Timeless post by Varnam on why Thiru Karunanidhi and Mallika Sherawat are closer than you think.
Atanu Dey writes about a creative way to fund 50 new IITs.
And an unusual group that brings together the secular and the sacred on the US presidential election trail.
Brief excerpts from all the articles below.
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Happy VijayaDashami, Durgotsab, Durga Pooja and Dussehra to all…
On this auspicious day, let us all pledge to do our best to get rid of the three major evils that plague India…Terrorism, Poverty and Illiteracy…and promise ourselves to work towards building a proud, strong and united India.
Jai Hind, Jai Bharat!
(Above) An effigy of the demon king Ravana go up in flames, marking the victory of good over evil, on the occasion of the Dussehara festival in New Delhi [ Original Link ]
A scene from the immersion the idol of Goddess Durga at the Ichamati river in between India and Bangladesh. The idol is loaded on a typical conjoint boat called ‘taki’. The other side of the river is Satkhira in Khulna district of Bangladesh. [ Original Link ]
Photographs Courtesy: Press Information Bureau of India
Related Posts:
Excerpts from a well-researched attempt at dating the MahABhArat… (published Feb ‘04 in the Daily Pioneer)
*** Excerpts Begin ***
…For thousands of years, we have believed in the divinity of Shri Krishna. For us he was a Karmayogi par excellence who gave us action oriented philosophy of life in the form of Bhagavad Gita. But questions have constantly haunted us as to whether Krishna was a historical or mythical character and whether the war of Mahabharata was actually fought.
Till recently, we did not have the wherewithal to search for and establish the truth. But modern scientific tools and techniques like computers with planetarium softwares, advancements in archaeological and marine archaeological techniques, earth-sensing satellite photography and thermo-luminescence dating methods, all have made it possible to establish the authenticity and dating of many events narrated in ancient texts like the Mahabharata. Recent archaeo-astronomical studies, results of marine-archaeological explorations and overwhelming archaeological evidence have established the historicity and dating of many events narrated in the Mahabharata. These have led to the conclusion that Mahabharata War was actually fought in 1478 BC and Shri Krishna’s Dwarka City got submerged under the sea in 1443 BC.
Astronomical Evidence: In the Mahabharata references to sequential solar and lunar eclipses as also references to some celestial observations have been made. Dr RN Iyengar…examined relevant references and searched for the compatible dates by making use of planetarium software (PVIS and EZC). He concluded that most of these references were internally consistent and that the eclipses and celestial observations of Mahabharata belong to the period 1493 BC-1443 BC of Indian History, (refer Indian Journal of History of Science/38.2/2003/77-115).
Last week, responding to a petition to ban a history textbook, the Supreme Court asked Delhi University’s expert panel to consider the views of petitioners before submitting a final report to the Vice-Chancellor.
As some of you would know, the textbook - prescribed as part of the BA (Hons) second year syllabus at Delhi University - is said to include offensive references to Shri Hanuman and Sita Mataa such as “Lord Hanuman was a henchman of Lord Rama” and “the little monkey was a womaniser” etc…The book was the cause of a protest led by ABVP earlier this year during which Dr Jafri, the Head of History Deptt at DU was manhandled…
Curious to know more about the textbook, I spent some time researching on the internet this morning…Here is a link to Ramanujan’s essay that is included in the textbook…
After reading it, I felt that the ABVP over-reacted on this one… The “offensive” passages are not penned by Ramanujan but are part of folklore and stories around Ramayana in different cultures and regions. Furthermore, I found them more “entertaining” rather than “offensive”…As an example,
One day when Rama was sitting on his throne, his ring fell off. When it touched the earth, it made a hole in the ground and disappeared into it. It was gone. His trusty henchman, Hanuman, was at his feet. Rama said to Hanuman, “Look, my ring is lost. Find it for me.”
Note that the word “henchman” is not Ramanujan’s translation and possibly part of the original folk-story…What is the problem in that? In another version of Ramayana mentioned by Ramanujan, Sita is Ravana’s daughter…
I hope most of you would agree that there is space for divergent views in Hinduism…and a big attraction of this faith for me is that it allows - and respects - alternative interpretations, viewpoints and thoughts….Let us not dilute this core feature of Sanatan Dharma.
