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FURORE IN J&K OVER SMS MOCKING AT ABDULLAHS

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Feb 26, 2010, 7:28:06 PM2/26/10

Furore in J&K over SMS mocking at Abdullahs

By Mohit Kandhari
The Pioneer
Saturday, February 27, 2010

Jammu - A sequel to this season's biggest Bollywood blockbuster -- 3
Idiots -- hit the mobile screens in Jammu and Kashmir on Friday
morning after majority of legislators belonging to the ruling
alliance and media persons woke up to read a crisp 'SMS' informing
them about the recent production of Government of India.

The SMS "someone posted 3 Idiots on Facebook. Three Abdullahs! Such
hatred and anger that could consume everyone" was circulated by
mischief mongers belonging to Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)
informing them about the recent post on the famous social networking
site.

In the recent post, the original poster of the Bollywood flick was
tampered with and in its place someone had pasted images of top
leaders of the National Conference.

In the centre of the poster the image of Sheikh Mohd Abdullah was
pasted in place of Aamir Khan who had portrayed the lead character in
the satirical comedy. And on his left and right the pictures of the
Abdullah duo -- Dr Farooq Abdullah and Jammu and Kashmir Chief
Minister Omar Abdullah, were pasted.

In the backdrop, the poster read: "A Govt of India Film -- 3 Idiots -
- A Union Government Production." Other credit lines on the original
poster was also tampered with. Thus the poster read: Written by Pt
Nehru, Hari Singh and Sheikh Mohd Abdullah; Music -- Yelp of Kashmir;
lyrics -- Betrayers of Kashmir.

As the news spread like wild fire here in Jammu, angry workers of the
National Conference and several sitting Ministers and party
legislators assembled at the party office on Residency road area and
took out a protest march shouting slogans against PDP chief Mehbooba
Mufti for hitting a low.

Several party leaders vent their ire on PDP leader for showing
disrespect to the tallest leader of J&K, Sheikh Mohd Abdullah. A
large number of NC workers were prevented by police from moving
towards the head office of the Peoples Democratic Party in the Gandhi
Nagar area where security was beefed up in advance to prevent a clash
between the workers of both the parties.

Responding to the sentiments of party workers, Finance Minister and
senior party leader Abdul Rahim Rather addressed a Press conference,
where majority of party legislators were present. He took strong
exception to the slanderous campaign allegedly unleashed by the main
Opposition party targeting the top leadership of the National
Conference.

"I fail to understand what kind of politics is this," Rather said
describing Mehbooba Mufti's utterances as creation of an 'alien
mind'. He said the workers of National conference are an agitated lot
and PDP has virtually come down to such a low to express their
frustration.

On the other hand, PDP president Mehbooba Mufti while ridiculing the
National Conference said the ruling party was raking up irrelevant
issues to divert the attention of the people towards the failure of
the Government.

She said the ruling National Conference was trying to drag its late
leaders into unnecessary controversy to divert the attention of the
people. "It is very unfortunate that the ruling party has dragged its
late leaders into controversies to hide its failure on all fronts,"
she said.

Ridiculing the charges of the National Conference, the PDP chief
advised the ruling party leaders to channelise their energy to
address grievances of the people at ground level instead of wasting
precious time on social networking sites.

More at:
http://www.dailypioneer.com

Jai Maharaj, Jyotishi
Om Shanti

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Mar 7, 2010, 6:03:31 PM3/7/10

India

James Heitzman and Robert L. Worden, editors. India: A Country Study.
Washington: GPO for the Library of Congress, 1995.

Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank individuals in various agencies of the
Indian and United States governments and private institutions who gave
their time, research materials, and special knowledge to provide
information and perspective. These individuals include Hardeep Puri,
Joint Secretary (America) of the Ministry of External Affairs;
Madhukar Gupta, Joint Secretary (Kashmir) of the Ministry of Home
Affairs; Bimla Bhalla, Director General of Advertising and Visual
Publications, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting; Amulya Ratna
Nanda, Registrar General of India; Ashok Jain, director of the
National Institute of Science, Technology and Development Studies; T.
Vishwanthan, director of the Indian National Scientific Documentation
Centre; G.P. Phondke, director of the Publications and Information
Directorate of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research; Air
Commander Jasjit Singh, director of the Institute for Defence Studies
and Analyses; G. Madhavan, deputy executive secretary of the Indian
Academy of Sciences; Sivaraj Ramaseshan, distinguished emeritus
professor, Raman Research Institute; H.S. Nagaraja, public relations
officer of the Indian Institute of Science; Virendra Singh, director
of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research; Bhabani Sen Gupta of
the Centre for Policy Research; Pradeep Mehendiratta, Vice President
and Executive Director, Indian Institute of American Studies; and
Richard J. Crites, Chat Blakeman, Peter L.M. Heydemann, and Marcia
S.B. Bernicat of the United States Embassy in New Delhi. Special
thanks go to Lygia M. Ballantyne, director, and Alice Kniskern, deputy
director, and the staff of the Library of Congress New Delhi Field
Office, particularly Atish Chatterjee, for supplying bounteous amounts
of valuable research materials on India and arranging interviews of
Indian government officials.

Appreciation is also extended to Ralph K. Benesch, who formerly
oversaw the Country Studies/Area Handbook Program for the Department
of the Army, and to the desk officers in the Department of State and
the Department of the Army who reviewed the chapters. Thanks also are
offered to William A. Blanpied, Mavis Bowen, Ainslie T. Embree, Jerome
Jacobson, Suzanne Hanchett, Barbara Leitch LePoer, Owen M. Lynch, and
Sunalini Nayudu, who either assisted with substantive information or
read parts of the manuscript or did both.

The authors also wish to thank those who contributed directly to the
preparation of the manuscript. They include Sandra W. Meditz, who
reviewed all textual and graphic materials, served as liaison with the
Department of the Army, and provided numerous substantive and
technical contributions; Sheila Ross, who edited the chapters; Andrea
T. Merrill, who edited the tables and figures; Marilyn Majeska, who
supervised editing and managed production; Alberta Jones King, who
assisted with research, making wordprocessing corrections to various
versions of the manuscript, and proofreading; Barbara Edgerton and
Izella Watson, who performed the final wordprocessing; Marla D.
Woodson, who assisted with proofreading; and Janie L. Gilchrist, David
P. Cabitto, Barbara Edgerton, and Izella Watson, who prepared the
camera-ready copy. Catherine Schwartzstein performed the final
prepublication editorial review, and Joan C. Cook compiled the index.

Graphics support was provided by David P. Cabitto, who oversaw the
production of maps and graphics and, with the assistance of Wayne
Horne, designed the cover and the illustrations on the chapter title
pages; and Harriet Blood and Maryland Mapping and Graphics, who
assisted in the preparation of the maps and charts. Thanks also go to
Gary L. Fitzpatrick and Christine M. Anderson, of the Library of
Congress Geography and Map Division, for assistance in preparing early
map drafts. A very special thank you goes to Janice L. Hyde, who did
the research on and selection of cover and title-page illustrations
and photographs, translated some of the photograph captions and
textual references, and helped the editors on numerous matters of
substance and analysis. Shantha S. Murthy of the Library of Congress
Serial Record Division provided Indian language assistance. Clarence
Maloney helped identify the subjects of some of the photographs.

Finally the authors acknowledge the generosity of individ-uals and
public and private organizations who allowed their photographs to be
used in this study. They have been acknowledged in the illustration
captions.

http://countrystudies.us/india/1.htm

Preface

This edition supersedes the fourth edition of India: A Country Study ,
published in 1985 under the editorship of Richard F. Nyrop. The new
edition provides updated information on the world's second most
populous and fastest-growing nation. Although much of India's
traditional behavior and organizational dynamics reported in 1985 have
remained the same, internal and regional events have continued to
shape Indian domestic and international policies.

To the extent possible, place-names used in the text conform to the
United States Board on Geographic Names, but equal weight has been
given to spellings provided by the official Survey of India.
Measurements are given in the metric system.

The body of the text reflects information available as of September 1,
1995. Certain other portions of the text, however, have been updated.
The Bibliography lists published sources thought to be particularly
helpful to the reader.

http://countrystudies.us/india/2.htm

History

THOSE "WHO WEAR COTTON CLOTHES, use the decimal system, enjoy the
taste of [curried] chicken, play chess, or roll dice, and seek peace
of mind or tranquility through meditation," writes historian Stanley
Wolpert, "are indebted to India." India's deep-rooted civilization may
appear exotic or even inscrutable to casual foreign observers, but a
perceptive individual can see its evolution, shaped by a wide range of
factors: extreme climatic conditions, a bewildering diversity of
people, a host of competing political overlords (both local and
outsiders), enduring religious and philosophical beliefs, and complex
linguistic and literary developments that led to the flowering of
regional and pan-Indian culture during the last three millennia. The
interplay among a variety of political and socioeconomic forces has
created a complex amalgam of cultures that continue amidst conflict,
compromise, and adaptation. "Wherever we turn," says Wolpert, "we
find . . . palaces, temples, mosques, Victorian railroad stations,
Buddhist stupas, Mauryan pillars; each century has its unique
testaments, often standing incongruously close to ruins of another
era, sometimes juxtaposed one atop another, much like the ruins of
Rome, or Bath."

India's "great cycle of history," as Professor Hugh Tinker put it,
entails repeating themes that continue to add complexity and diversity
to the cultural matrix. Throughout its history, India has undergone
innumerable episodes involving military conquests and integration,
cultural infusion and assimilation, political unification and
fragmentation, religious toleration and conflict, and communal harmony
and violence. A few other regions in the world also can claim such a
vast and differentiated historical experience, but Indian civilization
seems to have endured the trials of time the longest. India has proven
its remarkable resilience and its innate ability to reconcile opposing
elements from many indigenous and foreign cultures. Unlike the West,
where modern political developments and industrialization have created
a more secular worldview with redefined roles and values for
individuals and families, India remains largely a traditional society,
in which change seems only superficial. Although India is the world's
largest democracy and the seventh-most industrialized country in the
world, the underpinnings of India's civilization stem primarily from
its own social structure, religious beliefs, philosophical outlook,
and cultural values. The continuity of those time-honed traditional
ways of life has provided unique and fascinating patterns in the
tapestry of contemporary Indian civilization.

http://countrystudies.us/india/3.htm

Geography and Demographics

Geography

Coasts and Borders
Rivers
Climate
Earthquakes
Population
Population Projections
Population and Family Planning Policy
Health Conditions
http://countrystudies.us/india/35.htm
Health Care
Education
http://countrystudies.us/india/37.htm

Religion

Language, Ethnicity, and Regionalism

Linguistic Relations
Diversity, Use, and Policy
Languages of India
Hindi and English
Hindi
English
Linguistic States
The Social Context of Language
http://countrystudies.us/india/69.htm
Tribes
http://countrystudies.us/india/70.htm
Jews and Parsis
http://countrystudies.us/india/71.htm
Portuguese
http://countrystudies.us/india/72.htm
Anglo-Indians
http://countrystudies.us/india/73.htm
Africans
http://countrystudies.us/india/74.htm
Regionalism
http://countrystudies.us/india/75.htm
Telangana Movement

Jharkhand Movement
http://countrystudies.us/india/76.htm
Uttarakhand
http://countrystudies.us/india/77.htm
Gorkhaland
http://countrystudies.us/india/78.htm
Ladakh
http://countrystudies.us/india/79.htm
The Northeast
http://countrystudies.us/india/80.htm

Society

Themes in Indian Society
Family
Veiling and the Seclusion of Women
Life Passages
Children and Childhood
Marriage
Adulthood
Death and Beyond
Caste and Class
The Village Community
Urban Life

The Economy

Structure of the Economy
The Role of Government
Labor
Industry
Government Policies
Manufacturing
Energy
Mining and Quarrying
Tourism
Science and Technology
Agriculture
Crops
The Green Revolution
Livestock and Poultry
Forestry
Fishing

Government and Politics

The Constitution
Politics
The Congress
Opposition Parties
Bharatiya Janata Party and the Rise of Hindu Nationalism
http://countrystudies.us/india/113.htm
Communist Parties
Regional Parties
Caste-Based Parties
http://countrystudies.us/india/116.htm
Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir
http://countrystudies.us/india/117.htm
Hindu-Muslim Tensions
http://countrystudies.us/india/118.htm
Corruption
http://countrystudies.us/india/119.htm
The Media
The Rise of Civil Society

Foreign Relations

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Wink, André. Al-Hind, the Making of the Indo-Islamic World, 1: Early
Medieval India and the Expansion of Islam, 7th-11th Centuries. 2d.
ed., rev. Leiden: Brill, 1991.

Wolpert, Stanley. India. Berkeley: University of California Press,
1991.

Wolpert, Stanley. Jinnah of Pakistan. New York: Oxford University
Press, 1984.

Wolpert, Stanley. Nehru: A Tryst with Destiny. New York: Oxford
University Press, 1996.

Wolpert, Stanley. A New History of India. 4th ed. New York: Oxford
University Press, 1992.

Wolpert, Stanley. Tilak and Gokhale: Revolution and Reform in the
Making of Modern India. Cambridge: Cambridge University, 1962.
Reprint. Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1989.

Woodruff, Philip (pseud.). The Men Who Ruled India, 2: The Founders.
London: Cape, 1963.

Zimmer, Heinrich. The Art of Indian Asia. New York: Pantheon, 1955.

Enter your search terms Submit search form
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FOCUS GROUP ASIAN SUBCONTINENT:

Muslim-Hindu Relations in India

Beside being one of the most populous nations in the world, India is
also one of the most religiously and ethnically diverse. Islam and
Hinduism are the main religions in India, however, and the two have
had a very long and sometimes violent coexistence. After the British
left India in 1947, in particular, the continent split into the
nations of the Muslim Pakistan and a majority-Hindu India in a violent
partition which cost the lives of approximately one million people and
dislocation of no fewer than eleven million.

Since 1947 India and Pakistan have fought three wars with each other
since then; and violence between Hindus and Sikhs and Muslims in India
itself have also been bitter and violent. The secular regime in
democratic India that Mahatmas Gandhi help establish in 1947 professes
to be one country for all Indians, no matter their religion; but
enmity between religions continues to plague India. The tide of Hindu
communalism continues to roll across the Indian subcontinent, and with
a literacy rate of just 30% and horrific poverty India's democracy
faces strong challenges in the future. Combine that with the
conflicts in Kashmir with Pakistan and the proliferation of nuclear
weapons in the area, and the situation is particularly dangerous.

Questions to keep in mind: What historical events in history
contribute to present day bad feelings between Muslims and Hindus on
the Asian subcontinent? What are the wars, conflicts, rivalries that
Muslims and Hindus have suffered between them? What was the influence
of the life and death of Mohandas Gandhi? How many Muslims are there
compared to Hindus and Sikhs in present day India? What conflicts
have arisen on sites considered "holy" by both Muslims and Hindus?

RESOURCES:

At Yahoo! check out the following categories: Indian history in
general, India by time period, and Mohandas Gandhi. Also check out
this excellent CNN perspective on India and Pakistan: 50 Years of
Independence. This is also an excellent article about Indian and the
recent elections there.

Check out these links also: Redif India Online, Discover India, India
Express, Hello India!, India Review, Inet India, and India on
Internet.

Check out these official Indian government pages: Indian Parliament
Home Page, and The President of India.

This is a cool link about Hindu vs. Muslim values in India. This is
also good. Read this article about tensions between Indian Muslims
and Hindu nationalists.

Check out the below NPR radio broadcasts to get an in-depth analysis
of events:

India-Pakistan: Tit for Tat
Tensions rise anew with the shooting down of a Pakistani military
plane and a reported retaliatory missile firing (8/23/99)

CNN broadcasts: Pakistan/India Partition, India/Pakistan at 50, India
Acquires Nuclear Weapons, Pakistan Nuclear Weapons, India Hindu-Muslm
Tensions, India Diverse Country (good link!)

http://dir.yahoo.com/Regional/Countries/India/Arts_and_Humanities/Humanities/History/
http://dir.yahoo.com/Regional/Countries/India/Arts_and_Humanities/Humanities/History/By_Time_Period/

INDIA ELECTION '98

March 4 1998
The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer Transcript

Leaders of a Hindu nationalist party are demanding the right to form
India's next government after nearly complete election returns show
the party winning the most seats in the parliament. But conflicting
claims have led to bitterness and confusion. Fred de Sam Lazaro has
this report on the party's rise to power.

A RealAudio version of this segment is available.

http://www.rjgeib.com/biography/milken/crescent-moon/asian-subcontient/hindu-islam-history/hindu-islam.html

FRED DE SAM LAZARO: Ramesh Chand Thomar has served in India's
parliament since 1991, representing a semi-rural district in the
Northern, Uttar Pradesh province. He began this campaign day with a
stop at a Hindu temple, part of a routine that emphasizes the central
theme of his BJP or India People's Party. Called Hindutva, the slogan
has few specifics but declares India "a nation of Hindu values." He
insists this does not violate the secular democratic tradition of
Mahatma Gandhi, on which the nation was founded. Thomar says it simply
calls on Indians to be patriotic.

RAMESH CHAND THOMAR: Indian must think first of India, the development
of India, the prosperity of India, we like that. The people are living
here and they are thinking about other countries.

FRED DE SAM LAZARO: What other countries specifically?

RAMESH CHAND THOMAR: Neighboring countries, whatever they have in
their mind, I cannot say.

BJP strategy: anti-muslim rhetoric?

FRED DE SAM LAZARO: The BJP's critics say that's code language aimed
at India's Muslim minority. They are often accused of being loyal to
Pakistan, India's Islamic neighbor and adversary in three wars,
according to Syed Shahabuddin, a former member of parliament and
publisher of a journal called Muslim India.

SYED SHAHABUDDIN, Publisher, Muslim India: This is precisely their
method of trying to undo, or rather to do a minority out of its due
share. Point one, look, he's the enemy, he is the other, he is the
enemy, he is the adversary, he's with them; he's the fifth columnist.
He's at the beck and call of Pakistan. And Pakistan, of course, you
know, is always leaving difficult responsibilities against us. And
this is how you create a miasma of fear, and that is how you create
distrust. That is how you inject poison into the body politic of this
country, and that is how you create an atmosphere in which any amount
of violence can take place.

Religious tensions become political issues.

FRED DE SAM LAZARO: Critics blame the BJP for trying to reignite
religious tensions that date back centuries. In the early 1990's, the
party led a campaign to remove a 16th century mosque, called Babri
Masjid, and replace it with a Hindu temple. They claimed India's
Muslim conquerors built it in a sacred spot; the birthplace of the
Hindu God Rama. Murali Manohar Joshi, a BJP leader, explained the
campaign to foreign reporters.

MURALI MANOHAR JOSHI: If Hitler would have been victorious in the
second world war and there would have been a statue of Hitler in
Trafalgar Square, and in 1990 the Britishers would have been liberated
from Hitler's yoke, what would they have done to that statue of
Hitler?

The ruling party faces voter resentment.

FRED DE SAM LAZARO: In 1992, rioters stormed the mosque called Babri
Masjid and razed it. The incident sparked violent clashes that claimed
dozens of Hindu and Muslim lives, and for a while, it seemed to
alienate many voters from the BJP, but political observers say it also
hurt the ruling Congress Party government, which was criticized for
not cracking down on the rioters. At the same time, the Congress
government, which had ruled India almost uninterrupted for four
decades, began to face increasing voter resentment for policies that
failed to deliver even basic amenities. It's frustration that's still
very much in evidence.

MAN: (speaking through interpreter) Take a look at the condition of
our village. Do you see any water taps? We have to go two kilometers
to get water, and we still get water from an open well.

TEACHER: (speaking through interpreter) The minister came here, he
promised to expand this school. We're still waiting. We only go to the
fifth grade. I'd love to see kids go to the eighth.

SECOND MAN: (speaking through interpreter) When it comes time for our
votes, they say they'll do this, they'll do that, in the end they
don't do anything.

THIRD MAN: (speaking through interpreter) The Congress Party has been
in power for a long time. They haven't done anything for the poor, the
lower castes.

The Congress Party faces allegations of corruption.

FRED DE SAM LAZARO: Perhaps the biggest reason for the Congress
Party's fall from grace were allegations of widespread corruption.
It's an issue the BJP has seized. A BJP promise to clean up politics
has struck a responsive chord, even among some Congress Party members,
like Colonel Ram Singh.

COLONEL RAM SINGH: I really got so disgusted. Every minister, barring
four or five of us, there is about 65, every minister was looting the
country literally with both hands, and it was shameful.

FRED DE SAM LAZARO: Singh, who ran for parliament this time as a BJP
candidate, believes his adopted party is divorcing itself from its
extremist past.

COLONEL RAM SINGH: I think that is gradually being removed. I mean, my
total outlook has always been, and will always be that every religion
should have equal place, equal rights, and they should be no
persecution of anybody on religious grounds.

FRED DE SAM LAZARO: Singh describes himself as a moderating force in
the BJP and the party has gone out of its way to tone down its
Hindutva rhetoric, according to H. K. Dua, editor of the Times of
India.

H. K. DUA, Editor, The Times of India: They are trying to project more
a centrist party, keen to do the business of the state, taking the
others along, than the kind of image they had tried to project
earlier. Possibly they are seeing it's politically necessary. They
won't be able to come to power if they are taking an extreme position.
So there is a definite attempt to demarcate themselves from the old--
the old Hindu image. But they're doing it softly, lest they may lose
their old constituency.

RAMESH THOMAR: India is a secular country, and it will remain always
secular.

FRED DE SAM LAZARO: Hard-line BJP candidates, like Ramesh Thomar,
insist they're committed to freedom for all religions, but at the same
time, Thomar says a temple must be built at the site of the demolished
Babri mosque.

RAMESH THOMAR: Construction of the temple is the permanent solution,
and most of the Muslim people also wants that the temple of Rama in
Ayodhya that should be constructed.

FRED DE SAM LAZARO: So you would like to see a temple constructed
in--

RAMESH THOMAR: Must, must, must.

Which party will control the future of India?

FRED DE SAM LAZARO: Election results show the BJP won the most seats
in parliament but not the majority needed to form a government. Its
position on the temple and other issues will be the subject of intense
and difficult negotiations as it seeks coalition partners. Kuldi
Nayyar is a columnist and former diplomat.

