moon. Moon’s escape from the shadow of the eclipse is celebrated.
The stain on the other hand is permanent and is widely described as a stain. It is undeniable that Kalidas regards the stain as the shadow of the earth and is NOT referring to the phenomenon of the eclipse.
This shows how apt the simile is and speaks for the poetic genius of Kalidas. But in addition to poetic fancy the simile is a scientist’s theorising which later on resulted in the astronomy of the eclipse. There is no evidence that the astronomy of the eclipse was understood in 150 BC. SB Deelhit’s History of Indian Astronomy does not refer to any astronomy of the eclipse before the period of Aryabhatta, which is 5th century AD.
The above quoted verse indicates how the imagination of Kalidas worked with heavenly phenomena. But heavenly phenomena engaged the human mind in the remotest of periods. Man took interest in things remotest far earlier than in things nearest i.e his own body and mind. Ancient man’s concern with his own soul should not be cited against this statement because this concern was more imaginative and emotional than scientific. But Kalidas displayed the capacity of understanding the phenomenon of perception on the lines of the Physics of light. Note the following verse in the Shakuntalam. The poet is describing the speed with which the chariot of Dushyanta was being driven.
"What is really curved is being seen as straight".
In order to have such an experience one must move with a speed of at least 50 miles per hour. Such speed was not possible in the days of Kalidas.
A little explanation of how such a perception occurs will not be out of place. This is the result of binocular vision. Two rays coming from the object seen to the two eyes make an angle. The nearer the thing the greater the angle. Points on a curved line are at different distances and therefore make different angles at different times in the movement whereas points on a straight line are at the same distance from the observer at different times in the movement. When the difference in the angle is noticed the thing is seen as curved, when it is not noticed it is seen as straight.
As in the psychology of vision Kalidas displays his insight in psychology of the unconcious also. Psychologists did not talk of the unconscious mind before Freud. That was in the twentieth century. But Kalidas not only had a grasp of this idea, he has even used it for dramatic purposes. Dushanta of the Mahabharata is an unprincipled womaniser who uses an innocent maiden just to satisfy his lust and feigns ignorance of the whole affair when called upon to take the responsibility of his own deed. Kalidas and the principles of Dramaturgy in his days did not allow such a "hero". He has therefore employed the sage Durvasa so that Dramaturgy is not violated and at the same time a very powerful and tragic dramatic scene could be presented. It is the curse of Durvsa to Shakuntala that makes Dushyanta forget Shakuntala. The curse erases the memory of Shakuntala but leaves intact all the emotions that could be revived by remembering her.
When he was sunk in such a blank past he heard one of his queens Hanspadika sing the following song:
‘Oh you droning bee, having kissed the mango blossoms with hasty flight you are now perched on the lotus, clean forgetting the blossoms.!
Polygamous husbands are habituated to such taunts but on this occasion Dushyanta felt he is being stung on a soft spot. This made him restless. He tried to pacify himself by the thought that some event in his past birth is throwing up these emotions without reviving the memory of those events.
This is anticipation of Freud two thousand years ago.
By NR Waradpande
The phenomenon of day and night was well understood even in the days of the Rigveda. Hymn 1138 of the Rigveda speaks of the messengers of Vrtra wheering round the parinaha or the globe of the earth. The Aitareya Brahman affirms that the Sun neither sets nor rises, He takes a turn and causes day and night.
KALIDAS flourished at the court of Agnimitra Shunga of Vidisha as is clear from the Bharatavakya of the play Malavikagnimitra which says that when Agnimitra is ruling the subjects feel secure from calamities. The Bharatavakya is not a part of the play. It is sung after the play is over and even those characters which are dead in the play participate in it as actors and not as characters. So Agnimitra is not praised here by the characters but by living actors who have just performed the play.
This proves beyond doubt that Kalidas flourished at the time of Agnimitra Shunga in 150 BC. There are other arguments supporting this view but this is not the place to go into them. It is necessary to bear in mind the date of Kalidas for viewing the scientific statements of Kalidas in the background of science that is known to have existed in 150 BC.
Imagination is necessary for the poet as well as the scientist, but the poet and the scientist use their imagination for different purposes. The poet uses it for creating beauty while the scientist uses it for describing natural phenomena in a way which helps in predicting and even controlling it. But the two types of imaginations are seldom found in the same person. Kalidas is such a rare person.
The phenomenon of day and night was well understood even in the days of the Rigveda. Hymn 1138 of the Rigveda speaks of the messengers of Vrtra wheering round the parinaha or the globe of the earth. The Aitareya Brahman affirms that the Sun neither sets nor rises, He takes a turn and causes day and night.
Kalidas knows in addition to this that the movement takes place around the Meru or the North pole. I was surprised to note that even some students of Sanskrit do not know that Meru is the name of the North Pole though Bhaskaracharya clearly mentions it while explaining the day and night phenomenon at the poles and even Apte’s dictionary clearly mentions that Meru is the name of the north pole.
Kalidas recalls all this while describing the circumlocution of Aja and Indumati around the fire as a part of their marriage rite. The verse says: "The couple circumlocuting hand in hand around the fire whose flames were ascending, looked like the day and night circumlocuting the high peaked Meru with their limits marked by a common line.
Kalidas says that it is the day and night that rotate around the earth and not vice versa as Aryabhatta said in the fifth century. In this he was following science contemporary to him. But his genius lies in visualising how the phenomenon would appear to an observer outside the earth when he is stationary in relation to the Sun. I have met people who are incapable of visualising that to those who land on the moon, the earth will appear above them and not below.
Kalidas however anticipates science in places. In the 14th canto of the Raghuvansha Rama says about the calumny that befell Seeta: "Calumny is irresitible. Even the moon can not escape it. What is merely the earth’s shadow is proclaimed as a stain by all and sundry".
This statement is often mistaken to refer to the shadow of the eclipse. But the shadow of the eclipse is transitory. Again it is not regarded as a permanent stain on the moon. Moon’s escape from the shadow of the eclipse is celebrated.
The stain on the other hand is permanent and is widely described as a stain. It is undeniable that Kalidas regards the stain as the shadow of the earth and is NOT referring to the phenomenon of the eclipse.
This shows how apt the simile is and speaks for the poetic genius of Kalidas. But in addition to poetic fancy the simile is a scientist’s theorising which later on resulted in the astronomy of the eclipse. There is no evidence that the astronomy of the eclipse was understood in 150 BC. SB Deelhit’s History of Indian Astronomy does not refer to any astronomy of the eclipse before the period of Aryabhatta, which is 5th century AD.
The above quoted verse indicates how the imagination of Kalidas worked with heavenly phenomena. But heavenly phenomena engaged the human mind in the remotest of periods. Man took interest in things remotest far earlier than in things nearest i.e his own body and mind. Ancient man’s concern with his own soul should not be cited against this statement because this concern was more imaginative and emotional than scientific. But Kalidas displayed the capacity of understanding the phenomenon of perception on the lines of the Physics of light. Note the following verse in the Shakuntalam. The poet is describing the speed with which the chariot of Dushyanta was being driven.
"What is really curved is being seen as straight".
In order to have such an experience one must move with a speed of at least 50 miles per hour. Such speed was not possible in the days of Kalidas.
A little explanation of how such a perception occurs will not be out of place. This is the result of binocular vision. Two rays coming from the object seen to the two eyes make an angle. The nearer the thing the greater the angle. Points on a curved line are at different distances and therefore make different angles at different times in the movement whereas points on a straight line are at the same distance from the observer at different times in the movement. When the difference in the angle is noticed the thing is seen as curved, when it is not noticed it is seen as straight.
As in the psychology of vision Kalidas displays his insight in psychology of the unconcious also. Psychologists did not talk of the unconscious mind before Freud. That was in the twentieth century. But Kalidas not only had a grasp of this idea, he has even used it for dramatic purposes. Dushanta of the Mahabharata is an unprincipled womaniser who uses an innocent maiden just to satisfy his lust and feigns ignorance of the whole affair when called upon to take the responsibility of his own deed. Kalidas and the principles of Dramaturgy in his days did not allow such a "hero". He has therefore employed the sage Durvasa so that Dramaturgy is not violated and at the same time a very powerful and tragic dramatic scene could be presented. It is the curse of Durvsa to Shakuntala that makes Dushyanta forget Shakuntala. The curse erases the memory of Shakuntala but leaves intact all the emotions that could be revived by remembering her.
When he was sunk in such a blank past he heard one of his queens Hanspadika sing the following song:
‘Oh you droning bee, having kissed the mango blossoms with hasty flight you are now perched on the lotus, clean forgetting the blossoms.!