***
On Sunday in far-away London, the home of the publisher of a similarly controversial book (although this was not a textbook but a fictional novel) was fire-bombed, just “hours after police had warned the man that he could be a target for fanatics”. The book, “The Jewel of Medina” is written by Sherry Jones and had already caused controversy in the US. Martin Rynja (the publisher) had bought the UK publishing rights earlier this month.
From The Guardian:
The book was originally due to have been published in August by US giant Random House. But amid controversy the company halted publication, a move denounced by Salman Rushdie, author of The Satanic Verses, as ‘censorship by fear’.
…One sex scene has been described as ’softcore pornography’ by an American academic, Denise Spellberg, an influential professor of Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Texas. Spellberg made the comments after Random House sent her the book hoping for a favourable comment to publish on its jacket. Instead, in an email that was leaked to the US press, Spellberg described the novel as a ‘very ugly, stupid piece of work’.
‘I don’t have a problem with historical fiction,’ Spellberg wrote. ‘I do have a problem with the deliberate misinterpretation of history. You can’t play with a sacred history and turn it into softcore pornography.’
It appears Spellberg was instrumental in drawing attention to the book among segments of the Muslim community. In April, Shahed Amanullah, an editor of a popular Muslim website, claimed Spellberg had told him the book ‘made fun of Muslims and their history’.
The resulting furore prompted Random House to pull the book, a move that dismayed its author, who received a $100,000 advance…
My question to all of you is:
What do you make of Spellberg’s argument viz: “‘I don’t have a problem with historical fiction (but)…I do have a problem with the deliberate misinterpretation of history. You can’t play with a sacred history…”
Anyways, I will be watching the reaction of Indian government to this book whenever (if) it is released in India.
Suggested Reading: Academic Terrorists and The right to offend
Related Posts:
UPDATED: Is Taslima being treated differently from MF Husain?
Will Arundhati Roy pl. stand up for Francois Gautier?
P.S. Curiously, it appears that DU had not taken permission from OUP before reproducing Ramanujan’s essay in their textbook.
Some links for weekend reading:
1. From the Telegraph, an excellent article by Ambassador K Sibal on why borders are (still) relevant.
2. A revealing interview with Govindacharya: Jaitley is BJP’s best, Rajnath saboteur
3. Why Vasudhaiv Kutumbakam may not mean what you think it does and finally,
4. Why India..while enjoying all the characteristics of great power, is unlikely to become one (a 2005 article but still relevant, in my view).
Excerpts from all the three articles are below. Enjoy the weekend.
Thanks to Sh Nachiketa Tiwari for spotting this and Sh Kak for emailing it to me.
Although this is a fairly long excerpt from an exchange of emails re. learning Sanskrit, pl. try and read in full. It shows how some western academics tarnish any attempt(s) at learning more about our ancient heritage (including language) with labels such as “fundamentalism” and of course, “Hindutva”.
I have taken out email addresses of the respondents to protect privacy.
By the way, many of you would remember that learning Sanskrit is now considered to be a “communal” activity.
*** Excerpts from the email exchange ***
…or has he relied on some half-baked research presented to him as a backgrounder?
I was alerted today to this excellent analysis of ”Rama Setu in Padma PurANa” by Sh Sarvesh Tiwari. I sincerely hope that Sh Nariman reads this…although I am not very hopeful.
Regardless, the lie about BhagwAn Shri RAm “destroying” the Rama Setu needs to be nailed…(remember, a lie told often enough will become the truth etc…?)
But do you think any of the mainstream media (or the TV anchors) are going to take notice of this? I bet not.
*** Excerpts Begin (emphasis mine) ***
Representing the Union of India in the Supreme Court, Senior Attorney Fali Nariman was reported to have stated the following: “the Padma Purana states Lord Rama broke the bridge after rescuing Sita. And according to the Hindu faith, something that is broken cannot be worshipped” and “This is why nobody has till date declared it a monument.”
This statement prompted us to look into the original sources and examine the claim made by the Union of India. The below note summarizes our findings.