KULDIP NAYYAR, Columnist: The roots of tolerance, the roots of secular
polity, the roots of sense of accommodation are very deep, because
even last time, they tried their best to get others to join them.
Fourteen, fifteen parties came together to keep them away because
these people represent a philosophy or an ideology which is alien to
this country.

FRED DE SAM LAZARO: Opposing the BJP in the race to form a coalition
government is the once dominant Congress Party, whose campaign was led
by a woman with India's best-known political name, Sonia Gandhi. It
finished a distant second and will try to team with a group of smaller
parties called the United Front to stop the Hindu Nationalists.

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/asia/jan-june98/india_3-4.html

http://www.rjgeib.com/biography/milken/crescent-moon/asian-subcontient/hindu-islam-history/hindu-islam.html

...and I am Sid Harth

bademiyansubhanallah

unread,

Mar 8, 2010, 6:02:20 AM3/8/10

Actions belie his words

There is a popular saying about the newly appointed president of BJP,
Nitin Gadkari … that he manages to elicit results with the least of
efforts. It was with great pomp that Gadkari had raised the apt issue
in Indore that the party was in need of combative people, not of
sychophants or yes-men. But it is not hidden from anyone as to how
serious the gentleman, whom Gadkari himself kept portraying as Mr
Genius from Indore to Delhi, is about political issues. Even
otherwise, in Gadkari’s regime the people who were first appointed to
various posts are all known to be the flagbearers of the practice of
doing the rounds of the powers that be. For example, the newly-
appointed president of Punjab BJP Ashwini Sharma or Khimi Ram,
Himachal’s executive president who has been made a full president by
Gadkari. The BJP president wanted to send Prabhat Jha as the president
of Madhya Pradesh BJP; in Bihar he is advocating the need of handing
over the reins to another loyal-tag owner Mantoo Pandey alias Mangal
Pandey. One Alok Kumar has been appointed the chief of the all India
training camp of the party. Or the saffron flag of aggression of the
yes-brigade is flying high during the Gadkari rule.

http://www.gossipguru.in/gossipguru/%E0%A4%AA%E0%A4%B0%E0%A4%BF%E0%A4%95%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%B0%E0%A4%AE%E0%A4%BE-%E0%A4%95%E0%A4%BE-%E0%A4%AA%E0%A4%B0%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%95%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%B0%E0%A4%AEactions-belie-his-words

Gadkari's Govindacharya

BJP president Nitin Gadkari has started the process of selecting his
team. But for Gadkari, Vinay Sahasrabuddhe is the most important
person right now and if sources are to be believed then Gadkari’s is
moving fast forward on Sahasrabuddhe’s brains. In a way Sahasrabuddhe
is working as the political secretary of Gadkari. This association is
exactly like the relationship Govindacharya once shared with Advani.
Sanjay Joshi and Bal Apte are also going to play an important role in
identifying and selecting the new team for Gadkari. In view of the
importance of the forthcoming Assembly election in Bihar, Leader of
Opposition in the Upper House Arun Jaitley is being made the in-
charge. One finds it difficult to recall if earlier a Leader of
Opposition had played the role of an election in-charge. What kind of
a precedent is being set by Gadkari?

http://www.gossipguru.in/gossipguru/%e0%a4%b8%e0%a4%b9%e0%a4%b8%e0%a5%8d%e0%a4%b0%e0%a4%ac%e0%a5%81%e0%a4%a6%e0%a5%8d%e0%a4%a6%e0%a5%87-%e0%a4%95%e0%a5%80-%e0%a4%ac%e0%a5%81%e0%a4%a7%e0%a5%8d%e0%a4%a6%e0%a4%bfgadkari%e2%80%99s-govindach

Poll

Is BJP a sinking boat?

Yes (67.12%)
No (32.88%)

http://www.gossipguru.in/gossipguru/%e0%a4%85%e0%a4%ac-%e0%a4%9f%e0%a5%82%e0%a4%9f%e0%a5%87%e0%a4%97%e0%a4%be-%e0%a4%9a%e0%a4%bf%e0%a4%a6%e0%a4%82%e0%a4%ac%e0%a4%b0%e0%a4%ae-%e0%a4%95%e0%a4%be-%e0%a4%ad%e0%a5%8d%e0%a4%b0%e0%a4%aechidamb

BJP too trying to earn some brownie points

Anita Saluja
First Published : 07 Mar 2010 03:49:00 AM IST

NEW DELHI: Sensing that history may be created on the centenary of
International Women’s Day in India, if the Rajya Sabha succeeds in
passing the controversial Women’s Reservation Bill, enabling 33
percent reservation of seats for women in Parliament and State
Assemblies, the BJP on Saturday lent a helping hand to the UPA
Government.

The BJP core group meeting, which was convened by BJP president Nitin
Gadkari, appealed to all political parties to vote in favour of the
Women’s Reservation Bill.

After the meeting, leader of the Opposition Sushma Swaraj said, “The
BJP was the first party to demand one-third reservation for women in
Parliament and state Assemblies. It has promised the Centre full
support to the Bill in the Rajya Sabha.” Leader of the Opposition in
the Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley was optimistic of the passage of the
Women’s Bill in the Upper House and said that on its own, the BJP was
mobilising support for the Bill.

Claiming that the BJP has always stood for empowerment of women, being
the first party to give one-third reservation to women in the party
organisation, Gadkari said that it had issued whip to all the party
members of Rajya Sabha.

He said that it was the NDA Government, which first moved the Bill in
Parliament and mooted the idea to set apart 33 percent of the total
seats in Parliament and state Assemblies for women in BJP National
Council meeting at Vadodara.

Unlike in 1996, when the BJP was riven with dissensions on the Women’s
Reservation Bill, with firebrand leader Uma Bharti opposing the
legislation inside the Lok Sabha, this time around, there is no
dissenting voice.

Uma Bharti is no more in the BJP and with Sushma Swaraj leading the
party in the Lok Sabha, no one dares to challenge her ruling. “We have
to prove our own credibility,” remarked a senior leader from the Rajya
Sabha.

Apart from the three Yadavs, Mulayam Singh of the SP, Lalu Yadav of
RJD and Sharad Yadav of JD (U), the BJP alliance partner in
Maharashtra, the Shiv Sena, is also opposing the Bill in its present
form.

Comments

Right & time demand step by leading political parties in national
interest.
By Kapil Pathak
3/7/2010 10:04:00 AM

http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?Title=PM+confident+of+women%E2%80%99s+quota+Bill+passage&artid=0wcbTOGE2j4=&SectionID=b7ziAYMenjw=&MainSectionID=b7ziAYMenjw=&SEO=Women%E2%80%99s+Reservation+Bill&SectionName=pWehHe7IsSU=

I don’t want to make a show of it

BJP youth wing leader Poonam Mahajan spills the beans on why she
skipped her brother’s big fat TV wedding

By Anand Holla and Vickey Lalwani
Posted On Monday, March 08, 2010 at 03:12:45 AM

The Mahajans have a way of making it to the headlines. This time it is
Rahul, who tied the knot, for the second time, with a 21-year-old
Bengali model and item girl in a televised event on Saturday which was
attended by his mother, but not his sister.

Poonam Mahajan-Rao

Poonam Mahajan-Rao, who had always stood by her elder brother during
the darkest phases of his life - the drug scandal for instance – was
missing from the scene.

This sent the media and commentators in a tizzy, as Rahul and his
spokespersons found themselves struggling to deal with speculations
that Poonam, who is a BJP youth wing leader, wanted to stay away from
the reality drama.

After considerable effort, Mirror managed to speak to Poonam. “I am a
very private person, and for me, an event like a marriage is a private
affair.” However, Rahul’s ‘private affair’ was a high-voltage mega-TRP-
driven event with millions watching it live as it unfolded. When asked
why she didn’t join in the much-watched ceremony, Poonam defended, “I
am the kind of person who prefers to sit at home rather than make a
show out of things. I even keep my son’s birthday party as private as
possible. That’s how I am.”

Incidentally, Poonam was very much around when Rahul married his
childhood sweetheart Shweta in a private ceremony in 2006. They
divorced two years later.

Speaking about her own wedding which was a low-key affair, Poonam
said, “Ten years ago, I made a choice of getting married to the person
I wanted to. Now, Rahul has made his choice and being his sister
support him entirely.”

Rahul with his newly-wedded wife Dimpy Ganguly after the reality show
concluded

When asked if there are any differences within the Mahajan family over
Rahul’s choice and decision, Poonam said, “Rahul is my elder brother
and his decisions are totally his. I will be there for him just like
I’ve always been there for him, even during the tough times. I wish
him all the luck with this marriage. Together, we want to take forward
our father’s legacy by helping each other.”

Not just Poonam, missing from what was purported to be Rahul’s big day
was his uncle Gopinath Munde, BJP national general secretary and MP.
Munde has been constantly by the side of late BJP leader Pramod
Mahajan’s family since he was shot dead three years ago by younger
brother Pravin.

BJP sources said Munde along with national president Nitin Gadkari and
leader of state legislature Eknath Khadse were in Nashik for their
felicitation. “The felicitation programme was finalised few months ago
and Munde had accepted the invitation. In fact he made it a point to
attend the Nashik event as his absence at previous felicitation event
in Aurangabad was being blamed on intra party tussle with Gadkari,’’ a
party leader remarked.

But the speculations over Poonam’s absence refuse to die down. “Poonam
may have deliberately avoided not to attend the much publicised
wedding show for political reasons. She is keen to establish herself
politically and does not want to get embroiled in any controversy,’’
the source said.

http://www.mumbaimirror.com/article/15/201003082010030803124526953f94fde/I-don%E2%80%99t-want-to-make-a-show-of-it.html

Parties divided, but government determined to push women’s bill

PM says the Centre is moving towards providing one-third reservation
for women in the Lok Sabha and state legislatures

By PTI
Posted On Sunday, March 07, 2010 at 04:12:40 AM

New Delhi: Affirming his commitment to women’s empowerment, Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday said the Government is moving
towards providing one-third reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and
state legislatures.

Inaugurating the women’s leadership summit here, he said the
Government is committed to social, economic and political empowerment
of women, whatever effort and resources the task might take.

Minister of State (Independent Charge), Women and Child Development,
Krishna Tirath welcomes Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at the
inauguration of the Women’s Leadership Summit 2010

The Women’s Reservation Bill providing for 33 per cent reservation of
seats for women in Lok Sabha and state Assemblies is expected to come
up in the Rajya Sabha on Monday.

Observing that reservation for women in local bodies has
revolutionised governance at the grass-roots level, he said, “We hope
to give this movement of political participation of women further
fillip by increasing the number of seats reserved in Panchayats and
city and town governments to 50 per cent.

“More significantly we are moving towards providing one-third
reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and state legislatures," he
said.

UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, in a message read out by Women and Child
Development Minister Krishna Tirath, said women in the country have
broken glass ceilings but those in rural areas have not been able to
avail of many opportunities.

LS Speaker Meira Kumar said that though Indian tradition provides high
status to women by worshipping them as gods, the practise is reversed
in society.

The three-day summit being held as part of women's day celebrations
would be attended by women achievers from all fields.

JD-U divided

However, sharp divisions have emerged among the opponents of the Bill
with Bihar Chief Nitish Kumar supporting the measure, pitting himself
against his party President Sharad Yadav who is opposed to it.

SP also opposes

The Samajwadi Party, which opposes the Bill in its present form, on
Saturday said it will register its “protest” on Monday. The SP has
suggested reservation within reservation for OBC women, not more than
20 per cent.
BJP supports

Asserting that it was determined to ensure passage of the Bill, BJP
sought to make political capital on the issue by stating that since
the UPA coalition was in minority in the RS, the onus of getting it
adopted was with the main opposition.

BJP President Nitin Gadkari on Saturday convened an emergency meeting
of the party Core Group to discuss the Bill.

http://www.mumbaimirror.com/index.aspx?Page=article&sectname=News -
Nation&sectid=3&contentid=2010030720100307041240664ef9a81db

JD(U) Hints At Softening of Opposition to Women’s Bill

New Delhi, March 7 – With the numbers favouring the passage of the
women’s reservation bill in the Rajya Sabha Monday, the Janata Dal-
United (JD-U), a prominent party opposing it, Sunday indicated a
softening of its position.

JD-U chief whip in the Rajya Sabha Ali Anwar Ansari said the party
will consider the opinion of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar in
support of the bill, which seeks to reserve 33 percent seats for women
in parliament and state legislatures.

‘A meeting of JD-U MPs will be held at party president Sharad Yadav’s
residence Monday morning. We will take a unanimous decision,’ Ansari
told IANS.

The JD-U has not issued a whip to its MPs to either support or oppose
the bill.

Ansari said the bill is expected to be passed by the upper house of
parliament and ‘there is no point of opposing it for the sake of
opposition’.

‘We are taking the opinion of all our members and a decision will be
taken,’ he said.

Ansari, who spoke to both Yadav and Nitish Kumar Sunday, ruled out the
possibility of the party abstaining from the vote on the bill.

Nitish Kumar, who will lead the JD-U charge in campaign for Bihar
assembly elections later this year, Saturday spoke in favour of the
bill.

With more and more parties coming out in favour of the legislation,
the Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) remained
its only two vocal opponents. Both parties are demanding quotas for
backward classes and minorities within 33 per cent reservation for
women. While the SP has 11 members in the Rajya Sabha, the RJD has
four.

The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), which has 12 members in the upper
house, has not opened its cards yet with regards to the bill.

For the bill to be passed, it has to be supported by two-thirds of
those present and voting. This figure should also be at least 50
percent of the total number of members in the house.

With an effective strength of 233, the Constitution (108th Amendment
Bill), 2008, needs support of 155 members in the Rajya Sabha if all
the members are present.

While the combined strength of the Congress, Bharatiya Janata Party
(BJP) and the Left – three main supporters of the bill – comes to 138
in the upper house, many other parties, including the DMK, AIADMK,
Biju Janata Dal, National Conference, Nationalist Congress Party and
Shiromani Akali Dal have expressed their support for the path-breaking
legislation.

With the ruling Congress having timed the consideration of the bill
with the International Women’s Day and party president Sonia Gandhi
making a strong pitch for its passage, the BJP too has joined the race
to claim credit.

BJP president Nitin Gadkari, who appealed to all parties to support
the bill, said the party was conscious that the ruling coalition was
in minority in the Rajya Sabha. He said the National Democratic
Alliance (NDA) government had first moved the bill in parliament.

The Constitution (108th Amendment Bill), 2008, provides for
reservation of one-third seats in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies
for 15 years from the date of commencement of the Act on rotation
basis.

The proposal to provide such reservation to women has been pending for
the last 13 years due to lack of political consensus.

Posted by Vamban on Mar 7, 2010 @ 6:00 PM

http://www.vamban.com/jdu-hints-at-softening-of-opposition-to-womens-bill/

chhotemianinshallah

unread,

Mar 8, 2010, 11:45:45 AM3/8/10

COLUMN

Between despair and hope
PRAFUL BIDWAI

The Rae Bareli court's discharge of L.K. Advani in the Ayodhya
demolition case is a mockery of justice, but the Supreme Court's
intervention in the Best Bakery matter revives hopes that the Indian
legal system might prevail in bringing the perpetrators of communal
hate crimes to book.

THE waywardness of India's police and justice delivery systems has few
parallels when it comes to punishing communal offences and hate
crimes. What began as a devious process of manipulation of the first
information reports in the Babri mosque demolition case, and the
totally illegitimate dropping of conspiracy charges against the
principal accused, turned into a grotesque parody of justice on
September 19 when the Special Court of Magistrate Vinay Kumar Singh in
Rae Bareli framed charges against seven persons, including Murli
Manohar Joshi, Uma Bharati, Vinay Katiyar and other Vishwa Hindu
Parishad leaders, but discharged Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani.
Advani is the man who spearheaded, planned and ideologically inspired
the raucous agitation that led to the razing of the mosque on December
6, 1992.

Precisely what charges are framed against the remaining seven will be
only known on October 10. The list of offences filed by the CBI under
the Indian Penal Code (IPC) is not long: Section 147 (rioting), 149
(committing a crime), 153A and 153B (spreading communal hatred) and
505 (creating ill will). But it is clear that the indictment will not
include the all-important charge of criminal conspiracy, nor offences
under Sections 295 and 295A of the IPC (defiling places of worship and
indulging in acts intended to outrage the religious feelings of any
class).

Thus, the perpetrators of one of the worst hate crimes in India's
history - who pulled down a monument which had become a symbol of
pluralism - will not even stand trial for destroying a mosque and
exploiting communal hatred, which they so clearly did.

This is bad enough. What is downright outrageous is that Advani, who
was the most important leader of the anti-Babri movement which the BJP
took over in the late 1980s, and who conducted the infamous Somnath-to-
Ayodhya rath yatra and played a direct, preponderant role in the
events leading to December 6, has been let off the hook. The
ostensible reason made public for this is the curious argument that
the CBI cited two conflicting testimonies, one of which claimed that
Advani tried to calm down the restive crowd (while the other said he
did nothing to restrain leaders like Uma Bharati and Sadhvi
Ritambhara, with whom he shared the dais who made extremely
inflammatory speeches).

Basing himself on this claimed contradiction, the Magistrate gave
Advani the "benefit of the doubt". Strangely, he cited the Supreme
Court's ruling in the Praful Kumar Samal case, that if the scales of
evidence presented against the accused during a trial are "even" then
that is a fit ground for acquittal. This conforms to the canonical
rule that a person must be considered innocent until proved guilty.

Logically, this rationale can come into effect only at the conclusion
of a trial, not before it, at the stage of framing charges. It does
not stand to reason that a person against whom there is weighty prima
facie evidence should be simply let off. The Supreme Court had said:
"If an element of grave suspicion is there and the accused has
explained the doubts then he can be discharged." Advani manifestly did
not explain away any "doubts".

The Magistrate has erred in exonerating Advani. Independent
investigations have turned up overwhelming evidence of Advani's
pivotal role in the processes and events that led to the demolition,
including the happenings of December 6. The Citizens' Tribunal on
Ayodhya, comprising Justices O. Chinappa Reddy, D.A. Desai and D.S.
Tewatia documented Advani's role at length in its Report of the
Inquiry Commission (July 1993) and in the Judgement and
Recommendations (December 1993), both published by the Tribunal (K-14
Green Park Extension, New Delhi 110016).

These show that Advani was central to the build-up to the events of
December 1992 - from numerous kar sevas, the 1990 rath yatra, and
manipulation of the State government (then under the BJP's Kalyan
Singh), to misleading the courts, and organising crucial coordination
meetings of the Sangh combine. The intention to raze the mosque was
repeatedly and unambiguously stressed during these events. The very
purpose of the rath yatra was to kindle "Hindu pride" and "get even"
with history - of "conquest and humiliation" of the Hindus by
"foreigners". The main slogans of the yatra were provocative: "there
are only two places for Muslims - Pakistan or kabristan
(graveyard))".

The Inquiry Commission recorded detailed testimony of eyewitnesses to
show that plans for December 6 were launched by the BJP-VHP-Bajrang
Dal with a lalkar saptah starting November 29. By December 2, 90,000
kar sevaks had gathered at Ayodhya. By December 3, they numbered
150,000. On December 5, Advani addressed a public meeting in Lucknow
and was to go to Varanasi, reaching Ayodhya/Faizabad on December 5.
He, however, altered his plans so as to reach Faizabad to join an all-
important closed-door meeting at Vinay Katiyar's house, where the
ultimate, detailed, nuts-and-bolts plans for December 6 were
finalised.

Among those present were the RSS' H.V. Seshadri and K.S. Sudershan,
the VHP's Ashok Singhal, Vinay Katiyar and Acharya Dharmendra, the
Shiv Sena's Moreshwar Save, and the BJP's Pramod Mahajan. Meanwhile, a
rehearsal of the demolition operation took place the same day near the
Babri mosque.

According to the Commission, on December 6, Advani arrived at the site
at the same time as Joshi (10-30 a.m.). He, among others, addressed
the kar sevaks. His speech was intemperate. Meanwhile, some kar sevaks
had breached the security cordon and were in a highly excited state.
At 11-30 a.m., Uma Bharati made a highly inflammatory speech,
including slogans "tel lagao Dabar ka, naam mitao Babar ka", "Katue
kate jayenge, Ram-Ram chillayenge", and so on.

At 11-45, Advani reportedly announced, "We don't need bulldozers to
pull down the mosque; [we can do it manually by removing chunks of its
wall]". The assault on the mosque began. Advani then ensured that the
demolition would continue and be completed without the intervention of
Central paramilitary forces stationed nearby. At 3-15 p.m., he urged
kar sevaks "to block all entry points to Ayodhya to prevent Central
forces from entering, and warned the armed forces not to touch the kar
sevaks." The eight accused were present at the site for a full seven
hours and made no gesture to distance themselves from the destructive
and illegal actions of the day.

The December 6 events were videographed and photographed by numerous
journalists, by Indian and foreign TV channels and, above all, by the
Intelligence Bureau, which reportedly has nine hours of tapes.
(Curiously, the CBI did not present all of these to the special
court).

Yet, the Sangh Parivar has launched a disinformation campaign which
claims that Advani did his best to restrain the kar sevaks and shed
tears at the demolition! It is relevant to ask if these were tears of
sorrow or of joy: Advani has consistently described the anti-Babri
agitation as a "national" movement for Hindu self-assertion, which
finally removed what he called the "ocular" insult in the form of the
mosque.

The disinformation and evasion of responsibility speaks of monumental
cowardice on the part of Advani & Co. They revelled in the
destruction, and hugged one another in exultation and mutual
congratulation.

The BJP rode to political power at the Centre on the anti-Babri Masjid
movement. In all honesty, its leaders must face trial and declare
either that they stand by their role or that they regret and repent it
and apologise. They cannot both take credit for the act and attribute
its planning and execution to mysterious, unknown and unknowable
forces - as Sangh ideologue K.R. Malkani once did, by blaming the
CIA.

There was a clearly identifiable human agency behind December 6: the
BJP-VHP-RSS-Bajrang Dal-Shiv Sena's top leadership, including Advani
and Joshi. But cowardice is a Sangh characteristic. Following Gandhi's
assassination, the RSS was banned. Thousands of its members quickly
stopped participating in its activities and claimed they were never
its members.

