First this weekend, a post by Sandeep in which he explains why Aravind Adiga’s ”White Tiger” is award-winning India-bashing. To Sandeep’s analysis, I would add this nugget (Hat Tip: Sh Kak; emphasis mine)
Michael Portillo, chairman of the five-member judging panel, praised The White Tiger…
“What set this one apart was its originality,” Portillo said. “For many of us this was entirely new territory — the dark side of India.
“It’s a book that gains from dealing with very important social issues — the divisions between rich and poor and the impossibility of the poor escaping from their lot in India.”
Next, a fascinating scheme involving “naked” streets (i.e. streets without road signs, traffic lights etc) being trialled in London which suggests that the apparently mindless chaos on Indian roads may actually be saving lives and increasing road-safety!
Brief excerpts from all the articles below:
.
Keep Reading…
October 18th, 2008
Posted by
B Shantanu |
Conversions, Missionaries in India, Current Affairs, Distortions, Misrepresentations about India, Miscellaneous |
one comment
1. DGP and BJP MP B P Singhal examines “The sting and the truth about Gujarat” including this Aaj Tak faux pas:
It was therefore truly shocking that on 25.8.2007, Aaj Tak harped on the same old refrain that “Modi did not call the army until three days had passed“. Even more outrageous was their insistance on this point. When Aaj Tak contacted me on phone to get my response, I told the anchor that the Godhra carnage took place on February 27, 2002, that the Hindu backlash commenced on February 28th and the Army was doing flag march on the forenoon of March 1st …………
He cut me short by saying that “this is exactly what we had said, no action was taken by Modi on 29th, 30th and 31st thus giving three clear days to the murderers ……..”
I had to cut him short by reminding him that the date 28th was 28th of February, 2002 and there was no 29th, 30th or 31st in that month.
2. A post from Ideas of Civilisation which questions whether politicians should have to contact voters…
3. …and a heart-warming and inspiring story about a cell centre being run by the blind in India.. The young men and women working here are truly a source of inspiration…
Brief excerpts from all the articles below.
Keep Reading…
September 26th, 2008
Posted by
B Shantanu |
Distortions, Misrepresentations about India, Godhra, Media Related, Politics and Governance, Politics and Governance in India |
2 comments
…Muslims need to look within their own community and build reforms within it.
Last weekend, I finally managed to read the entire transcript of the Karan Thapar – Shabana Azmi interview and stumbled upon this bit in which she comments on the need for reform within the Muslim community:
Karan Thapar: Today, not just abroad but even in India, people say that Muslims have to take on the onus of changing the image of their religion and the image of the community. Is that a fair thing to say?
Shabana Azmi: I think it is. I would accept that because I don’t think that the Muslim leadership has bothered to clear the air about what Islam is all about….
And:
Karan Thapar: Do Indians, particularly those who aren’t Muslims, understand the extent of these problems that we have created by this prejudice for the 14-15 per cent Muslim minority? Do you think people understand this?
Shabana Azmi: Yes, and no. And when they don’t, I think it’s about time that Indian Muslims stopped viewing themselves as Muslims. I think otherwise they tend to get into that victim mode.
Karan Thapar: But what can they do?
Shabana Azmi: Firstly, you have to look within your community, you have to build reforms within it. You have to say that you want to look into things like education.
Keep Reading…
September 7th, 2008
Posted by
B Shantanu |
Distortions, Misrepresentations about India, Human Rights and Legal Issues, Identity, Islam & Reform, Muslim Population in India, Politics of Minority Appeasement |
15 comments
A leading cine-artiste makes the claim that being a Muslim, she has had difficulty finding a home in Mumbai.
A screen writer says that he too faced the same “problem”. The reporter adds…
Top film stars, household names for you and me, as well as TV actors and models almost all have had it tough because of their religion.
…but fails to mention even one of these “household names”…apparently, ”none of them were willing to say it aloud” !!
And in all of this, she sees “a pattern of Muslim artistes simply not finding a place to stay in Mumbai.” (sic)
From what I remember of my English, a “pattern” needs to have regularly repeated occurences…I see none here…or has the meaning of “pattern” changed in the last two decades?
Oddly not one word about…”certain Parsi societies that do not allow non-Parsis” or “…societies (in Bandra) that do not allow non-Christians“…and of course no mention of most of us being unable to buy land in Kashmir - or of Shabana and Javed’s flats in Juhu. [ link ]
Related Posts:
“The great joke that is Indian Media” series: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4 and Part 5.