1. padma purANa is one of the eighteen main purANas, a mahApurANa of vaiShNava category, and is listed as second in that list. It is also counted among the six of this list that are considered to be of predominantly sAttvika content (the other five being viShNu, nArada, bhAgavat, garuDa and vArAha). This purANa comprises of fifty-five-thousand shloka-s and is therefore one of the lengthiest. There are four main recensions of this purANa available. The most commonly found is the northern one in devanAgarI, and is widely printed and circulated by several publishers like Geeta Press Gorakhpur etc. The other major recension is from the southern sources…Finally, another primary recension with quite a lot of differences and of fair antiquity is the eastern recension available in Bengali script….
…
6. The story of rAma finds an important coverage in the padma purANa, and occurs in two different books: the sR^iShTi-khaNDa as well as pAtAla-khaNDa. rAma-setu finds narration in both of these books as well. The story is generally the same as in vAlmIki’s rAmAyaNa but differs dramatically in the details. pAtAla khaNDa provides a very unique story about how the vAnara senA crossed the sea and reached the coast of laMkA. In some recensions of the sR^iShTi-khaNDa, rAma is described to be trifurcating the setu on request from vibhIShaNa. The text is generally the same in the referred recensions and editions, ignoring some scribal mistakes, and in one particular devanAgarI recension this mention is missing altogether.
…
8. Earlier in the sR^iShTi-khaNDa, is this another unique mention of rAma setu in the fortieth chapter known as vAmanapratiShThA (in some recension thirty-fifth chapter, and in some missing altogether). The background of the mention is that after winning the war at laMkA and fulfilling his objectives there, rAma is readying to return back to ayodhyA along with his entourage by using the puShpaka vimAna offered by vibhIShaNa. Before departing, rAma has entrusted the rAkShasa kingdom to vibhIShaNa …
In this context is the following dialog recorded between vibhIShaNa and rAma in the vAmanapratiShThA chaper of the sR^iShTi-khaNDa the first book of the padma-purANa:
{(130) Hearing this from rAghava, vibhIShaNa responded to him. ‘All that you have ordered shall be obediently executed, O rAghava. (131) (However,) O Lord, this sacred setu of yours could be used by all the people of the world to approach (into laMkA) and therefore should be obstructed. (132) What control do I have in this matter O deva, but this is a need of mine.’ Hearing these words uttered by the best rAkShasa, The Scion of Raghu (133) took in his hands the missile kArmukaM, and breached the setu in the middle at two places over a length of ten yojana, (134) therefore dividing it into three parts with a one-yojana gap on the either side. Then approaching the shore-forest, he worshipped mahAdeva the Lord of umA. (135) There he established The Three- Eyed mahAdeva by the name of rAmeshwara. rAma, the Great Prince then prohibited the God sAgara, (136) that the Southern Sea should neither thunder there, nor flow across. Issuing his prohibitions this way, rAma then sent off the God sAgara. From the sky then emitted the following AkAshavANI. (137) Spoke rudra: O rAghava, you have auspiciously established me here. O Brave One, so far as the worlds remain, so far as the earth is intact, (138- till then I shall reside myself at the Setu, O Scion of Raghu! Hearing these nectar-like words uttered by mahAdeva himself, rAghava the Hero then spoke in these intelligent and sweetest words. (rAma humbly salutes devadeva and sings a hymn in his praise which spans over shloka-s 139 to 147. shloka 148 is a comment by sage pulatsya in praise to this hymn. In shloka-s 149-151, rudra speaks again, praising the deeds of rAma.) (152) O raghunandana, to this place created by you whichever man comes and even (merely) glances at it in the sea, (153) (even if) he be an extreme sin-fallen, all their sins would get destroyed, O rAma. The wicked crimes as heinous as brAhmaNa-slaying etc., even these (154) would be released here by mere darshana, no doubt.}
9. In conclusion, we can only say that the statement made by the Attorney in the Hon’ble Supreme Court that according to padma purANa: a) rAma “destroyed” the setu; and b) setu can no more be an object of worship; – are both absolutely inaccurate if not downright false. Very unambiguously, the referred recensions of the padma purANa state that rAma trifurcated the setu for the sake of protecting laMkA, and at the same time he and lord mahAdeva invested spiritual powers into setu as a place of worship forever. Till this word remains, and till the earth is intact – “yAvajjagadidaM, yAvaddharAsthitA” are this purANa-s own exact words. As to “therefore, nobody has declared it a monument”, since the Attorney is referring to padma purANa, in which lord mahAdeva himself has declared it a unique sacred place of worship, releaser of the sin and crime, and abode of his own - this remains and would remain a sacred monument for Hindus; and Union of India can do little about it.