The Rae Bareli order is odious. But Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister
Mulayam Singh Yadav has decided not to appeal against it - on the
grounds that "I am a firm believer in the judiciary and of the view
that the court verdict on Ayodhya should be acceptable to all ... I
welcome the court's decision and have nothing more to say ... " Amar
Singh has gone even further to say that the government cannot appeal
against it. This strengthens the suspicions of a secret collusive deal
between the BJP and the Samajwadi Party. Mulayam Singh Yadav has
decided to accept the BJP's Kesarinath Tripathi as Speaker and not to
poach on the party's MLAs. This makes the whole matter all the more
sordid. It sets back hopes of a just trial and further shakes the
public's confidence in India's justice delivery system.

IN contrast to this comes the Supreme Court's intervention in the Best
Bakery case. Through two hearings on September 12 and 19, the court
effectively began piloting and guiding the Gujarat government in its
handling of the consequences of a "fast-track" special court's
judgment exonerating all the accused for the burning of 14 Muslims.
While questioning Gujarat's Chief Secretary and Director-General of
Police directly, Chief Justice V.N. Khare obtained an assurance that
Gujarat's Advocate-General would now take full charge of the matter.
He would redraft the appeal against the "fast-track" court verdict.

The Supreme Court tried to establish three things: the Best Bakery
investigation was faulty because 37 of the 43 witnesses turned
hostile; there was miscarriage of justice; and there is a case for re-
trial of the accused outside Gujarat. The Gujarat government did admit
that there was miscarriage of justice and there is a case for re-trial
(although that should not be outside Gujarat). It also claimed the
investigation was not faulty. However, the Supreme Court asked it to
file an affidavit on October 9 to say on what lines its appeal would
be drafted. This suggests close supervision or stewardship of the
process of litigation.

Welcome as this intervention is, the Court needs to go beyond the Best
Bakery case and look at the horrendous crimes committed during the
Gujarat pogrom in their totality. Crimes Against Humanity, the report
of the Concerned Citizens' Tribunal, comprising eminent jurists and
scholars, concluded, after examining 2,094 statements and 1,500
witnesses, that the pogrom that lasted several weeks amounted to
genocide in the strict sense of the term. The pattern of violence
shows: selective targeting of Muslims, inhuman forms of brutality,
military precision and planning, and use of Hindu religious symbols.
This was planned, sustained and prolonged through hate speech,
intimidation and terror by the RSS, the BJP and the VHP-Bajrang Dal,
with the complicity and participation of policemen and bureaucrats,
encouraged by Narendra Modi.

It is clear that Muslims were targeted not because they did this or
that act, but simply because they were Muslims. The killer mobs'
declared intention, as revealed by their own slogans, was to
liquidate, mentally harm, humiliate and subjugate Muslims and "destroy
them", "wipe them out from Gujarat", and cleanse the state of Islam.
The physical violence directed against Muslims, the calculated
destruction of the economic basis of their survival, and sexual
assaults against Muslim women as an instrument of terror, all point to
genocide.

Article II of the International Convention on Genocide, 1948 defines
genocide as "any of the following acts committed with intent to
destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or
religious group" like: "(a) killing [its] members; (b) causing [them]
serious bodily or mental harm; (c) deliberately inflicting on the
group conditions ... calculated to bring about its physical
destruction... ; (d) imposing measures intended to prevent births
within the group; (e) forcibly transferring [its] children ... to
another group."

The Gujarat pogrom unambiguously fits the definition. As a signatory
to the Convention, India is obliged to punish the perpetrators of
genocide through a competent court. This demands a special independent
National Tribunal for hate crimes and genocide. This alone can meet
the ends of justice.

For this to happen, we must see the numerous cases of violence not as
discrete acts, but in their totality as genocide. This sui generis
process of litigation will need special agencies for investigation and
prosecution as well as victim protection. It would be a historic
tragedy if the Indian state once again fails to bring the perpetrators
of hate crimes to book.

Volume 20 - Issue 20, September 27 - October 10, 2003
India's National Magazine
from the publishers of THE HINDU

http://www.flonnet.com/fl2020/stories/20031010005312500.htm

India's National Magazine
From the publishers of THE HINDU
Vol. 16 :: No. 04 :: Feb. 13 - 26, 1999

COVER STORY
A bitter aftermath

The pattern set in the aftermath of the Staines killing shows that
there are enough voices in positions of authority willing to justify
heinous crimes committed in the name of religion.

SUKUMAR MURALIDHARAN

SENSITIVITY to public opinion was at a premium in the aftermath of the
grisly murder of Australian missionary Graham Stewart Staines and his
two young boys by a lynch mob in Orissa on January 23. Union Home
Minister L.K. Advani put on record his strong condemnation of the
event, as did Minister for External Affairs Jaswant Singh, the latter
describing it as a "crime against humanity". But for each such
concession to the demands of rectitude, there was a gesture that
tended to work to the contrary purpose. One such act was Advani's
preemptive exculpation of the Bajrang Dal - his claim that he had
authoritative information that the organisation was not involved in
the crime. Another was BJP president Kushabhau Thakre's assertion that
Christian missionaries were inviting trouble through their activities.
He said: "I appeal to the missionaries that they are sitting on a
stack of hay. They better be careful."

Thakre's remarks conformed to a pattern of morally dubious conduct by
the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and its affiliate organisations
after the Staines murder. In what could only be construed as a gross
act of dishonouring the dead, Vishwa Hindu Parishad vice-president
Giriraj Kishore asserted that the work of Graham Staines amidst
leprosy sufferers was a facade, since there were no such people within
a wide radius of where he lived and worked. As an intervention in an
emotionally fraught situation, this was only slightly less coarse than
that of Hindu Jagran Manch's Orissa unit president Subhash Chouhan. He
said that Graham Staines was killed because he was engaged in
proselytisation. The pattern set in the aftermath of the killing was
very clear. Adherents to the RSS worldview who happen to be in the
Government felt obliged to issue deprecatory noises. But those outside
the Government felt few such restraints.

EASTERN PRESS AGENCY
Australian Christian missionary Graham Stewart Staines with wife
Glade and children Philip, Esther and Timothy, in a picture from the
family album.

A three-member team of Cabinet Ministers visited the site of the
murder as part of the Government's crisis management strategy. Prior
to his departure to the spot, Union Minister for Steel and Mines
Naveen Patnaik made it clear that he looked at the event through the
miasma of his antagonism to the Orissa unit of the Congress(I).
Defence Minister George Fernandes and Human Resource Development
Minister Murli Manohar Joshi chose a strategy of prudence in advance
of their visit - the former because he is a key member of the BJP-led
Government's crisis management effort and the latter because of his
well-advertised proximity to hardline elements in the RSS.

The ministerial trio spent one hour at the scene of the crime. On its
return to Delhi, the team issued a statement which ascribed
responsibility for the crime to an "international conspiracy" by
"forces which would like this Government to go". If this effectively
ruled out the culpability of the Sangh Parivar and its affiliates, the
team also urged that a judicial commission of inquiry be constituted
to look into the murder in order to uncover the conspiracy.

Shortly afterwards the Government announced, on the advice of the
Chief Justice of India, that a sitting Judge of the Supreme Court,
Justice D.P. Wadhwa, had been appointed as a one-man commission of
inquiry into the Staines killing. Union Minister for Information and
Broadcasting and Cabinet spokesman Pramod Mahajan said that the
inquiry report would be completed by April, so that it could be placed
in Parliament in its next session.

The Director-General for Investigations in the National Human Rights
Commission, D.R. Karthikeyan, visited the scene of the crime. His
report is expected to be submitted by the middle of February, though
with the appointment of the judicial commission it could become an
input for the broader inquiry. Certain suggestions that he made in the
context of the local police investigation, such as entrusting it to
the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the State police and
putting an officer of the rank of Superintendent in charge of it, have
been accepted.

A two-member team from the National Commission on Minorities
comprising James Massey and N. Neminath also went to the site. Its
report is also expected to be an important input into the inquiries of
the judicial commission.

AP
During their visit to Manoharpur village in Orissa a few days after
the murder of Graham Stewart Staines and his sons, members of the
Cabinet team, Defence Minister George Fernandes, Human Resource
Development Minister Murli Manohar Joshi and Minister for Steel and
Mines Naveen Patnaik, make inquiries.

IN the midst of these exertions, the ambivalence of official
utterances continues to cause disquiet. It is well known that the
Bajrang Dal - as in the case of most organisations in the RSS
constellation - does not maintain membership rolls. Established in
1984, just when the Ram Janmabhoomi movement was beginning to take
shape in the strategies of the RSS, the Bajrang Dal honed its
agitational and inflammatory skills in the lethal campaign to bring
down the mosque in Ayodhya. The slogans it crafted as part of this
campaign still ring with menace and were often chanted by the riotous
mobs which took a heavy toll of human life during the six years
leading up to the demolition.

Many modern legal systems have a category of offence known as "hate
speech". Slogans and declamations that tend to engender a sense of
antipathy towards any group of people are an offence in themselves.
And if they are issued in close temporal or spatial connection with
actual incidents of violence against these groups, a direct
association is drawn. The onus is then on those who raise the
inflammatory slogans to prove that there is no connection with the
actual act of violence.

By this reasonable benchmark, the BJP spokesmen who have, at every
juncture since the cycle of anti-Christian violence began, exerted
themselves in the cause of strife rather than harmony bear a share of
the blame for the Staines killing. And their conspicuous lack of
remorse after the event has certainly contributed to the sustenance of
an atmosphere of violence. This has been most recently exemplified in
the alleged gang-rape of a Catholic nun on February 3 in Mayurbhanj
district in Orissa. Heinous crimes have been justified by the supposed
sense of rage at the incursions of alien religions into what is deemed
to be Hindu territory. For the BJP leaders who today represent
governmental authority, this has concurrently become an alibi for a
complete abdication of responsibility.

http://www.flonnet.com/fl1604/16040220.htm

Volume 24 - Issue 08 :: Apr. 21-May. 04, 2007
INDIA'S NATIONAL MAGAZINE
from the publishers of THE HINDU

COLUMN

Politics of intimidation
PRAFUL BIDWAI

The Bharatiya Janata Party is trying to browbeat the Election
Commission and its critics on the anti-Muslim CD issue.

SUBIR ROY

BJP State president Kesri Nath Tripathi with senior leader Lalji
Tandon in Lucknow on March 30.

NO Indian political formation can even remotely match the Bharatiya
Janata Party (BJP) when it comes to violating norms of political
decency, defying the law, and pursuing an outrageously divisive and
sectarian agenda. The latest instance is its release on April 3 of a
viciously anti-Muslim compact disc (CD) entitled Bharat ki Pukar (the
call of India) as part of its campaign material for the Uttar Pradesh
Assembly elections.

The BJP has disowned the CD and feigned ignorance of how it got to be
commissioned, written, approved and released — without sincerely
apologising for it. Worse, it has tried to turn the tables on a
constitutional authority, the Election Commission, as well as its
political opponents. It has also used threats and intimidation to
resist reasonable pressure to play by the ground rules of electoral
politics.

Even more disgracefully for the Indian political system, the BJP has
for all practical purposes got away with its offensive conduct. As
this is being written, during the third round of polling in the seven-
phase U.P. elections, it seems highly unlikely that the BJP will be
made to pay politically for its defiance of the prohibition against
using hate speech to win votes, itself a crime against democracy.

The Election Commission issued the BJP a notice asking the party to
explain why it should not be punished under the Representation of the
People Act, 1951 and its Model Code of Conduct, which was in force
when the CD was released. But the BJP, true to type, launched a
counter-offensive and tried to divert attention from this central
issue by demanding that Naveen Chawla, one of the Election
Commissioners, recuse himself from hearing its case. It took this
secondary issue to the Supreme Court on April 13, which has deferred
its hearing to May 8.

Regrettably, the BJP has thus succeeded in getting any resolution of
the issues raised by the CD postponed until it ceases to matter for
the all-important election campaign in U.P.

Now, it can hardly be disputed that the CD is flagrantly anti-Muslim.
It perversely portrays all Muslims as anti-Hindu and anti-national.
They are depicted as duplicitous devils: they trick Hindus into
selling them cows by pretending they will look after them, only to
butcher them in a gory way. They oppress their own women and turn them
into mere reproductive machines - so as to change India's demographic
balance.

The CD shows Muslim men abducting innocent Hindu girls and eloping
with them - only to convert them forcibly. (The effect of this was
reinforced in real life by the systematic hounding of mixed couples
from Bhopal and elsewhere, and by orchestrated "protests" against
their marriage, including a typical Hindutva-style attack on a Star
News studio in Mumbai.)

The CD was clearly calculated to incite hatred against a religious
community, divide citizens, and provoke a militant reaction - probably
with a view to triggering a Hindu-communal backlash. There is nothing
vague or unambiguous of its purpose: it is to win votes in U.P., where
the BJP faces a double-or-nothing prospect.

It simply will not do for the BJP to pretend that the CD was
unauthorised and produced by a junior-level "worker" without prior
approval by the party's top leaders, including Lalji Tandon and State
unit president Kesri Nath Tripathi. According to Virendra Singh,
director of the Bulandshehr-based Fakira Films, which produced the CD,
the State BJP leadership was consulted "at every stage of the writing
of the CD" and whenever the script was "modified... and fine-tuned...
" This stands to reason. Withdrawing the CD cannot mitigate the
original offence because the disc is in circulation and has been
viewed by large numbers of people - in excerpts aired on television,
as well as original copies.

V.V. KRISHNAN

The controversial CD.

Prima facie, there is an irrefutable case against the BJP for
violating the election law in a depraved manner and for offending
Sections of the Indian Penal Code that pertain to spreading hatred
against a particular group or using appeals to religious identity and
which prohibit and punish the use of inflammatory communal material.

The Election Commission was not only right to issue a notice to the
BJP, it was duty-bound to act against it. Logically, such action can
take many forms: publicly reprimanding the BJP, imposing a hefty fine,
and derecognising it at least so far as the use of the lotus symbol is
concerned. The E.C. is not merely meant to disqualify a candidate in
retrospect for communal propaganda. Article 324 of the Constitution
gives it a broad mandate, which includes preventing, precluding and
punishing the use of such propaganda during elections.

The "retrospective" argument just does not stand up to scrutiny. The
E.C.'s core job is to do all it can to prohibit effectively the use of
unfair electoral practices. That is why it is empowered to requisition
police and paramilitary forces, transfer and appoint civil servants,
and set rules for the conduct of the electoral process in its minutest
details.

Implicit in, and central to, the E.C.'s function as a statutory
authority is preventive and pre-emptive action so as to guard the
sanctity of elections. To use an analogy, its principal task is not to
punish arsonists but to prevent fires, which vitiate the selection of
the people's representatives - a process vital and indispensable to
democracy. The E.C. would be perfectly within its powers to demand an
explicit, binding commitment from any political party that it will not
use communal means of canvassing electoral support, a breach of which
would automatically entail disqualification and derecognition.

The case for doing so is especially strong because only last December,
the BJP officially released a CD similar to the April avatar. This was
done during its National Council meeting in Lucknow, where the CD
featured as part of the press kit. The BJP fully owns and stands by
this CD. It cannot claim innocence about its cousin/derivative.

It has since produced equally obnoxious advertisements questioning the
patriotic intentions of Muslims through the caption: Kya inka irada
Pak hai? (Are their intentions pure). Several of its top leaders,
including its chief ministerial candidate Kalyan Singh, have publicly
defended their content as "truthful".

The plain truth is that the BJP has tried to browbeat its opponents -
by raising a diversionary issue and by resorting to the melodramatic
(but mercifully aborted) tactic of courting arrest and launching a
self-righteous protest agitation against the E.C.'s notice. (It is
another matter that it also put up a dummy candidate in Tandon's
constituency - his own son - in case the U.P. BJP's topmost leader
faces punitive action.)

This is not the first time that the BJP has resorted to bluff and
bluster, by threatening a "mass agitation", by pretending that any
E.C. action against it would amount to an "electoral emergency", and
by creating a climate of fear. This is a familiar tactic. It takes
recourse to majoritarianism and arouses concern that should a Hindutva
force be even brought to book, the consequences in the form of
disruption of order would be unacceptable.

The BJP did exactly this after the Babri Masjid was demolished in
December 1992, when it prevailed upon the Centre to allow the patently
illegal makeshift Ram-Lala temple built on its rubble to remain.
Indeed, even before that ghastly episode, our courts were reluctant to
take pre-emptive action except of a tokenist variety against it. So
was the government, which retreated each time the BJP adopted an
aggressive posture.

Here too, the fear of a "majoritarian backlash" trumped all
considerations of constitutional propriety, defence of secularism and
plain legality. Since December 1992, no government has dared to assert
the law of the land. Nor have the demolition's planners and
perpetrators been brought to book.

A similar fear gripped the Establishment after the Gujarat pogrom. The
Centre failed to dismiss the BJP-ruled State government although it
had caused, and continued to preside over, a total breakdown of all
constitutional order: even High Court judges and senior police
officers had to flee their homes in fear. The Opposition too failed to
mount enough pressure on the Centre to impose President's Rule, for
which there has never been, and could not have been, a fitter case.

Worse, elections were allowed to be held while a whole community had
been terrorised, democratic governance had collapsed, and free and
fair canvassing, polling and exercise of rational choices had become
impossible — given the continuing harassment and intimidation of
Muslims, inflamed Hindu-communal sentiments, the BJP-VHP's (Vishwa
Hindu Parishad) goonda raj, and the prevalence of a generalised
climate of fear.

All that the E.C.'s initial and salutary intervention in Gujarat
resulted in was postponement of the elections by a few months - when
the obvious remedy was President's Rule, followed by full return to
normalcy and systematic prosecution of the pogrom's perpetrators. The
Supreme Court's off-the-cuff pronouncements indicating its opposition
to deferring elections did not help.

S. SUBRAMANIUM

Chief Election Commissioner N. Gopalaswami flanked by Election
Commissioners S.Y. Quraishi and Naveen Chawla, in New Delhi.

The Establishment, in effect, has repeatedly permitted the BJP to hold
and exercise a veto over vital political processes, exercise of police
and prosecution powers, and the running of the administration in
crisis situations such that it would be suborned by the forces of
Hindu communalism.

This does not argue that the Indian government/Establishment has
turned actively communal over the years, only that it has made
deplorable compromises with Hindu communalists or passively accepted
that they deserve to be treated differently from other communalists,
as well as secularists. It is both noteworthy and shameful that the
worst abuses of freedom and the most ferocious attacks on democracy,
secularism and the rule of law in India's recent history have occurred
in situations where Hindu communalism was ascendant or rampant.

Similarly, the Establishment has allowed the BJP and its associates
virtual veto power on a number of policies, especially those
pertaining to religion and politics, to Kashmir, to relations with
Pakistan and other neighbours, and to defence and national security.
BJP leaders have arrogantly begun to assert such "primacy". Three
years ago, L.K. Advani claimed: "The BJP alone can find solutions to
our problems with Pakistan because Hindus will never think whatever we
have done is a sell-out."

The underlying assumption seems to be that by virtue of being
majoritarian or Hindu-communal, the BJP or the Sangh Parivar is a more
authentic representative of Indian opinion than other political
currents or parties. Nothing could be more false. Looked at
historically, the BJP has been a minority current in Indian politics
until the 1990s. Even at its peak, it has never commanded more than a
quarter of the national vote.

Even more important, the assumption is dangerously misguided and
unbecoming of a society and state that aspires to be secular by
drawing a line of basic demarcation between religion and politics. It
simply cannot accord primacy to a particular religious group by virtue
of its large numbers.

This situation must be remedied. That can only happen when progressive
political opinion and civil society pressure is mounted on the
Establishment so that it stands up to the bullying tactics of the
majoritarian communalists. One must hope that the E.C. will set a
positive example in the CD case.

http://www.flonnet.com/fl2408/stories/20070504002810800.htm

Volume 17 - Issue 13, June 24 - July 07, 2000
India's National Magazine
from the publishers of THE HINDU

COMMUNALISM

An assault on Christians

Emboldened by the weak response of governments to attacks against
Christian places of worship, the affiliates of the Sangh Parivar
unleash a new wave of terror against the community.

PARVATHI MENON
in Bangalore

EVER since the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance
government assumed power at the Centre, there has been a low-intensity
war against Christians in India, especially nuns and priests, by
groups and organisations loyal to the Sangh Par ivar. A wave of
attacks against Christian evangelists and places of worship through
1998 culminated in the murder of the Australian missionary Graham
Staines and his two sons on January 23, 1999. Dara Singh, a Hindutva
fanatic with links to the Sangh Par ivar, has been arrested in that
connection. A second wave of terror against Christian missionaries,
that extends now to the States of Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab and
Andhra Pradesh, has culminated this June in a series of bomb blasts in
churches in Ka rnataka, Goa and Andhra Pradesh.

SHERWIN CRASTO/AP
During a peace march in Mumbai on June 17, Christian priests carry a
portrait of Brother George Kuzhikandam, who was bludgeoned to death in
Mathura.

The bombs that went off in churches in the towns of Vasco in Goa, Wadi
in Karnataka, and Ongole and Tadepalligudem in Andhra Pradesh, point
to a qualitatively new phase in the campaign of organised violence
against Christians in the country. Although the identity of the forces
behind the blasts is yet to be established, the nature of the attacks,
their target and timing, point the finger of suspicion at the Sangh
Parivar. In fact, the month of May alone saw two bomb attacks in
Andhra Pradesh; the first in Machlipatnam where 30 persons were
injured in a bomb blast at a prayer meeting on May 21, and another in
Vikarabad where an explosive device planted in a church was
fortunately defused in time. The simultaneous bomb blasts in the four
towns suggest th at the perpetrators have been emboldened by what has
been seen as a weak and non-serious state response to the terror
campaign so far.

At 6 a.m. on June 8, a bomb exploded on the precincts of the St. Ann
Catholic Church in the industrial town of Wadi in Gulbarga, shattering
glass panes. A second blast occurred at 9 a.m. after the police had
reached the spot, surveyed the area and recove red residual material
of the earlier blast. When a car parked in the church precincts was
moved, a tin box was found protruding from the ground. But it exploded
before the bomb disposal squad could defuse it. One person was injured
in the blast. Wadi has a Christian population of about 80 families.

Around the same time a blast at the St. Andrews Church in Vasco in
south Goa shattered windowpanes and twisted grills out of shape. At
8-15 a.m. that day, the Gewett Memorial Baptist Church in Ongole was
the scene of a bomb blast which because it took pl ace after the
morning service, only injured three persons. A bomb went off at the
Mother Vannini Catholic Church at Tadepalligudem in West Godavari
district, around the same time.