Polygamous husbands are habituated to such taunts but on this occasion Dushyanta felt he is being stung on a soft spot. This made him restless. He tried to pacify himself by the thought that some event in his past birth is throwing up these emotions without reviving the memory of those events.
This is anticipation of Freud two thousand years ago.
mecca masjid blast
‘Huji, not Hindu group, behind Mecca Masjid blast’
By Abhishek Sharan
THOUGH the CBI has sought to establish the hand of a Hindu terror group in the 2007 Mecca Masjid blast, a US counter-terrorism agency thinks otherwise. According to the National Counter-terrorism Center (NCTC), the blast was allegedly executed by a Pakistan-sponsored terror outfit, the Harkat-ul-Jehad-e-Islami (HuJI).
NCTC director Michael Leiter, submitted as much in his ‘Statement for the Record’ before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, on September 22, 2010.
Before the CBI took over the case, the Hyderabad police too had named the HuJI as the blast’s alleged executor.
"The group also has been involved in multiple, high-casualty attacks... in India in May 2007 that killed 16," read Leiter’s statement.
He added, "HuJI has collaborated with Al-Qaeda on attacks and training for HuJI members. In January 2009, a federal grand jury indicted HuJI commander Mohammad Ilyas Kashmiri in absentia for a disrupted terrorist plot against a newspaper in Denmark."
The group was also allegedly involved in an attack against Pakistani intelligence and police facilities in Lahore in 2009 that killed 23, according to Leiter.
CBI’s probe findings, however, have claimed that an Indore-based terror outfit whose members were allegedly linked to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh perpetrated the mosque attack.
The agency has arrested two accused in the case - Lokesh Sharma and Devender Gupta - and is looking for the alleged bomb makers, Sandeep Dange and Ramchandra Kalsangra.
"The NCTC does not seem to be updated with the developments in the case, which is surprising," said a senior CBI investigator when HT asked him about the US agency’s version on the attack’s suspected perpetrators.
(Courtesy:The Hindustan Times)
By Abhishek Sharan
THOUGH the CBI has sought to establish the hand of a Hindu terror group in the 2007 Mecca Masjid blast, a US counter-terrorism agency thinks otherwise. According to the National Counter-terrorism Center (NCTC), the blast was allegedly executed by a Pakistan-sponsored terror outfit, the Harkat-ul-Jehad-e-Islami (HuJI).
NCTC director Michael Leiter, submitted as much in his ‘Statement for the Record’ before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, on September 22, 2010.
Before the CBI took over the case, the Hyderabad police too had named the HuJI as the blast’s alleged executor.
"The group also has been involved in multiple, high-casualty attacks... in India in May 2007 that killed 16," read Leiter’s statement.
He added, "HuJI has collaborated with Al-Qaeda on attacks and training for HuJI members. In January 2009, a federal grand jury indicted HuJI commander Mohammad Ilyas Kashmiri in absentia for a disrupted terrorist plot against a newspaper in Denmark."
The group was also allegedly involved in an attack against Pakistani intelligence and police facilities in Lahore in 2009 that killed 23, according to Leiter.
CBI’s probe findings, however, have claimed that an Indore-based terror outfit whose members were allegedly linked to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh perpetrated the mosque attack.
The agency has arrested two accused in the case - Lokesh Sharma and Devender Gupta - and is looking for the alleged bomb makers, Sandeep Dange and Ramchandra Kalsangra.
"The NCTC does not seem to be updated with the developments in the case, which is surprising," said a senior CBI investigator when HT asked him about the US agency’s version on the attack’s suspected perpetrators.
(Courtesy:The Hindustan Times)
This is Ramjanmabhoomi
Ayodhya’s verdict:
By Rukmini Shrinivasan and Pervez Iqbal Siddiqui
AYODHYA, Sept.24: While the Supreme Court has postponed until September 28 its hearing on a plea to defer the Allahabad High Court’s verdict in the Ayodhya title suit, in the pilgrim town itself, there’s no dispute: The place was, and is, Ramjanmabhoomi for its Hindus.
Nowhere in Ayodhya, not in shop addresses or official signages, in the directions yelled out to lost visitors from teashops or police chowkies, or anywhere close to the disputed area, is the "spot" referred to as anything else but Ramjanmabhoomi. Even the official parlance refers to it as Janmabhoomi. For a disputed structure, there is remarkably little dispute.
"The point isn't that everyone calls it Ramjanmabhoomi; the point is, it is Ramjanmabhoomi," says Purshottam Kumar, owner of Shri Ram Chandra ki Sarvottam Samagri, a shop in the main market that sells religious paraphernalia: from headbands worn by karsevaks in 1992 to strings of prayer beads and saffron scarves. Kumar’s is the fifth generation that has lived and worked on the same spot and he explains that each generation has known that this is the place where Ram was born and that there was a temple. "What will the court’s judgment change? Nothing," he says smiling benignly. "Every Hindu knows in his heart that this is the Ramjanmabhoomi and it will not be anything else."
The security is heavy: two rings of fencing, one yellow, one barbed, guarded by village chowkidars, home guards, the PAC, Rapid Action Force and CRPF. CCTVs hover over, ominously overseen by armed men on watchtowers. At the entrance, every object on one's person including belts and pens is removed. There are five full-body checks. A group of women from Gujarat is on a pilgrimage. They will go from here to Nepal. "We’ve come to take Ram’s darshan. There used to be a mosque nearby but went long ago," explains Sushilaben Kanojia of Rajkot.
After walking for several minutes inside what feels like a labyrinth, devotees are deposited 10 feet away from a statue of Ram, Sita, Laxman and Bharat, a fence separating them from visitors. A sign reads 'Don't Wait Here’. The sanctum sanctorum is enveloped on all sides by a tent. This is where the Babri Masjid once stood. Not just the mosque, not even rubble is visible any more. Obviously, there is no Muslim worship here.
The first and only time that TOI saw or heard the word Babri all day was in a cramped two-room house where a 90-year-old man with a hearing aid was being harangued by journalists. ‘Babri Masjid Reconstruction Committee’ read the hand-painted words on the doorway to Mohammed Hashim Ansari’s house. One of the litigants, and the last surviving of the six who were on the same petition, Ansari demands that the court give its verdict soon. "At least in my lifetime," he says pleadingly, adding, "All of Ayodhya’s Muslims are waiting for this."
Bangle-seller Mohammed Arif’s family has lived here in the old city for four generations. "I was here when they broke the mosque and I saw the city aflame," he says softly and with no anger. "Everyone knows what happened. It was on TV. We don't want to stir up trouble. If that means not referring to the area as Babri any more, so be it," he says. Arif and his family have little interest in the verdict. "They can build a church if they want, I don't care," he says. But they’re all watching TV intently on the pavement outside his shop. "For news of trouble," says his teenaged daughter Saira.
"There are two parallel forces in the country, one that supports anarchy and one that supports the rule of law," says Khalid Ahmed, who heads the Helal Committee which offers legal help to the two disputing sides. "The first one gave its judgment on December 6, 1992, when it tore down the mosque, killed 17 Muslims in Ayodhya and burnt down 450 shops, punishing Muslims for the sins of their forefathers. We are still waiting for the judgment of the other force," says Ahmed.
(Courtesy:TOI)
By Rukmini Shrinivasan and Pervez Iqbal Siddiqui
AYODHYA, Sept.24: While the Supreme Court has postponed until September 28 its hearing on a plea to defer the Allahabad High Court’s verdict in the Ayodhya title suit, in the pilgrim town itself, there’s no dispute: The place was, and is, Ramjanmabhoomi for its Hindus.
Nowhere in Ayodhya, not in shop addresses or official signages, in the directions yelled out to lost visitors from teashops or police chowkies, or anywhere close to the disputed area, is the "spot" referred to as anything else but Ramjanmabhoomi. Even the official parlance refers to it as Janmabhoomi. For a disputed structure, there is remarkably little dispute.
"The point isn't that everyone calls it Ramjanmabhoomi; the point is, it is Ramjanmabhoomi," says Purshottam Kumar, owner of Shri Ram Chandra ki Sarvottam Samagri, a shop in the main market that sells religious paraphernalia: from headbands worn by karsevaks in 1992 to strings of prayer beads and saffron scarves. Kumar’s is the fifth generation that has lived and worked on the same spot and he explains that each generation has known that this is the place where Ram was born and that there was a temple. "What will the court’s judgment change? Nothing," he says smiling benignly. "Every Hindu knows in his heart that this is the Ramjanmabhoomi and it will not be anything else."
