|| Satyameva Jayate ||

Of Thiru Karunanidhi, Tilak and Secular Fundamentalism

….and a deja-vu moment.

Courtesy Sridhar, this news-item from earlier today: Karuna does it again, flays Hindus for sporting tilaks

Flaying the Hindu practice of smearing ash or saffron or sporting a ’tilak’ on the forehead for yet another time, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi questioned the need for ‘such things in a country which preached equality of all religions’. 

which reminded me of Don’t wear a “tilak” to work ! …

…and of Mark Tully’s memorable quote:

Secular fundamentalism is alive and kicking in India too. 

Next target, Sanskrit? 

P.S. I doubt that Thiru Karunanidhi needs any education in the significance of either a Tilak or a “Bindu/ Pottu” in Hinduism but I thought it would be nice to refresh my own memory.

A brief excerpt from Ten Questions about Hinduism on the “Bindu/ Pottu”:

Question Eight: Why do many Hindus wear a dot near the middle of their forehead?

A: The dot worn on the forehead is a religious symbol. It represents divine sight and shows that one is a Hindu. For women, it is also a beauty mark.

Longer answer: The dot worn between the eyes or in the middle of the forehead is a sign that one is a Hindu. It is called the bindi in the Hindi language, bindu in Sanskrit and pottu in Tamil. In olden days, all Hindu men and women wore these marks, and they both also wore earrings. Today it is the women who are most faithful in wearing the bindi.

The dot has a mystical meaning. It represents the third eye of spiritual sight, which sees things the physical eyes cannot see. Hindus seek to awaken their inner sight through yoga. The forehead dot is a reminder to use and cultivate this spiritual vision to perceive and better understand life’s inner workings…to see things not just physically, but with the “mind’s eye” as well.

…In addition to the simple dot, there are many types of forehead marks, known as tilaka in Sanskrit. Each mark represents a particular sect or denomination of our vast religion. We have four major sects: Saivism, Vaishnavism, Shaktism and Smartism. Vaishnava Hindus, for example, wear a v-shaped tilaka made of white clay. Elaborate tilakas are worn by Hindus mainly at religious events, though many wear the simple bindi, indicating they are Hindu, even in the general public.

Related Posts:

“Who is this Ram?” - Will Thiru Karunanidhi look at this evidence? 

If you thought banning a “tilak” was funny, think again 

November 6th, 2008 Posted by B Shantanu | A Hindu Identity, Current Affairs, Distortions, Misrepresentation about Hinduism, Hindu Dharma, Hindu Social System, Sanatana Dharma, Spirituality & Philosophy, Women in Hinduism & India | 12 comments

Building the Indian Mind - Brick by Brick

I received this email yesterday and could not stop before reading it right through to the end…It is a long read…quite a long read, in fact.  And it is seriously thought-provoking.  Below, excerpts from a speech delivered by Sh. Gurumurthy at IIT Chennai in 2003 which - although five years old - still retains its and relevance and punch.  This is a *must read*.

*** Excerpts from “The Intellectual Scene in Post-Independence India“ by Sh Gurumurthy ***

A critical review of strengths and weaknesses

… Defeat and anger go together. Abuse and defeat go together. So, it is in this norm and with this understanding of what an intellectual debate means, I would like to place before you some of my thoughts today. Some of may find it provocative. I am confident that the audience is competent enough to absorb this and think rather than get into the mood which all of us have got used to in the last 30-40 years abuse.

Background: India before Independence

Let us see the pre-independence background, the intellectual content of India. See the kind of personalities who led the Indian mind Swami Vivekananda, Sri Aurobindo, Gandhiji, Tilak- giants in their own way. Most of them were involved in politics, active politics, day-to-day politics, handling men, walking on the road, addressing meetings, solving problems between their followers. And, meeting the challenges posed by the enemy, the conspiracies hatched against them. They were handling everything, yet, they were maintaining an intellectual supremacy, and a record and an originality which history has recorded.

