Politics Of Minority Appeasement | || Satyameva Jayate ||

A dangerous portent

Some of you must have read the news from two days ago regarding a call by some Muslim leaders to form a “Muslim political front“ that would also align “secular forces”. Quite how a religious front can align secular forces is beyond me but I felt a deep sense of unease as I read this piece of news…

In some ways it was reminiscent of the background that eventually led to the formation of the Muslim League just over a century earlier in Dhaka. The mood amongst Muslims at the time was captured in these words by Sir Percival Griffiths:

“…the Muslim belief that their interest must be regarded as completely separate from those of the Hindus, and that no fusion of the two communities was possible…”

I am seriously worried that we may be approaching that point again.

At the conference in Jama Masjid, some speakers went to the extent of saying that there is a “deep rooted conspiracy to eliminate Muslims”.

Keep Reading…

October 16th, 2008 Posted by B Shantanu | Identity, Politics and Governance in India, Politics of Minority Appeasement | 31 comments

Shabana Azmi is right about one thing…

…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 | 12 comments

The forgotten “J” in J&K

Courtesy “Son of Devaki” by Tarun Vijay, this amazing table that provides a glimpse into how the populatoin in the Kahsmir valley has been rewarded at the expense of the citizens in Jammu.

Please read and circulate widely.

The step-motherly treatment of Jammu

Sr. no	Jammu region	Kashmir valley region

Area	26293 sq kms	15948 sq kms
Total revenue generated	75 %	20%
Total voters	3059986	2883950
Assembly seats allotted	37	46
Voters per seat	66521	49728
Area per assembly seat	710.6 sq kms	346.6 sq. kms.
Loksabha seats	2	3
Cabinet ministers(till 7th July,08)	5	14
Districts	10	10
Area per district	2629 sq. kms	1594 sq. kms
Unemployment status	69.70 %	29.30%
Representation in state govt. jobs	1.2 lakhs	3lakhs
Percentage of employees from local area	less than 25%	99%
Power generation	22 Mega Watt	304 Mega Watt
Annual tourist traffic	80 lakhs plus	Less than 4 lakhs
Expenditure of revenue on tourism sector	less than 10%	Plus 85%
Rural electrification	less than 70%	100%

This was The Beginning…

….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.

If you have a good broadband connection, I would also recommend watching this 12-min video: Terror on Kashmiri Minorities … and the World remained Silent… It includes a brief appearance by the late Benazir Bhutto - clearly showing her support for the “cause” (Courtesy: Ramesh Naidoo)

“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

Tackling Terrorism: One Step at a Time

This is probably a less lucid post than most of what I write…In spite of that it has taken me a very long time to draft this.

Last Sunday, after hearing of the blasts in Ahmedabad, I asked myself…what would I have done? What should the Government do? What can we do…as concerned, anxious and angry citizens?

I decided not to write anything more about the attacks until I had some idea of the answers to this questions…This post is an attempt in that direction…It mainly deals with what the government should do/ or consider doing…I may decide to write a separate post on what each one of us, as proud ”Bharatiyas”, can do…

The suggestions are organised in different sections (in no particular order):

The Political Will

Effective Policing and Intelligence Coordination

The role of the “middle class”

The role of the Muslim community

The role of Pakistan

Better Legislation

The Ideological Challenge

The ideas I have mentioned below are not all mine - they rely heavily on work and thinking done by others, more experienced and better informed than me…What I have attempted is to bring these ideas together - in a coherent, mostly consistent, way. I will be grateful for any critiques…Please contribute freely with your ideas and suggestions…

Jai Hind.

Tackling Terrorism: One Step at a Time

The Political Will

Our biggest weakness in this war is the lack of political will…No amount of proposals, ideas and counter-terrorist measures will work unless there is a clear, unambiguous and determined consensus - across all parties - at all levels - that this is WAR and it has to be fought with the same intensity and sense of urgency…The time for patting ourselves on the back about the “Spirit of Mumbai” (or Bengaluru or Ahmedabad) is past…

Political Will means bringing pressure on Pakistan …or as Ashutosh memorably mentioned in his comment on this blog, “turning on the heat“…It necessarily involves retaliation - something which NSA M K Narayanan hinted at a few weeks ago (after the attack on the Indian Embassy in Kabul)…It is time to follow-up on these statements…For more than a decade, we have been crying hoarse about terrorist camps and support infrastructure across the border…Well, THIS is the time to do something about it…

As Raja Ram mentioned in his comment following the Mumbai Blasts:

…The GOI has to present the evidence gathered publicly, set forth a clear demand for actions from governments - or agencies of governments - that may be involved with a clear time frame. This should be backed up with a clear promise of retributive action against the perpetrators with or without their support. International support for such should be channelised and developed.