The security is heavy: two rings of fencing, one yellow, one barbed, guarded by village chowkidars, home guards, the PAC, Rapid Action Force and CRPF. CCTVs hover over, ominously overseen by armed men on watchtowers. At the entrance, every object on one's person including belts and pens is removed. There are five full-body checks. A group of women from Gujarat is on a pilgrimage. They will go from here to Nepal. "We’ve come to take Ram’s darshan. There used to be a mosque nearby but went long ago," explains Sushilaben Kanojia of Rajkot.
After walking for several minutes inside what feels like a labyrinth, devotees are deposited 10 feet away from a statue of Ram, Sita, Laxman and Bharat, a fence separating them from visitors. A sign reads 'Don't Wait Here’. The sanctum sanctorum is enveloped on all sides by a tent. This is where the Babri Masjid once stood. Not just the mosque, not even rubble is visible any more. Obviously, there is no Muslim worship here.
The first and only time that TOI saw or heard the word Babri all day was in a cramped two-room house where a 90-year-old man with a hearing aid was being harangued by journalists. ‘Babri Masjid Reconstruction Committee’ read the hand-painted words on the doorway to Mohammed Hashim Ansari’s house. One of the litigants, and the last surviving of the six who were on the same petition, Ansari demands that the court give its verdict soon. "At least in my lifetime," he says pleadingly, adding, "All of Ayodhya’s Muslims are waiting for this."
Bangle-seller Mohammed Arif’s family has lived here in the old city for four generations. "I was here when they broke the mosque and I saw the city aflame," he says softly and with no anger. "Everyone knows what happened. It was on TV. We don't want to stir up trouble. If that means not referring to the area as Babri any more, so be it," he says. Arif and his family have little interest in the verdict. "They can build a church if they want, I don't care," he says. But they’re all watching TV intently on the pavement outside his shop. "For news of trouble," says his teenaged daughter Saira.
"There are two parallel forces in the country, one that supports anarchy and one that supports the rule of law," says Khalid Ahmed, who heads the Helal Committee which offers legal help to the two disputing sides. "The first one gave its judgment on December 6, 1992, when it tore down the mosque, killed 17 Muslims in Ayodhya and burnt down 450 shops, punishing Muslims for the sins of their forefathers. We are still waiting for the judgment of the other force," says Ahmed.
(Courtesy:TOI)
Thousand years of Brihadeeswara Temple
An architectural wonder.
By V Shanmuganathan
The great emperor of Chola dynasty, Raja Raja-I built a majestic temple for Lord Shiva in Thanjavur (Tanjore), Tamil Nadu. Called Peruvuidayar Kovil, or Brihadeeswarar Temple, or sometimes Rajarajeswaram it is on rolls of the UNESCO heritage sites as part of the circuit called "Great Living Chola Temples".
Tamil Nadu remains as the wonderful resort of classical India whether it is temple architecture, dance, vocal or instrumental music. It hosts the oldest living temples in India, which remained unaffected by iconoclasm of Turks, Mughals and Bahmani invaders.
ONE thousand years ago, the great emperor of Chola dynasty, Raja Raja-I built a majestic temple for Lord Shiva in Thanjavur (Tanjore), Tamil Nadu. Called Peruvuidayar Kovil, or Brihadeeswarar Temple, or sometimes Rajarajeswaram it is on rolls of the UNESCO heritage sites as part of the circuit called "Great Living Chola Temples". The Tamil Nadu government recently organised a grand function, spanning over five days, to celebrate the millennium of its consecration. A scintillating Bharatnatyam recital by 1,000 artistes, led by eminent danseuse Padma Subrahmanyam, took the cream of the cake. A host of events including exhibitions, cultural shows, seminars and deliberations were also organised to mark the occasion.
Tamil Nadu remains as the wonderful resort of classical India whether it is temple architecture, dance, vocal or instrumental music. It hosts the oldest living temples in India, which remained unaffected by iconoclasm of Turks, Mughals and Bahmani invaders. Temples in ancient India were not merely centres of religion, but also art, culture, literature and vocational training. The Brihadeeswarar Temple stands as a reminder to our great culture, art, architecture, religion and language. It is also a symbol of the great wealth and prowess of Chola dynasty, which expanded its empire on Indian Ocean.
The construction of this ‘Big Temple’ begun in 1003 AD and was completed in six years before being consecrated in 1010 AD. The unique archaeological feature of the temple is its Vimana (temple tower) standing 216 feet tall. The summit stone weighing about eighty tons was dragged on to the top through a slope path from a distant Village, called ‘Sarapallam’. It rises over the sanctum, on a square base about a hundred feet, dominates the whole structure. Its shadow never falls on the ground.
The valiant king Raja Raja-I, who reigned between 985 and 1014 AD, was renowned for land and naval conquests. He found peace at the feet of Lord Shiva. The construction of Brihadeeshwara temple coincides with a visible shift in his policies from military expansion to internal administration. But here is a lesson for us. Neither he, nor his illustrious son Rajendra I (who built the famous Shiva temple at Gangaikonda Cholapuram similar in design to Brihadeeshwara temple) neglected external and internal security unlike some people, who weakened the martial spirit of India through.
The distinct feature of Brihadeeshwara temple is magnificent monolith Nandi bull, the mount of Lord Shiva, facing the temple tower. The shrine of goddess Brihanayaki, Ganapati, Subrmanya, Dakshinamurty, Nataraja are finely carved. The corridor surrounding the sanctum is a treasure chest of Chola painting and sculpture. The walls of this cave-like corridor were plastered with lime and used as a large canvas for the paintings.
The paintings, which have survived time and a seventeenth century coat of paint, are very beautiful in detail and colour and accuracy.
The story of Sundaramurthy Nayanar reaching Kailash on a white elephant is depicted on another wall. Karuvur Thevar, the Guru of Raja Raja is portrayed in an impressive manner. While the sculptures of Shiva in this corridor are imposing and colossal, the series of eighty one dance poses are superb illustrations of the Natya Sastra.
There is an interesting and popular story about the deep personal interest that the King evinced in the construction of the temple. It is said that one day, when the chief sculptor was deeply absorbed in chiseling the huge Nandi, King Raja Raja Chola went and stood by his side. The sculptor, thinking that it was his boy attendent standing by his side ordered him to prepare a pan (betel leaf with araca nut and lime). The king calmly obliged, folded a couple of betel leaves and handed it over to the sculptor who received it without seeing the hands that supplied them. Chewing the pan in his mouth, the sculptor started uttering words of praise, appreciating the king who planned this unique monument. Later he asked his attendant to bring the spitton near him. The king silently obeyed. When the sculptor raised his head after spitting the chewed betel leaves, he was terribly shocked to see the great Raja Raja Chola standing in front of him. Immediately he touched the feet of the king with tears and made an apology to the emperor, in a voice choked with emotion. The king, with a smiling face, lifted him up and consoled him by telling that it was a rare privilege for him to serve the sculptor whose hands chiseled the sculptures of the magnificent temple. Raja Raja Chola, though a worshiper of Shiva, at the same time, was tolerant to other religions.
He endowed and built temple of Maha Vishnu. He granted a village to the Buddhist Vihara at Nagappattinam. The Brihadeeswara temple was not an act of royal fancy. It is iconic of the glory of Tamil Saiva Siddhanta. Amongst two principal schools of Bhakti cult prevalent in South India, Saivism has a larger following.
In Tamil districts of Sri Lanka Saivism holds unchallenged sway. In Saiva Siddhanta Shiva is believed to exercise the functions of creation, protection, destruction, prevention from lapses is the result of enjoyment of one’s action and beneficent action. These functions He is said to discharge with a view to release the struggling souls from the bondage of karma, and present unto them the ultimate knowledge of Shiva. The goal of individual souls is to realise that it is made of Shiva-Tatva (element of Shiva), and though not merging in Shiva, remain at its feet like beloved child. The icon of Lord Nataraja is most symbolic of Saiva Siddhanta. Temple worship is an indispensable part of Saiva Siddhanta. That might explain why Tamilians have an image of orthodox and scrupulous temple goers.
Raja Raja Chola’s period was one of height of Saivism. This had been made possible by the surge of Shiva devotion brought by Nayanar saints in previous centuries. The heart melting hymns (Devaram) to Lord Shiva by Sambandar, Appar and Sundaramurthy as well as Manikkavasagar in the 9th century who wrote Tiruvasagam are worth hearing. They, in reality, were the pioneers of Bhakti movement that later swept across other parts of India in the medieval age.