Let us look at the academic side. Whether it is a P. C. Ray who wrote on Indian Chemistry in 1905 or Sir C. V. Raman who wrote about mridangam, tabala, and violin, and saw the Physics in it (this was in 1913); whether it was R. C. Majumdar or Radhakumud Mukherjee who saw greatness in the Indian Civilization; trying to bring up points, instances, historical evidence to mirror the greatness of India, to the defeated Indian race, they were all building the Indian mind brick by brick. Sri Aurobindo spoke of Sanatana Dharma as the Nationalism of India. He didn”t rank it as a philosophy. He brought it down to the level of emotional consciousness. Swami Vivekananda spoke of spiritual nationalism; it was the same Swami who spoke of Universal brotherhood. For them philosophy was not removed from the ground reality. The nation was at the core of their philosophy. Swami Vivekananda was called the “patriot monk”.

Mahatma Gandhi spoke of Rama Rajya. Bankim Chandra wrote Bande Maataram. The song, the slogans in it, the mantra in it made hundreds of people kiss the gallows smilingly and many others went to jail. It transformed the life of the people; this was the intellectual scene, this was the content…This was the core of India, the soul of the Indian freedom movement.

The symptoms: India immediately after Independence

…Let us look at post Independence India. The persons who led post-Independence India were also trained in the same freedom movement. They went to jail, but they were not rooted in the intellectual content of the Freedom movement!

The first Prime Minister of India, he was in jail for 7 years. He was a great intellectual himself, purely in the sense of his capacity to reason, understand, read, and expound a thought. He told Galbrieth once, “I would be regarded as the last English Prime Minister of India. See the intellectual capability of the man, the enormously competent mind.

But intellectualism doesn”t exist in a vacuum. It has to be rooted in something concrete. Vivekananda”s universal brotherhood was rooted in India”s greatness as a civilization, which proclaimed it. The concept of “Vasudaiva Kutumbakam” cannot exist without a living form, a population which believes in it and believes in itself. You need to have a society, which believes in it.

That is why India could invite the Jews who were butchered, raped, all over the world. In 107 out of 108 countries, this race was butchered. At least they had the courtesy and the gratitude to publish a book, the Israeli govt. published a book that out of 108 countries that we sought refuge, the only civilization, the only country, the only people, the only ideology that gave us refuge was the Indian civilization. They published a book, which most Indians are unaware of.

And we invited the Muslims. The refugee Muslims first landed in Kutch. And they are called the Kutchy Memons even today but not the Memons who bomb Bombay. But the Memons who lived with us.

Keep Reading…

October 26th, 2008 Posted by B Shantanu | A Hindu Identity, An Indian Identity, British Rule in India, Hindu Dharma, Identity, Politics and Governance in India, Post Independence History, Sanatana Dharma, Women in Hinduism & India | 7 comments

“Reclaiming India” - excerpts

Great article by Tarun Vijay in today’s TOI: Reclaiming India.

*** Excerpts below (emphasis mine) ***

“None should say Omar is not allowed in Jammu. Let him come, listen and speak. Like any other Indian should feel free to visit Kashmir or any other part of the nation. He is welcome to visit my home even if he denies me a piece of land in Kashmir. Why should a few words uttered by him make me change my Indian-ness? If he spoke in Parliament as a Muslim, asserting his Islamic identity, let denial of land to Hindus be his Islam and my Hinduness must keep my nation as a free democracy where difference of opinion is a natural phenomenon unlike Islamic countries.

…But he must stop to think why he can own a bungalow in Delhi or Bangalore and at the same time deny that privilege to a fellow Indian in Kashmir? Kashmiri Muslim leaders would like to enjoy the fruits and liberties of a Hindu majority democracy but vehemently deny that to Hindus in their area of influence. Why?

When they are in a minority they crave and get special privileges. But once a majority, every single right to be at par is refused to other minorities.

…Kashmir is predominantly Sunni and Wahabi. Hence the intolerance that denies even the basic features of Kashmiriyat.

And see what the de-Indianised intellectuals wrote on the front pages in Delhi’s newspapers: “All over a piece of land!” Really?

Then why are the Indian soldiers defending a barren piece of dead snow in Siachen? Or what’s that piece of cloth known as the Tricolor? Is it worth dying for?