The police have already established certain significant facts with
regard to the blasts. "We are now certain that the same group of
conspirators were behind all the three blasts," C. Dinakaran, Director-
General of Police, Karnataka, told Frontline . In all the cases, he
said, the timing device and the detonators used were of the same type.
While in Andhra Pradesh the explosive had a plastic casing, in Goa and
Karnataka the explosives were encased in tin. The bombs were placed,
in all the cases, ne ar the gates or windows of the church. Gelatine,
an explosive commonly used for blasting in the stone quarries and
cement factories of Gulbarga in Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh was the
raw material used. "The other significant fact is that all the towns
have railway stations and we suspect that this may have determined the
choice of place. The conspirators possibly took trains from one place
to another," said Dinakaran.

K. RAMESH BABU
Inside the Mother Vannini Catholic Church at Tadepalligudem in West
Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh which was damaged in a bomb blast
on June 8.

THE serial blast mark a new phase in the continuing two-year-long
violence against the Christian community in the country. The fact of a
conspiracy is now clearly established. This points not only to careful
and coordinated planning, but also to new leve ls and strategies of
planned violence suggestive of a deadly seriousness of purpose. No
longer need mobs be mobilised in the destruction of places of
Christian worship as in the past. The terrorism of the bomb gives the
criminal a degree of invisibility, and widens the range of attack. The
serial bombs were in the nature of a message of intimidation, not just
to those who work for Christian organisations but to Church
congregations, from prayer meetings to Sunday school gatherings. With
the perpetrators of the crime distanced from the scene of the crime,
it is much easier for a compliant state machinery to give them
protection. The fear of indiscriminate strikes anywhere and at any
time has already created a sense of panic amongst Christians. After
all , ifa bomb can be planted in a town as innocuous as Wadi, it could
happen anywhere in the country.

"I read in all this a pattern of violence. These were similar
explosive devices that were used, " Fr. Dr.H.R. Donald De Souza,
deputy secretary-general of the Catholic Bishops Conference of India
told Frontline. "We suspect an organised movement b y fundamentalist
groups who have been emboldened by the inaction of the government," he
added.

The serial blasts give the lie to the theory of 'secular violence'
that the BJP and the government it heads have put out regarding the
recent attacks on minorities in different parts of the country.
Despite evidence to the contrary, the government held t hat the
innumerable acts of violence against members of the Christian
community, in Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and elsewhere, was not communally
motivated but were incidents of "dacoity and loot" by "criminal
gangs".

According to the United Christian Forum for Human Rights (UCFHR),
there have been 35 recorded anti-Christian crimes between January and
June this year. The most recent of these was the murder of Brother
George Kuzhikandam, who was bludgeoned to death in the Paulus Memorial
School in Navada, Mathura, in U.P. on June 7. Within days of this
incident, a group of nuns were attacked in Mathura by a couple of
scooter-borne assailants. In the case of George Kuzhikandam, U.P.
Chief Minister Ram Prakash Gupta ins isted that money was the motive
behind the murder. "The BJP and the State government reach conclusions
even before the police start investigation," John Dayal, national
convener of the UCFHR said. "Why would a gang of thugs choose to kill
a poor priest i n his school during the holidays ? Or attack nuns who
run a convent school that charges the lowest fees in the area?" Dayal
said that the U.P. Police had promised to post police units at
Christian institutions but these were soon withdrawn. "A police out
post was stationed at the nuns' ashram in Agra. They proved more of a
nuisance as they insisted on being fed and looked after, and were in
any case taken off duty a few days later!" The U.P. government's stand
on the attacks received support from an unexpected quarter. The
National Minorities Commission (NMC) sent an investigative team to the
Agra-Mathura region and its report upheld the official view that the
cases of physical viol ence and murder were committed by anti-social
elements. "The NMC report was prepared by nominees of the present
government. So it is not surprising that they arrived at the
conclusion they did,"said Fr. Donald De Souza. "A group of Christian
parliamentar ians led by P.C. Thomas conducted another enquiry and on
the basis of the same evidence wholly disagreed with the NMC report,"
he added.

THE BJP responded to the serial blasts even before the government did.
While the Home Ministry "waited for reports from the States," the BJP
announced that the blasts were the handiwork of Pakistan's Inter-
Services Intelligence (ISI), which, it said, is bent on fomenting
hatred between Hindus and Christians in the country. Prime Minister
Atal Behari Vajpayee had no information to give as to what action the
State governments had taken when a delegation from the UCFHR called on
him three days after the bl ast. By then police investigations could
not establish any ISI involvement.

K. RAMESH BABU
The facade of the church.

Preliminary investigations into the blasts appear to discount the
theory of ISI involvement. "We cannot rule out anything," said DGP
Dinakaran. "But if an organisation as well-funded as the ISI is
involved, we expect they would use more sophisticated bom bs. Why must
they depend on gelatine and not the more expensive and deadly RDX
(research department explosive)?"

Christian leaders attach importance to the proliferation of hate-
literature that has provided the fuel for the attacks, and which also
provides evidence, for a law enforcing agency that wishes to use such
evidence, of who is behind the violence. Hate-lit erature is freely
printed and distributed in States where the Sangh Parivar is active,
and in States where the BJP is in government or is an ally of the
government, as in Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh. Most hate-pamphlets do
not carry the name of an organis ation that has an address. For
example, there are pamphlets signed by the 'Hindu Jagaran Manch,
Kashi', or by 'Supporters of Dara Singh, the God Who Descended from
Heaven'. While some of the books are directly incendiary, others come
in the garb of work s of historical 'research', and yet others are
books/pamphlets on how to harass Christian missionaries in order to
prevent them from proselytising. For example, a booklet published in
Gujarat suggests that one way to prevent missionaries from working is
to foist false cases on them so that they are always tied up in the
courts.

These are faceless, addressless, front organisations of the Sangh
Parivar. If the law enforcing mechanism is slow in apprehending the
culprits in an attack of communally motivated violence, it is even
slower in tracing and taking action against the print ers and peddlers
of hate-literature. The environment in all the three States where the
serial blasts occurred has been vitiated by the activities of the
Sangh Parivar. "We are alarmed at the statements of important people
in the RSS (Rashtriya Swayamseva k Sangh) and the BJP, such as B.K.
Modi and Ashok Singhal, who have been talking of the need to build a
pan Buddhist-Hindu alliance against Christianity and Islam in South
Asia," said Dayal. "The RSS chief speaks of an "Epochal War". What
does all this m ean?" he asked. The NDA government has already swept
the uncomfortable issue of the serial blasts, which they were briefly
confronted with, under the carpet. A passing worry presented itself
when Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N.Chandrababu Naidu was reported to
have tol d a delegation of Christian leaders that he would even
consider withdrawing support to the BJP-led government if the rights
of the minorities were not protected. But that concern too was
dispelled when the Telugu Desam Party leader denied that he had sai d
anything of the sort.

To the Christians in the country, the targets of a sustained two-year-
long cycle of violence, there is little room for comfort. And for
assurances there are few positive measures that have been taken for
their protection.

http://www.flonnet.com/fl1713/17130210.htm

India's National Magazine
From the publishers of THE HINDU
Vol. 15 :: No. 26 :: Dec. 19, 1998 - Jan. 01, 1999

COLUMN
RSS and Christians

The Sangh Parivar's violent hatred against Christianity is deep-rooted
and decades old, as is the case with its animosity against several
other communities.

A. G. NOORANI

ON December 4, 1998, nearly 23 million Christians across the country
observed a protest day demanding that the governments at the Centre
and in the States check the growing violence against members of the
community. A letter of protest, drawn up by the United Christians'
Forum for Human Rights (UCFHR), said: "Since January 1998 there has
been more violence against the Christian community than in all the 50
years of the country's Independence. Nuns have been raped, priests
executed, Bibles burnt, churches demolished, educational institutions
destroyed and religious people harassed." This is persecution in the
strict dictionary meaning of the word "pursue with enmity and ill-
treatment". Mabel Rebello of the Congress(I) told the Rajya Sabha that
day that "50 per cent of these (incidents) have occurred in Gujarat
where the BJP is in power".

On October 8, Gujarat's Director-General of Police, C.P. Singh,
confirmed in an interview to Teesta Setalvad, co-editor of Communalism
Combat (October 1998): "One thing was clear in the pattern of
incidents. It was the activists of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and
Bajrang Dal who were taking the law into their own hands, which posed
a serious danger to peace in Gujarat. Many of the attacks on the
minorities were after these organisations had whipped up local
passions of conversions (by Christian missionaries) and allegedly
forced inter-religious marriages... our investigations revealed that
in most cases these were entirely baseless allegations."

Two disturbing features of the campaign stand out in bold relief. One
is that the attacks mounted steeply after the Bharatiya Janata Party-
led Government assumed office in March 1998. The Archbishop of Delhi,
Alan de Lastic, said: "What I have noticed is that ever since this
Government came to power at the Centre, the attacks on Christians and
Christian missionaries have increased" (Sunday, November 22). The
other is the Government's wilful refusal to condemn them. Prime
Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee's remarks on December 5 were virtually
forced out of him. Union Home Minister L.K. Advani has been false to
his oath of office ("do right to all manner of people in accordance
with the Constitution and the law without fear or favour, affection or
ill-will"). He said in Baroda on August 2 (The Hindu, August 3):
"There is no law and order problem in Gujarat." Three days later the
DGP said, according to The Hindustan Times (August 6), that "the VHP
and the Bajrang Dal were taking the law into their own hands." He also
said that incidents of communal violence had increased manifold over
the last few months; recently the crime rate in the State had
increased by as much as 9.6 per cent. On an average, 39 crimes of
serious nature like murder, rape and dacoity were reported in the
State every day." A member of the investigation team sent by the
Minorities Commission revealed: "After initial reluctance, the
officials named VHP and Bajrang Dal allegedly involved in the mob
attacks on Christians and Muslims" (The Indian Express, August 12).
Advani's certificate of good conduct speaks for itself.

Christians did not rush to register their protest, as they did on
December 4, but for long kept pleading for succour. On October 1, the
national secretary of the All India Catholic Union (AICU), John Dayal,
pointedly remarked: "The AICU is surprised that Union Government and
members of the ruling coalition, including the BJP, have not come out
categorically in denouncing the violence against Christians."

The Bajrang Dal has threatened Christian-run educational institutions
in Karnataka with dire consequences if they did not "Hinduise" them.
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh leader Rajendra Singh declared at an RSS
camp in Meerut on November 22: "Muslims and Christians will have to
accept Hindu culture as their own if Hindus are to treat them as
Indians" (an Agence France Presse: report in The Asian Age; November
23). The UCFHR bitterly complained in an open letter published on
November 19: "The state has failed to do its duty in protecting the
life, dignity and property of the victims. At many places, it seems as
if the Centre and the State governments have tacitly supported the
communal groups. How is it otherwise that the State governments have
not taken any action against the virulent and anti-national statements
of the VHP, RSS, Jagran Manch and Bajrang Dal?" (emphasis added,
throughout).

While the Sangh Parivar's animosity towards Muslims is well-known, its
attitude towards Christians has taken many people by surprise. But,
Vishwa Hindu Parishad general secretary Giriraj Kishore said in
Chandigarh on November 25: "Today the Christians constitute a greater
threat than the collective threat from separatist Muslim elements."
Describing G. S. Tohra, president of the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak
Committee, as a "separatist", he said, "all minorities including
Muslims and Christians must accept that their ancestors were Hindus."
Ergo, they must all return to the Hindu fold.

Violence in speech inevitably inspires violent acts. As the Jaganmohan
Reddy Commission that went into the Ahmedabad riots (1969) noted, once
communal tension is created in a city, all that is needed is "only a
match to set on fire and a fan to fan the city ablaze." Riots erupt
over trifling incidents only because the atmosphere has been fouled
up. Hence, the need for "a proper appreciation of the communal
atmosphere in a State, in a town or in any particular area," the
Commission stressed. Those who spread hate are the real perpetrators
of violence. The ones who wield the weapon are their mindless agents.

We have tended to ignore a fact that brooks no neglect - the real
cause of the communal riots is the rise of the Sangh Parivar. There
was communal peace even in the early years after Partition. A Home
Ministry review presented to the National Integration Council in 1968
noted: "From 1954 to 1960, there was a clear and consistent downward
trend, 1960 being a remarkably good year with only 26 communal
incidents in the whole country. This trend was sharply reversed in
1961. "That was when riots erupted in Jabalpur - thanks to the Jan
Sangh, the BJP's ancestor. Communal violence has not "looked back"
since.

Justice P. Venugopal, a former Judge of the Madras High Court, who
inquired into Hindu-Christian clashes in Kanyakumari district in March
1982, noted: "The RSS adopts a militant and aggressive attitude and
sets itself as the champion of what it considers to be the rights of
Hindus against minorities. It has taken upon itself the task to teach
the minority their place and if they are not willing to learn their
place, teach them a lesson. The RSS has given respectability to
communalism and communal riots and demoralise administration (sic).
The RSS methodology for provoking communal violence is: (a) rousing
communal feelings in the majority community by the propaganda that
Christians are not loyal citizens of this country..." Report after
report has indicted the RSS specifically or its affiliates (Ahmedabad
1969; Bhiwandi 1970; Tellicherry 1971; Jamshedpur 1981; and Mumbai
1993).

VIOLENCE is an integral part of the RSS credo. "It should be used as a
surgeon's knife... to cure the society... Sometimes to protect non-
violence itself violence becomes necessary," RSS leader M.S. Golwalkar
said in 1952. (Spotlights: Guruji Answers, pages 110 and 188). In his
fine work India as a Secular State, Donald Eugene Smith recalled the
desecration of a church in Bihar in 1955 and the almost total
destruction in 1957 of the Gass Memorial Centre at Raipur.

V.D. Savarkar wrote repeatedly in his book Hindutva (1923): "Hindutva
is different from Hinduism." For once, he was right. Hinduism is a
great religion, it is ancient. Hindutva is an ideology of hate. It is
recent. He grouped Muslims and Christians together as ones who do not
share "the tie of the common homage we pay to our great civilisation -
our Hindu culture." He added: "Christian and Mohammedan communities
who were but very recently Hindus... cannot be recognised as Hindus as
since their adoption of the new cult they had ceased to own Hindu
civilisation (Sanskriti) as a whole... For though Hindusthan to them
is Fatherland, as to any other Hindu, yet it is not to them a Holyland
too. Their holyland is far off in Arabia or Palestine."

They are not the only offenders: "Look at the Jews; neither centuries
of prosperity nor sense of gratitude for the shelter they found can
make them more attached or even equally attached to the several
countries they inhabit."

Golwalkar revealed on May 15, 1963 that his first book We or Our
Nationhood Defined was based on Savarkar's brother Babarao's book in
Marathi on the same theme, Rashtra Mimamsa. Golwalkar's second book,
Bunch of Thoughts, praised the book Hindutva and amplified its
ideology. The BJP has used it as a political weapon with dangerous
consequences. Chapter XII of Bunch of Thoughts is devoted to three
"Internal Threats" - Muslims, Christians and the Communists. Of the
first two he wrote: "Together with the change in their faith, gone are
the spirit of love and devotion for the nation. Nor does it end there.
They have also developed a feeling of identification with the enemies
of this land. They look to some foreign lands as their holy places."
They are asked to return to the Hindu fold.

Not that that will be of much help. "For a Hindu, he gets the first
sanskar when he is still in his mother's womb... We are, therefore,
born as Hindus. About the others, they are born to this world as
simple unnamed human beings and later on, either circumcised or
baptised, they become Muslims or Christians." The hatred is
unconcealed. They have no right to proselytise. Hindus alone have it,
for, "returning to one's ancestral faith is not conversion at all, it
is merely home-coming."

Bunch of Thoughts first appeared in 1966 but the good work has been
stepped up since. To the three "internal threats", a fourth is added -
"Nehruism" - and among the perils we face is "Macaulayism". In Delhi
functions an outfit, Voice of India, which proclaims: "We are not
general booksellers and handle only books listed in this catalogue.
Please do not ask for other books." It is an outfit with a mission.
For the catalogue has an "appeal" which reads thus: "Hindu society and
culture are faced with a crisis. There is a united front of entrenched
alien forces - Islam, Christianity, Communism, Nehruism - to disrupt
and discredit the perennial values of the Indian ethos. All who care
for India need to know what is happening, and what is to be done if a
major tragedy is to be averted. Voice of India aims at providing an
ideological defence of Hindu society and culture, through a series of
publications."

SOME people were surprised by Advani's assertion at a seminar on
November 6 at Sarnath that "the Buddha did not announce any new
religion. He was only restating with a new emphasis the ancient ideals
of the Indo-Aryan civilisation." The Buddha, he added, derived his
teaching from the Bhagvad Gita and was an avatar of Vishnu. Rebuttals
from Buddhists were swift and sharp (see "Hindutva's fallacies and
fantasies", Frontline, December 4, 1998).

However, no one familiar with the stuff churned out by this factory,
for over four decades, would have been surprised. Its literature is
intolerant of any cultural and religious diversity. It fosters a siege
mentality among Hindus and speaks disparagingly of all others - not
excluding Sikhs and Jews. That is not all. A Hindu who does not share
its bigotry is attacked as being "anti-Hindu". Its literature
represents the spirit, outlook and ethos of the Sangh Parivar. The
writings cited below reveal a revolting virulence. Its moving spirit
is one Sita Ram Goel.

The Parivar's organ Organiser only recently (October 18, 1998)
published a paper he had written in 1983. He wrote: "The English-
educated Hindu elite which controls the commanding heights in
government, educational institutions and mass media has failed the
test either because it has become indifferent to Hindu society, as a
result of having imbibed the current cosmopolitan culture, or because
it has been trained to look at Hindu society through eyes which are
not of its own ancestral culture and, as a result, has become
sceptical about, if not actually hostile to, the merits of Hindu
society. This desperate situation has been made more difficult by a
degenerate politics through which vote-hungry, sloganised, short-
sighted and nominally Hindu politicians weaken Hindu society by
dividing it on the basis of caste, sect, language and region, disarm
Hindu society by sanctimonious and one-sided appeals in the name of
traditional Hindu tolerance, strengthen alienated and aggressive
communities by supporting their separatist demands in the name of
secularism." His intolerance brings all within the sway of his
indictment, bar the Parivar itself.

TO return to Advani's notions on Buddhism, a pamphlet entitled
"Buddhism vis-a-vis Hinduism" published 40 years ago by Ram Swarup for
the outfit asserts: "Buddha, his spiritual experiences and teachings,
formed part of a Hindu tradition... A good Buddhist has perforce to be
a good Hindu too." He went on to attack "foreign" religions. "The
indigenous religions of the countries of the two Americas have been
completely overwhelmed. In the African sub-continent (sic) the local
religions are under a systematic attack from Islamic and Christian
ideologies." The Parivar takes a dim view of the United States.

Golwalkar was asked in July 1967: "What is your opinion about present-
day America?" There was lot to comment about - racial conflict,
Vietnam policy, and so on. All he could say was: "Do you not yourself
see that the American youth is fast dissipating himself in all kinds
of sensual indulgence?" Simplistic, sweeping, defamatory judgment
comes easily to the tribe.

Ram Swarup's tract Hinduism vis-a-vis Christianity and Islam continued
his refrain about "native" faiths. "What is happening in India is also
happening elsewhere. In America even the vestiges of once (sic), a
rich spiritual culture of the Indians, is no more." He developed the
theme in its sequel Hindu View of Christianity and Islam (1992). "The
two ideologies have been active and systematic persecutors of pagan
nations, cultures and religions... We have spoken here with sympathy
and respect not only of pagan Americas and Africa but also of the
pagan past of Egypt, Greece, Rome, Iran, Syria and Arabia." V.S.
Naipaul is in good company with the Sangh Parivar. Unlike him, it
indicts Christianity as well as Islam on this score.

"Hinduism can help all peoples seeking religious self-renewal, for it
preserves in some way their old Gods and religions, it preserves in
its various layers religious traditions and intuitions they have lost.
Many countries now under Christianity and Islam had once great
religions; they also had great Gods who adequately fulfilled their
spiritual and ethical needs... during the long period of neglect, they
lost the knowledge which could revive those Gods, Hinduism can help
them with this knowledge. In its simplest aspect, Europeans can best
study their old pre-Christian religion by studying Hinduism."

Ram Swarup goes on to quote approvingly: "Gore Vidal says that from a
'barbaric Bronze Age text known as Old Testament, three anti-human
religions have evolved - Judaism, Christianity and Islam'; he also
calls them 'sky-god religions'."

Ram Swarup damns all three religions as "great persecutors". The Hindu
response of old was wrong. He writes:

"First, they tried to 'reform' themselves and be like their rulers...
One God, a revealed Book and prophets.... The Brahmo Samaj, the Arya
Samaj, and the Akalis also claimed monotheism and iconoclasm ... in
the case of the Akalis, the new look has also become the basis of a
new separatist-militant politics....

"The second way the Hindus adopted was that of 'synthesis'. The
synthesizers claimed that all religions preach the same thing. They
found in the Bible and the Quran all the truths of the Upanishads and
vice versa. They culled passages from various scriptures to prove
their point... It is by such methods that they proved that the Bible
and the Quran were no different from the Upanishads...."

The wrath wells up as he proceeds and delivers a message which
explains why the country has had to undergo what it has all these
years, especially since 1990: "India became politically free in 1947,
but it is ruled by anti-Hindu Hindus. The old mental slavery continues
and it has yet to win its cultural and intellectual independence.
India is entering into the second phase of its freedom struggle; the
struggle for regaining its Hindu identity. The new struggle is as
difficult as the old one. Hindus are disorganised, self-alienated,
morally and ideologically disarmed. They lack leadership; the Hindu
elites have become illiterate about their spiritual heritage and
history and indifferent and even hostile towards their religion...
India's higher education, its academia and media are in the hands of a
Hindu-hating elite."

Note what Ram Swarup has to say of the caste system:

"Once when Hinduism was strong, castes represented a natural and
healthy diversity, but now in its present state of weakness these are
used for its dismemberment. Old vested interests joined by new ones
have come together to make use of the caste factor in a big way in
order to keep Hindus down.