September 2nd, 2008
Posted by
B Shantanu |
Distortions, Misrepresentations about India, Indian Media, Post Independence History |
7 comments
I came across this fascinating piece of research a while ago but almost forgot to post it here. From The Colonial Legacy - Myths and Popular Beliefs, some thought-provoking excerpts:
*** Excerpts Begin ***
While few educated South Asians would deny that British Colonial rule was detrimental to the interests of the common people of the sub-continent - several harbor an illusion that the British weren’t all bad. Didn’t they, perhaps, educate us - build us modern cities, build us irrigation canals - protect our ancient monuments - etc. etc. And then, there are some who might even say that their record was actually superior to that of independent India’s! Perhaps, it is time that the colonial record be retrieved from the archives and re-examined - so that those of us who weren’t alive during the freedom movement can learn to distinguish between the myths and the reality.
Literacy and Education
…(since) the last year, I have been making a point of asking English-speaking Indians to guess what India’s literacy rate in the colonial period might have been…Most guessed the number to be between 30% and 40%. When I suggested that their guess was on the high side - they offered 25% to 35%. No one was prepared to believe that literacy in British India in 1911 was only 6%, in 1931 it was 8%, and by 1947 it had crawled to 11%! That fifty years of freedom had allowed the nation to quintuple it’s literacy rate was something that almost seemed unfathomable to them…
Urban Development
It is undoubtedly true that the British built modern cities with modern conveniences for their administrative officers. But it should be noted that these were exclusive zones not intended for the “natives” to enjoy. Consider that in 1911, 69 per cent of Bombay’s population lived in one-room tenements (as against 6 per cent in London in the same year). The 1931 census revealed that the figure had increased to 74 per cent - with one-third living more than 5 to a room. The same was true of Karachi and Ahmedabad.
…Yet, in 1757 (the year of the Plassey defeat), Clive of the East India Company had observed of Murshidabad in Bengal: “This city is as extensive, populous and rich as the city of London…” (so quoted in the Indian Industrial Commission Report of 1916-18). Dacca was even more famous as a manufacturing town, it’s muslin a source of many legends and it’s weavers had an international reputation that was unmatched in the medieval world.
…The percentage of population dependant on agriculture and pastoral pursuits actually rose to 73% in 1921 from 61% in 1891. (Reliable figures for earlier periods are not available.)
In 1854, Sir Arthur Cotton writing in “Public Works in India” noted: “Public works have been almost entirely neglected throughout India…
Nothing can be more revealing than the remark by John Bright in the House of Commons on June 24, 1858, “The single city of Manchester, in the supply of its inhabitants with the single article of water, has spent a larger sum of money than the East India Company has spent in the fourteen years from 1834 to 1848 in public works of every kind throughout the whole of its vast dominions.”
Irrigation and Agricultural Development
There is another popular belief about British rule: ‘The British modernized Indian agriculture by building canals’. But the actual record reveals a somewhat different story. ” The roads and tanks and canals,” noted an observer in 1838 (G. Thompson, “India and the Colonies,” 1838), ”which Hindu or Mussulman Governments constructed for the service of the nations and the good of the country have been suffered to fall into dilapidation; and now the want of the means of irrigation causes famines.” Montgomery Martin, in his standard work “The Indian Empire”, in 1858, noted that the old East India Company “omitted not only to initiate improvements, but even to keep in repair the old works upon which the revenue depended.”
The Report of the Bengal Irrigation Department Committee in 1930 reads:…“As regards the revival or maintenance of minor routes, … practically nothing has been done, with the result that, in some parts of the Province at least, channels have been silted up, navigation has become limited to a few months in the year, and crops can only be marketed when the Khals rise high enough in the monsoon to make transport possible”.
Sir William Willcock, a distinguished hydraulic engineer, whose name was associated with irrigation enterprises in Egypt and Mesopotamia had made an investigation of conditions in Bengal. He had discovered that innumerable small destructive rivers of the delta region, constantly changing their course, were originally canals which under the English regime were allowed to escape from their channels and run wild. Formerly these canals distributed the flood waters of the Ganges and provided for proper drainage of the land, undoubtedly accounting for that prosperity of Bengal which lured the rapacious East India merchants there in the early days of the eighteenth century.. He wrote” Not only was nothing done to utilize and improve the original canal system, but railway embankments were subsequently thrown up, entirely destroying it. Some areas, cut off from the supply of loam-bearing Ganges water, have gradually become sterile and unproductive, others improperly drained, show an advanced degree of water-logging, with the inevitable accompaniment of malaria. Nor has any attempt been made to construct proper embankments for the Gauges in its low course, to prevent the enormous erosion by which villages and groves and cultivated fields are swallowed up each year.”…
Keep Reading…
August 30th, 2008
Posted by
B Shantanu |
British Rule in India, Distortions, Misrepresentations about India, Modern Indian History |
4 comments
….and the world remained silent….