He was an extra ordinarily powerful king and a grand monrch of southern India. His army crossed the ocean by ships and conquered many islands. His was a versatile personality. It is a matter of pride that Tanjore temple attracted the appreciation of UNESCO for its art and architecture. Brihadeeswara Temple, is the shining jewel in the crown of Bharatmata. No doubt, it is, Tamil Nadu’s contribution to the pride of India. Let us all celebrate this one thousand years architectural wonder.
By V Shanmuganathan
The great emperor of Chola dynasty, Raja Raja-I built a majestic temple for Lord Shiva in Thanjavur (Tanjore), Tamil Nadu. Called Peruvuidayar Kovil, or Brihadeeswarar Temple, or sometimes Rajarajeswaram it is on rolls of the UNESCO heritage sites as part of the circuit called "Great Living Chola Temples".
Tamil Nadu remains as the wonderful resort of classical India whether it is temple architecture, dance, vocal or instrumental music. It hosts the oldest living temples in India, which remained unaffected by iconoclasm of Turks, Mughals and Bahmani invaders.
ONE thousand years ago, the great emperor of Chola dynasty, Raja Raja-I built a majestic temple for Lord Shiva in Thanjavur (Tanjore), Tamil Nadu. Called Peruvuidayar Kovil, or Brihadeeswarar Temple, or sometimes Rajarajeswaram it is on rolls of the UNESCO heritage sites as part of the circuit called "Great Living Chola Temples". The Tamil Nadu government recently organised a grand function, spanning over five days, to celebrate the millennium of its consecration. A scintillating Bharatnatyam recital by 1,000 artistes, led by eminent danseuse Padma Subrahmanyam, took the cream of the cake. A host of events including exhibitions, cultural shows, seminars and deliberations were also organised to mark the occasion.
Tamil Nadu remains as the wonderful resort of classical India whether it is temple architecture, dance, vocal or instrumental music. It hosts the oldest living temples in India, which remained unaffected by iconoclasm of Turks, Mughals and Bahmani invaders. Temples in ancient India were not merely centres of religion, but also art, culture, literature and vocational training. The Brihadeeswarar Temple stands as a reminder to our great culture, art, architecture, religion and language. It is also a symbol of the great wealth and prowess of Chola dynasty, which expanded its empire on Indian Ocean.
The construction of this ‘Big Temple’ begun in 1003 AD and was completed in six years before being consecrated in 1010 AD. The unique archaeological feature of the temple is its Vimana (temple tower) standing 216 feet tall. The summit stone weighing about eighty tons was dragged on to the top through a slope path from a distant Village, called ‘Sarapallam’. It rises over the sanctum, on a square base about a hundred feet, dominates the whole structure. Its shadow never falls on the ground.
The valiant king Raja Raja-I, who reigned between 985 and 1014 AD, was renowned for land and naval conquests. He found peace at the feet of Lord Shiva. The construction of Brihadeeshwara temple coincides with a visible shift in his policies from military expansion to internal administration. But here is a lesson for us. Neither he, nor his illustrious son Rajendra I (who built the famous Shiva temple at Gangaikonda Cholapuram similar in design to Brihadeeshwara temple) neglected external and internal security unlike some people, who weakened the martial spirit of India through.
The distinct feature of Brihadeeshwara temple is magnificent monolith Nandi bull, the mount of Lord Shiva, facing the temple tower. The shrine of goddess Brihanayaki, Ganapati, Subrmanya, Dakshinamurty, Nataraja are finely carved. The corridor surrounding the sanctum is a treasure chest of Chola painting and sculpture. The walls of this cave-like corridor were plastered with lime and used as a large canvas for the paintings.
The paintings, which have survived time and a seventeenth century coat of paint, are very beautiful in detail and colour and accuracy.
The story of Sundaramurthy Nayanar reaching Kailash on a white elephant is depicted on another wall. Karuvur Thevar, the Guru of Raja Raja is portrayed in an impressive manner. While the sculptures of Shiva in this corridor are imposing and colossal, the series of eighty one dance poses are superb illustrations of the Natya Sastra.
There is an interesting and popular story about the deep personal interest that the King evinced in the construction of the temple. It is said that one day, when the chief sculptor was deeply absorbed in chiseling the huge Nandi, King Raja Raja Chola went and stood by his side. The sculptor, thinking that it was his boy attendent standing by his side ordered him to prepare a pan (betel leaf with araca nut and lime). The king calmly obliged, folded a couple of betel leaves and handed it over to the sculptor who received it without seeing the hands that supplied them. Chewing the pan in his mouth, the sculptor started uttering words of praise, appreciating the king who planned this unique monument. Later he asked his attendant to bring the spitton near him. The king silently obeyed. When the sculptor raised his head after spitting the chewed betel leaves, he was terribly shocked to see the great Raja Raja Chola standing in front of him. Immediately he touched the feet of the king with tears and made an apology to the emperor, in a voice choked with emotion. The king, with a smiling face, lifted him up and consoled him by telling that it was a rare privilege for him to serve the sculptor whose hands chiseled the sculptures of the magnificent temple. Raja Raja Chola, though a worshiper of Shiva, at the same time, was tolerant to other religions.
He endowed and built temple of Maha Vishnu. He granted a village to the Buddhist Vihara at Nagappattinam. The Brihadeeswara temple was not an act of royal fancy. It is iconic of the glory of Tamil Saiva Siddhanta. Amongst two principal schools of Bhakti cult prevalent in South India, Saivism has a larger following.
In Tamil districts of Sri Lanka Saivism holds unchallenged sway. In Saiva Siddhanta Shiva is believed to exercise the functions of creation, protection, destruction, prevention from lapses is the result of enjoyment of one’s action and beneficent action. These functions He is said to discharge with a view to release the struggling souls from the bondage of karma, and present unto them the ultimate knowledge of Shiva. The goal of individual souls is to realise that it is made of Shiva-Tatva (element of Shiva), and though not merging in Shiva, remain at its feet like beloved child. The icon of Lord Nataraja is most symbolic of Saiva Siddhanta. Temple worship is an indispensable part of Saiva Siddhanta. That might explain why Tamilians have an image of orthodox and scrupulous temple goers.
Raja Raja Chola’s period was one of height of Saivism. This had been made possible by the surge of Shiva devotion brought by Nayanar saints in previous centuries. The heart melting hymns (Devaram) to Lord Shiva by Sambandar, Appar and Sundaramurthy as well as Manikkavasagar in the 9th century who wrote Tiruvasagam are worth hearing. They, in reality, were the pioneers of Bhakti movement that later swept across other parts of India in the medieval age.
He was an extra ordinarily powerful king and a grand monrch of southern India. His army crossed the ocean by ships and conquered many islands. His was a versatile personality. It is a matter of pride that Tanjore temple attracted the appreciation of UNESCO for its art and architecture. Brihadeeswara Temple, is the shining jewel in the crown of Bharatmata. No doubt, it is, Tamil Nadu’s contribution to the pride of India. Let us all celebrate this one thousand years architectural wonder.
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Sri Aurobindo’s advice and Bengali Hindus
Hindus still suffer the same as in 1935
By Anirban Ganguly
A Bengali Hindu disciple (perhaps the formidable Dilip Kumar Roy son of the legendary Bard of Bengal Dwijendralal Roy) depressed at the ongoing atrocities committed ‘by some Mohamedans on Hindu families in Bengal’ wrote to Sri Aurobindo expressing anguish. ‘...With the coming of Independence I hope such things will stop...’ he wrote and wished to know whether the Master definitely saw ‘a free India’ in his scheme of things. The reply Sri Aurobindo gave on September 16, 1935 - nearly 75 years ago to the date - was itself portentous, ‘That (India’s independence) is all settled. It is a question of working out only. The question is what is India going to do with her Independence? The above kind of affair? (rioting and attacks on Hindus) Bolshevism? Goonda-raj? Things look ominous.’ (Sri Aurobindo, On Himself, 6th imp, 1995) The situation in Bengal seems to have circled back to the period in question.