"Hindus have been kept down too long. Everyone including the victims
think that it is the natural order of things. Therefore, now when the
Hindu society is showing some signs of stir, there is a great
consternation. Already a cry has gone out of Hindu fundamentalism, we
must expect more of it in future." The readers have been warned. But
India will not be the only country to be saved. "America is awaiting
to be rediscovered in a characteristically Hindu way, not the
Christian way".

THIS represents a worse-than-narrow world-view. It is redolent of the
bigotry of medieval times. This book was published in 1992. His
earlier pamphlet, "Cultural Self-Alienation and Some Problems Hinduism
Faces", also characterised "castes and denominations" as expressing a
"natural and healthy diversity". The ignorance is astounding. "To
Marx, the British conquest of India was a blessing." Hinduism faces
attacks "both from inside and outside. While the forces of self-
alienation are increasing within society, external enemies have
intensified their attack.... Communism, Islam, Christianity have
powerful international links... their World-Centres. Commu-nists have
their Comintern working overtly or covertly." By 1987, Ram Swarup
ought to have known that the Comintern was dissolved on May 22, 1943
and that the "Islamic International, a kind of Muslim Vatican, Rabitah
al'-alam al-Iscaniya" (Muslim World League) is a Saudi-sponsored non-
governmental organisation (1962) which counts for little in India.
Hindus, by comparison, are at a disadvantage, he moans. "They do not
even have a government of their own." Socially, they are falling prey
to "vulgarity"; that is, "gambling, drinking, vulgar film music...
Cinemas (sic) are becoming great moral and social pollutants."

ANU PUSHKARNA
The Christian missionary centre at Nawapara in Jhabua district,
Madhya Pradesh, where four nuns were gangraped on September 23.

So, combat these and go over to the offensive and "look at Islam,
Christianity and Communism... from the Hindu angle." Sikhs are not
spared. Ram Swarup adopts a dual approach in Hindu-Sikh Relationship
(1985). He woos them as "the members of Hindu society" and denounces
them for thinking that "they were different". Base motives are freely
attributed: "Thanks to the Green Revolution and various other factors,
the Sikhs have become relatively more rich and prosperous. No wonder,
they have begun to find that the Hindu bond is not good enough for
them and they seek a new identity readily available to them in their
names and outer symbols. This is an understandable human frailty."

He defends the storming of the Golden Temple. It "became an arsenal, a
fort, a sanctuary for criminals. This grave situation called for
necessary action which caused some unavoidable damage to the
building." There followed "protest meetings, resolutions", which he
deprecates. "The whole thing created wide-spread resentment all over
India which burst into a most unwholesome violence when Mrs. Indira
Gandhi was assassinated. The befoggers have again got busy and they
explain the whole tragedy in terms of collusion between the
politicians and the police. But this conspiracy theory cannot explain
the range and the virulence of the tragedy. A growing resentment at
the arrogant Akali politics is the main cause of this fearful
happening."

This is of a piece with the Organiser's defence of Mahatma Gandhi's
assassination in its editorial (January 11, 1970) - "turned the
people's wrath on himself." Its editor then, K.R. Malkani, is now vice-
president of the BJP.

SITA RAM GOEL does not lag behind. His pamphlet "Hindu Society under
Siege" (1981) paints a frightening future: "The death of Hindu society
is no longer an eventuality which cannot be envisaged. This great
society is now besieged by the same dark and deadly forces which have
overwhelmed and obliterated many ancient societies. Suffering from a
loss of its elan, it has become a house divided within itself... Hindu
society is in mortal danger as never before."

One is reminded of the loonies of California, the minutemen who lived
in dread of a Soviet conquest of the U.S. The familiar ghosts of old
are revived - "Islamism", "Christianism" and a new one to keep them
company, "Macaulay-ism" (the educated Hindu who rejects the Parivar's
voodoo credo and the mumbo-jumbo of its shrill rhetoric).

"Ideologically, Communism in India is, in several respects, a sort of
extension of Macaulayism, a residue of British rule. That is why
Communism is strongest today in those areas where Macaulayism had
spread its widest spell." In no other parts of the country, though,
are Indian languages and culture more highly respected than in West
Bengal and Kerala. "Macaulayism is wedded to Secularism and Democracy.
It has to find out for itself as to who are the enemies of Secularism
and Democracy and who their best friends. This can be done only by
looking beyond the United Front of Islamism, Communism and
Christianism."

In the U.S., the minutemen belonged to the lunatic fringe. In India,
the Parivar's ideology is espoused by the party in power, even if it
be through dubious alliances. Scruples are not the Parivar's
strongpoint. On April 4, 1980, L.K. Advani and A.B. Vajpayee endorsed
a formulation in the National Executive of the Janata Party which
pledged its members to accept "unconditionally and strive to preserve
the composite culture and secular state established in our country."
After splitting the Janata Party both rejected the concept of India's
"composite culture." On April 8, 1998, at the BJP's Agra session, its
then president, Advani, denounced the concept of composite culture -
just as the Jan Sangh had done in December 1969.

HARSH NARAIN was a Visiting Professor at Aligarh Muslim University and
Reader at the North-Eastern Hill University. His Myths of Composite
Cultural and Equality of Religions (1990) reveals the unspoken
thoughts of the Parivar; the sub-text beneath the avowed text.

"Mere permanent settlement in a country does not entitle a plunderer
to be looked upon as indigenous. It must first be seen whose interests
he is out to serve. What is his attitude towards Indians? Take an
example. European settlers entered America and ruined the original
inhabitants, whom they named 'Red Indians'. To expect the remaining
Red Indians to regard their European-born rulers as equally indigenous
would be a cruel joke beyond their understanding.

"Islam was out to deal a death blow to the equilibrium, exuberance,
and cosmopolitan character of Indian humanity, later designated as
Hindu culture in juxtaposition to Indian culture."

To him, the Taj and the Qutub Minar are specimens exclusively of
Muslim, not Indian, sculpture. For, he holds: "The Muslims have been
religiously indifferent to, if not contemptuous of, Indian sculpture.
Thanks to the taste of the Sufis, the Muslims took some fancy to
Indian music. The main gamut of Indian literature has also been
untinged with Muslim literature and historic-cultural allusions...
Urdu language and literature, the much-vaunted symbols or vehicles of
composite culture, are not the result of intermingling of Hinduism and
Islam but reflected the Muslim image in Indian garb... nor have the
Hindu heroes and servants been fortunate enough to be honoured by the
Muslim community."

This can only be deliberate falsehood, since he flaunts familiarity
with Urdu. The much-maligned Iqbal wrote whole poems in praise of the
Buddha, Ram, Guru Nanak, and Swami Ram Tirtha. He was an admirer of
the Sanskrit poet, Bhartruhari, and had drunk deep at the fount of the
Gita and the Upanishads. Another great poet, Maulana Hasrat Mohani, a
confirmed leftist, wrote nostalgically of the soil of Mathura and in
praise of Krishna. He was also an ardent admirer of Bal Gangadhar
Tilak. But this is understandable of one who stoops to libel one of
the greatest mystics and martyrs of all time, Mansur al-Hallaj. He was
beheaded and his life forms the subject of the feat of scholarship,
Louis Massignon's four-volume The Passion of al-Hallaj. He is accused
of converting to Islam "the Dudwalas and Pinjaris of Gujarat." No
authority is cited in support of the charge.

Harsh Narain holds that while "a sizable section of the Sufis had been
comparatively free from the proverbial emphasis on coercion ... the
role of Sufi tradition in bridging the gulf between Islam and Hinduism
or laying the foundations of a composite culture has been greatly
exaggerated."

All this and more only in order to expose "the mad propaganda of
composite culture" and to prove that "Muslim culture cannot be said to
be an integral part of Indian culture and must be regarded as an
anticulture or counter culture in our body politic." This is no
different from the RSS chief's demand (November 22, 1998) that the
minorities Hinduise themselves.

The author turns his attention to Jainism ("failed to develop any
cultural identity of its own") and Buddhism ("basically a life-
negating religion, having little interest in social order, strictly
speaking"). Conclusion? "Our national culture, Indian culture, is a
unity describable as Aryan culture, Hindu culture... Indian culture is
Hindu culture... Muslim and Christian cultures are counter-cultures."
And Parsi culture is "something like" a sub-culture.

So "Hindu culture alone deserves the credit of recognition as the
national culture (abhimanin) of this country, as the culture owning
and possessing this great nation, along with other Indian-born
cultures like Buddhist and Jain cultures as its sub-cultures; Muslim
and Christian cultures being in the nature of tenant-cultures. The
distinction of master-possessor-owner culture and tenant-parasitic
culture has its own significance." One can guess what he is hinting
at.

Sita Ram Goel writes in the same vein. His ardour is reflected in his
three books Catholic Ashrams, Papacy and History of Hindu-Christian
Encounters (304-1996). His preface to the second edition (1996) of the
book on Hindu-Christian encounters explains a lot: "The Sangh Parivar,
which had turned cold towards Hindu causes over the years, was
startled by the rout of the Bharatiya Janata Party in the 1984
elections, and decided to renew its Hindu character. The
Ramajanmabhumi Movement was the result. The Movement was aimed at
arresting Islamic aggression. Christianity or its missions were hardly
mentioned. Nevertheless, it was Christianity which showed the greatest
concern at this new Hindu stir, and started crying 'wolf'. Its media
power in the West raised a storm, saying that Hindus were out to
destroy the minorities in India and impose a Nazi regime. The storm is
still raging and no one knows when it will subside, if at all." Thus
"the storm" was unleashed for reasons of power through election
victories.

Goel's writings alone prove that the Parivar's ire against Christians
is decades old. In an article published in March 1983 he had asserted
that the ancient Hindu precept sarva dharma samabhava (all religions
are equal) should not be applied to Christians or Muslims.

IT is with some hesitation that one turns to Goel's book Jesus Christ:
An Artifice for Aggression (1994); so wantonly offensive it is. The
focus now is not on the missionaries, or politics, or history. The
target is the faith itself; Christianity as a religion. Why? Because
hitherto "we Hindus have remained occupied with the behaviour patterns
of Muslims and Christians and not with the belief systems which create
those behaviour patterns. We object to Christian missions, but refuse
to discuss Christianity and its God, Jesus. We object to Islamic
terrorisms, but refuse to have a look at Islamic and its prophet,
Muhammad. I see no sense or logic in this Hindu habit."

Is there any other country in the world where such theses are written
for such a purpose? One wonders. "Now, I could see why the history of
Christianity had been what it had been. The source of the poison was
in the Jesus of the gospels."

The Immaculate Conception of Virgin Mary is attacked wantonly. There
are chapters on Jesus of history, of fiction and of faith. The thesis?
He did not exist in history. "The quantum of crimes committed by
Muhammad's Islam was only slightly smaller than that of the crimes
committed by the Christianity of the Jesus Christ... The parallel
between Jesus and Hitler was seen as still more striking. The Nazi
creed, as laid down by Hitler, did not sound much different from the
Christian creed as preached by Jesus in the gospels."

Goel is dismayed to find that Jesus Christ "should continue to retain
his hallow" (sic) in India. "Christianity is accepted as a religion
not only by the westernised Hindu elite but also by Hindu saints,
scholars, and political platforms."

Jesus Christ has been "praised to the skies, particularly by Mahatma
Gandhi." But, "it is high time for Hindus to learn that Jesus Christ
symbolises no spiritual power, or moral uprightness. He is no more
than an artifice for legitimising wanton imperialist aggression. The
aggressors have found him to be highly profitable so far. By the same
token, Hindus should know that Jesus means nothing but mischief for
their country and culture. The West where he flourished for long, has
discarded him as junk. There is no reason why Hindus should buy him.
He is the type of junk that cannot be re-cycled. He can only poison
the environment."

THE virulence of the language reveals the depths of the hatred. This
is what Indians are up against - a powerful hate group, enjoying the
patronage of many politicians in power and in the administration,
which is out to wipe out all traces not only of secularism and
democracy but of religious tolerance, religious and cultural diversity
and, indeed, of decency itself from India.

It shall not come to pass. The answer lies not in forging a united
front of the minorities; it lies in a renewal of the secular ideal in
our politics and in the nation at large.

http://www.flonnet.com/fl1526/15261230.htm

Volume 19 - Issue 09, Apr. 27 - May 12, 2002
India's National Magazine
from the publishers of THE HINDU

Plumbing new depths

No Indian Prime Minister has justified a communal pogrom the way
Vajpayee has. The BJP's Goa conclave marks the lowest point in
Hindutva's hardline evolution, underlining the need to punish the BJP
politically.

ATAL BEHARI VAJPAYEE'S public address at the April 12 BJP National
Executive meeting in Goa has rudely convulsed the secular conscience
of India's citizens. Many were jolted out of the complacent
assumption, promoted by sections of the media, that Vajpayee is some
kind of "moderate" or "liberal" - "the right man in the wrong party" -
a leader "secular" at heart, whose political "compulsions" regrettably
drive him from time to time to compromise with Hindutva. Yet others
attributed the tone and tenor of his speech to his interaction with
the party's young "hardliners" immediately before the Goa meeting,
such as Pramod Mahajan, Arun Shourie and M. Venkaiah Naidu, or to the
temporary "influence" of L.K. Advani, which made him reverse the
stance he adopted during his April 4 Gujarat visit.

The significance of Vajpayee's address goes much beyond his personal
"unmasking". His adoption of a virulent communal posture - which looks
at Indian society in terms of a division between Hindus and Others,
and accords social and political primacy to the majority community -
is shocking, but not really surprising. Vajpayee has never claimed to
be secular in the sense of separating religion from politics, or even
to have cut his umbilical cord to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.

Several public statements can be readily cited, which indicate
Vajpayee's ideological-political inclinations: for instance, "the
Sangh is my soul" (1995), "I will always remain a
swayamsevak" (September 2000), the Ram temple agitation is a "national
movement", not a sectarian-parochial one (December 2000), and his
Uttar Pradesh election speech in February 2002, in which he chided
Muslims for not voting for the BJP, but also warned them it could come
to power without their support. These are not aberrations. Nor is his
annual obeisance to the Sangh in the form of guru dakshina. Vajpayee
is as dedicated to Hindutva or "cultural nationalism" as any RSS
pracharak.

The true significance of Vajpayee's disquisition in Goa lies in its
relationship to the BJP's recent rightward evolution, and secondly, in
the new low political depths it plumbs. Never before has a Prime
Minister of India, of whatever persuasion, descended to making a hate-
speech against Muslims or Christians, castigating them as "outsiders".
Never before were our religious minorities humiliated by a Prime
Minister who would want them to feel grateful for being "allowed to
pray" - that is, for exercising their fundamental constitutional
right.

Never before has an Indian Prime Minister used such aggressive body
language to justify the Gujarat pogrom by citing the "who-cast-the-
first-stone" argument. Vajpayee blamed the victims of India's worst
communal pogrom for their own suffering. No other Prime Minister has
so blatantly undermined public confidence in the rule of law and in
the possibility of minimal justice for all in this society.

We now know, from numerous independent media accounts, and from
several highly credible and sensitive reports*, that the Godhra
killing of 59 Hindus was not, causally, "the first stone". The post-
February 27 carnage in Gujarat, which has claimed upwards of 850
lives, would probably have occurred even if the Godhra incident had
not. The conditions were ripe for the massacre of Muslims in that
"Hindutva laboratory" State. Elaborate preparations had been under way
for weeks before the massacre, in particular after kar sevaks were
dispatched daily to Ayodhya following the stepping up of the temple
campaign.

For instance, according to sources in Vadodara, lakhs of anti-Muslim
leaflets were illegally printed on slow treadle machines - which must
have taken months. Bombs and trishuls were stockpiled over a period of
weeks. The gap, exceeding 24 hours, between the "trigger event" and
the anti-Muslim violence - in contrast to, say, the immediate reaction
in Delhi to Indira Gandhi's assassinatio - only confirms the
organised, unspontaneous, planned nature of the pogrom.

Reconstruction of the Godhra incident, for example in the Citizens'
Forum report, suggests that it was a spontaneous, rather than an
elaborately planned, over-reaction to the daily harassment of local
Ghanchi Muslims (oil-pressers by occupation) by communally charged kar
sevaks returning from Ayodhya. Had there been serious preparation for
the attack on the Sabarmati Express, scheduled to reach Godhra at 2-55
a.m., there would have been a large crowd on the railway platform at
dawn. There was not.

When the train rolled in five hours late, there were only a handful of
vendors, porters and passengers on the platform. An altercation broke
out between the kar sevaks and Muslim tea vendors. It was only when a
rumour spread that young Sophia Khan had been dragged into coach S-6
that a crowd gathered near Signal Fadia, a basti known for communal
tension and criminal activities.

Seven weeks on, the government has failed to provide credible evidence
linking the Godhra episode to a "conspiracy" involving Pakistan's
Inter-Services Intelligence or even an organised group in Gujarat or
elsewhere. Nor can it explain why towns such as Ratlam, which are
physically far closer to Godhra, and which have a similar composition
of Hindus, Muslims and Adivasis, did not register any "retaliatory"
violence, while distant Ahmedabad did.

The reasons are self-evidently Gujarat-specific and political. They
have to do with the Narendra Modi government's conscious decision to
support the Vishwa Hindu Parishad's February 28 bandh call and the
authorities' decision to transport the bodies of the Godhra victims by
train to Ahmedabad in a ceremonial manner calculated to inflame
passions. It is impossible to separate the post-February 27 violence
either from the Modi government or Gujarat's communalised context.

The fact that Vajpayee stooped to endorse Modi's "action-reaction"
logic to justify violent retribution upon a falsely constructed
collective culprit (Muslims) speaks of an utterly debased mind. The
logic of such revenge is ultimately the logic of "getting even" with
history, of Nazism, of barbarism. That is now unfolding before our
eyes.

Clearly, the BJP has decided to embrace a virulent form of Hindutva,
one that bases itself on a contemporary version of the "Two-Nation"
theory. Its disgraceful defence of Modi, its coercive tactics in the
NDA, its prolonged refusal to discuss Gujarat under Rule 184 in the
Lok Sabha, and its wholly unapologetic, brazen, attitude towards the
continuing climate of fear, intimidation and terror in Gujarat all
confirm this. The very fact that the BJP seriously threatened to hold
mid-term Assembly elections in Gujarat in a vitiated atmosphere, and
used it as a bargaining chip in negotiating with its allies, testifies
to its cynicism.

The consequences of this stance are already apparent. Thus, BJP
spokesman V.K. Malhotra made a revoltingly aggressive statement
likening the Congress to the pre-Partition Muslim League - merely
because the Congress expressed concern at the butchery of Muslims
(although not to the exclusion of concern for Hindus too). And one
cannot fail to note Modi's deviousness in transferring honest police
officers who tried to maintain a semblance of impartiality, or his
gross insensitivity to traumatised Muslim children in thrusting
examinations on them at centres located in areas where Muslims were
butchered.

Gujarat is a fit case for compelling the State government to abide by
the Constitution under Article 355 and for imposing President's Rule
under Article 356. True, Article 356 has been repeatedly misused to
dismiss Opposition governments. The demand for its use is being voiced
by forces with an extremely dubious record. But there could be no
fitter case than Gujarat to which the following description from the
Constitution applies: "a situation has arisen in which the government
of the State cannot be carried on in accordance with the provisions of
the Constitution."

The constitutional machinery patently broke down in Gujarat on
February 28 when scores of citizens were massacred with the full
complicity of the state, and when it could not even protect a guardian
of the constitutional order, a High Court Judge, who happened to be a
Muslim.

It is precisely for such contingencies that President's Rule was
envisaged. The Gujarat situation cannot get normalised with Modi's
replacement alone. If hardcore sanghis like Goverdhan Zadaphia or
Ashok Bhatt were to take over, it could worsen. It is essential, but
not enough, that Modi be sacked. The whole government must be
dismissed and Gujarat placed under President's Rule with advisers of
impeccable integrity and experience, recommended by Parliament as a
whole.

It will take months for Gujarat to recuperate and achieve normalcy in
any real sense. Such normalcy must include reconciliation between
estranged neighbours and communities, full physical, psychological and
economic rehabilitation, and restoration of public confidence in the
impartiality of the government as regards different religious groups.

The danger of half-hearted reconciliation should be obvious. If the
one lakh Muslims who are in relief camps - and three or four times as
many, whose livelihoods have been affected - are forced to fend for
themselves without state and community assistance, they will probably
leave Gujarat altogether, or create "safe" ghettos for themselves. The
greater the ghettoisation, the greater the mutual estrangement of
religious groups, the lesser their social interaction - and the
greater the scope for conflict.

That is the last thing Gujarat needs. Indeed, it would be a recipe for
another communal pogrom. That is precisely what Hindutva craves most.
If the BJP succeeds in its game plan in Gujarat, by whipping up anti-
Muslim hysteria, it will replicate the same trick nationally - if
necessary, by staging another Godhra. If the Nazis could stage the
Reichstag fire, the BJP can create a Godhra-II, through agents
provocateurs.

These comparisons are not far-fetched. In foundational premises of its
ideology and politics, the BJP shares a great deal with the Italian
fascists, the German Nazis and the Taliban. They all reject the
emancipatory heritage of the Enlightenment. They privilege tradition
(itself ill-defined and distorted) over modernity. They are profoundly
intolerant of difference. They hate democracy and equality. And they
do not believe in just and fair means to achieve just ends. They are
prone to despotic methods and barbaric violence.

It will take a lot of effort to fight a force like the BJP-RSS-VHP. It
has already captured a number of institutions and key positions in
government and civil society. It has a dedicated, if fanatical, cadre.
Even in the short run, it will not be possible to isolate the Hindutva
forces unless the perpetrators of the Gujarat violence are severely
punished for their grave crimes, along the lines described in the
previous Frontline column (issue of April 26), and unless the BJP is
politically punished, that is, made to pay a heavy price through
systematic boycott and isolation.

One wishes this would happen both nationally, in the National
Democratic Alliance, and in Uttar Pradesh, where the BJP is about to
form a government with the Bahujan Samaj Party. Regrettably, the BSP
leadership seems to be bent on using its Dalit base as virtual common-
fodder for Hindutva - for dubious, at best petty, short-term gains.

Fighting Hindutva will be a long haul. But the struggle would not even
have been joined unless the Opposition mounts relentless pressure on
the NDA, both inside and outside Parliament, through dharnas, rallies,
public meetings and mass mobilisation. The People's Front should
consider launching a relay dharna in Gujarat's major cities.