For those of you who are not old enough to remember how it all started, here is a brief excerpt from The bushfire of Hindu rage (emphasis mine):
…For the benefit of those who have come of age in the last two decades, among them many of the 24×7 news channel anchors who talk utter gibberish while donning an air of supreme confidence to camouflage their limitless ignorance, let me recount the events of January 1990, which mark the beginning of the latest crusade against the Hindus of Jammu & Kashmir. Since ’secularists’ are allergic to events of the distant past, we need not go into the details of how Hindus were decapitated by the Sword of Islam wielded by the original Islamists. The present will suffice to highlight the duplicity of those whose hearts beat for the hate-India hordes in Kashmir.
Srinagar, January 4, 1990. Aftab, a local Urdu newspaper, publishes a Press release issued by Hizb-ul Mujahideen, set up by the Jamaat-e-Islami in 1989 to wage jihad for Jammu & Kashmir’s secession from India and accession to Pakistan, asking all Hindus to pack up and leave. Another local paper, Al Safa, repeats this expulsion order. In the following days, there is near chaos in the Kashmir Valley with then Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah and his National Conference Government abdicating all responsibilities. Masked men run amok, waving Kalashnikovs, shooting to kill and shouting anti-India slogans. Reports of killing of Hindus, invariably Kashmiri Pandits, begin to trickle in; there are explosions; inflammatory speeches are made from the pulpits of mosques, using public address systems meant for calling the faithful to prayers. A terrifying fear psychosis begins to take grip of Kashmiri Pandits.
Srinagar, January 19, 1990. Mr Jagmohan arrives to take charge as Governor. Mr Farooq Abdullah, whose pathetic, whimpering, snivelling Government has all but ceased to exist, resigns and goes into a sulk. Curfew is imposed as a first measure to restore some semblance of law and order. But it fails to have a deterrent effect. Throughout the day, Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front and Hizb-ul Mujahideen terrorists use public address systems at mosques to exhort people to defy curfew and take to the streets. Masked men, firing from their Kalashnikovs, march up and down, terrorising Pandits. As evening falls, the exhortations become louder and shriller. Three taped slogans are repeatedly played the whole night from mosques: “Kashmir mei agar rehna hai, Allah-hu-Akbar kehna hai” (If you want to stay in Kashmir, you have to say Allah-hu-Akbar); “Yahan kya chalega, Nizam-e-Mustafa” (What do we want here? Rule of shari’ah); “Asi gachchi Pakistan, batao roas te batanev san” (We want Pakistan along with Hindu women but without their men). As the night of January 19, 1990, wears itself out, despondency gives way to desperation. And tens of thousands of Kashmiri Pandits across the Valley take a painful decision: To flee their homeland to save their lives. Thus takes place a 20th century Exodus.
Their wounds, as also the wounds of Hindu India, have been festering for 18 years. The simmering anger of Hindus has now burst into a raging bush fire that threatens to burn to ashes media’s perverse notions of ’secularism’ and destroy the politics of Muslim appeasement.
Related Posts:
Cry of the Valley - *must read*
The lies about Amarnath…
No land for the Yatris - Government capitulates
How many “Hindus” would it take to change the demography of Kashmir?
August 13th, 2008
Posted by
B Shantanu |
Current Affairs, Distortions, Misrepresentations about India, Human Rights and Legal Issues, Jammu & Kashmir related, Pakistan related, Politics and Governance in India, Politics of Minority Appeasement, Post Independence History, Terrorism in India |
12 comments
Some good links for the weekend:
Excerpts from the Pak army and the jihadi’s second coming: Read in the context of recent incidents of ceasefire violation along the LOC and the controversy surrounding Gen Kapoor’s remarks.
Excerpts from [The Islamist-Leftist] Allied Menace
and how California alone uses more gasoline than any other country in the world (including India and China!)
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Keep Reading…
August 9th, 2008
Posted by
B Shantanu |
Current Affairs, Distortions, Misrepresentations about India, Enviroment Related, Geo-Strategic Issues (incl. Nuclear, Oil, Energy), Global Terrorism, Islam & Terrorism, Jammu & Kashmir related, Pakistan related |
no comments
Why is the English mainstream media so scared of calling terrorists for what they are - instead of the silly label -”militants”?
Is thisnot an insult toour brave officers and soldiers who day in and day out expose themselves to enormous risks…and put their lives on the line to protect our country and uphold the sovereignty and integrity of India?