…But this can happen only when the political class has the clarity of mind about dealing with terror in that manner. There are consequences to such actions that we must be ready to face. The political class, mind you is a creature of the people. The people should not only be ready to back them but demand such action from the political class and only then will they respond. Till that happens, concerned Indians can pull their hair and whack their heads - not much is going to come out of it. India will just have to take it in her stride yet again and fight on alone. There is no support for India in her war on terror. What is available is only meaningless platitudes.

The PM needs to get up and say, as did Tony Blair last June: “…This extremism can be defeated. But it will be defeated only by recognising that we have not created it; it cannot be negotiated with; pandering to its sense of grievance will only encourage it; and only by confronting it, the methods and the ideas, will we win.”

The President, Chief Commander of the Armed Forces needs to declare: India will not negotiate with terrorists… And every political party - and their leaders in Parliament - need to unequivocally support this stance…otherwise there is little hope.

Keep Reading…

August 1st, 2008 Posted by B Shantanu | Current Affairs, Human Rights and Legal Issues, Islam & Terrorism, Jammu & Kashmir related, LeT, SIMI etc., Pakistan related, Politics and Governance in India, Politics of Minority Appeasement, Terrorism in India | 30 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.

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

Make no mistake. This is WAR.

In an eerily prescient post a few weeks back, I had written: Our Kurukshetra is approaching fast.

The terrorist attacks in Ahmedabad and Bangalore are merely the latest consequences of a mis-guided, half-hearted approach to tackle terrorism and ignoring the root of the problem - which is the ideology of “Jihad”…and Islamism…This is the ideology that led to 9/11, the massacre of Beslan and numerous attacks since then - a disturbingly large number of them in Bharat.

As long as we don’t recognise this, we will be fighting the wrong enemy (not terrorists but innocents)…on the wrong front (not at the level of ideas, but at the level of physical force)…and with the wrong weapons (not better policing and quick, efficient justice but Dharnas, Bandhs, Satyagraha etc..)

The FIRST STEP though has to be the realisation that this is WAR - nothing less.

At least someone has realised this…

Terror attacks are a war against India…

I salute Shri Modi for having the courage to speak out.

He at least has more spine than the hundreds of others who claim to represent India. But as Radha-ji of Vigil pointed out in an email to me: “His spine is not in question here, it is his understanding of the nature of the threat - jihad…” I think she has hit the nail on its head.

As I had promised to myself, I will say no more on this until such point when I have some idea of how to deal with this menace.

In the meantime, here are some extracts from a letter written by a concerned father* (in teh US) to his sons back in 2004. Pl. read and think (emphasis mine).

*** Excerpts begin **

…To get out of a difficulty, one usually must go through it. Our country is now facing the most serious threat to its existence, as we know it, that we have faced in your lifetime and mine (which includes WWII).

The deadly seriousness is greatly compounded by the fact that there are very few of us who think we can possibly lose this war and even fewer who realize what losing really means.

Keep Reading…

July 27th, 2008 Posted by B Shantanu | Current Affairs, Global Terrorism, Godhra, Islam & Terrorism, LeT, SIMI etc., Pakistan related, Politics and Governance in India, Politics of Minority Appeasement, Post Independence History, Terrorism in India | 6 comments

Draupadi’s Vastraharan - The Disrobing of India

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.

Keep Reading…

July 23rd, 2008 Posted by B Shantanu | Ancient Indian History, Corruption in India, Current Affairs, Debates & Discussions, Elections Analysis, Geo-Strategic Issues (incl. Nuclear, Oil, Energy), Indian Economy, Politics and Governance in India, Politics of Minority Appeasement, Technology in India | 11 comments

What is common to a puppy and the India-US Nuclear Deal?

A: They are both offensive to Muslims (and possibly against Islam)…

Shia cleric Maulana Kalbe Sadiq, vice-president of All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB)…said the nuke deal does not sound good…” “Our contention is national as well as Islamic.”�

Samajwadi Party rebel MP Munnawar Hasan…(said)…�Support to the nuclear deal is tantamount to back-stabbing Muslims. Muslims across the world are opposed to the US,��

as for the “puppy”…

A puppy postcard (with an image of) a black dog sitting in a police officer�s hat…has prompted complaints from members of the Islamic community (in UK).