…In fact the whole movement is a revolt of Tricolour people against unpatriotic politics on Kashmir. It’s an effort to reclaim India in a region where the central leaders and regional parties have abandoned the idea of pan-Indian nationalism and geographical integration. India has been reducing every day in the valley and the seculars keep on counting their votes and encouraging separatists at the cost of an Indian identity.

Keep Reading…

August 6th, 2008 Posted by B Shantanu | A Hindu Identity, An Indian Identity, Current Affairs, Human Rights and Legal Issues, Impact of Islam on India, Jammu & Kashmir related, Medieval Indian History, Politics and Governance in India, Politics of Minority Appeasement | 8 comments

Cry of the Valley - *must read*

Amidst the outpouring of years of pent-up anger in Jammu, I came across this vivid, very sad and intensely poignant first-hand account of living in the shadow of terror and the forced migration of Kashmiri Pandits from the Valley… Please read and circulate widely…

*** Cry of the Valley ***

A cold winter night has fallen outside and the power cut makes it all the more gloomy inside. Huddled together in the warmth of blankets and a kerosene lamp we just sit silently watching each others expressions. I am too young a kid to understand the full implications of what is happening and my younger sister is busy watching a small bug circling the candle our mother had lit in the gallery just outside the kitchen. My thoughts drift from game of cricket I’d played earlier that day to how bright the snow makes outside look. Among all these childish thoughts is a nagging feeling that I’m just not able to get rid of. I feel I’m never going to be in this house again. Never ever in my life will I play cricket with these friends again. Never ever will mother and father have the careless laughs that I so love. Never ever will the things be same again.

It started a few months before in summer when I came home after an extended play session with my friends. Father was waiting for me on the porch of our relatively new house. We were still building the second floor and it already looked like the biggest and the most beautiful house in the community. I especially liked the way the roof was built. There were multiple parts slanting over each other and I couldn�t wait for winter to see the snow sliding off these. I knew father had worked day and night to take us from a one room kitchen-cum-bedroom place to this house. The evidence of his hard work was on his callous fingertips that had hardened by continuous writing on multiple carbon separated sheets of paper that he used while teaching. I met him at the porch of our house and my instincts had sharpened enough to know that I was in trouble. But usually I knew beforehand. This time did not have the slightest of clues. The day had been good so far and I had behaved within reasonable limits. The bigger issue was not that I was in for a tough time, the problem was that I did not know the severity of the mischief I was going to be accused of and therefore couldn�t estimate the severity of the punishment. Anyway, I sat down with a feeling of a lump in my throat. Then he told me something that surprised me. He had heard me arguing with a couple of friends over a game of cricket a few hours earlier. He told me that I was to stop doing that I should either play without arguments or stop going out for fun altogether. I couldn’t understand this. From the time I could remember, these small arguments were the part of fun we kids had. Elders never cared to comment on such silly things and now I was facing an expression on my fathers face which was as serious as it I’ve ever known it. If I didn�t know my father better I’d have argued to get to the bottom of this but wizened with previous unpleasant thrashings I decided against that.

I didn’t have to wait long to get the cause of my father’s concern. In a couple of weeks one of my cricketing buddies was missing from the game. When I suggested that friend we should go to his home and call him, one other friend said that he was not home but had traveled across the border to get training in handling weapons. Without me knowing so at that time, I’d just had my first brush with the extremism that would change our lives forever. Suddenly the world around me had changed in a way that I could never imagine. My friends one-by-started going missing. Muslim kids went across the border and Hindus mainly started to migrate across to other parts of the country. I started spending more and more time at home. When the schools closed the previous fall for winter break little did anyone know that they would never reopen. As a child that was a welcome development for me. I could have all the time in the world to myself for play and mischief. But the irony was that I couldn’t go out anymore and there was nobody else to go out with.

Keep Reading…

August 4th, 2008 Posted by B Shantanu | A Hindu Identity, An Indian Identity, Current Affairs, Elections Analysis, Hindu Dharma, Human Rights and Legal Issues, Jammu & Kashmir related, Politics and Governance in India, Politics of Minority Appeasement, Post Independence History | 10 comments

Has Sh Nariman really read the Padma Purana?

…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.