*** Excerpts End ***
Pl. do read the article in full with images of the scanned pages of the relevant text and complete references included. My heartfelt thanks to Sh. Tiwari-ji for this painstaking and excellent analysis.
Related Posts:
“Who is this Ram?” - Will Thiru Karunanidhi look at this evidence?
A Search for the Historical “Krishna”
The search for a historical “Rama”
Voices of caution on SethuSamudram
Comrades-in-arms: UPA & Pakistani “militants”
Find of the Day: “If only we had forgiven Iraq for 9/11“. Do read.
Like most of you, I watched and read about the proceedings of the last few days with a sense of sadness and great shame…Amidst all this, these words by Radha Rajan touched a raw nerve… Please read and think…(emphasis added)
*** The Nation as Draupadi ***
Parliament on 22nd July resembled the court of the Kauravas with the Speaker playing Dritharashtra. Every individual in parliament on that day, notwithstanding the party to which he or she belonged, was some character in the shameful court and I was the nation.
When the Prime Minister scornfully tabled his written response to the two-day debate with the Speaker instead of facing the Members of Parliament and addressing their concerns verbally, he was only underscoring parliament’s irrelevance in concluding international agreements and treaties.
This is a serious deficiency in the country’s democracy in theory and in practice because when parliament is rendered impotent to influence government decisions impinging on national security, it amounts to disregarding the sense of the House and the will of the people. It is a chilling truth that on that fateful day not one member in the august house, in the treasury or the opposition, faithfully represented the voter who put him or her there. As the end results proved, many of them were disloyal even to the party to which they belonged.
�
The Lok Sabha voted, not on the nuclear deal (it has no locus standi, as pointed out, to decide on international treaties) but on a trust vote sought by the Prime Minister on behalf of his government. Had the Prime Minister lost the trust vote, the country would have been faced with premature elections with the distinct possibility that several sitting MPs may not return to the House.
Not surprisingly, while the government did not want to fall, MPs fearful of not returning to the next Lob Sabha, also did not want the government to fall. The game of dice began and in the bizarre context of the ruling party and a section of the opposition sharing the same anxiety, the players staked the nation’s resources, her interests and eventually her dignity.
To those of us whose image of “Samraat” Ashoka (Ashoka the Great) has been shaped by Amar Chitra Katha�or the eponymous movie, it will come as a suprise that there may actually have been three different Kings by the name of Ashok and the real history of the “Ashok the Great” may be more complex than hitherto imagined.
I am reproducing below some excerpts from some early but ground-breaking research by Kishore Patnaik which he shared on a Yahoo! group recently…It makes for fascinating�reading (emphasis mine).
*** Excerpts BEGIN - Long Post ***
…it may be too premature for me to say…(but it appears that) there are three Asokas in the history whose identity has to be established:
1. The Mauryan king Asoka vardhana, as described in Puranas. I am not sure if anything was told about Asoka vardhana by puranas, even though he has ruled the longest in his dynasty
2. The Bauddhist king Asoka(Tissa?) as described in the various Buddhist and Jain works. Clearly, they try to mostly identify Asoka with with Asoka Vardhana but it is possible that the writers are confused since these works were composed centuries after Asoka
3. Priyadarsi, the king of edicts who was supposed to be dear to the gods and of course, just once he calls himself Asoka (in the edict of Maski)
…In any case, we see that all the three kings differ in their nature and dating. Keep Reading…
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
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
Great piece of reporting from The Hindu on an extraordinary archeological find from Tamil Nadu about politics and governance in ancient India.