I am sad, disgusted and very very angry…
Here is a sample from today’s new stories:
An Army Major has been killed and two jawans injured in encounter with militants in Rajouri district in Kashmir. [ link ]
An Army Major and a police constable were killed and three other security personnel seriously injured in a fierce gun battle with a group of Lashker-e-Toiba militants in Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir today (July 20). [ link ]
An Indian Army officer and a policeman were killed and four soldiers injured in a shoot out that erupted in a frontier district of Jammu and Kashmir Sunday, defence sources said. The sources said Maj. Bhanu Partap of 43 Rashtriya Rifles and Sanjeev of Kashmir police were killed while fighting heavily armed militants hiding in the Bangai forests in Thana Mandi area of Rajouri district, about 190 kms north of Jammu. [ link ]
An Army Major and a police constable were killed and three other security personnel seriously injured in a fierce gun battle with a group of Lashker-e-Toiba militants in Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir on Sunday. [ link ]
Interestingly, the Hindi language media (with which I am somewhat familiar) uniformly uses the term “Aatankwadi” (Terrorist) - save for the lone BBC Hindi which prefers “Charampanthi” (Extremist) - but then it is the BBC, as you know.
Anydoubt why we need a robust, right-of-centre alternative to what passes of as mainstream media?
Related Posts:
The missing T-word
Nice, politically correct reporting -UPDATED
and “The great joke that is Indian Media” series:Part 1,Part 2,Part 3, Part 4and Part 5.
.
UPDATE: According to this report, these so-called militants were using a woman as a shield:
Army sources claimed that on specific information, a joint team of the Thannamandi-based 43 RR and the Rajouri SOG launched a search and destroy operation in Kunda near here on Saturday night. After cordoning the area, a search party led by Major Bhanu reached a dhok (temporary shed used by nomads in higher reaches) owned by Gulzar Begum of Shahdara Sharief area and knocked at the door. Begum who was inside the dhok at that time was allegedly used by militants, reportedly belonging to Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT), as their shield, sources added.
July 21st, 2008
Posted by
B Shantanu |
Current Affairs, Distortions, Misrepresentations about India, Human Rights and Legal Issues, Jammu & Kashmir related, LeT, SIMI etc., Pakistan related, Politics and Governance in India, Terrorism in India |
one comment
How many of you have heard the story of great warrior Arjun suffering an ignominious defeatat the hands of a gang of marauders*? I had a vague recollection of it butwhen someone mentioned it to me the other day, I decided to dig deeper.
Courtesy psych-prism, here istheshort story…and within it, a great lesson for all of us.
Once Bhagwaan ShriKrishna was wounded and Arjun decide to go and see him…On the way, he met Narad Muni who advised him not to touch Shri Krishna, otherwise great harm would befell him.
As Arjunentered Shri Krishna’s chamber,Bhagwan Krishna said, “I was waiting for you. Come and sit besides me.”
Remembering Narad Muni’s advice, Arjun was in a dilemma…and decided not to sit next to Bhagwaan Krishna. His discomfort was obvious so Shri Krishna asked him to touch his wounds with his bow if not with his hand.
Arjun agreed to that…not realising that all the “shakti” from his bow had drained away when it touched Shri Krishna Bhagwan’s wounds. After the meeting,Krishna Bhagwaan asked Arjun to take responsibility for the safe passageofGopikas who had come to see him. Arjun of course agreed.
On their way back, the group was attacked by Bheels* who, in spite ofArjun’s prowess in archeryand his “Gandiv“, managed to abduct the Gopis.Arjun’sbow- the famed “Gandiv” failed him at this moment…The greatest archer of histime could not protect the Gopikas when they needed help the most.
That was when Arjun realised “It is notman who is powerful and potent; It is TIME”
The version which I heard from my wife is slightly different…Arjun was not escorting Gopikas but widows of the Yadav soldiers and officers who had perished in the Great War (recall that while Shri Krishna Bhagwaan had fought on the side of Pandavas, his army had fought with the Kauravas - this story is probably for another post).
These widows were being escorted from Dwarka (modern day Gujarat) to Hastinapur (in North India) and the attack happened in/around modern-day Jhabua (which is Bheel Pradesh). Also Arjun failed to protect the widows not because he could not use his Gaandiv but he actually “forgot” the mantras.