In fact the 1935 Government of India Act did not bring much relief to the Bengali Hindus. It has been argued that under the provincial Constitution which the 1935 Act imposed on Bengal ‘Bengali Hindus were permanently debarred from exercising any political power in their province...they were reduced to a permanent statutory minority.’ (Nirad C. Chaudhuri, Thy Hand, Great Anarch, 1987 cited in Tathagata Roy, A Suppressed Chapter in History, 2007). Chaudhuri, a perceptive observer of socio-cultural-political trends in Bengal, saw the link going back to the Communal Award of 1932. The Award had definitely established, he observed, the dominance of Muslims ‘over the governance of Bengal’ and the Bengali Hindu was apprehensive that ‘as soon as the Muslims get political power they would, in education as in literature, undermine the very culture based on ancient Indian ideals which was the pride of the Bengali Hindu.’ Chaudhuri found the fear to be ‘neither baseless nor unjustified.’ (Sanibarer Chithi, September 1936, Ibid.,)
The political, social and cultural re-marginalisation of the Bengali Hindu seems to have begun in Bengal. His space appears to be shrinking and this time round there is little left to fall back on. It is ironic that the political formations which are now exacerbating and expediting the process are themselves led mostly by Bengali Hindus with roots in the eastern part of the province. A region they had to once forsake in face of unrelentingly marauding waves of Islamic fundamentalism.
The issue of the Bengali Hindu going back to his roots and there irreversibly entrenching himself had appeared to Sri Aurobindo to be one of the first ways forward. He had made an impassioned appeal to the Bengali Hindu in 1908, at the height of the early nationalist movement (following the attacks on Hindu Swadeshi activists and public at Comilla and Jamalpur, Eastern Bengal, in 1907), to cling on to his roots-to get back to the land. His words written then retain a remarkable contemporaneity - ‘If the present state of things’, he wrote, ‘is allowed to continue, the Mahomedan will be the inheritor of the future and after a brief period of national strength and splendour the Bengali Hindu, like the Greek, will disappear from the list of nations and remain only as a great name in history.’ (Bande Mataram, 6 March 1908) In order to preserve and perpetuate himself the Bengali Hindu had to doggedly stick to the land. He had to go ‘Back to the Land’ and in a Muslim peasantry dominated Bengal landscape resolutely make his presence felt as a mentor and leader. This way could be secured the ‘perpetuation of the Hindu in Bengal.’ (Ibid.,) It was not a call to retreat but to entrench and to resist.
The Comilla and Jamalpur riots of 1907 were clear ominous signals of things to come. The aggressively nationalist Bengali organ ‘Jugantar’ which had in its peak touched a circulation of 50,000 and functioned under the general direction of Sri Aurobindo and was run by a band of his core political followers spoke up against the riots in no uncertain terms. In fact it was one of the few papers to do so, the others followed a policy of, as Sri Aurobindo termed it, ‘cold timidity and heartless over-caution’. The Jugantar captioned a picture of the smashed idol at Jamalpur as ‘bhanga, cchinnamasta Basanti pratima’ (broken, decapitated statue of goddess Basanti) and paraphrasing Bankim’s Anandamath cried ‘ei dekho ma ja hoiacchen’ (here, see, what the mother has become). (Jugantar, Vol.2, No.8, 5th May, 1907, Angshuman Bandyopadhyay ed. Agnijuger Agnikatha, (Beng) 2001, all translations mine from the original Bengali version.) There was no attempt to whitewash or put the incidents under wrap- a chronic malady afflicting our present day secular media.
The paper also featured a report by its Mymensingh correspondent who reconnoitred the affected areas in Jamalpur. It is interesting to see how over a hundred years later the patterns and expressions of violence remain unchanged. ‘Upon reaching the market I saw Hindu shops with broken doors their wares looted by Muslims. The sight that greeted me at the Durgabari prevented me from calling myself a Hindu. The Durga idol was headless so were the idols of Kartik and Ganesha. The marks of a hundred blows adorned the mother’s body (aghater shatachinna mar ange birajman). (Jamalpurer Katha (the Jamalpur Story) Bishesh Sangbadatar patra (special correspondent report) Agnijuger Agnikatha, op.cit.,) It is reported that a team of 50 volunteers had arrived from Comilla to lend support to efforts of the Jamalpur Hindus at self-protection [most of these volunteers belonged to the Jugantar group and were sent there under express instructions from their ‘Supreme Commander’ see i.e. Oral Hist. Interview with Surendra Mohan Ghose, February 27, 1968, NMML, New Delhi] They had succeeded in bringing the situation under control to a large extent and the riotous Muslims had fallen silent and the conniving police superintendent dared not peep out. But as the habit with us, the local leaders did not take advantage of this group’s presence and could not facilitate its operations. The group eventually left and the Hindus in the area left alone, were unable to protect themselves, and lost all they had. (Jamalpurer Katha, op. cit.,)
Towards the evening the correspondent witnessed the local Muslim mob laying siege to the area’s Dayamayee Devi temple. The scene was as follows, it was one of terror and panic - the ladies all shuddering and crying in the house adjacent to the sanctorum. An injured guard with a broken rifle trying to protect the temple and raving Muslim mobs circling the road and pounding on the door and a head-priest crying at the altar asking the mother for protection was what the Jugantar correspondent witnessed. The night drifted with the sole rifle firing blank rounds and keeping the mob at bay. (Ibid.,)
The correspondent then records his emotion charged thoughts during the scene. It aptly describes the pseudo-secular intellectual and activist species that remain invariably silent during such occurrences. The description, over a hundred years old, has not lost any of its sheen: ‘I thought once of dragging all those who live without worry under a foreign (firinghi) government and wish to die as slaves, all those who run the length and breadth of the country making speeches at conferences and conferences and who keep petitioning and telegramming Morley [then Secretary of state for India referred to here as a symbol of foreign overlordship], I felt like dragging these fellows and making them see this scene similar to that of a cremation ground. Shame on those who are unable to protect their mothers, their wives and their daughters, shame on their life, shame on their speechmaking and shame on their university titles and recognitions.’ (Ibid.,) The correspondent barely managed to escape alive and report back. This is what the Jugantar dared to report. It openly called upon the Bengali Hindu to forsake lethargy and luxury and to awake and awaken, to get ready and determined to protect his dharma, his society and his women and to vindicate his identity as a Hindu and a worshipper (upasaka) of strength and Shakti.(Jugantar, Vol.2 No.9, 12th May, 1907, op.cit.,) For a section of the Bengali Hindu today, forever rapturous of some far off revolution and class emancipation, such words may seem particularly obsolete or inciting but for the discerning and the affected they remain as alive, as pragmatic as when they were first written.
Interestingly the Dacca Division Commissioner’s report on the Jamalpur incident described the rampaging Muslim mob and the temple desecration and ended with the usual alibi that since the SDO had a very small force ‘no arrests were made here and no names taken.’ (RC Majumdar, History of the Freedom Movement in India, Vol.2, rpt.1997) It is illuminating to see how the functioning habits of a colonial force have easily transferred themselves to an indigenous one, especially in Bengal.
Sri Aurobindo himself writing for the Bande Mataram summed up the l’affaire Jamalpur in the following words, ‘ ...the broken image of Durga, the outraged sanctity of religion, the blood of our kindred, the offended honour of our cause and country,-all cry out for succour and vindication...’ (Bande Mataram, April 25, 1907)
Unless this cry for succour and vindication is answered today in a sustained and concerted manner the Bengali Hindu’s retreat, decay and extinction shall perhaps be a process - irreversible, inevitable, inescapable.
By Anirban Ganguly
A Bengali Hindu disciple (perhaps the formidable Dilip Kumar Roy son of the legendary Bard of Bengal Dwijendralal Roy) depressed at the ongoing atrocities committed ‘by some Mohamedans on Hindu families in Bengal’ wrote to Sri Aurobindo expressing anguish. ‘...With the coming of Independence I hope such things will stop...’ he wrote and wished to know whether the Master definitely saw ‘a free India’ in his scheme of things. The reply Sri Aurobindo gave on September 16, 1935 - nearly 75 years ago to the date - was itself portentous, ‘That (India’s independence) is all settled. It is a question of working out only. The question is what is India going to do with her Independence? The above kind of affair? (rioting and attacks on Hindus) Bolshevism? Goonda-raj? Things look ominous.’ (Sri Aurobindo, On Himself, 6th imp, 1995) The situation in Bengal seems to have circled back to the period in question.