*** Excerpts ***
It may be hard to believe that nearly 1,100 years ago, a village had a perfect electoral system and a written Constitution prescribing the mode of elections. It was inscribed on the walls of the village assembly (grama sabha mandapa)…This inscription, dated around 920 A.D. in the reign of Parantaka Chola, is an outstanding document in the history of India, says Dr. R. Nagaswamy, former Director, Tamil Nadu Department of Archaeology, referring to Uthiramerur in Chingleput district.
Dr. Nagaswamy says in his book, Uthiramerur, the Historic Village in Tamil Nadu”:
It [the inscription] gives astonishing details about the constitution of wards, the qualification of candidates standing for elections, the disqualification norms, the mode of election, the constitution of committees with elected members, the functions of [those] committees, the power to remove the wrong-doer, etc
The villagers even had the right to recall the elected representatives if they failed in their duty!*
Uthiramerur has a 1,250-year history. It is situated in Kanchipuram district, about 90 km from Chennai. The Pallava king Nandivarman II established it around 750 A.D.
R. Vasanthakalyani, Chief Epigraphist-cum-Instructor (Tamil Nadu Department of Archaeology) said:
About 1,100 years ago, during the period of Paranataka Chola, Uthiramerur had an elected village panchayat system, which was a step ahead of the modern day democratic system…
The Tamil inscriptions elaborate on the election procedure followed several centuries ago.
There were committees for the maintenance of irrigation tanks, roads, to provide relief during drought, testing of gold and so on.
Dr. Nagaswamy says: The village assembly of Uttaramerur drafted the Constitution for the elections. The salient features were as follows: the village was divided into 30 wards, one representative elected for each. Specific qualifications were prescribed for those who wanted to contest. The essential criteria were age limit, possession of immovable property and minimum educational qualification. Those who wanted to be elected should be above 35 years of age and below 70
Read the full story here. As Capt. Pullat remarked on the FTIdiscussion board: “Beats Magna Carta, isn’t it?”!
Related Posts:
Corruption - as mentioned in the Vedas
* Un-electing our leaders - Chhattisgarh shows the way
P.S. Have other readers (also) detected a subtle change in stance in The Hindu’s style of reporting? ORam I reading too much into LK Advani’s interview and recent Op-Eds? I should check outwhat the folks over at The Chindu think!
Mydistrust of the Indian mainstream media deepens by the day.
Courtesy Dina Nath Mishra’s article,”Amarnath land grant and the reality around it“, I learnt today how even “..in this age of widespread and fast communication”, it is possible to hide facts.
Fact #1:The land was to be transferred NOT allocated
Fact #2: It was to be only for a period of twomonths in a year when Amarnath pilgrims visited
Fact #3:No permanent structure was to be constructed, for Article 370 forbids the same
And yet, we had the Hurriyat and assorted leaders crying hoarse over threat to demographics, ecological damage and danger to Kashmiriat…
And how has mainstream media reported these facts?
See this Rediff news-report in whichthe words “allotment” and “transfer” have been used inter-changeably even though they have very different meanings and implications. And while the report clearly mentions “temporary structures” (which surely cannot be said to threaten any demographics), this important fact is soon forgotten (emphasis mine):
The forest land allotment controversy erupted soon after the state cabinet took a decision in May last to transfer 100 acres of land to SASB for raising temporary structures to facilitate the yatra.
HT refers to “land diversion”inthis news-report…surely a very different thing from “land allocation”?
After NC patriarch Dr Farooq Abdullah demanded the government order sanctioning land diversion be revoked, PDP patron Mufti Mohammad Sayed has asked for a cancellation too.
So why is no one talking about these “facts”?
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:
Secular Fundamentalismalive & kicking inIndia
Also read: Pseudo-secularism at itsbest?
I doubt if this piece will ever find its way to Hon. Thiru Karunanidhi but if it does, he will have good reasons to re-consider his earlier remarks(emphasis mine)
Who is this Ram?
From which engineering college he graduated? Is there any proof for this?
What follows is by far one of the best (and most extensive) piece of research I have yet come across on the historicity of Ramar Sethu and Lord Shri Rama.