August 1st, 2008 Posted by B Shantanu | A Hindu Identity, Ancient Indian History, Current Affairs, Distortions, Misrepresentation about Hinduism, Enviroment Related, Hindu Dharma, Indian Media, Miscellaneous, Politics and Governance in India, Politics of Minority Appeasement | 4 comments

The great joke that is Indian media - Part V

This is�how an otherwise straightforward news-story gets distorted in reporting:

From rediff, “Do TV serials promote the Hindu way of life?“��

“…The Afghanistan government has banned Indian television serials because they feel it wrongly influences their culture and traditions.

In their words: ‘Indian serials are un-Islamic.’

Most Indian serials are about traditional North Indian families, and tend to celebrate Hindu festivals with more gusto than any other festival.

Do you think Indian telly soaps promote the Hindu way of life? Was the Afghan government right in banning them?”

As a commentator has noted on the rediff board, pl. note�how the last question was artificially framed.

Instead of a straight-forward “Is Afghanistan becoming�Taliban-ised (once again)” it somehow manages to put�the TV serials on the defensive!

Of course for most of us familiar with Indian TV serials, saying that they promote a “Hindu way of life” is at best, a stretch and�at worst,�a joke.

Related Posts: The great joke that is Indian media series:�Part 1,�Part 2,�Part 3�and Part 4.

April 10th, 2008 Posted by B Shantanu | A Hindu Identity, Distortions, Misrepresentation about Hinduism, Distortions, Misrepresentations about India, Hindu Dharma, Hindu Social System, India & Its Neighbours, Indian Culture, Arts and Music, Indian Media, Women in Hinduism & India | 5 comments

12 Lakh Christians to convert?

Some of you probably read�20,000 Christians threaten to revert to Hinduism�but today I came across 12 Lakh Vanniya Christians �contemplating� reverting to Hinduism�(by A.V. Ragunathan):���

VILLUPURAM: Over 12 lakh Vanniya Christians in Tamil Nadu will revert to Hinduism if they do not get a fair deal from the church.

The church, that has not taken any worthwhile measures to abolish caste discrimination, should not put the blame on the Vanniya Christians for creating divisions within the flock, C. Arokkiadas, founder of the Vanniya Christhava Sangham, told The?Hindu.

The Christians were verily divided on caste lines and it became accentuated during the recent Eraiyur incident. Mr. Arokkiadas said while the caste Vanniyas, classified as Most Backward Class, had the backing of political leaders, the Vanniya Christians, categorised as Backward Classes, did not have the support of the church and had to fend for themselves.

Here�is more about�the Eraiyur incident following which�20,000 Christians threatened to revert to Hinduism� (by P Arul).

“…Exposing the deep-seated animosities and divisions within the fold, over 20,000 caste Christians of Eraiyur village have threatened to revert to Hinduism unless a seperate parish was provided to the Dalit Christians there.

A parish in Eraiyur village was devastated by violent clashes between two groups a fortnight ago. It all started with the Arch Bishop Antony Anandarayar permitting Dalit Christians to undertake a funeral procession on Church Road, a privilege they have been denied for more than a century…

Protesting against this, the caste Christians have boycotted prayer sessions at the St Rosary Church for the past three days.

Anandarayar assured that none would be discriminated in church on any ground and this has not gone well with the caste Christians who have accused the bishop of not considering the sentiments of the majority. They have also stated that by the decree an age-old custom and tradition has been broken….”

Beware. All that glitters is not�gold..

Related Posts:

�Why are Christian Missions targetting India?� -�II�

Francois Gautier on�Conversions��

and finally, Utterly shameful and�inexcusable��

See also: Does Indian Christianity allow Untouchability?

April 1st, 2008 Posted by B Shantanu | A Hindu Identity, Conversions, Missionaries in India, Distortions, Misrepresentation about Hinduism, Hindu Dharma, Hindu Social System | 11 comments

I’m not an “Asian”

Fellow blogger Pastorius posted this great piece over at the Infidel Blogger’s Alliance. It touches on euphemisms and “media labels” regarding Asians, something�on which I have commented before.

Excerpt:

“…There is a group of people in Britain who have distinguished themselves by setting off bombs in subways, preaching hatred of Infidels in Mosques, and carrying placards in the streets calling for a “real Holocaust” against Jews.