In fact the 1935 Government of India Act did not bring much relief to the Bengali Hindus. It has been argued that under the provincial Constitution which the 1935 Act imposed on Bengal ‘Bengali Hindus were permanently debarred from exercising any political power in their province...they were reduced to a permanent statutory minority.’ (Nirad C. Chaudhuri, Thy Hand, Great Anarch, 1987 cited in Tathagata Roy, A Suppressed Chapter in History, 2007). Chaudhuri, a perceptive observer of socio-cultural-political trends in Bengal, saw the link going back to the Communal Award of 1932. The Award had definitely established, he observed, the dominance of Muslims ‘over the governance of Bengal’ and the Bengali Hindu was apprehensive that ‘as soon as the Muslims get political power they would, in education as in literature, undermine the very culture based on ancient Indian ideals which was the pride of the Bengali Hindu.’ Chaudhuri found the fear to be ‘neither baseless nor unjustified.’ (Sanibarer Chithi, September 1936, Ibid.,)
The political, social and cultural re-marginalisation of the Bengali Hindu seems to have begun in Bengal. His space appears to be shrinking and this time round there is little left to fall back on. It is ironic that the political formations which are now exacerbating and expediting the process are themselves led mostly by Bengali Hindus with roots in the eastern part of the province. A region they had to once forsake in face of unrelentingly marauding waves of Islamic fundamentalism.
The issue of the Bengali Hindu going back to his roots and there irreversibly entrenching himself had appeared to Sri Aurobindo to be one of the first ways forward. He had made an impassioned appeal to the Bengali Hindu in 1908, at the height of the early nationalist movement (following the attacks on Hindu Swadeshi activists and public at Comilla and Jamalpur, Eastern Bengal, in 1907), to cling on to his roots-to get back to the land. His words written then retain a remarkable contemporaneity - ‘If the present state of things’, he wrote, ‘is allowed to continue, the Mahomedan will be the inheritor of the future and after a brief period of national strength and splendour the Bengali Hindu, like the Greek, will disappear from the list of nations and remain only as a great name in history.’ (Bande Mataram, 6 March 1908) In order to preserve and perpetuate himself the Bengali Hindu had to doggedly stick to the land. He had to go ‘Back to the Land’ and in a Muslim peasantry dominated Bengal landscape resolutely make his presence felt as a mentor and leader. This way could be secured the ‘perpetuation of the Hindu in Bengal.’ (Ibid.,) It was not a call to retreat but to entrench and to resist.
The Comilla and Jamalpur riots of 1907 were clear ominous signals of things to come. The aggressively nationalist Bengali organ ‘Jugantar’ which had in its peak touched a circulation of 50,000 and functioned under the general direction of Sri Aurobindo and was run by a band of his core political followers spoke up against the riots in no uncertain terms. In fact it was one of the few papers to do so, the others followed a policy of, as Sri Aurobindo termed it, ‘cold timidity and heartless over-caution’. The Jugantar captioned a picture of the smashed idol at Jamalpur as ‘bhanga, cchinnamasta Basanti pratima’ (broken, decapitated statue of goddess Basanti) and paraphrasing Bankim’s Anandamath cried ‘ei dekho ma ja hoiacchen’ (here, see, what the mother has become). (Jugantar, Vol.2, No.8, 5th May, 1907, Angshuman Bandyopadhyay ed. Agnijuger Agnikatha, (Beng) 2001, all translations mine from the original Bengali version.) There was no attempt to whitewash or put the incidents under wrap- a chronic malady afflicting our present day secular media.
The paper also featured a report by its Mymensingh correspondent who reconnoitred the affected areas in Jamalpur. It is interesting to see how over a hundred years later the patterns and expressions of violence remain unchanged. ‘Upon reaching the market I saw Hindu shops with broken doors their wares looted by Muslims. The sight that greeted me at the Durgabari prevented me from calling myself a Hindu. The Durga idol was headless so were the idols of Kartik and Ganesha. The marks of a hundred blows adorned the mother’s body (aghater shatachinna mar ange birajman). (Jamalpurer Katha (the Jamalpur Story) Bishesh Sangbadatar patra (special correspondent report) Agnijuger Agnikatha, op.cit.,) It is reported that a team of 50 volunteers had arrived from Comilla to lend support to efforts of the Jamalpur Hindus at self-protection [most of these volunteers belonged to the Jugantar group and were sent there under express instructions from their ‘Supreme Commander’ see i.e. Oral Hist. Interview with Surendra Mohan Ghose, February 27, 1968, NMML, New Delhi] They had succeeded in bringing the situation under control to a large extent and the riotous Muslims had fallen silent and the conniving police superintendent dared not peep out. But as the habit with us, the local leaders did not take advantage of this group’s presence and could not facilitate its operations. The group eventually left and the Hindus in the area left alone, were unable to protect themselves, and lost all they had. (Jamalpurer Katha, op. cit.,)
Towards the evening the correspondent witnessed the local Muslim mob laying siege to the area’s Dayamayee Devi temple. The scene was as follows, it was one of terror and panic - the ladies all shuddering and crying in the house adjacent to the sanctorum. An injured guard with a broken rifle trying to protect the temple and raving Muslim mobs circling the road and pounding on the door and a head-priest crying at the altar asking the mother for protection was what the Jugantar correspondent witnessed. The night drifted with the sole rifle firing blank rounds and keeping the mob at bay. (Ibid.,)
The correspondent then records his emotion charged thoughts during the scene. It aptly describes the pseudo-secular intellectual and activist species that remain invariably silent during such occurrences. The description, over a hundred years old, has not lost any of its sheen: ‘I thought once of dragging all those who live without worry under a foreign (firinghi) government and wish to die as slaves, all those who run the length and breadth of the country making speeches at conferences and conferences and who keep petitioning and telegramming Morley [then Secretary of state for India referred to here as a symbol of foreign overlordship], I felt like dragging these fellows and making them see this scene similar to that of a cremation ground. Shame on those who are unable to protect their mothers, their wives and their daughters, shame on their life, shame on their speechmaking and shame on their university titles and recognitions.’ (Ibid.,) The correspondent barely managed to escape alive and report back. This is what the Jugantar dared to report. It openly called upon the Bengali Hindu to forsake lethargy and luxury and to awake and awaken, to get ready and determined to protect his dharma, his society and his women and to vindicate his identity as a Hindu and a worshipper (upasaka) of strength and Shakti.(Jugantar, Vol.2 No.9, 12th May, 1907, op.cit.,) For a section of the Bengali Hindu today, forever rapturous of some far off revolution and class emancipation, such words may seem particularly obsolete or inciting but for the discerning and the affected they remain as alive, as pragmatic as when they were first written.
Interestingly the Dacca Division Commissioner’s report on the Jamalpur incident described the rampaging Muslim mob and the temple desecration and ended with the usual alibi that since the SDO had a very small force ‘no arrests were made here and no names taken.’ (RC Majumdar, History of the Freedom Movement in India, Vol.2, rpt.1997) It is illuminating to see how the functioning habits of a colonial force have easily transferred themselves to an indigenous one, especially in Bengal.
Sri Aurobindo himself writing for the Bande Mataram summed up the l’affaire Jamalpur in the following words, ‘ ...the broken image of Durga, the outraged sanctity of religion, the blood of our kindred, the offended honour of our cause and country,-all cry out for succour and vindication...’ (Bande Mataram, April 25, 1907)
Unless this cry for succour and vindication is answered today in a sustained and concerted manner the Bengali Hindu’s retreat, decay and extinction shall perhaps be a process - irreversible, inevitable, inescapable.
Teesta manufacturing lies as anti-Hindu evidence
‘She influenced witnesses to wrongly testify in courts’
By Navin Upadhyay
A former close associate of social activist Teesta Setalvad has sought permission to testify before the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the post-Godhra riot cases about the way she influenced the witnesses to wrongly testify before courts.
Seeking to set the record straight, Rais Khan, a former coordinator for Setalvad’s NGO, Citizen for Peace and Justice (CJP), has written to SIT chief RK Raghavan and Supreme Court’s Justice DK Jain denying news reports that he had tampered with the affidavits filed by Nanumiya Rasulmiya Malik, a star witness in Naroda Gaum and Madina Banu rape cases.
"I wish to state that these affidavits were not prepared by me and were sent to me by Teesta Setalvad of CJP from Mumbai for obtaining signature of witness Nanumiya. Nanumiya’s allegation against me that I inserted certain paragraphs in his affidavit without his knowledge is totally false, as I never made any changes in his affidavit. Nanunuya has signed the affidavits sent by Teesta, under whom I was working during that period."
In a letter dated September 1 to SIT chief RK Raghavan, SC judge DK Jain and HS Vora, Judge Special Designated Court (SIT), Ahmedabad, Khan said, "I wish to give a statement to SIT to clarify my position on such baseless allegations and (I am) also willing to disclose how innocent witnesses and victims were misguided by Teesta Setalvad to wrongly testify before many courts." A copy of the letter is with The Pioneer.