It is a fairly long post (even though I have only takenexcerpts) - but please do read when you have the time. The points made are compelling and have been put together cogently. Considered within the overall context, theymake astrong case for the preservation of Ram-Setu or Sethubandha Rameshwaram (Thanks to Dr S Kalyanaraman-ji for alerting me to this; Pl note that there are several instances of the word “Aryan” in this essay - I would like readers’ views on this theory vis-a-vis AIT)
*** CAUTION: Long Post ***
Excerpts fromRamsetu myth or fact by Dr. Nishit Sawal, M.D. (Medicine), April 2008 (emphasis mine). Dr. Sawal begins his essay with the following preface re. the historical basis of Ramayana:
“The recent Sethusamudram project controversy has again brought in limelight the Ramayana and the question of it being an historical fact or a plethora of myths and fables.
The UPA government filed an affidavit stating that mythological texts such as the Ramayana cannot be said to be historical record to incontrovertibly prove the existence of characters or the occurrence of events depicted therein. Since this affidavit has cast doubts about whether Lord Rama actually existed or was just a hero of various myths whose fame increased to such an degree with the passage of time so that he came to be worshipped as God by succeeding generations , lets evaluate the evidence we have of existence of lord Rama.
The foremost question is whether Lord Rama actually ruled in India and if yes, at what period. This is not an easy task for around Lord Ramas life has grown a tangle of pious legend , through which it is very difficult to penetrate to the flowers of historic truth.”
Dr Sawal then examines the lives of Lord Buddha and Lord Jesus Christ (and the evidence surrounding them) and states:
Over the weekend, I came across this excellentcritique by Edward Hamala on the “caste system” in India andhow it is misrepresented in the West. Excerpts below:
***
…The Indian caste system that has so outraged Mr. Roger Williams, makes me wonder if he is equally outraged by the British caste system that is even more prevalent, although it is well hidden and invisible in the British and some European societies, where the nobility still exist, than it is in India today, where all noble titles have been abolished.
I would like to ask Mr. Williams when objecting to birthrights why has he failed to raise the same objection to the British Nobility and the Landed Gentrys birthright, inheriting their title, social status while they are also guaranteed perpetual political power by inheriting a peer-ship and a seat in the British House of Lords, the highest legislative body of the land?
…May I also remind you that the Indian Social Structure as it was depicted in the Vedas Millenniums ago, made it an edict to leave Tribals and Adivasis alone and not to impose Hindu religion, culture or values on them.
The word caste my friend is an English word! The Sanskrit word for caste is Varna and it means vocation or occupation and does not mean caste as it does in the English interpretation or translation of the term!
Likewise, untouchable meant not to go near them, dont touch them, dont intermarry with them and dont corrupt their culture dont try to conform them. Leave them alone!
The unfortunate thing was that Mahatma Gandhi was also British educated, trained as a lawyer and had little or no knowledge about the ancient Vedic philosophy, history or culture.
…
How many societies does Mr. Williams know, where a group of refugees arrived and sought refuge as the Jews did in Kerala, India in 70 AD and were given sanctuary and freedom to practice their religion. This community lived and prospered in India without anyone trying to convert them and many returned to their homeland when the State of Israel was created!
The same holds true for the Parsi refugees arriving from Persia when the forceful Muslim conversion was taking place there and they are still practicing their own ancient religion as Zoroastrians and no one tried to convert them.
Recently, a large number of Tibetians arrived in India along with the Dalai Lama and they were all received graciously and were given sanctuary.
…
So I think, Mr. Williams your indignation is somewhat ill placed and perhaps it would serve a better purpose if you dealt with more dire social issues that you may be more knowledgeable about, and better qualified to deal with.
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Related Posts:
Hinduism, Caste System and discrimination - Join thedebate
Utterly shameful andinexcusable
Caste, Varna and Jatis: The need for clarity in intellectualdebate
Read Edward Hamala’sarticle in full here(and the letter he refers to is probably this one).
As an aside: Someone mentioned to me yesterdayhow Christianity (in spite of a 2000-year history)still has to come to grips with ordaining women as priests…while some of Hinduism’s best knowns “gurus” have been(are)women…(to wit: Mata Anandamayi Devi, Mataji Nirmala Deviand many many others).
Says something about the status of women in India and the question of discrimination etc, I think.
Now on
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