It is understood that Muslims have been upset by it because dogs are considered ritually unclean. Some shopkeepers have been refusing to display the advert.�

Fortunately, some sense seems to have prevailed.�

I am struggling to understand what has Islam got to do with a nuclear deal (lets forget Pakistan and its own nuclear programme for a minute) and how can�displaying the picture of any “life”�be anti-religion?

Thoughts welcome

Related Post: Of �Sacred Bulls�, Divinity & Development��

UPDATE: Siddharth Vardarajan has written a post titled, “Don’t use Muslims as crutch on nuclear deal“. It makes�some interesting points.

July 3rd, 2008 Posted by B Shantanu | Current Affairs, Geo-Strategic Issues (incl. Nuclear, Oil, Energy), Impact of Islam on India, Politics and Governance in India, Politics of Minority Appeasement | 4 comments

How many “Hindus” would it take to change the demography of Kashmir?

Amidst all the violence and “protests” around the issue of transfer of 40 hectares of land to Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board (SASB), I noticed two�questions 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 been�quoted 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 of�Jammu and Kashmir was just over 10m of which�6.8m (66.97%) were Muslims; Hindus were just over 3m�(29.63%) -�note that the % Muslim population has increased since the last census�in 1981 and the proportion of Hindus has decreased (at�least�partly due to migration);�According to the 1981 census, Muslims accounted for 64.19%� and�Hindus were at 32.24%.

However, this distribution hides the skewed demographics in the “Valley”. In Kashmir (Valley), the proportion of�Muslims 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 it�not a joke�to talk about the land allotment to SASB being an attempt�to 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 are�opposing the transfer on ecological�grounds?

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 here�with the feeling something is not quite right?

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 is�said 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 ancient�past) are said to�include�Abhinavagupta, Kalhana and Charaka (and possibly Kalidasa). More here.

Also recommended:�Amarnath exposes Kashmir Faultlines�(from�Offtsumped)�

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

The ridiculous extremes of pseudo-secularism

Fellow blogger Varnam recently wrote two�posts 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 society�unless you equate Sanskritisation with Brahminisation (ugh and sic!).

Related Posts:

Don�t wear a �tilak� to work�!�

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

Also read: �Pseudo-secularism� at its�best?�

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

Must we separate religion from politics?

This post was inspired by Hrishi and Dnyanesh’s comments�which I am reproducing below. The point raised by Hrishi was (essentially) that democracy and politics (of the modern kind) is incompatible with religion…

***

Comment by Hrishi on 5th May

…There�re are few points I thought worth making, as saw them:

…iii) Viewing religion as a politically relevant practice is more of an imported concept, definitely applcable today to �Hinduism� but I am inclined to believe its more of a �me too� reaction to the activities of the more organised and politically (as against spiritually) ambitious semitic religions operating in India today

Separating religion from politics is essential in any debate that proceeds on the basis of reason and logic which is a democratic process and if you agree with this - would be interested in some more of your views and insights

***

Response by Dnyanesh�on 5th May

HRISHI

�seperating religion from politics��..this comments surprises me many times over. religion is a way of life, our thoughts, ethics, dos donts, our behaviour patterns, our beliefs, culture, way we treat others, logic/thoughts are part of this. therefore in essence it is the foundauion of what we are and stand for. how can we leave that behind. what kind of governance we are likely to give then�

well may be this is not the thread to be followed here�just a few thoughts on an oft repeated comment�.

***

Response�by Hrishi on 5th May

Dnyanesh - since you bring it up (and the moderator allows it, God Willing) - religion is based on two premises as I understand it

- where one acts out of beliefs based on pre-written / revealed scriptures, many of which cannot be disputed or debated (e.g.Islam in toto, Catholicism, etc)

OR

- where one acts out of insights coming out of direct insights based on oneness with the Absolute.

The latter while possible is extremely rare and the overwhelming majority would rely on the former process i.e. acting based on beliefs (many of which are �blind� or not allowed to be exposed to objective reason and logic)

Given this, politics particularly of the modern kind (democracy/ constitutional guarantees of personal, legal, moral and political freedoms) would be impossible.

So as far as religion giving us do�s & don�ts, moral standards, ways of life, �. this must necessarily be subordinated/superceded by the guarantee of constitutional freedoms (mentioned above) and the democratic process based on reason and logic in free debate. I dont know of any �religion� encouraging the primacy of reason and logic based on facts; mostly beliefs are summarily handed down.

Democracy and universal suffrage developed in the �Christian� world only after the separation of the Church and the State, ushering in the Enlightenment (of the rational kind)..

***

Please share your comments and thoughts.

To further provoke your thinking,�I would recommend having a look at:

Hinduism a

Devoted to “Bharat” and “Dharma”