This “dohaa” has been ascribed to Kabir:
Manushya bali hout nahi;Samay hout balvAn
Bhillan luti gopikA;WahiArjun wahi baan
Another version:
Manushya kadi balwaan nahi; Samaya sab se balwaan
Kaabe Arjuna lutiyo; Wahi dhanush wahi baan
And the version I had heard before (thanks to my wife):
Purush bali nahin hout hai; Samay hout balwaan
Bheel gopiyan bhagaye lae; Wahi Arjun, wahi baan
* Note that the association of “Bheels” (or “Bhils”) with the gang of marauders is probably inaccurate and historically debatable. In spite of that thismis-perception (Bheels = Marauders, Thugs, Looters) is widely prevalent - both in the minds of the public as well as the media e.g.: “Our community (the Bhils) is famous for robberies“.
The causes of this association probably lie in the history of past 200-odd years. E.g.see this fascinating extract from the official Gazette of Jalgaon in Maharashtra from the period 1818-1947 and “Imperial Solution of a Colonial Problem: Bhils of Khandesh up to c. 1850″.
Find of the day: Royal Chronology and History of India
Related Posts:
A Search for the Historical Krishna
Mahabharata War - A Backdrop
July 18th, 2008
Posted by
B Shantanu |
Ancient Indian History, Distortions, Misrepresentations about India, Spirituality & Philosophy |
one comment
Amidst all the violence and “protests” around the issue of transfer of 40 hectares of land to Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board (SASB), I noticed twoquestions that appear to have gone unanswered.
The first question…and this is really the elephant in the room, is, “How many “Hindus” would it take to change the demography of Kashmir?
It is important to consider this question as this is what seems to upset most Kashmiris. To wit:
…President of Action Committee Against Land Transfer (ACALT) and former Kashmir Bar Association President, Mian Abdul Qayoom…termed the (SASB) decision as a conspiracy to change the demography of occupied Kashmir [ link ]
Syed Ali Shah Geelani, chairperson of the hard-line Hurriyat faction, has beenquoted as saying, “Transfer of forestland to SASB is a conspiracy to change the demography of the Valley. We will not allow this ploy to succeed,”
Let us look at some numbers.
According to 2001 Census of India, the population ofJammu and Kashmir was just over 10m of which6.8m (66.97%) were Muslims; Hindus were just over 3m(29.63%) -note that the % Muslim population has increased since the last censusin 1981 and the proportion of Hindus has decreased (atleastpartly due to migration);According to the 1981 census, Muslims accounted for 64.19% andHindus were at 32.24%.
However, this distribution hides the skewed demographics in the “Valley”. In Kashmir (Valley), the proportion ofMuslims is generally accepted to be~ 95% (e.g. see here),possibly more.
The 1981 census put the Pandits’ number (in the Valley) at a little over 124,000 in a total population of 3.1 million (It should be noted that between 1941 and 1981, the Pandit population declined from 15% to just under 5% while the Muslim population grew from 83% to 95%.The Hindu population in the Valley today is certainly lower than the 1981 number while the Muslim population has grown. According to this report, “…of the estimated 200,000 Hindus, known as Pandits, who lived in the Kashmir Valley…only some 10,000 remain.”
Against this backdrop, is itnot a joketo talk about the land allotment to SASB being an attemptto change the “demographics” of Kashmir - and to reduce Muslims to a minority?
Or am I missing something?
To change the demographics of the Valley, the entire Hindu population in Kashmir will have to move to the Valley and then some…even then, they may be short of a few lakhs, in numbers…
Why does not anyone expose the specious argument?
***
The second question is who exactly are the environmental critics or “local environmentalists” who areopposing the transfer on ecologicalgrounds?
E.g. “Critics say building permanent structures at base camps of the pilgrimage will ruin the fragile ecology of the mountainous region…” and “…Local environmentalists protested against the decision and local politicians joined them in opposing the issue…”
I did not find a single “expert” being named in any of the tens of news-reports…
It needs to be mentioned that the one department in the government that you would expect to have raised objections on environmental grounds - the Forest Department - has actually approved the proposal.
Specifically, “the matter was examined in the forest department at various levels and was finally submitted to the minister by the Principal Secretary of the Forest Department recommending that the proposal be approved.”[link ]
Am I the only one herewith the feeling something is not quite right?
Related Posts:
Specious Arguments and False Propoganda
More on Muslim Population Growth in India
Some startling stats from the eastern front
P.S. As many of you would know, Kashmir’s association with Hinduism goes back through the ages…The name itself issaid to be derived from Kashyapa, one of the seven Saptarishis…and Kashmir is home to some of the holiest shrines in Hinduism…Amarnath, of course but also Kheer Bhawani,Shankaracharya Mandir, Hari Parbat etc…
Eminent Kashmiris (from the ancientpast) are said toincludeAbhinavagupta, Kalhana and Charaka (and possibly Kalidasa). More here.