The Opposition will do well to join hands with citizens' groups such
as SAHMAT, Aman Ekta Manch, People for Secularism and the Citizens'
Initiative (Ahmedabad), which have done a great deal to highlight the
Gujarat issue and collect donations for the victims' relief. For
instance, SAHMAT mobilised artists to donate their paintings and
raised Rs.5.5 lakhs through their sale.

One thing is clear: it will be a crying shame if the BJP is allowed to
go unpunished for its grievous assault on India's secular-democratic-
constitutional order, and on the foundations of this plural, diverse,
multi-cultural society.

*Citizens' Forum: Gujarat Carnage 2002, by an independent fact-finding
mission composed of S.P. Shukla, K.S. Subramanian, Achin Vanaik, and
Kamal Mitra Chenoy; State-Sponsored Carnage in Gujarat, Report of a
CPI(M)-AIDWA delegation; The Survivors Speak, by a Women's Panel
sponsored by Citizen's Initiative, Ahmedabad; Ethnic Cleansing in
Ahmedabad, by SAHMAT; and A Report on the Gujarat Carnage, prepared by
the People's Union for Civil Liberties.

http://www.flonnet.com/fl1909/19091280.htm

Undermining India

Sitting here in our village home, keeping in touch with the world
through the Internet, the newspapers and magazines like yours, we ask
ourselves, how many fires can we fight? And yet it appears that there
is really no option except to keep fighting them and to stand up for
what we see as the values and beliefs which are intrinsic to the
foundations on which this civilisation (if indeed we can use that term
any longer) is based.

We have been reading the comprehensive coverage in your magazine of
the ghastly and inhuman murder of members of the Staines family in
Manoharpur and the hard-hitting articles on the politics of hate
("Undermining India", February 12). We have also read (on the
Internet) the highly slanted report of the murders (from Rashtradeep -
Orissa) with its not so oblique insinuations that Staines and his
family deserved what they got. What a coincidence that the Santhals
and the Kolhas apparently lost their patience 34 years after Graham
Staines came to work and live in Keonjhar and decided to attack him
when there is a BJP Government at the Centre, and the Sangh Parivar
has targeted Christians as the new enemies! It is hard to believe that
the so- called educated people hold these views and, more sinister,
use their power and technology to propagate these views in the most
dangerous fashion on the Internet from their comfortable spaces in
American universities. It is also interesting that the fact that
millions of dollars are sent by non-resident Indians to support
fascist activities in the name of Hindutva is not questioned or
attacked.

If only we can learn from history, we would see that we are moving
inexorably towards fascism - and the silence of the majority can only
hasten this process.

We too are Hindus, comfortable in the freedom of thought that it
provides, and because of this we can also look at our own tradition
critically and see and understand all the warts and distortions that
it accommodates. But what is propagated in the name of Hinduism is a
far cry from the philosphy to which we subscribe. Had we been born
Dalits or tribal people, or experienced oppression and discrimination
in the name of religion, we too might have opted for Christianity,
Islam, Buddhism or any faith which promised us a better deal and the
hope of social justice and dignity. Certainly, India's Constitution
guarantees each of us that freedom.

In all the polemics and passion that we see around us, one hears
little, if any, questioning or critiquing of the built-in inequities
of Hinduism - only the shrill and fearful howls of the advocates of
Hindutva with its distorted and dangerous ideology of linking religion
with nationalism and patriotism. If we believe that it is the spirit
of inquiry and search for truth that is the hallmark of both science
and religion, then let us stop blaming others and begin looking
inwards in the real quest for self-knowledge and encourage our people
to bring about the changes within, rather than demonising other
faiths, other denominations. But the politics of hate is so much
easier to practise than the quest for truth. It has always been
convenient to mobilise mobs - be it against masjids or mandirs,
Dalits, tribal people, Sikhs, Muslims, Christians, 'Madrasis',
'Bangladeshis', 'Pakistanis'. We continue to rely on fanning the
flames of hatred for 'the other', to exercise power instead of coming
to grips with the real issues of this country - poverty, education,
employment and all-pervasive inequality. The issue is not one of
conversions or Christianity, but of how to exploit people who have no
identity or no hope of getting a space under the sun, as the foot
soldiers in the service of the armies of destruction and mayhem who
can terrorise, garner votes when needed, and ensure political power at
all costs. Ultimately, it is through economic policy decisions and the
right kind of education in our classrooms that we can hope to build
the kind of India that our Constitution has promised. For now, we can
only ask and hope that the right-thinking majority of people in this
land, regardless of their religious affiliations, will speak up before
it is too late.

Admiral Ramu Ramdas
(former Chief of the Naval Staff)
Lalita Ramdas
Bhaimala, Maharashtra

* * *

Your crusade against the diabolical designs of the Sangh Parivar is
commendable.

The riots in Suratkal, the persecution of Christians in Gujarat, and
the outrage against a missionary in Orissa expose the Parivar's game
plan. When the Babri Masjid was demolished, people in authority
remained passive spectators. They remain so when the minorities are
attacked. As long as the minorities have insufficient representation
in the police force and secular values are not instilled in the
guardians of law, there is no hope.

The biggest irony is that L.K. Advani, one of the accused in the Babri
Masjid demolition case, has become the Home Minister of this country.
A.B. Vajpayee has proved to be the weakest Prime Minister of India.
During his visit to Gujarat, instead of assuaging the hurt feelings of
Christians, he suggested a national debate on conversions. With this
he dropped his mask of moderation.

Ubedulla
Mysore

* * *

It was with a sense of dismay and shame that one watched the Home
Minister making a humiliating trip to Mumbai to pacify the Shiv Sena's
"paper tiger". It is a pity that the BJP Government with all the power
at its command could not counter the threat to a visiting cricket
team. The Shiv Sena's attack on the BCCI's office or threats to
release poisonous snakes into the playground only proved its
cowardice. If India is to progress, the culture of violence and
terrorism should give way to goodwill, harmony and peace.

Dr. A.K. Tharien
Oddanchatram, Tamil Nadu

* * *

January 23, the day Graham Stewart Staines and his two young sons were
burnt alive, was the blackest day in the history of our country. One
is at a loss to understand why such a harrowing punishment was meted
out to the missionary who had served leprosy patients in India since
1965.

Why does the Prime Minister hesitate to take stringent action against
Bal Thackeray, at whose instigation the cricket pitch at the
Ferozeshah Kotla stadium was damaged and the BCCI office in Mumbai was
ransacked? Is the Sena chief so indispensable?

Mani Natarajan
Chennai

* * *

It was a unique and informative Cover Story. The need of the hour is
unity, integrity and peaceful coexistence of various communities. We
should uphold our secular values and fulfil the hopes and aspirations
of every citizen.

Shaik Rafeeq Ahamed
Rayachoty, Andhra Pradesh

* * *

The expectation that the experience of heading a government in a
modern democracy will soften Hindu fundamentalists, has been belied.
With the assumption of power by the Bharatiya Janata Party, the
process of undermining India started. The aim is to throw the country
back into an era when power, wealth and education were concentrated in
the hands of people who belonged to the upper strata of society. But
we have come a long way. A government which owes allegiance to the
Constitution has to go by the principles enshrined in the
Constitution.

A. Jacob Sahayam
Vellore, Tamil Nadu

Arundhati Roy

Indian culture is rich and vibrant and Dalits' contribution to it is
no less than that of any other section of our society. Unless this
aspect is researched and brought out, Dalits will not get the kind of
respect they deserve. In this context, Arundhati Roy's proposal to the
Dalit Sahitya Akademi on the publication of the Malayalam translation
of her novel was really pathbreaking ("In solidarity", February 12).

Dhiraj Kumar
Delhi

Role of bureaucrats

I read with great interest A.G. Noorani's article on Admiral Bhagwat's
case in your February 12 issue. As usual Noorani's article is very
scholarly and unbiased and would serve as reference material. I would,
however, like to point out two references made to me in the article.

First, Noorani should have mentioned that I had also said in my letter
to The Times of India that "he will therefore have to look for another
Cabinet Secretary". This would have clarified that my intention was
that I would rather vacate the post of Cabinet Secretary than sign the
notification.

Secondly, the reference to the 1989 general elections. I do not know
the basis on which it is mentioned that "and that the announcements in
that behalf should be made by the Commission forthwith and before 2.00
p.m. on that date, in any case". This was not my belief at all. In an
article I wrote on T.N. Seshan, published in November 1994, I have
said that "I can only write about late Peri Shastri because I knew him
well. It required a lot of courage to stand up to a strong Prime
Minister like Rajiv Gandhi who decided to appoint two Election
Commissioners obviously to control Peri Shastri. Seshan may say that
he was not consulted here but he went out of his way to force the Law
Ministry to issue the notification urgently. When Rajiv Gandhi decided
to announce the general elections, an urgent Cabinet meeting was held
when the Cabinet approved the proposal. Seshan as Cabinet Secretary
should have been sent to Peri Shastri to convey the decision, but
Rajiv Gandhi said, 'let us not send the bull into the China shop. Let
Deshmukh go and settle it in his own quiet way.' I accordingly went
across after sending a message to Peri Shastri. When I entered his
room, I found him agitated, saying that he would not be dictated to by
the Government in fixing the dates for the elections. There was a
sharp exchange between us and tempers rose. I then decided to keep
quiet and let Peri Shastri blow off steam. When he quietened down I
convinced him that the Government was right in suggesting the dates as
it had to make various administrative arrangements. Ultimately, the
notification was issued accordingly."

This should make it clear that I was not the "civil servant who was
sent as an errand boy". My brief was to persuade Peri Shastri to agree
to the Government's suggestion. It should also be added that at that
time I was not a serving civil servant but was re-employed to hold the
post in the Prime Minister's Office.

B.G. Deshmukh
Mumbai

A.G. Noorani writes:

I was not called upon to mention, as B.G. Deshmukh insists, that he
had asked the President "to look for another Cabinet Secretary". His
intimation to President Zail Singh that he would not notify any order
dismissing Rajiv Gandhi in 1987 as Prime Minister, was wrong enough.
It was not his place to do so; least of all ask the President "to look
for" a substitute especially since the office is in the bounty of the
Prime Minister.

As for the 1989 Lok Sabha elections, the words in quotes are taken
from Justice P.B. Sawant's judgment in the case brought by one of the
two Election Commissioners whom Rajiv Gandhi appointed to overrule
Peri Shastri, the CEC (S.S. Dhanoa vs Union of India & Ors. (1991) 3
Supreme Court Cases 567 at pages 581-582, para 22).

Deshmukh confirms my comment. It was based on Justice Sawant's
reference to his mission as Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister.
It is pointless to shift the blame to T.N. Seshan, then Cabinet
Secretary, when he himself carried out an order he knew to be illegal
and politically immoral. On his own showing, there was "a sharp
exchange" between him and the CEC Peri Shastri and "tempers rose".

This would not have happened unless a zealous Deshmukh had tried to
force the upright Peri Shastri to accept the election dates
peremptorily urged by Rajiv Gandhi. He relented because the two
Election Commissioners had been appointed to overrule him. "The bull
in the China shop" could hardly have performed worse than Deshmukh
himself did at the meeting. Significantly, Deshmukh has not a word of
criticism of the man who sent him, Rajiv Gandhi. His Cabinet's
decision was palpably illegal and politically immoral.

Judging by his own account, Deshmukh was far worse than the "civil
servant who was sent as an errand boy". Both Seshan and Deshmukh
carried out an illegal order with competitive enthusiasm. Servitors
while in service, lecturers on retirement. The Constitution makes the
CEC an umpire between the ruling party and the others. It is his
prerogative to fix the dates. Two of the foremost civil servants of
the day tried to suborn him.

Ban all Senas

The twin massacres by the Ranvir Sena in Jehanabad district are a
testament to V.D. Savarkar's call to "'militarise Hinduism". As the
blood of 12 Dalits (from Khoja Narayanpur, February 10) and of 23
Dalits (Shankarbigha, January 25) flows in central Bihar, the Sangh
(more like, Jang) Parivar offers its regret from one side of its
mouth, while it is gleeful on the other.

The Progressive Forum of India (PFI) condemns the Ranvir Sena for its
violence as well as the Jang Parivar (notably the BJP) and the
erstwhile Bihar Government for their studied negligence.

The Ranvir Sena, like the Shiv Sena in Maharashtra three decades
earlier, was set up in 1994 to counter the growth of Left
organisations in central Bihar. From the first, the organisation was
prone to violence. Before its formation, landlords (many of whom are
Bhumihars) formed private militias that massacred, for instance, seven
Dalits in Sawanbigha village in Jehanabad in 1991. In December 1997,
the Ranvir Sena killed over 60 people in Lakshmanpur-Bathe, again in
Jehanabad. Further, on January 9, 1999, a Ranvir Sena leader announced
that his fascist band planned to conduct a massacre larger than that
in Lakshmanpur in the near future. Neither the State Government nor
the Jang Parivar did anything against him. Progressive forces in Bihar
and elsewhere underscored the danger, but nothing was done. In fact,
The Times of India reported that Vinod Sharma (Ranvir Sena) travelled
with a police officer to Arwal at the time of the massacre. The PFI
condemns this nexus between the landlord militia, the Jang Parivar and
the institutions of the state.

The Ranvir Sena has been set up to undermine popular movements. It
resorts to violence and to authoritarian acts against the oppressed.
The PFI offers its support to those who feel the strong arm of such
organisations and we call upon all progressive people to condemn and
challenge such fascist bands.

Vijay Prashad
(for the Progressive Forum for India)
received on e-mail

http://www.flonnet.com/fl1605/16051120.htm

Volume 21 - Issue 02, January 17 - 30, 2004
India's National Magazine
from the publishers of THE HINDU

ANALYSIS

HOW ADVANI WENT SCOT-FREE

A.G. NOORANI

The Rae Bareli court judgment in the Ayodhya case discharging Deputy
Prime Minister L.K. Advani is against the weight of the entire
evidence and violates the law as declared by the Supreme Court.

VINO JOHN

Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani.

THE Deputy Prime Minister and Union Home Minister, Lal Krishna
Advani's discharge in the Ayodhya case on September 19, 2003, was no
"honourable acquittal" after a full trial on the merits. It was a
gross miscarriage of justice, which precludes a proper trial. A
perusal of the English translation of the 130-page judgment in Hindi
by Vinod Kumar Singh, Special Judicial Magistrate, Rae Bareli, reveals
that the grounds for his discharge could well apply also to other
accused such as Union Minister Murli Manohar Joshi and Madhya Pradesh
Chief Minister Uma Bharati. Conversely, the grounds on which charges
will be framed against them apply also to Advani. The judgment is
utterly unconvincing in the distinction it draws between him and the
other accused, including Ashok Singhal, V.H. Dalmiya, Giriraj Kishore,
Vinay Katiyar and Sadhvi Ritambara.

The judgment is against the weight of the entire evidence and violates
the law as declared by the Supreme Court. The reasoning is laboured to
a degree. It must be emphasised that what the Magistrate pronounced
was an order of discharge at the stage of framing the charge not an
acquittal on merits after a trial. A discharge does not bar another
prosecution, an acquittal does.

In the face of such a judgment the behaviour of the Central Bureau of
Investigation, the prosecuting agency, was true to form. It did not
move the High Court for quashing the order. The prescribed period of
limitation is three months. The CBI bestirred itself ostentatiously
thereafter in view of public censure. Rajnish Sharma reported in The
Hindustan Times (December 31, 2003) that "CBI sources claim that the
agency's top-brass still differ on whether to move the High Court or
not. Initially, it was decided that the CBI should not go in for an
appeal against Advani. However, faced with mounting criticism for
having failed to appeal against the lower court order, the opinion
seems to have changed.

RAMESH SHARMA

Murli Manohar Joshi.

"While announcing its decision, even the Rae Bareli court had strongly
criticised the agency's role as it felt the CBI had deliberately
weakened the case against Advani. Agency sources now claim that once
the courts reopen, they will file a petition explaining the reasons
for the delay."

IT is necessary to recall the background in order to appreciate the
judgment. The CBI had filed a charge-sheet in court against Advani and
other accused, on October 5, 1993, charging them with conspiring to
demolish the mosque. Two courts found that a prima facie case on this
charge did exist - Special Judicial Magistrate Mahipal Sirohi on
August 27, 1994, while committing the accused to the Sessions Court,
and the Additional Sessions Judge, Lucknow, Jugdish Prasad Srivastava,
on September 9, 1997, while framing the charges.

The Sessions Judge concluded that "in the present case a criminal
conspiracy to demolish the disputed structure of Ramjanmabhoomi/Babri
Masjid was hatched by the accused persons in the beginning of 1990 and
was completed on 6.12.1992". Advani and others hatched criminal
conspiracies "to demolish the disputed premises on different times at
different places". A prima facie case was found to charge Bal
Thackeray, Advani and others, including Murli Manohar Joshi and Uma
Bharati, under various provisions of the Indian Penal Code.

Advani and his colleagues, Joshi and Uma Bharati, faced two charges in
two courts - delivering inflammatory speeches on December 6, 1992,
prior to the demolition, and hatching a conspiracy to demolish the
mosque from 1990. Immediately after the mosque was demolished, two
first information reports were filed in the same police station. One
was filed at 5-15 p.m. against "lakhs of unknown kar sevaks" for
offences committed at 12-15 p.m.; mainly the demolition. Spread of
communal hate was one of them. Very properly, conspiracy was not
alleged since the facts were not known then and no particular person
was cited either. This was Crime No. 197 (demolition).

S. SUBRAMANIUM

Uma Bharati.

The next FIR, filed only 10 minutes later, was Crime No. 198
(speeches) against eight named persons - Advani, Joshi, Uma Bharati,
Ashok Singhal, Giriraj Kishore, V.H. Dalmiya, Vinay Katiyar and
Ritambara. It alleged that they had delivered communally inflammatory
speeches at 10 a.m. prior to the demolition (Section 153A IPC). This
charge was common to both FIRs. FIR 198 (speeches) said also that
"during the speeches of these leaders, repeated indications (sic:
"incitement") were given to demolish the mosque. As a result, lakhs of
kar sevaks attacked and pulled down the disputed structure". The
leaders were named because their identities were known. Conspiracy was
properly not alleged in either FIR because it requires a long probe.
There were 47 other FIRs for offences against the media.

After the imposition of President's rule in Uttar Pradesh, the
demolition case (197) was assigned to the CBI while the State police
dealt with the speeches case (198). Both were parts of the same
transaction and were linked inseparably. Eventually, the CBI was
assigned the speeches case as well. It, therefore, submitted a
composite, damning charge-sheet in court on October 5, 1993. But there
was a technical flaw in the assignment of the cases to courts, which
was pointed out by Justice Jagdish Bhalla of the Allahabad High Court
on February 12, 2001. He struck down as invalid the reference of Case
198 (speeches) to the Lucknow court from the Rae Bareli court. His
judgment of February 12, 2001, upheld everything else, including the
joint charge-sheet. He thrice said that the defect was "curable" by
another notification after consulting the High Court. Obviously,
justice required that the two cases, 197 (demolition) and 198
(speeches), be tried together in one court.

Neither the Rajnath Singh government nor the succeeding Mayawati
regime had any intention of "curing the defect". Nor has Mulayam Singh
Yadav's government now. The High Court issued a notification on
September 28, 2002, assigning Case No.198 (speeches) to the Rae Bareli
court. On November 29, the Supreme Court upheld it, holding that no
one had a right to insist on a particular venue. It overlooked the
background, the mala fides and the obvious miscarriage of justice. A
review petition has been filed against this order. (vide the writer's
article, `Reprimand for delay', Frontline, March 30, 2001).

To be precise, Justice Bhalla upheld: 1) the Sessions Judge's order of
September 9, 1997, framing the charges in Case No. 197 (demolition);
2) the validity of Vijai Verma's appointment as Special Judge and his
cognisance of all cases (save No.198); 3) the notification of the
Special Court in Lucknow; 4) the CBI's investigation; and 5) the
consolidated charge-sheet of October 5, 1993. Even if the one
concerning the speeches of December 6, 1992, is dropped, the
conspiracy case survives.

C.V. SUBRAHMANYAM

Ashok Singhal.

But let alone a notification to cure the defect and ensure trial of
both the connected cases in one court, in the interests of sheer
justice, the course which the two cases took subsequently in different
courts was, to say the least, surprising. The High Court's ruling was
set at naught by the Sessions Judge at Lucknow, Srikant Shukla, on May
4, 2001, which he had no right to do. Justice Bhalla had merely struck
down the transfer of the speeches case (198) from Rae Bareli to
Lucknow. Shukla went beyond it and dropped even the conspiracy charge
in Case No.197(demolition) before him. The reasoning was tortuous. He
confined FIR 197 (demolition) to kar sevaks alone; ignored the
conspiracy charges and exonerated the leaders. They were held
accountable only in FIR 198 (speeches) - which he could not try. He
wrote: "Two distinct cases were registered which are different. In the
first FIR were kar sevaks who pulled down the structure... and in the
other FIR are conspirators/abettors who instigated the kar sevaks.
This way, the State has considered both the cases different and
separate and has treated them so."

This was in flat contradiction to Justice Bhalla's judgment. What
Shukla did was to transpose the conspiracy charge, which properly
belonged to the demolition case (197) which he was trying, to the
speeches case (198), which he could not try. Having done so, he
dropped proceedings on the conspiracy charge against the eight accused
leaders who also figured in the speeches case and 13 others besides
who did not. Thrown back at the Rae Bareli court like a shuttle cock,
the conspiracy charge was buried there by the CBI two years later in
its charge-sheet of May 30, 2003. On September 1, the apex court
issued notices to Advani and other accused on a petition challenging
this omission. The CBI had curiously moved the High Court on June 19,
2001, against Shukla's order. On August 6, 2003, Justice N.K. Mehrotra
ordered stay of proceedings in the Lucknow court till September 24.