The media calls these people “Asians”.

In other words, the media uses a racial classification to name a group of people who are

1) driven by ideology, not race

and

2) more time than not, NOT ASIAN.

…And, really race is beside the point.  I can not think of anything more racist than to blame Jihadi violence, which is driven by the ideology of the Koran, and various Islamist groups (Muslim Brotherhood, Wahabbism, Hizbollah, Hamas, etc.) on Asians.

…The PC Media, under the guise of fairness, are blaming the misdeeds of a few ideologically-driven people on a group of people designated by their racial characteristics.

That is racism.

Can you imagine how Chinese people, and Indians, and Filipinos feel about that?”

Now you may understand why some British Hindus do not want to call themselves “Asians and why some of them are very angry.

For the latest example of this, see this report (emphasis mine):

A priest has been attacked in the grounds of his church, in what police described as a “faith-hate” crime. Canon Michael Ainsworth, 57, was injured by two Asian youths at the church, in Tower Hamlets, east London.

although a later BBC report noted that

Tower Hamlets in east London, where the church is located, has a large Muslim community and Mr Khan said the incident should not affect “the hard work of communities in Tower Hamlets to create social harmony.

See also:

Please, no “M-word” here

and Avoiding the M-word from which comes this short excerpt:

The obfuscation is sometimes almost comical.

The New York Times, reporting the Glasgow attack on Page 1, carefully avoided using the M-word to identify Britain’s Muslim terrorists. Instead it attributed the 7/7 bombings to Britain’s disenfranchised South Asian population and reported that the terrorists in Glasgow were South Asian.

(As Joel Mowbray pointed out for Powerline, Indian Hindus are Britain�s largest South Asian demographic.)

UPDATE (Nov 2nd ‘08): Courtesy Sh Kak, this Op-Ed from The Hindu which mentions how “forced marriages” - routinely mentioned as an “Asian” problem is actually more of a problem amongst Pakistani and Bangladeshi communities (emphasis mine):

According to the British reckoning, the figures for this sordid practice (forced marriages) are around 3,000 per year. Unofficial estimates suggest that the tally may be even higher. Most victims are known to be women aged between 15 and 24. Another 15-20 per cent of cases involve young men. About 65 per cent of known cases involve those of Pakistani origin, another 25 per cent are of Bangladeshi origin, and the rest are of Indian or various African and Eastern European origins.

March 20th, 2008 Posted by B Shantanu | A Hindu Identity, An Indian Identity, Distortions, Misrepresentations about India, Global Terrorism, Identity, Islam & Terrorism | no comments

A “nationalism” rooted in Sanatan Dharma

I have never been an�avid�reader of Panchjanya but started admiring Shri Tarun Vijay�after reading some of his articles in the last few months (e.g. see here).

As some of you may know, he has recently resigned as editor of the weekly to head up BJP’s think tank…Here are excerpts on how he felt making the transition…It makes some important points about dialogue, ideology and the need to separate personalities from “issues” (Anirban: Thanks for alerting me to this)

Excerpts from “The blessed path” by Tarun Vijay

…Atal Bihari Vajpayee was not only my first editor, but first reader too. Many of our issues were warmly appreciated and severely criticized by him. He would call even when he became Prime Minister to say what we have published is good or simply intolerable. He didn’t like criticising opponents personally and would always advise: “Oppose as vehemently you can, but on policies and programmes. Refrain from personal attacks.”

Keep Reading…

March 18th, 2008 Posted by B Shantanu | A Hindu Identity, An Indian Identity, Ancient Hindu Political Philosophy, Distortions, Misrepresentation about Hinduism, Hindu Dharma, Indian Media | 7 comments

Secularism has its own agenda

Extracts from a BBC news story:

“…Dr Nazir Ali, the bishop of Rochester…in a separate interview with the BBC…said

“Britishness” had to be recovered if it was to “have the identity to face another highly organised ideology, perhaps for the first time since the disappearance of Marxism”.

He said the government’s approach to multiculturalism was wrong, adding: ” I think an affirmation of the Christian roots of British society would actually provide a better way of affirming other people than the sort of secular all-faiths-are-the-same kind of route.