Also recommended:Amarnath exposes Kashmir Faultlines(fromOfftsumped)
June 28th, 2008
Posted by
B Shantanu |
Current Affairs, Distortions, Misrepresentations about India, Enviroment Related, Jammu & Kashmir related, Muslim Population in India, Politics and Governance in India, Politics of Minority Appeasement, Post Independence History |
5 comments
Some thought-provoking excerpts from: Does Europe have a Civilising mission in India?byJakob De Roover*, published on 16 June 2008 - Issue : 786.
*** Excerpts Begin ***
Recently, the European Parliament hosted a meeting on caste discrimination in South Asia. At the meeting, participants stated that India is being ruled by castes not by laws and that they demanded justice, because there is one incredible India and one untouchable India. The EU was urged to come out with a policy statement on the subject. One MEP, referring to the caste system, said that this barbarism has to end. This is not the first time. However, before the EU decides to publish policy statements on caste discrimination in India, we would do well to reflect on some simple facts.
First, the dominant conception of the caste system has emerged from the accounts by Christian missionaries, travelers and colonial administrators. Rather than being neutral, these accounts were shaped by a Christian framework. …Especially the Protestants rebuked the evil priests of Hinduism for imposing the laws of caste in the name of religion. They told the Indians that conversion to Protestantism was a conversion to equality. Thus, Indian souls were to be saved from damnation and caste discrimination.
Second, this Christian account of the Hindu religion and its caste system informed colonial policies in British India…
Building on the theological framework, scholars now wrote scientific treatises on Hindu superstition and caste discrimination.
The Christian mission found its secular counterpart in the idea of the civilising mission, which told the West that it had to rescue the natives from the clutches of superstition and caste.
Third, the colonial educational project had a deep impact on the Indian intelligentsia. Hindu reform and anti-caste movements came into being, which reproduced the Protestant accounts of Hinduism and caste as true descriptions of India.
…Political parties and caste associations were created to safeguard the interests of the lower castes. The elites of these groups united in associations and received financial and moral support from the missionaries and other progressive colonials.
Fourth, the Dalit movement of today is the product of these colonial movements. The notion of Dalits makes sense only within the colonial account of India, which had postulated the existence of one single group of outcastes or untouchables that was supposedly exploited by the upper castes. In reality, it concerns a variety of caste groups, with no criteria to unite them besides the claim that they are all downtrodden. Indeed, many of these groups are poor and discriminated against by other caste groups.
…In the name of the downtrodden, these elites establish NGOs and then travel from conference to conference and country to country in order to reveal the plight of the Dalits to eager western audiences and secure funding from donor agencies.
Fifth, when present-day Europeans rebuke Indian society for the barbarism of caste discrimination, they are reproducing the old stanzas of the civilising mission. Such a stance of superiority perhaps worked in the context of colonialism. But today, at a time when Indians buy some of the European industrial giants and Europe is in need of more collaboration with India, it is ill-advised to continue this type of civilisational propaganda.
In fact, such propaganda derives its plausibility from a series of assumptions that no one would be willing to defend explicitly. It attributes all socioeconomic wrongs of the Indian society to its structure and civilisation. The implication is that there is only one way to get rid of socio-economic wrongs here: one has to eradicate both the social structure and the Hindu civilisation. It is as though one would blame the racism, bingedrinking, pedophilia, poverty, homelessness and domestic violence in the contemporary West on its age-old civilisation.
The times have changed. As Europeans, we need to reflect on our deep-rooted sense of superiority and how this informs our moralising discourse on human rights in other parts of the world. To appreciate the impression we give to Indians with our statements on caste discrimination, just imagine a possible world in which the Indian government regularly castigates the US for its racism against African-Americans and the disproportionate death penalties, and the EU for the treatment of South Asians in England, Turks in Germany, women in Romania, the Basque movement in Spain, gypsies in Italy
just imagine Indian members of parliament consistently blaming the very structure of western societies as the cause of all these wrongs. Europe needs to wake up fast. The time of colonialism is over. If we do not change our attitudes, the irritation towards the EU will grow in countries like India and China. So will the unwillingness to collaborate. In the fast-changing world of the early 21st Century, Europe cannot afford this.
*** End of Excerpts ***
Related Posts:
The British Caste System -excerpts
Hinduism, Caste System and discrimination - Join thedebate
Caste, Varna and Jatis: The need for clarity in intellectualdebate
* Jakob De Roover is a Postdoctoral Fellow of the Research Foundation (FWO) at the Research Centre Vergelijkende Cultuurwetenschap, Ghent University, Belgium.