But the conspiracy charge cannot vanish so easily. It covers events
since 1990. Abetment by incitement occurred on December 6, 1992.
Shukla's reference to "conspirators/abettors who instigated" truncates
the conspiracy charge - and drops it. The CBI's joint charge-sheet of
October 5, 1993, explicitly said: "Investigations revealed that on
5.12.1992, a secret meeting was held at the residence of Shri Vinay
Katiyar which was attended by S/Shri L.K. Advani, Pawan Pandey, etc.
Wherein a final decision to demolish the disputed structure was
taken." Sessions Judge J.P. Srivastava's order of September 9, 1997
also mentioned this very date. He traced the beginning of the
conspiracy to 1990, how it picked up speed in 1991 and the stages
leading to its culmination with the demolition of the mosque. In each
stage Advani's role was narrated in detail. "Conspiracy is planned
secretly," he remarked. It cannot be limited to the public speeches on
December 6, as Shukla did. The High Court upheld the validity of the
conspiracy charge.

TWO recent disclosures support the charge. It has been revealed that
on October 1, 1993, the Home Ministry itself sanctioned the CBI's
charge. It mentioned an interesting detail: "In pursuance of the
criminal conspiracy", Pramod Mahajan and Ashok Singhal met Bal
Thackeray on November 21, 1992, and secured the Sena's participation
in the "kar seva". On June 7, 2003, five of the accused alleged
instigation by the leaders. R.N. Das, one of the priests at the site
where the idols were placed inside the mosque before its demolition,
told the media: "I was a witness in a meeting held by Advani and
others... on December 5 night" - and spilled the beans. Justice Bhalla
remarked: "According to the prosecution, the accused persons are
either rich, influential or politically strong." He recalled the
Supreme Court's remarks in the case of the former Chief Minister of
Karnataka, S. Bangarappa: "The slow motion becomes much slower motion
when politically powerful or rich and influential persons figures as
accused."

The demolition case (197) was thus put out of the way. All that the
leaders faced was the speeches case (198) alone. On May 30, 2003, the
CBI filed a supplementary charge-sheet in the Rae Bareli court trying
the speeches case. On July 5, the CBI's advocate, S.S. Gandhi, opened
the case and cited statements by witnesses testifying to inflammatory
speeches and to instigation of the kar sevaks to demolish the mosque.
He said he would produce audio and videocassettes as evidence. On July
30, astonishingly, the CBI said that "the video cassettes did not show
them giving any speech". Special Judicial Magistrate Vinod Kumar Singh
delivered judgment on September 19, 2003, in this case.

He begins by reproducing the FIR in case No. 198 which is revealing:
"I, Sub Inspector Ganga Prasad Tewari, in-charge of the police post
Ramjanmabhoomi, police station Ramjanmabhoomi, Faizabad, was engaged
today, on 06.12.92, in maintenance of peace and order during the kar
seva organised by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad. Checking duty near the
disputed Ram Chabutara and Sheshavatar Mandir, I reached the meeting
place in Ram Katha Kunj at about 10 a.m. where the Vishwa Hindu
Parishad General Secretary Shri Ashok Singhal, Joint Secretary Shri
Giriraj Kishore, Shri Lal Krishna Advani, Shri Murli Manohar Joshi,
Shri Vishnu Hari Dalmiya and BJP M.P. from Faizabad and Bajrang Dal
convenor Shri Vinay Katiyar, Uma Bharati, Sadhvi Ritambara, etc. all
the speakers were seated on the dais. The above mentioned speakers
were inciting the kar sevaks by their incendiary speeches; their
slogan was `Ek dhakkar aur do, Babri Masjid tod do,' and destroy this
khandahar (rubble) that is symbolic of the Mughal age slavery. Incited
by their incendiary speeches, the kar sevaks were now and then raising
slogans - "Jab katue kaate jaayenge, tab Ram Ram chillayenge; and
Ramlala, hum aayenge, Mandir yahin banayenge." The intention to
destroy the mosque was again and again indicated (in) these leaders'
speeches. As a consequence, lakhs of kar sevaks broke through the
barricades and destroyed the disputed structure, which has hurt the
national unity seriously. The said event was seen, apart from the
police and administration officials and employees, by the audience and
journalists. Therefore, the report must be entertained and necessary
action taken."

The secret meeting of December 5 was followed by the speeches on
December 6 which incited the demolition. The rest followed as planned.
The judgment recites statements by eyewitnesses on the leaders'
speeches, before the Babri mosque was demolished, as recorded by the
police under Section 161 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, four video
cassettes, three audio cassettes, photographs and news reports. It is
well settled that at the stage of framing the charges all that the
court has to consider is whether a prima facie case is made out. It is
not to enter into a trial on the merits. Section 227 of CrPC says that
if the Judge considers "that there is not sufficient ground for
proceeding against the accused, he shall discharge the accused", as
distinct from an acquittal which can follow only after a trial on the
merits of the charges.

The Supreme Court ruled in 1979 that "even a very strong suspicion
founded upon material before the Magistrate, which leads him to form a
presumptive opinion as to the existence of the factual ingredients
constituting the offence alleged, may justify the framing of charge".
Nor is the court bound to consider evidence produced by the accused.
It has to consider whether the prosecution case, if unrebutted,
establishes a case in law. That is what a prima facie case means in
law.

KAMAL NARANG

Sadhvi Ritambara.

The sole issue before the Magistrate, therefore, was whether the
police statements produced before him by the prosecution established
such a case. Thirty-odd such statements are reproduced in the
judgment; some contradict others. The contradiction is to be resolved
only in the trial proper; not while framing the charges unless, of
course, the ones against the accused are manifestly untrue or absurd.
In this case, they were not.

Consider the very first two statements which the judgment quotes:
"Shri Ram Kripal Das, disciple of Mahant late Bharat Das, PS
Ramjanmabhoomi, Faizabad, has made, in the main, the following
statement under Section 161 CrPC: "On 6.12.1992 I remained near my
temple the whole day. Through my door and the windows inside, sounds
coming from the Ram Katha Kunj and words (like) Sheshavatar Mandir,
vivadit dhancha (disputed structure) vivadit chabutara (disputed
platform) can be heard. That day, a crowd of kar sevaks had started to
gather since morning. The kar sevaks were raising slogans and loudly
saying: today we would not stop even if some leader tries to stop us.
We will demolish it today... On the Ram Katha Kunj side, leaders were
making speeches one by one that a temple has to be built. There was a
lot of noise. Lal Krishna Advani, Ashok Singhal, Vinay Katiyar, Murli
Manohar Joshi, etc. spoke. All the leaders were making enthusiastic
speeches. I had seen with my own eyes the above leaders going towards
the temple. When there was a hullabaloo and they were demolishing the
disputed structure, none of the leaders was preventing them. If these
leaders had told the kar sevaks not to break any dome, they would have
obeyed it, because they had called the kar sevaks to come here. Vinay
Katiyar was much active from the very beginning and was prepared to do
everything right or wrong for temple construction" (emphasis added,
throughout).

Dhanpat Ram Yadav made the following statement under Section 161 CrPC:
"On 6.12.92, I was on the roof of the Sita Rasoi (Sita's kitchen) from
early morning. That day I saw Vinay Katiyar, Lal Krishna Advani, Uma
Bharati, etc. coming in a crowd of kar sevaks. They were making
speeches that were provoking the kar sevaks, saying Mandir bana kar
jaayenge, Hindu Rashtra banayenge (we will leave after building a
temple and we will build a Hindu Rashtra). When the kar sevaks had
climbed the domes in large numbers and were demolishing them, none of
the leaders prevented anyone or told to stop. All stood silent... "
Another 10 statements were in the same vein followed by that of
Chandra Kishore Mishra who said "inflamed by the very speeches of
these leaders, the kar sevaks brought down the structure". Advani was
specifically mentioned by him as one of them.

The Additional Superintendent of Police, Faizabad, Anju Gupta was
detailed to provide security to Advani. She saw people running towards
the mosque with tools in their hands. If she could see that so, one
would think, could "the leaders". She said "Then Shri Lal Krishna
Advani asked me what was happening inside the temple. I asked the
control room and came to know that kar sevaks had entered it and were
busy demolishing the structure; then I told him the same. I also told
him that many people had got injured and were being brought near the
Ram Katha Kunj for treatment. Then Advani told me: I want to go and
tell them to come down. I conferred with S.P. Intelligence and
Commandant of the 15th Battalion who were with Shri Murli Manohar
Joshi. He said it was not proper to go into the crowd as these people
were inflamed. Shri Advani talked to his comrades and told me that he
won't go but somebody would have to be taken there. Then I sent Uma
Bharati and two others there. The crowd surrounded my jeep near Dorahi
Kuwan and did not allow us to go ahead. Then Uma Bharati and we
proceeded on foot. I saw after sometime that people had come down from
the domes. They were talking of doing the kar seva from below, not
from above. Advani told me he wanted to talk to the DM. He also told
about talking to the Chief Minister, but I pleaded helplessness. One
person, who had come with Uma Bharati, was making fun of the Supreme
Court. After some time, Advani and Joshi went to the office of Ram
Katha Kunj, and told me they were talking to the Chief Minister. I saw
fire and smoke rising at all sides in Ayodhya. Advani told me... [page
92 bottom: seems some lines are missing here]... began to distribute
sweets... . Advani came back at about six and a half. With him there
were Murli Manohar Joshi, Vishnu Hari Dalmiya, Ashok Singhal and Vinay
Katiyar etc. About the speeches from the stage, I have already told. I
remember the atmosphere became surcharged with Advani's arrival.
People were raising slogans, but I could not hear any other slogan
because of being busy with other works. Joshi had spoken earlier, he
had said whatever Narasimha Rao could say, the temple would be
constructed here. I did not see these leaders making any attempt to
prevent the kar sevaks from demolishing the disputed structure. Advani
was sad that people were falling from the domes and dying... on the
fall of the first, second and third domes, Uma Bharati and Ritambara
had embraced each other; sweets were also distributed. The two had
also embraced the males. Embracing Advani, Joshi and S.C. Dixit, Uma
Bharati and Ritambara were expressing their happiness. On the fall of
the domes, all the said eight accused and Acharya Dharmendra etc were
congratulating one another. All were expressing happiness."

Vinay Katiyar.

Renu Mittal confirmed reports in The Hindu and The Indian Express
(December 7, 1992): "L.K. Advani began to address the kar sevaks over
the mike from the protection of the Ram Katha Kunj platform. In the
rush of shouts and the milling confusion he could be overheard telling
the kar sevaks to block all entry points to Ayodhya to stop anyone
entering the town. He also announced that the kar seva that begun
today would only end once the mandir nirman was completed... . At 3-30
p.m. the left dome of the Babri Masjid was demolished. Many of the kar
sevaks were injured and some of them were buried under the falling of
the debris of the dome."

Triyugi Narayan Tewari told the police: "The RSS workers also climbed
the domes and demolished the disputed structure. Sh. Ashok Singhal,
L.K. Advani, Uma Bharati, Vinay Katiyar, Murli Manohar Joshi, Acharya
Dharmendra, Sadhvi Ritambara were also present there and were inciting
the kar sevaks."

A few statements, about 5 or 6, averred that Advani urged the kar
sevaks to climb down; evidently for their own protection. For, some
were buried in the debris.

Vishnu Hari Dalmiya.

The Magistrate's observations on the course the case took are
significant. "This is an indisputable fact that the High Court had
before itself a combined charge-sheet in cases 197/92 (demolition) and
198/92 (speeches) and, compared to this court, the High Court was
presented with much more evidence/statements of witnesses. Apart from
it, the High Court had before it the charge under Section 120 IPC
(conspiracy), which was not included in the charge-sheet filed in this
court. After the said judgment, an order was passed by the Special
Judge (Ayodhya Prakaran), Lucknow, in which 21 accused were recognised
as accused in case 198/92 (speeches) and proceedings against them were
ordered to be stopped. These included the eight accused named in the
charge-sheet filed in this court. Thereafter, the CBI requested the
State government to rectify the said shortcoming in the notification
dated 8/10/93, but the said shortcoming was not rectified by the State
government. After that, special writ petitions were filed by Bhure Lal
and three others against the said judgment of the High Court, on which
the Supreme Court issued its judgment/order on 29/11/2002. Under the
said order of the Supreme Court, a petition has been filed by the CBI
in this court constituted under the former notification, on which the
CBI was directed to get the papers in case 198/92 (speeches) and
present in this court. The record of case 198/92 (speeches) was
received and then the CBI filed a supplementary charge-sheet. At
present the case is being heard in this court under the Supreme Court
order dated 29/11/2002. Thus this court has considered the material
presented to it about this charge. Statements of some more witnesses
were considered after the CBI filed a charge-sheet and some evidence
along with it and, later, after its advance investigation."

THUS the CBI itself dropped the conspiracy charge (Section 120 IPC).
The Magistrate lists some 19 considerations for framing the charges.
Two of them read thus: (2) "If the case falls in the area of doubt, it
cannot take the place of proof at the conclusion of the hearing. But
if there is serious doubt in the initial stage and it leads the court
to think that there is ground to believe that the accused has
committed the offence, then the court is not allowed to say that
enough ground is not there for proceeding against the accused... (8)
If material has been presented before the court and that creates
serious doubt against the accused and has not been adequately
explained, it is justified for the court to frame charges and start
hearing." He violated both.

He recorded: "In the videocassettes presented to the court, no leader
is seen making a speech during the demolition of the said structure on
6/12/92. From a perusal of all the statements under Section 161 CrPC
and the available material, it appears prima facie that there were two
groups during the event - one was demolishing the disputed structure
while the other was, along with the security forces, attempting to
prevent the demolition of the disputed structure. The prosecution
witness Shri Ram Kripal Das has said in his statement, among other
things, that the kar sevaks were greatly excited and loudly telling
that (they) would not stop even if some leader tried to stop them.

AJIT KUMAR/AP

Acharya Giriraj Kishore.

"In her statement, Anju Gupta has specifically said that on 6/12/92
she was deployed for Lal Krishna Advani's security. She has also said
that the S.P. Intelligence and the Commandant of the 15th Battalion
were with Murli Manohar Joshi Ms. Anju Gupta is an IPS officer and, as
is evident from her statement, she was deployed for Lal Krishna
Advani's security. Therefore, Anju Gutpa's statement is extremely
important regarding L.K. Advani. She has said the following in her
statement: "I had seen some boys advancing towards the disputed
structure from the Kuber Tola side, with tools in their hands. Then
Shri Lal Krishna Advani asked me what was happening inside the
temple... ."

"From this statement, the prima facie conclusion emerges that at that
time L.K. Advani did not know that demolition of the disputed
structure had started. Besides, Advani's contention in Anju Gupta's
statement that `I want to go and tell them to come down' generates
another view contrary to the prima facie charge against him. In her
statement, Anju Gupta has not indicated any such contention by any
other leader. She has also said Advani had asked her what was
happening at other places and she had said she did not know. The fact
of Advani inquiring about what was happening at other places prima
facie reveals his ignorance." How does his ignorance of what was
happening at "other places" in the city prove his ignorance of what
was happening before his and everyone else's eyes - demolition of the
mosque. His reasoning is palpably wrong. First, there were no "two
groups" of leaders, implying that Advani belonged to one that tried to
pacify the mob while the rest instigated it. Who were Advani's allies
in the pacificatory effort or was he alone in this? There were in fact
two sets of statements before the court. It is not the number but the
quality that matters. Even so, the overwhelming majority explicitly
implicated Advani along with the rest as an instigator. The minority
is not only small but pathetically laboured in its apologia.

Secondly, from a mere query by Advani to Anju Gupta, Vinod Kumar Singh
jumps to the astonishing conclusion that "L.K. Advani did not know
that demolition of the disputed mosque had started." The demolition
was surely there for all to see. The query was "what was happening
inside the temple" (sic.). His concern was not to stop the demolition,
else he would not have urged barricading of the roads to prevent
Central forces from arriving. The reason for his disquiet was
different as she clearly mentioned: "Advani was sad that people were
falling from the domes and dying."

DOUGLAS E CURRAN/AFP

Kar sevaks stop the Babri Masjid five hours before the structure was
demolished on December 6, 1992.

Thirdly, the Magistrate holds that "Anju Gupta has not indicated any
such contention (sic.) by any other leader." On the strength of this
solitary statement, Advani alone is exonerated. Her statement itself
is palpably misconstrued. Lastly, the Magistrate embarked on the
evaluation of the evidence. He singles out her statement, misconstrues
it, and ignores the enormous bulk, which clubbed Advani with the rest.
This is in clear breach of the law as laid down by the Supreme Court.

The Magistrate holds: "On the basis of the material presented to the
court, and having considered the extensive possibilities and the total
impact of the evidence in the light of both sides' arguments, I am of
the opinion that two views appear probable only about the prima facie
charge brought against the accused Lal Krishna Advani. One view is
that, prima facie, the crime was caused by Lal Krishna Advani to be
committed and the other view is that, prima facie, the crime was not
caused to be committed by him. After having considered the available
material and the two sides' arguments, in my opinion, suspicion but no
serious suspicion, seems to exist about the accused Lal Krishna Advani
having caused the crime to be committed under Sections 147/149/153A/
153B/505 IPC. On the contrary, having considered the available
material on record in the light of the two sides' arguments, I am of
the opinion that serious suspicion exists about the crime having been
caused under Section 147/149/153A/153B/505 IPC by the other accused
Dr. Murli Manohar Joshi, Ashok Singhal, Vishnu Hari Dalmiya, Acharya
Giriraj Kishore, Sadhvi Uma Bharati, Vinay Katiyar and Sadhvi
Ritambara, which the said accused have been unable to explain... . As
per the above discussion, as two views are possible regarding the
accused Lal Krishna Advani's offence and there exists only suspicion
(keval sandeh) that he caused the said crime to be committed,
therefore under the said ruling the accused Lal Krishna Advani
deserves to be acquitted from the charge in the case in question.

"As per the above discussion, serious suspicion (ghor sandeh) exists
that the crime was caused to be committed by the accused Dr. Murli
Manohar Joshi, Ashok Singhal, Vishnu Hari Dalmiya, Acharya Giriraj
Kishore, Sadhvi Uma Bharati, Vinay Katiyar and Sadhvi Ritambara, which
the said accused have been unable to explain, therefore in the light
of the said ruling, a prima facie case is made against the accused Dr.
Murli Manohar Joshi, and the rest."

The Magistrate, in effect, tried Advani on the merits instead of
framing charges against him since a prima facie case was disclosed
warranting a full trial. Only at the end is the accused entitled to
benefit of the doubt. The reasoning is tortuous in the extreme. The
conclusion is manifestly demonstrably wrong. Magistrate Vinod Kumar
Singh's judgment prevents Advani's trial on grounds that are
manifestly wrong. Criminal proceedings in the Ayodhya case have taken
a bizarre course. In the Sessions Court at Lucknow, the Judge Srikant
Shukla drops the conspiracy charge on May 4, 2001, in breach of the
High Court's ruling on February 12, 2001. In the Rae Bareli court the
CBI drops that charge in its "supplementary" charge-sheet on May 30,
2003. What are we coming to? The civil proceedings are as disquieting;
especially after the order for excavation by the Special Bench of the
High Court last March. As for the CBI's role the less said the
better.

http://www.flonnet.com/fl2102/stories/20040130002204700.htm

Resolved Question
Hindu Hate Crimes?

Why doesn't anyone ever point out the Hindu hate crimes against
Muslims in India and Pakistan while they are talking about Religious
Extremism?
3 years ago

Additional Details
Thomas, please see answer below, thanks
3 years ago

by Thomas B Member since:
June 12, 2007
Total points:
5188 (Level 5)

Best Answer - Chosen by Voters
Dear Please list some.

Most Hindu attacks in India are retaliation to what the stupid Muslims
start.

Please show us a proof of Muslim oppression with facts to support your
claim.

Whatever Kalebow has stated comes from an extremist platform christian
news network. I am a Christian and still don't buy this BS spread by
the Evangelical Christian Media. Just the same I don't buy that
Muslims in Pakistan want peace.

All what Kalebow has said has supposedly happened in Burma and Sri
Lanka, he does not answer your question about India, please provide
proof of Hindu crimes against Muslims in Pakistan? are you joking.

When India and Pakistan were separated in 1947 Hindu population in
Pakistan was more than 14% today entire Pakistan is has less than 2%
minorities Pakistan is 98% Muslim State.

Where as India at Sepration had a 7% Muslim population which today is
more than 12% and 12% Muslims in India equal to the entire population
of Pakistan.

Please check your facts about ethnic cleansing then talk.
3 years ago
60% 3 Votes

chhotemianinshallah

unread,

Mar 9, 2010, 8:01:07 AM3/9/10

WELCOME TO NAVYA SHASTRA

Dear Friends:

Hinduism is facing a great many challenges, both external and
internal. On the outside, ill-wishers are trying to malign and
dismantle it. Within, we have practitioners and leaders who are
insensitive to, or unaware of the social, political, and ethical
forces that are sweeping the world. Navya Shastra consists of a group
of Hindus who deeply love and care for our rich and ancient tradition.
We are also very concerned about its future.
We strongly feel that one major blemish in the Hindu world (within
India) is the pernicious aspect of the caste system which denies equal
spiritual rights to all Hindus, and imposes a conceptual hierarchy
that considers some Hindus to be superior/inferior to other Hindus on
the basis of their birth. We do not think that the dehumanization of
Hindus or of any other people is part of the Vedas, Sanskrit or
Tamil.

If some shastras tolerated or encouraged caste-based social
injustices, we reject them, and declare it is time to formulate a
system of values consistent with the age in which we live
(yugadharma). We are against caste hierarchy and caste injustices, not
only because they are not sanctioned in the Vedas, but also because
they are morally wrong, unacceptable, and anachronistic in the world
in which we live. We also need to rid Hindu society of its caste
constraints, because they undermine the future of the religion as a
viable system in the modern world. We are dreaming of a day when the
loftier Hindu visions in Sanatana Dharma will spread all over the
world. There will come a time when practitioners of other religious
systems will resonate with the universal values and visions that are
implicit in the roots of Hinduism.

We invite all our Hindu brothers and sisters to join us in raising
their voices against casteism, and for making Hinduism a greater
religion than what she has ever been.

Lobby all dharmacharyas to reflect on the fossilized iniquities in
Sanatana Dharma. We will actively strive to catalyze the Hindu
leadership into addressing the caste issue and other salient social
issues.

Engender a national debate on a Navya Shastra--one that would redress
the inequalities inherent in the caste system. While the spiritual
intuition of our sages is timeless and eternal, the social tenets
which govern Hindu society have never been static--our lawgivers have
reinterpreted them in different eras.

Conduct a respectful dialogue on reformulating the social tenets of
Sanatana Dharma, in which all members of our community are welcomed to
participate.