“Because the secular approach will in the end marginalise everybody.”

Try substituting “Hindu” for “Christian” and “Indian” for “British” in the extract above. Could he be talking about India, I wonder?

***

Here are some�more extracts from the Bishop’s�comments as they appeared in The Telegraph:

“…Alongside these developments, there has been a worldwide resurgence of the ideology of Islamic extremism.

…Attempts have been made to impose an “Islamic” character on certain areas, for example, by insisting on artificial amplification for the Adhan, the call to prayer. Such amplification was, of course, unknown throughout most of history and its use raises all sorts of questions about noise levels and whether non-Muslims wish to be told the creed of a particular faith five times a day on the loudspeaker.

This is happening here even though some Muslim-majority communities are trying to reduce noise levels from multiple mosques announcing this call, one after the other, over quite a small geographical area.

There is pressure already to relate aspects of the sharia to civil law in Britain. To some extent this is already true of arrangements for sharia-compliant banking but have the far-reaching implications of this been fully considered?

…

Much of this has come about because of a “neutral” secularist approach which refuses to privilege any faith. In fact, secularism has its own agenda and it is certainly not neutral…”

Well said.

Related Posts:

�Secular Fundamentalism��alive & kicking in�India�

Secularism or Politics of�Appeasement?�

Perverse secularism and India�s�future�

�Pseudo-secularism� at its�best?�

Another fine example of�pseudo-secularism�

January 8th, 2008 Posted by B Shantanu | A Hindu Identity, An Indian Identity, Current Affairs, Impact of Islam on India, Islam & Terrorism, Politics and Governance in India | 5 comments

On Narendra Modi and being a Hindu

Extracts from Shri B Raman’a article in the recent edition of Outlook (Dec 24 ‘07), “The Secular Hypocrisy“:

***

…The pathological dislike–even hatred–that some of our journalists–particularly in the electronic media–have for Modi could� be seen or sensed as one watched the TV coverage of the counting of votes on December 23, 2007. Initially, as it appeared that the BJP� might� not do well in the final tally, there was excitement among many of the TV anchors. They thought they had tasted� blood. After an hour, the BJP candidates started racing ahead and it became clear the the Congress (I) was in for a� drubbing.

The disappointment on the faces of some of the anchors was� to be seen to be believed. A five-star lady anchor could not help remarking: “Modi might be able to win the elections in Gujarat, but he still can’t get a visa to go to the US and other Western countries.” Some consolation!

Keep Reading…

January 1st, 2008 Posted by B Shantanu | A Hindu Identity, Current Affairs, Elections Analysis, Hindu Dharma, Identity, Impact of Islam on India, Politics and Governance in India, Politics of Minority Appeasement | 19 comments

What has “a Hindu” got to do with this?

Came across this gratuitous reference in a�recent ANI story about an Indian American in Britain who has filed 40 cases of racial discrimination with employment tribunals in Britain.

The news-item had this “nugget” towards the end of the report:

Deman, who is married and from a Hindu background, is a U.S. citizen and describes himself as Indian-American. �

Notice the “H-word”?

What has his being “a Hindu” got to do with this report and his lawsuits? As far as I could understand, none of his lawsuits were based on religious grounds;�I wonder what was the point of that remark?

Related Posts

Unintended or deliberate? The missing��H-word���and

The dreaded �H-word� -�excerpts

November 21st, 2007 Posted by B Shantanu | A Hindu Identity, Indian Media, Media Related | 4 comments

Of Godhra and Gujarat - Part II

A few days ago I came across this piece by Kishore Asthana which makes a number of important points that form the backdrop to Godhra.

I am reproducing some excerpts below but I would encourage you to read the article in full: Tehelka�s Gujarat Expose and the Deeper Truth

Excerpts (emphasis mine):

“……Look at the progression. Arguments with tea vendors and rumours of kidnapping lead a Muslim mob to burn 60 people alive. The burning of 60 Hindu pilgrims results in carnage all over the state. It is a case of a petty incident leading to gross over-reaction, leading to a grosser over-reaction. It does not need too much intelligence to fix the blame where it belongs.

Babulal Bajrangi was a mere symptom of the disease. The underlying causes are our lopsided politics of division along caste and religion and our skewed perception of the word �secular� since our independence.