June 26th, 2008
Posted by
B Shantanu |
British Rule in India, Conversions, Missionaries in India, Current Affairs, Debates & Discussions, Distortions, Misrepresentation about Hinduism, Distortions, Misrepresentations about India, Hindu Dharma, Hindu Social System, Human Rights and Legal Issues |
2 comments
If you are wondering about the link between the two, it is AIDS !
Apparently, Call Centre “Romeos” are one of the leading reasonsfor increasing AIDS in India.
And Hindu fundamentalists are indirectly helping this by opposingcircumcision…which supposedly helps fight AIDS.
Please read on*…
A new AIDS threat is rising in India’s numerous call centers, where young staff are increasingly having unprotected sex with multiple partners in affairs developed during night shifts, a top AIDS expert has warned. [ link ]
…”You will see call center Romeos are a major high risk for HIV,” Solomon said.
However the AIDS expert, Dr Solomon did not present any figures and there is no data on how many call center employees are actuallyinfected with HIV.
Dr Solomon then did a curious “detour” -and blamed “Hindu activists”for hampering India’s anti-AIDS fight. She mentioned a”recent government study to gauge the acceptance for circumcision…triggered a massive backlash by Hindu fundamentalists”
…and went on to say:
If you go out into the streets and say I will do this (circumcision) to reduce HIV, there will be a chaos…
Vaccines have failed. Microbicides have failed. This is one tool we have in hand but we can’t use it…
All this would have been fine except that Dr Solomon’s case rests on ashaky foundation.
For one,the effectivenss of male circumcision as an anti-AIDS measure isstill very controversial…
and although Dr Solomon boldly proclaims”Vaccines have failed. Microbicides have failed”, her profile suggests that she herself has not given up on vaccines and microbicides…
Might it have something to do with her various roles and assignments, I wonder?
Dr. Solomon is a member of the advisory board of International AIDS Vaccine Initiative-India…a permanent member on the Microbicides Committee of the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR)…
Dr. Solomon is the Indian Principal Investigator of several pioneering HIV research studies (including)…a Phase III study of 6% CS GEL, a candidate microbicide of CONRAD.
:-|.
To top off (no pun intended), here is anextract froma study that questionswhether circumcision is an effective anti-AIDS measure:
From http://www.mgmbill.org/aids.htm:
The multi-country Mishra study concluded that circumcision may actually increase transmission of the AIDS virus, however, which is what many earlier studies found. The Brewer Study published in March, 2007, also concluded that circumcision in Kenya, Lesotho, and Tanzania increases the transmission of AIDS.
The United States has one of the highest rates of male circumcision and also one of the highest rates of HIV infection in the developed world, suggesting that circumcision is not helping. Conversely, Finland and Japan have some of the lowest rates of circumcision and also some of the lowest rates of HIV/AIDS. In Australia, the AFAO has now concluded that male circumcision has no role in the Australian HIV epidemic.
As you can see, the jury is still out on circumcision and AIDS…In the meanwhile of course,you have another stick to beat the Hindutva-wadis with!
Curiously no mention of the Vatican’s stance on condoms in the article:
The Catholic Church is telling people in countries stricken by Aids not to use condoms because they have tiny holes in them through which HIV can pass - potentially exposing thousands of people to risk.
The church is making the claims across four continents despite a widespread scientific consensus that condoms are impermeable to HIV.
…The WHO has condemned the Vatican’s views, saying: “These incorrect statements about condoms and HIV are dangerous when we are facing a global pandemic which has already killed more than 20 million people, and currently affects at least 42 million.”
or of how a traditional Islamic theological response may hinder control of AIDS
“Islam and Muslims exacerbate the spread of AIDS,” said Professor Amina Wadud of Virginia Commonwealth University, taking to task the behavior of Muslim men who misuse Islam.
“A traditional Islamic theological response can never cure AIDS.” She cited Muslim men who compelled sex upon their wives even though the men were HIV-positive as a result of extramarital affairs.
butI forgot, the focusis on Hindu fundamentalists!
.
Related Posts:
HIV-positive patients *real* number may be 1/3rd ofestimate
AIDS first casualty in India:Truth
AIDS first casualty in India: Part2
* P.S. Specialthanks to Sh Krishen Kak for alerting me to this and for his links on the efficacy - or not - of circumcision as a method of controlling AIDS.
June 25th, 2008
Posted by
B Shantanu |
Current Affairs, Distortions, Misrepresentation about Hinduism, Distortions, Misrepresentations about India, Media Related |
3 comments
Fellow blogger Varnam recently wrote twoposts on how learning Sanskrit is now considered to be a “communal” activity and something that might put you at odds with the “secular” brigade.