Khan went on to add, "I am sure I may be given a chance to disclose various facts before the SIT related to not only these cases but other cases also."
In the past, Khan had also alleged that the CJP, a Mumbai-based NGO, was instrumental in organising payment of `1 lakh each to as many as 10 witnesses in various post-Godhra riot cases. The money came from the CPI(M) relief fund and was distributed months before the witnesses deposed in the courts, five years after the clashes took place. Four other eyewitnesses received `50,000 each.
The revelation had come in the backdrop of reports that a host of Gujarat riot case victims were misled into signing affidavits giving false information at the behest of CJP.
Interestingly, those who were both victims and eyewitnesses received `1 lakh and `50,000 while the victims got mere `5,000 each. This had raised eyebrows over the selection of beneficiaries and the purpose of paying a disproportionately large sum to the eyewitnesses before the trial.
Khan had at that time told The Pioneer that he had submitted the name of beneficiaries to the CPI(M) on instructions from Teesta Setalvad. "Setalvad identified the people and I merely followed her instruction and forwarded the list to CPI (M)," Khan had said.
On August 20 this year, the SIT had accused Teesta of interfering with the trial by threatening a Public Prosecutor (PP).
In a report submitted to the Supreme Court, the SIT said she threatened to complain to the SC against the PP for opposing an application for stay of trial by one Salim Shaikh. Setalvad had told the prosecutor on phone that he should have simply ‘okayed’ the application, the SIT stated.
Referring to her conversation with Meghaninagar riot case public prosecutor RC Kodekar, the apex court Bench noted, "This is serious...we will not appreciate this at all."
Meanwhile, Rais Khan has been getting threatening calls warning him not to speak against Setalvad, otherwise "he and his family will be killed". Khan even lodged a formal complaint last month at Rakhiyal police station, Ahmedabad, about the threats.
(Courtesy: The Pioneer)
By Navin Upadhyay
A former close associate of social activist Teesta Setalvad has sought permission to testify before the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the post-Godhra riot cases about the way she influenced the witnesses to wrongly testify before courts.
Seeking to set the record straight, Rais Khan, a former coordinator for Setalvad’s NGO, Citizen for Peace and Justice (CJP), has written to SIT chief RK Raghavan and Supreme Court’s Justice DK Jain denying news reports that he had tampered with the affidavits filed by Nanumiya Rasulmiya Malik, a star witness in Naroda Gaum and Madina Banu rape cases.
"I wish to state that these affidavits were not prepared by me and were sent to me by Teesta Setalvad of CJP from Mumbai for obtaining signature of witness Nanumiya. Nanumiya’s allegation against me that I inserted certain paragraphs in his affidavit without his knowledge is totally false, as I never made any changes in his affidavit. Nanunuya has signed the affidavits sent by Teesta, under whom I was working during that period."
In a letter dated September 1 to SIT chief RK Raghavan, SC judge DK Jain and HS Vora, Judge Special Designated Court (SIT), Ahmedabad, Khan said, "I wish to give a statement to SIT to clarify my position on such baseless allegations and (I am) also willing to disclose how innocent witnesses and victims were misguided by Teesta Setalvad to wrongly testify before many courts." A copy of the letter is with The Pioneer.
Khan went on to add, "I am sure I may be given a chance to disclose various facts before the SIT related to not only these cases but other cases also."
In the past, Khan had also alleged that the CJP, a Mumbai-based NGO, was instrumental in organising payment of `1 lakh each to as many as 10 witnesses in various post-Godhra riot cases. The money came from the CPI(M) relief fund and was distributed months before the witnesses deposed in the courts, five years after the clashes took place. Four other eyewitnesses received `50,000 each.
The revelation had come in the backdrop of reports that a host of Gujarat riot case victims were misled into signing affidavits giving false information at the behest of CJP.
Interestingly, those who were both victims and eyewitnesses received `1 lakh and `50,000 while the victims got mere `5,000 each. This had raised eyebrows over the selection of beneficiaries and the purpose of paying a disproportionately large sum to the eyewitnesses before the trial.
Khan had at that time told The Pioneer that he had submitted the name of beneficiaries to the CPI(M) on instructions from Teesta Setalvad. "Setalvad identified the people and I merely followed her instruction and forwarded the list to CPI (M)," Khan had said.
On August 20 this year, the SIT had accused Teesta of interfering with the trial by threatening a Public Prosecutor (PP).
In a report submitted to the Supreme Court, the SIT said she threatened to complain to the SC against the PP for opposing an application for stay of trial by one Salim Shaikh. Setalvad had told the prosecutor on phone that he should have simply ‘okayed’ the application, the SIT stated.
Referring to her conversation with Meghaninagar riot case public prosecutor RC Kodekar, the apex court Bench noted, "This is serious...we will not appreciate this at all."
Meanwhile, Rais Khan has been getting threatening calls warning him not to speak against Setalvad, otherwise "he and his family will be killed". Khan even lodged a formal complaint last month at Rakhiyal police station, Ahmedabad, about the threats.
(Courtesy: The Pioneer)
Julia not the first celebrity to become Hindu
By Philip Goldberg
Once again the powerful forces of celebrity and popular culture have thrust India’s Vedic heritage into the spotlight. India’s greatest export is neither spices nor high-tech entrepreneurs, but its ancient legacy of spiritual genius.
IT may surprise some people, the young in particular, but Julia Roberts is not the first big-time celeb to embrace elements of Hinduism and, as a result, inadvertently educate vast numbers of people about the tradition. And Elizabeth Gilbert is not the first author to write about a personal transformation resulting from time in an ashram and the practice of yogic disciplines. Nor is Eat Pray Love the first film to depict India’s primary religious tradition in a positive way (a group that does not include The Love Guru).
The list of famous folks drawn to Indian-style spirituality goes back to the days when no one had seen a photograph, much less a moving picture.
In the 19th century, Ralph Waldo Emerson, a literary superstar in the days of the Lyceum Circuit, was deeply indebted to the Hindoo (that’s how they spelled it then) texts that sailed into Boston Harbor from Europe. So was Emerson’s acolyte, Henry David Thoreau, who rhapsodised about the Bhagavad Gita in Walden. Beginning in the 1920s, Paramahansa Yogananda - a celebrity in his own right after the publication, in 1946, of his Autobiography of a Yogi - attracted students like the composer Leopold Stokowski, the scientist Luther Burbank and the reclusive actress Greta Garbo. Long before Sting and Madonna posed in yoga postures, the gossip pages linked stars such as Gloria Swanson, Marlon Brando, Cary Grant and Marilyn Monroe to various Yoga teachers.
Marilyn, Walter Winchell reported, took up Yoga "to improve her legs," but some of her fans who followed her lead no doubt discovered more profound uses for the discipline.
In the 50s and 60s, musical celebrities like violinist Yehudi Menuhin, jazz legend John Coltrane, and, of course, George Harrison, linked up with Ravi Shankar and turned on their fans to the spiritual tradition than underlies Indian classical music. Then came the mother of all spiritual media frenzies, when the Beatles, Donovan and Mia Farrow made their way to Maharishi Mahesh Yogi’s ashram on the Ganges. Celebrity links to Hindu-derived teachings continued to crop up on a regular basis, from Mary Tyler Moore, the 1970s version of America’s sweetheart (who endorsed Transcendental Meditation on national TV) to today’s sweetheart, Julia.
As for Elizabeth Gilbert, she is the latest in a long line of authors whose personal quests inspired literature that brought Eastern ideas to large numbers of readers. Emerson and Thoreau were the group’s progenitors, and later memoirists and essayists took up the mantle: the British adventurer Paul Brunton; the American yogi Theos Bernard; the Catholic mystic Thomas Merton; the British expatriots Christopher Isherwood, Gerald Heard and Aldous Huxley; the psychologist Richard Alpert, who metamorphosed from Timothy Leary’s psychedelic sidekick to Ram Dass after meeting Neem Karoli Baba, the very guru whose photograph reportedly inspired Ms. Roberts to explore Hinduism; and, in the 1980s, Shirley MacLaine whose Out on a Limb sold a zillion copies and was made into a TV movie. Other authors-Hermann Hesse, Somerset Maugham, J.D. Salinger chief among them-converted their explorations into fiction that turned many a reader toward India. T.S. Eliot, W.B. Yeats and others did it in verse. And now the film version of Eat Pray Love joins a cinematic tradition that includes two adaptations of Maugham’s The Razor’s Edge, Louis Malle’s Phantom India, several Merchant-Ivory films, Satyajit Ray’s magnificent Apu Trilogy and, of course, Gandhi, 1982’s Best Picture of the Year.