…The lessons the mind draws from all this are chilling. They are at many levels:

The Resentments � Lesson no. 1 - It is obvious that there is deep resentment amongst Hindu s at their treatment by Muslims who are emboldened by India �s secular nature and its liberal intelligentsia. Hindus view themselves as the subjugated people of India and are constantly reminded of this by the politicians and the media. I am talking of the �average� Hindu who eventually matter and not the urban Hindu intelligentsia who show remarkable unawareness of their own double standards.

Imagine a group of Muslims returning from the Haj, in Lahore . They are on a train and are chanting Allah O Akbar. The train stops at a station, some of the Hajis fight with a Hindu tea vendor, and a mob of 1,000 Hindus collects and stones and torches the train. Would such a scenario be feasible in Pakistan ? No. But, in India , the reverse is easily accepted and no one appears to question the mindset of the Muslim leaders who encourage this or the Muslim mob which acts in this manner with seeming impunity.

Hindu s are not even permitted to enter Mecca but Muslims lay a claim to Ayodhya, the Mecca of the Ram Bhakts. All this births dissonance in the Hindu mind and the pressure keeps building up.

The Consequences : Lesson no. 2 � When the cork is blown open by an incident like Godhra, people like Babu Bajrangi and his ilk emerge, monster-like, fattened on this resentment. Once the Djinn is out of the bottle, there is no saying what will happen. We must learn to identify and neutralise such Djinns before they emerge from the bottle or, better still, not even give them an opportunity to take birth.

The Deeper Truth: Lesson no. 3 -. The deeper truth is that such resentments are building up all over India. The pressures of modern living, the proliferation of the media and its populist feeding frenzy, the minority- appeasing manipulations of political parties, the subversion of the bureaucracy and other such factors ensure that the detonator is well primed, the fuel is available; the cynical facilitators are all in place and only the trigger is needed.

…

Emotional Integration: The need, today, is for a quest for Emotional Integration. For this to come about, it is essential to face some unpalatable truths and come to grips with some very important and difficult to implement matters:

a. Primacy to the Indian Constitution over religious laws:

b. Sensitivity towards the feelings of the Hindu faithful: …In 50 years of independence, should our leaders not have ensured this by peaceful, legal means? If they had paid half as much attention to Hindu concerns as they pay to the concerns of minorities, it would have been enough…Instead, Hindu s have been taken for granted and the minorities pampered, with catastrophic results as far as the average Hindu �s mindset is concerned.

c. Ending the Politics of Appeasement: Special privileges � subsidies for pilgrimages, reservations in jobs, scholarships to minority students etc. need to be stopped. A secular state must only give special privileges only to citizens who are in financial need at this time.

d. A more responsible media: This needs no elaboration.

e. A quicker and more effective law enforcement and judicial system: When the citizens start thinking that mobs must do what the state is incapable or unwilling to do, then we have the Gujarat riots, the lynching of criminals in our towns and villages and even encounter deaths. This kind of disproportionate retaliation is a hallmark of frustration of the citizens with the legal machinery.

f. Imposition of minimum qualifications and law-abiding record for our legislators.

g. Improvement in our education system to promote self-esteem and regard for our nation-hood. Our education delivery system is pathetic and does not inculcate desirable values in our young. It does not encourage the feeling of emotional integration with others.

…Our education by rote and the politicised, Eurocentric curriculum is playing havoc with national self-esteem. Neglect of teaching as the most important profession in the country has made matters worse.

…In its vigilantism, Tehelka has focused on events, rather than deeper causes. However, all Indians must look deeper, into our own selves and at our politicians, media, judges and bureaucracy, if we have to avoid more bloodshed in the name of religion.

***
A slightly edited version also appeared here.

Comments, thoughts and suggestions welcome as always. I think this is too important a matter to be left for�the media alone.