In the first one, he pointed out:
Usually you see the word saffronization associated with the Hindutva folks, not Sanskritization…the revival (of this word)is with mischievous intent. Now the name of a language has become a synonym for communal politics.
In fact this attempt to brand Sanskrit as a non-secular entity happened once before, believe it or not - by the Central Board of Secondary Education. It was an attempt to pull the rug off India’s cultural heritage and history by branding an entire language as not-secular.
…The Supreme Court in a landmark verdict rejected the accusation that teaching Sanskrit was against secularism.
…the Court wrote that Sanskrit was the language in which Indian minds expressed the noblest ideas. It was also the language in which our culture, which includes the Vedas, Upanishads, Puranas, the teachings of Sankaracharya to Vallabhacharya and classics of Kalidasa to Banabhatta were expressed. Without understanding Sanskrit, the Court wrote, you cannot understand Indian philosophy on which our culture is based.
In a follow-up, he wrote:
This January, the Indian Govt. cut funding for a Sanskrit program because it is now a sin to learn an ancient language and the reason: India has a large Muslim population.
When the Supreme Court of India writes judgements admiring the language in which Indian minds expressed noblest ideas, it takes the UPA Govt. to accuse that it is communal.
JK suggests (and I fully endorse): Instead of whining about the Govt. the best course of action would be to organize a Samskrita Bharati camp in your area.
Fellow blogger Sandeep has also commented on this issue:
…Sanskritisation, a noun used as a verb form is a strange creature that really defies definition. Interestingly, Seema uses this without defining it, an act similar to her boss Sonia Gandhi who wields power without responsibility but alludes to M.N. Srinivas who coined it.
…Sanskritisation, however, you want to define it, has no factual basis in Indian history or tradition or societyunless you equate Sanskritisation with Brahminisation (ugh and sic!).
Related Posts:
Dont wear a tilak to work!
Secular Fundamentalismalive & kicking inIndia
Also read: Pseudo-secularism at itsbest?
June 17th, 2008
Posted by
B Shantanu |
Ancient Indian History, Current Affairs, Distortions, Misrepresentation about Hinduism, Distortions, Misrepresentations about India, Identity, Impact of Islam on India, Indian Culture, Arts and Music, Indian Media, Media Related, Politics and Governance in India, Politics of Minority Appeasement, Sanatana Dharma, Spirituality & Philosophy |
2 comments
I recently came across The Whitewashing of History, by Nithin Sridhar. Nitin has kindly agreed to let me reproduce the article on this blog. Those of you who are interested in history will find here a devastating critique of current studies and interpretation of Indian History - which has largely been driven by leftist-leaning scholars steeped in their prejudices and with varying agendas.
The article looks at the now thoroughly discredited “Aryan Invasion Theory” (AIT), the impact of Islamic invasions on India and the red-herring of “Hindu vandalism”.
I have also included a selection of comments at the end.
*** ARTICLE BEGINS / LONG POST ***
The history of India has been whitewashed and distorted, first by European rulers, and after independence by eminent historians of India and their supporters the Leftists, Seculars and self-claimed Progressives of India to meet their own ends. They have painted the pre-Islamic invasion period as a Dark Age and have glorified the Islamic period to be very peaceful and prosperous.
Ram Swarup says, Marxists have taken to rewriting Indian history on a large scale and it has meant its systematic falsification. They have a dogmatic view of history and for them the use of any history is to prove their dogma. Their very approach is hurtful to truth. The Marxists contempt for India, particularly the India of religion, culture and philosophy, is deep and theoretically fortified. It exceeds the contempt ever shown by the most die-hard imperialists.1 Some of the common claims of these eminent historians are:
1] The Aryan Invasion Theory is true2
2] Large scale destruction of Buddhists and Jain temples was done by Hindus in pre-Islamic India.3
3] The Muslim rulers were religiously tolerant and Islamic rule was prosperous. The eminent historians deny the destruction of Hindu temples or the killing of Hindus at the hands of Muslim rulers. They also deny the religious motive behind the killing of Hindus at the hands of Muslim rulers.4
Let us examine the Aryan Invasion Theory (AIT).
Keep Reading…
May 18th, 2008
Posted by
B Shantanu |
Ancient Indian History, Conversions, Missionaries in India, Debates & Discussions, Distortions, Misrepresentation about Hinduism, Distortions, Misrepresentations about India, Impact of Islam on India, Islamic Rule in India, Media Related, Medieval Indian History, Politics and Governance in India, Politics of Minority Appeasement, Saraswati-Sindhu Civilization |
20 comments