Artistic merit aside - Gilbert is not Salinger and the movie version of her memoir is to the Apu Trilogy what Britney is to Bach - the point is that once again the powerful forces of celebrity and popular culture have thrust India’s Vedic heritage into the spotlight. All the media attention inspires some to cynicism and others to a genuine spiritual enquiry. On the whole, we are better for it, because the key ideas that get transmitted, however imperfectly, through the books, films and tabloid ballyhoo point to a pragmatic spirituality of openness, universality and freedom. As the saying goes, we have seen this movie before, and we shall see it again, because India’s greatest export is neither spices nor high-tech entrepreneurs, but its ancient legacy of spiritual genius.
(Interfaith minister; author of the forthcoming book American Veda)
Once again the powerful forces of celebrity and popular culture have thrust India’s Vedic heritage into the spotlight. India’s greatest export is neither spices nor high-tech entrepreneurs, but its ancient legacy of spiritual genius.
IT may surprise some people, the young in particular, but Julia Roberts is not the first big-time celeb to embrace elements of Hinduism and, as a result, inadvertently educate vast numbers of people about the tradition. And Elizabeth Gilbert is not the first author to write about a personal transformation resulting from time in an ashram and the practice of yogic disciplines. Nor is Eat Pray Love the first film to depict India’s primary religious tradition in a positive way (a group that does not include The Love Guru).
The list of famous folks drawn to Indian-style spirituality goes back to the days when no one had seen a photograph, much less a moving picture.
In the 19th century, Ralph Waldo Emerson, a literary superstar in the days of the Lyceum Circuit, was deeply indebted to the Hindoo (that’s how they spelled it then) texts that sailed into Boston Harbor from Europe. So was Emerson’s acolyte, Henry David Thoreau, who rhapsodised about the Bhagavad Gita in Walden. Beginning in the 1920s, Paramahansa Yogananda - a celebrity in his own right after the publication, in 1946, of his Autobiography of a Yogi - attracted students like the composer Leopold Stokowski, the scientist Luther Burbank and the reclusive actress Greta Garbo. Long before Sting and Madonna posed in yoga postures, the gossip pages linked stars such as Gloria Swanson, Marlon Brando, Cary Grant and Marilyn Monroe to various Yoga teachers.
Marilyn, Walter Winchell reported, took up Yoga "to improve her legs," but some of her fans who followed her lead no doubt discovered more profound uses for the discipline.
In the 50s and 60s, musical celebrities like violinist Yehudi Menuhin, jazz legend John Coltrane, and, of course, George Harrison, linked up with Ravi Shankar and turned on their fans to the spiritual tradition than underlies Indian classical music. Then came the mother of all spiritual media frenzies, when the Beatles, Donovan and Mia Farrow made their way to Maharishi Mahesh Yogi’s ashram on the Ganges. Celebrity links to Hindu-derived teachings continued to crop up on a regular basis, from Mary Tyler Moore, the 1970s version of America’s sweetheart (who endorsed Transcendental Meditation on national TV) to today’s sweetheart, Julia.
As for Elizabeth Gilbert, she is the latest in a long line of authors whose personal quests inspired literature that brought Eastern ideas to large numbers of readers. Emerson and Thoreau were the group’s progenitors, and later memoirists and essayists took up the mantle: the British adventurer Paul Brunton; the American yogi Theos Bernard; the Catholic mystic Thomas Merton; the British expatriots Christopher Isherwood, Gerald Heard and Aldous Huxley; the psychologist Richard Alpert, who metamorphosed from Timothy Leary’s psychedelic sidekick to Ram Dass after meeting Neem Karoli Baba, the very guru whose photograph reportedly inspired Ms. Roberts to explore Hinduism; and, in the 1980s, Shirley MacLaine whose Out on a Limb sold a zillion copies and was made into a TV movie. Other authors-Hermann Hesse, Somerset Maugham, J.D. Salinger chief among them-converted their explorations into fiction that turned many a reader toward India. T.S. Eliot, W.B. Yeats and others did it in verse. And now the film version of Eat Pray Love joins a cinematic tradition that includes two adaptations of Maugham’s The Razor’s Edge, Louis Malle’s Phantom India, several Merchant-Ivory films, Satyajit Ray’s magnificent Apu Trilogy and, of course, Gandhi, 1982’s Best Picture of the Year.
Artistic merit aside - Gilbert is not Salinger and the movie version of her memoir is to the Apu Trilogy what Britney is to Bach - the point is that once again the powerful forces of celebrity and popular culture have thrust India’s Vedic heritage into the spotlight. All the media attention inspires some to cynicism and others to a genuine spiritual enquiry. On the whole, we are better for it, because the key ideas that get transmitted, however imperfectly, through the books, films and tabloid ballyhoo point to a pragmatic spirituality of openness, universality and freedom. As the saying goes, we have seen this movie before, and we shall see it again, because India’s greatest export is neither spices nor high-tech entrepreneurs, but its ancient legacy of spiritual genius.
(Interfaith minister; author of the forthcoming book American Veda)
Jain temple in Valley destroyed
By Hemali Chhapia & Mansi Choksi
MUMBAI: Two years ago, a family from Mumbai built a temple in the lap of snow-capped mountains miles away in Srinagar.
The derasar (temple), carved out of teak, decked with marigolds and installed with three idols of Jain tirthankars, was set up for the thousands of Jains who streamed into the volatile region every holiday season.
But recently, the only Jain temple in the Kashmir Valley was burnt down by a mob.
‘‘It is now ground zero. There is nothing left, nothing to go back to,’’ says Jyotin Doshi, chairman of Gem, a travel agency in south Mumbai whose family built the temple. A shaken-up Doshi recalls speaking to the priest, the lone caretaker of the temple, on the night the violence errupted. ‘‘There was curfew in the Valley but he noticed people gathering outside the temple,’’ he says. The priest, who is disturbed and has now returned to his village near Lucknow, quickly gathered the three idols, which were sculpted out of panchdhatu (an alloy of gold, silver, copper, iron and zinc), and hid them in a hotel room. ‘‘And exactly three hours later, the mob struck and destroyed whatever we had built,’’ says Doshi.
Two members of Doshi’s team from Mumbai, Apurva Bhansali and Jiten Dharod, flew to Srinagar the next day when the curfew was lifted. They packed the idols in cardboard boxes and flew to Sabarmati in Gujarat. ‘‘Before the two had reached, the news had spread in Sabarmati. When the idols were installed in Chintamani Parshwanath derasar there, there were more than 14,000 people who came for darshan,’’ he says.
The idols, that has been taken to safety, were built in Kalikund in Dholka, Gujarat. Doshi says that his family set up the temple to realise his 68-year-old mother’s dream.
(Courtesy: ToI
MUMBAI: Two years ago, a family from Mumbai built a temple in the lap of snow-capped mountains miles away in Srinagar.
The derasar (temple), carved out of teak, decked with marigolds and installed with three idols of Jain tirthankars, was set up for the thousands of Jains who streamed into the volatile region every holiday season.
But recently, the only Jain temple in the Kashmir Valley was burnt down by a mob.
‘‘It is now ground zero. There is nothing left, nothing to go back to,’’ says Jyotin Doshi, chairman of Gem, a travel agency in south Mumbai whose family built the temple. A shaken-up Doshi recalls speaking to the priest, the lone caretaker of the temple, on the night the violence errupted. ‘‘There was curfew in the Valley but he noticed people gathering outside the temple,’’ he says. The priest, who is disturbed and has now returned to his village near Lucknow, quickly gathered the three idols, which were sculpted out of panchdhatu (an alloy of gold, silver, copper, iron and zinc), and hid them in a hotel room. ‘‘And exactly three hours later, the mob struck and destroyed whatever we had built,’’ says Doshi.
Two members of Doshi’s team from Mumbai, Apurva Bhansali and Jiten Dharod, flew to Srinagar the next day when the curfew was lifted. They packed the idols in cardboard boxes and flew to Sabarmati in Gujarat. ‘‘Before the two had reached, the news had spread in Sabarmati. When the idols were installed in Chintamani Parshwanath derasar there, there were more than 14,000 people who came for darshan,’’ he says.
The idols, that has been taken to safety, were built in Kalikund in Dholka, Gujarat. Doshi says that his family set up the temple to realise his 68-year-old mother’s dream.
(Courtesy: ToI
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