Related Posts:

Of Godhra and�Gujarat

Join the discussion on Islam, Hindutva, Dr Zakir Naik,�Godhra�and

Perverse secularism and India�s�future

If you liked what you read, please consider subscribing to my feed (here or by Email)

November 20th, 2007 Posted by B Shantanu | A Hindu Identity, An Indian Identity, Godhra, Impact of Islam on India, Indian Media, Modern Indian History, Pakistan related, Politics and Governance in India, Politics of Minority Appeasement, Post Independence History, Ram Janambhoomi, Ayodhya | 4 comments

Voices of caution on SethuSamudram

First from Swaminathan S. Anklesaria Aiyar, “150-year dream for 150-year old ships”

Excerpts:

“…Dreams are costless, but canals are not. Project documents claim that the canal will save ships 36 hours of time and 570 nautical miles of distance.

But a recent study by Jacob John in Economic and Political Weekly exposes these claims as highly exaggerated. Up to 70% of the traffic through the canal is projected to come from Europe and Africa. And John estimates that the time saving from Europe to Kolkata will be only eight hours, and the distance saving 215 nautical miles. From Africa to Kolkata, the time taken will actually increase by 3.5 hours (being piloted through the canal is a slow process), and distance reduced will be only 70 nautical miles.

John calculates that ships could lose up to $4,992 per passage if they are charged the tariff laid down in project documents. In which case ships will find it cheaper to go round Sri Lanka. If the government cuts the proposed tariff to attract traffic, John estimates that the project�s rate of return could fall to an uneconomic 2.5%. I expect that the project will also suffer cost overruns in capital and maintenance dredging, and hence be in the red.

…The government�s environmental assessment has cleared the project on ecological grounds.

Keep Reading…

September 27th, 2007 Posted by B Shantanu | A Hindu Identity, Current Affairs, Debates & Discussions, Geo-Strategic Issues (incl. Nuclear, Oil, Energy), India & Its Neighbours, Indian Economy, Indian Media, Politics and Governance in India | 11 comments

UK fashion chain withdraws “Swastika” bag

An alert (and loyal) reader pointed this story to me: Zara withdraws swastika handbags.

From the BBC website:

The fashion chain Zara has withdrawn a handbag from its stores after a customer pointed out that the design featured swastikas…

A customer who returned the bag to the shop when she noticed the symbol said staff had been “shocked” to see it.

As well as being the Nazi symbol, the swastika is also a religious symbol for Hindus and Buddhists.

…Rachel Hatton, said, “I was quite shocked - I took it back to the shop.” “Then obviously the shop assistants were quite shocked as well to find out this symbol was on there - it was not something that they’d noticed either straight away,” she told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

“Had the symbol been seen we would not have sourced that particular handbag,” said Zara spokesperson Susan Suett.

It appears that:

• Zara may not have selected the handbag had the “swastika” been visible before the�order was placed
• The staff may not have sold�it had they noticed the “offending symbol” which so “shocked” them
• There is no difference between the Nazi “swastika” and the Hindu and Buddhist one
• Selling anything with a “swastika” on it may be asking for trouble (- does not matter if it is the Hindu symbol which is revered by millions of people - oh, but they are all “Third-world”, aren’t they?)

Of course, no one bothers to dig a bit and find out if the symbols are actually identical and how an ancient religious symbol became associated with Nazism in the first place.

For those of you who do want to find out, please read:�Of Swastika, Nazis and sacred�symbols�

Please FORWARD THIS LINK http://satyameva-jayate.org/2007/02/08/swastika-nazis-and-scared-symbols/�to friends and colleagues so that we can counter mis-information and ill-informed debate with facts and truth.

.

P.S. Compare and�contrast this response to another “incident” in the UK from about two years ago:�”Harrods apology over Hindu bikinis“.� Oddly, while a”Nazi symbol” evokes (justifiable but in this case, probably mis-directed) shock,�people are surprised that Hindu Gods�on bikinis caused offence.

Might it be something to do with our famed “tolerance” and perception that Hindus are “a community (that) can (be)…victimise(d) with impunity?“

.

Related Post:� Of Swastika, Nazis and sacred�symbols�

UPDATE (additional reading):

EU Hindus oppose swastika ban��

Hindus reclaim their symbol of life� and

Reclaim The Swastika.

September 19th, 2007 Posted by B Shantanu | A Hindu Identity, Ancient Indian History, Distortions, Misrepresentation about Hinduism, Hindu Dharma | 5 comments