Track and promote the efforts of Hindu/Indian organizations and
charities who are working to eradicate caste discrimination in India.
_________________________________________________

Special Announcement: Listen to Jaishree Gopal, Chairman of Navya
Shastra on National Public Radio

http://shastras.org/

NAVYA SHASTRA VISION STATEMENT

Most Hindus are shocked to know that, according to the ancient
Dharmashastras, over 80% of the Hindu population is forbidden to read
the Vedas. These law books were written by sages as procedural and
legal outlines for governing society, and they have remained de facto
authority on religious matters to this day. For example, some
traditional mathas still forbid Vedic instruction to anyone who is not
a ?dwija?--a male born into one of the three upper castes.

A recent Supreme Court of India decision held that non-brahmins are
now entitled to serve as temple priests, effectively opening up the
Vedas and Agamas to all seekers. While the ruling is laudable, we
wonder whether this judicial activism is sufficient to transfigure the
often miserable status of the so called lower castes. Most religious
leaders have remained conspicuously silent on the decision and,
whether out of indifference or disapproval, have not publicly
reflected on the potential consequences of the decision for Hindu
society. Until we have a convergence of sentiment towards a true
casteless society--one acknowledged by religious leaders, the
government and the Hindu community alike--all steps towards
improvement will be tentative gestures, at odds with recrudescent
casteist power structures that operate frightfully and efficiently in
rural India.

Rather than bemoaning, with the fatalists, the inexorably static
nature of society, or assuming, with the optimists, that change is a
natural process, we have decided to take matters into our own hands by
inciting a public debate on the caste issue and other salient social
issues. Would a Navya Shastra (or a comprehensive reinterpretation of
existing Dharmashastras), proposing a more egalitarian configuration
of Hindu society, be a beneficial template for affecting change? We
believe shastric and social reform is important for several reasons.

1. The caste system, as it is currently structured, spiritually
disenfranchises the vast majority of Hindus: Shudras, Dalits,
Adivasis, women and converts. No one, we believe, has studied the
negative psychological implications of such birth-based
classifications on the so called lower castes. A recent wave of Dalit
atrocities morbidly reveals that caste discrimination is still rampant
throughout India. This leaves many spiritually inclined Hindus feeling
that they are unwanted, peripheral stragglers, giving credence to
Hegel?s assertion that the caste system breeds ?spiritual serfdom?. A
Navya Shastra would open the Vedas (as they are traditionally taught)
to everyone, regardless of birth.

2. Until we have a Navya Shastra, the old Dharmashastras will remain,
by default, the governing authority on matters concerning the
religious status of Hindus. It would be rather absurd for the
government to comment on every religious controversy affecting Hindus.
After all, in a truly secular society, the government does not
interfere in religious matters. The will to change must come from the
Hindu leadership itself.

3. Non-Hindus who wish to convert to Hinduism cannot truly do so,
because the Dharmashastras make no place for them. This is very
unfortunate; arresting what was once a great enthusiasm for the Hindu
Dharma in the West.

4. Women are treated as second class citizens. A Navya Shastra would
also increase the status of women.

5. Though there are many reformist sects that have sought to redress
these inequalities, we feel it is crucially important for orthodoxy to
assent to this effort. Otherwise we will have a fractured Hinduism,
with different groups asserting that they alone represent the truth.

Please join our effort by participating in our community forum. We
welcome all sincere strategies for social change. We have an
unprecedented opportunity to make a difference together. Let?s not let
anyone else make it for us.

http://shastras.org/

Truth and Tension in Science and Religion, authored by noted physicist
and religious scholar V. V Raman

Exploring the Connections and Controversies Between Science and
Religion, August 11, 2009

Article on Dalits in Leading Brazilian Newspaper in Special Edition on
India
by Mukunda Raghavan, August, 2009

Navya Shastra on Article 377
Supporters Hail Delhi’s Landmark Pro-Gay Ruling
from India West, July 09, 2009

The organization was particularly critical of the Vishwa Hindu
Parishad, which came out against Article 377. "Unable to find any
strong theological basis in Hinduism for opposing homosexuality, the
VHP relied on the old canard that the family structure would somehow
be threatened by the decision," said Sugrutha Ramaswamy, a Navya
Shastra activist. "This is an unscientific understanding of
homosexuality, which is not a lifestyle choice but rather an inherent
human condition," she added. ....

Other news coverage
Edge Boston, July 10, 2009

India Abroad on Caste in the US
Caste Adrift, May 22, 2009
Caste and US, May 22, 2009

60 seconds chief

Hindu Business Line, March 16, 2009
60 seconds chief Blog, March 16, 2009

Story of a Reformer by Jaishree Gopal, a chapter in the book
Reflections by IITians published by Ram Krishnaswamy

Excerpt from Reflections by IITians, Dec 2008

I want to change what people do and believe in Hindu society,
especially with regards to caste and gender discrimination.
Dr. Jaishree Gopal, IITM & IITD Alumna
Co Founder of Navya Shastra
Interview with D. Murali of Hindu Business Line

Future of Religious Practice
from The Hindu Business Line, Dec 22, 2008
The Hindu, Dec 21, 2008
Food for Thought, Dec 20, 2008

Navya Shastra on Proposition 8
Hindus Urged to Vote Against Prop. 8
from The Advoocate, Nov 1, 2008

Navya Shastra, the international Hindu reform organization based in
Troy, Mich., sent out a press release Friday urging California voters
to reject Proposition 8, which would eliminate the right of same-sex
couples to marry under California law. ....

Other news coverage
Chakra News, Nov 3, 2008
Go Magazine, Nov 3, 2008

Navya Shastra on "Love Guru", the Movie
Hindu reform group opposes Love Guru protests
from Hindustan Times, May 20, 2008

...Navya Shastra, the organisation based in Troy, Michigan, which
earlier spoke out against astrology, female foeticide and Dalit
discrimination, has argued that hyper-sensitivity over inaccurate or
distorted religious depictions in mass media erodes the tradition of
tolerance of criticism in the Hindu faith....

Other news coverage
Zee News, May 22, 2008
Times of India, May 21, 2008
LA Times, May 2008
Asia Arts, UCLA, May 30, 2008

Navya Shastra on Female Feticide
Navya Shastra concern over India's foeticide epidemic
from The Indian Star, May 07, 2008

...Navya Shastra also called on the Hindu community and its
organizations to allow daughters to impart final rites at the funerals
of their parents. "One religious reason why boys are favored among
Hindus is because of the anachronistic belief that only a son can
formally conduct this ceremony, so a girl is totally worthless in this
regard," said Dr. Jaishree Gopal, Navya Shastra Chairman....

Other news coverage
Pro-Life Blog, May 07, 2008
Also appeared in Print Edition of India West

Navya Shastra on Malaysia
Navya Shastra condemns the Government of Malaysia for anti-Hindu
discrimination
from Asian Tribune, November 27, 2007

...One Navya Shastra member who participated in the rally reported
anonymously: "We have changed the political equations at home and
inspired minorities everywhere. We walked the talk. We smelled the
tear gas and it swelled our chests. Like Rosa Parks we said, 'No!'" It
further added that Navya Shastra stands in complete solidarity with
the Hindu community and all other minorities in Malaysia who are the
victims of government persecution.... ....

Navya Shastra Award of Recognition
Navya Shastra Award to two students from Karnataka
from Manglorean.com, August 15, 2007

...These two young women have demonstrated that by challenging
outmoded institutions and customs in a personal way, one can have an
impact on society at large. To paraphrase Mahatma Gandhi, it is
important for our youth to 'be the change' they want to see," said Dr.
Jaishree Gopal, Navya Shastra Chairman.... ....

Navya Shastra confers the title of Acharya Vidyasagar on Professor
V.V. Raman
Professor V.V. Raman receives title "Acharya Vidyasagar"
from Rochester Community Newsletter, May 28, 2007

...Navya Shastra of Troy, Michigan, the international Hindu reform
organization, honored Professor V.V. Raman by conferring on him the
title "Acharya Vidyasagar" in recognition of his many contributions to
Hinduism. Dr. Jaishree Gopal, Chairman of Navya Shastra, said “In
ancient India, an acharya was a teacher of profound truths, a guide on
the spiritual path, and someone an entire community looked up to....

Other news coverage
Metanexus Magazine, May 18, 2007

Navya Shastra on Temple Entry
Hindu reform organisation slams Jagannath temple priests
from Hindustan Times, March 5, 2007

..."We are appalled to know about the mindless throwing away of large
amounts of food by the Puri temple administration at the instigation
of pujaris (priests) with a medieval mindset at a time and place where
there are thousands of poor and hungry people," said the
organisation's chairman, Dr Jaishree Gopal. ....
Other news coverage
India's Tolerance Levels Tested as American Enters Forbidden
Sanctuary, March, 2007

Report from a Dalit village
Ghosts of the Past
from India Abroad, Feb 18, 2007

...It left me with the thought that true prosperity was impossible
until social advancement and a sense of equality became firmly
entrenched in our communities. ...

Navya Shastra on Manglik-related rituals of Aishwarya Rai
US Hindu reform group condemns rituals by Bachchan
from Daily News and Analysis, February 12, 2007

..."What concerns us is that millions of people may rationalise their
mistreatment of women based upon the Abhishek-Aishwarya example," said
Jaishree Gopal, Navya Shastra Chairman, in a press statement. ....
Other news coverage

Zee News, February 12, 2007
Malaysia Sun, February 12, 2007
Daily India, Fl, February 12, 2007
Philippine Times, February 13, 2007
Japan Herald, February 13, 2007
Yahoo India, Movies, February 12, 2007
The Telegraph, February 12, 2007
New Kerala, February 12, 2007

Navya Shastra Apology to Dalits
Navya Shastra Organization Apologizes for Untouchability
from Hinduism Today, hpi, December 20, 2006

We, at Navya Shastra, deeply regret and apologize for the atrocities
committed on the sons and daughters of the depressed communities of
India, including the tribals, the "untouchables" and all of the castes
deemed as low.... ....

An Unqualified Apology to Every Untouchable by Dr Bhaskar Dasgupta
from desicritic, February 2, 2006

...So here it is, I fully endorse and join Navya Shastra, in
apologising to the other castes, for what I and my forefathers may
have done and promise that I will raise my voice against this
disgusting practice, and hopefully help remove this by my words as
well as my behaviour.... . ...

Navya Shastra in Books
Opening the Doors of Wonder: Reflections on Religious Rites of Passage
by Arthur J. Magida
from Amazon, 2006

...thousand members of Navya Shastra and other reform groups are
seeking to go one step beyond Gandhi ....

Mending A Torn World: Women in Interreligious Dialogue (Faith Meets
Faith Series) by by Maura O'Neill (Paperback - Oct 31, 2007)
from Amazon, 2007

... Dr. Jaishree Gopal, a woman activist, commends the government of
India for working to end discrimination ..." ....

Navya Shastra on TV in Chennai
Temple inauguration in Dalit village, Idamani
Temple Inauguration, July 2006

...This event was aired on Chennai TV station, Thamizhan ....

California Textbook Controversy
Indian Groups Contest California Textbook Content
from New American Media, February 17, 2006

...They also say that it would serve the dalits' cause better if the
textbooks said that "untouchability is a living reality in India,"
instead of simply going by the Hindu groups' suggestion that the books
say that it is illegal to treat someone as an untouchable, Vikram
Masson, co-founder of Navya Shastra, a U.S.-based non-profit
organization that speaks out against caste-related issues, told India-
West. ....
Navya Shastra Organizations Calls for Fairer View in California
Textbooks
from HPI, February 2, 2006

...Navya Shastra is also dismayed that the school board is considering
redacting out any mention of Dalits. While the former untouchables of
India have been called or call themselves many things, including
Avarna and Harijan, the term Dalit is increasingly considered an
empowering symbol of unity among a section of the former untouchables,
including those who still retain their Hindu affiliation, and eliding
their identity must be viewed as an act of upper-caste hegemony. . ...

Hindu view on Papal Succession
Pope Vows to Pursue Outreach by Church
from Washington Post, Thursday, April 21, 2005; Page A18

..."A U.S.-based group of Hindu activists called Navya Shastra,
meanwhile, called on the pope to learn more about Hinduism. "Clearly
he is misinformed about the central practices and tenets which bind
the world's 800 million Hindus," said co-chairman Vikram Masson. ....

Other Faiths Recall Pope's Zeal as Faith Defender
from Reuters, April 20, 2005

...A U.S.-based group of world Hindu activists, Navya Shastra, hoped
the new Pope would learn more about its religion. "Ratzinger has
described Hindu meditative practices as 'auto-erotic' and has stated
that the Hindu doctrine of karma is 'morally cruel'," its co-chairman
Vikram Masson said. "Clearly he is misinformed about the central
practices and tenets which bind the world's 800 million Hindus....

THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH'S VIEWS ON OTHER FAITH GROUPS, AND THEIR
REACTIONS
from Religious Tolerance

..."Dr. Jaishree Gopal, is co-chairperson of Navya Shastra. She wrote:
"What is needed now is ecumenism and mutual trust. We hope that the
new Pope comes to understand this, because religious difference and
competition is causing mounting global conflict." ....
US Hindu organisation accu
ses VHP of casteism
from Times of India, Mar 06, 2005

..."This is a bizarre act of conceptual dehumanisation," the statement
quoted Navya Shastra co-chairperson Jaishree Gopal as saying. The
statement urged all Hindu organisations involved in proselytising
activities to do away with attaching cast labels to new converts.
"Surely all modern Hindu reformers agree that there is no spiritual
merit attached to any caste affiliation," the statement added....
(This news item also appeared in various other publications: Hindustan
Times, Pluralism.org, Kerala News, Kerala Next, Express Newsline,
Yahoo India)
God's Wrath in India?
from Beliefnet, Jan 5, 2005

...Another Hindu group, the reformist Navya Shastra, issued a press
release condemning Hindu organizations that have bought into the act-
of-God view, comparing their remarks to those of Christian leaders
like Jerry Falwell. While acknowledging, like Vaishnav, that karma
could have played a role in the deaths, the group, made of Hindu
scholars, practitioners and priests outside India, suggested that it
was more important to focus on helping survivors than trying to
explain why the disaster happened. ....
Tsunami News Coverage
from Times of India, Dec 28, 2004
NEW YORK: With people relating tsunami to God's wrath, a Hindu group
is out to re-educate masses.
from Hindustan Times, Dec 28, 2004
A Michigan-based Hindu group has condemned labelling Sunday's tsunami
tragedy a "vengeful act of God" and asked the global Hindu community
to contribute generously to assist victims of the catastrophe....
from Express Newsline, Europe, Dec 28, 2004
Navya Shastra, a global organization of scholars, activists, priests
and lay people dedicated to fostering the spiritual equality of all
Hindus, has called upon the global Hindu community to contribute
generously to the victims of the December 26 earthquake-cum Tsunami
wave attack in South East Asia. ...
from Guardian UK, Dec 28, 2004
As the world grapples with the scale of the disaster of Indian Ocean
tidal wave, the Guardian's Martin Kettle poses a troubling question
for those who believe in God. ...But a Michigan-based Hindu group,
Navya Shastra, has condemned organisations in India for describing the
disaster as a "vengeful act of God" for the arrest of a Hindu seer, on
murder and other charges. ...
This news item also appeared in various other publications: Yahoo
India, MSN news, Bangladesh Sun, WebIndia, NetIndia, Manorama Online,
Kerala News, Kerala Next, ReligiousTolerance.org
Hindu American Foundation Files Amicus Brief with US Supreme Court in
Ten Commandments Case HPI
from hpi archives, Dec, 21, 2004

...The 34-page brief was signed by HAF, Arsha Vidya Pitham, Arya Samaj
of Michigan, Hindu International Council Against Defamation, Hindu
University of America, Navya Shastra, Saiva Siddhanta Church
(publisher through its teaching wing, Himalayan Academy, of Hinduism
Today and HPI), Federation of Jain Associations in North America,
Interfaith Freedom Foundation and prominent Buddhist scholar and
Director of Tibet House, Professor Robert Thurman....

Hindu group criticises Kanchi Shankaracharya
from Newindpress, Oct 15, 2004

...Navya Shastra research director Gautham Rao, said money for the
crown had come through donations and it could have been put to better
use. "Clearly at this time in Indian history, when the majority of
Indian citizens continue to live at or near poverty levels, we felt
the money should have been spent on social service," he
said.... ...Navya Shastra also questioned the participation of
(Christian) Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy in
the "opulent" (Hindu) ceremony.
(this news item also appeared in Yahoo India, MSN India, Indian angle,
123Bharat.com, New Kerala portals)

Hindu Temple Society of North America, et al. v. New York Supreme
Court, et al.
from Becketfund

...On September 2, 2004, ten organizations--representing various
religious denominations--submitted an amicus (friend of the court)
letter (PDF format, 66K) in support of The Becket Fund's motion for a
preliminary injunction against the defendants of the federal suit. The
Hindu American Foundation presented the letter on behalf of AGNI
Corporation, the Catholic League for Civil and Religious Rights, the
Hindu Human Rights Group, the Hindu International Council Against
Defamation, Hindu University of America, Ile Obatala Oya, Kanchi
Kamakoti Seva Foundation, Navya Shastra, and the Queens Federation of
Churches....

NRI group battles Hinduism's "inequalities
from India Abroad, June 18, 2004

...While the Indian government has encouraged such reforms to an
extent, the organization insists that Hindus themselves should take up
the cause while avoiding factionalism. At the same time, the group has
been critical of Dalits for highlighting caste discrimination without
actively working with Hindu leaders to resolve the problem.... ....

US body condemns discrimination against Dalit student
from Newindpress, June 06, 2004

A Hindu organisation in the US has condemned reported discrimination
against a Dalit student who was allegedly victimised for offering
prayers in a Hindu temple in India's Andhra Pradesh state....

(this news item also appeared in Yahoo India, NRI Worldwide, MSN
India, Kerala News, Kerala Next)

Local priest supports movement to reform Hindu customs
from India Herald, May 24, 2004

...Navya Shastra is a large group of believers of the Hindu Dharma
domicled in various countries. We believe that chariot of Hindu
society cannot move forward if any of the five horses lag behind. We
have therefore committed ourselves to the mission of facilitating
optimal spiritual development of all Hindus regardless of caste or
gender....
Bound by the same thread
from India Abroad, Teenspeak, Jan 23, 2004

...Let us start modifying our traditions as seen fit without
destroying the essence, beginning with allowing women and all Hindus
to take part in Upanyanam and feel equal in this manner.

Hindu Group Criticizes Dalit Representatives at World Social Forum
from HPI Archives, Jan 23, 2004

Navya Shastra, a US-based global Hindu organization of scholars,
activists, priests and laypeople, has criticized the Dalit
representatives and organizers of the World Social Forum for
highlighting the Hindu dimensions of discrimination against the Dalit
community while refusing to work with the Hindu leadership to bring
about religious reforms...
Solar Flares by Harsh Kabra
from Outlook, Dec 15, 2003

..."The Vedas and its chanting tradition form the fountainhead, the
very epicentre, of the religious beliefs of over 800 million people,"
Vikram Masson, co-chairman, NS, told Outlook from New Jersey. "Be it a
farmer in Tamil Nadu or a fisherman in Bengal, some part of his
spiritual worldview has been inspired by the utterances of the rishis.
By closeting the Vedas with other cultural expressions, UNESCO has
marginalised and diminished the most important scriptures in the Hindu
tradition."....

End caste discrimination, Hindu leaders urged
from IANS, Nov 28, 2003

...Here we have a historic opportunity to declare to the world that
Hinduism will reform itself for ever of caste discrimination," said
Vikram Masson, Navya Shastra co-chairman. "Hinduism, which is
thousands of years old, has never had a significant reformist
movement,"...

Don’t place Vedas in a cabinet of curios
from Deccan Herald, Nov 26, 2003

...Several noteworthy Hindu reformers and thinkers, including Swami
Dayanada Saraswati and Dr. Sarvapelli Radhakrishnan, have advocated
that the Vedic tradition be open to all. We should not ignore their
wisdom.

Hindu group protests clubbing Vedas with folk arts
from Hindustan Times, Nov 19 2003

A US-based Hindu organisation has protested to Unesco against its
decision to club Vedic chanting tradition as a folk art along with the
Belgian carnival of Binche and Indonesia's Wayang puppet theatre....

(this news item also appeared in Newindpress, Hinduism Today, India-
Tribune, India-West)

http://shastras.org/

A New Year Resolution for Hinduism: Opening Temple Doors to All

A recent report of a study conducted across 1,655 villages in the
Indian state of Gujarat, representing 98,000 Dalits, revealed the
shocking fact that 97% of them feel that they are unwelcome at Hindu
temples, religious gatherings and public discourses on scripture.
Researchers did not find a single village that was free from the
practice of untouchability. (“No temple entry for dalits in Gujarat,”
Times of India, 7 December 2009). Such exclusion is neither infrequent
nor limited to Gujarat. The BBC News (“Fury over south India temple
ban,”15 October, 2009) reported an incident of stone throwing to
protest Dalits entering a temple near Vedaranyam in the state of Tamil
Nadu. Last month the High Court of Chennai issued an order, against
the wishes of temple trustees, that a temple procession pass through a
Dalit community in the Villipuram District. Dalit (oppressed) is the
name preferred by those who have been relegated to the lowest rungs of
the caste ladder and regarded as untouchable by members of upper
castes. Dalits constitute around 20% of the Indian population.

Although the exclusion of Dalits from places of Hindu worship ought to
be a matter of deep concern and distress, there is hardly a ripple of
protest in the sea of Hindu complacency. Shutting the doors of Hindu
temples to Dalits stands in bewildering contrast to the anxiety in
other religious traditions about dwindling numbers and the expenditure
of considerable resources to attract the faithful. It should not
surprise that those debarred from Hindu sanctums enter, in significant
numbers, the open and inviting doors of others. Those in India and
outside who are vociferous opponents of religious conversion must
understand and acknowledge the Dalit experience of the Hindu tradition
as oppressive and negating their dignity and self-worth. Conversion is
a challenge for Hindus to consider the relationship between religious
practice and systemic oppression. Exclusion from temples is only one
manifestation of such oppression.

It troubles deeply also that, with notable exceptions, the principal
voices of protest over exclusion are not those of Hindu leaders. In
the case of anti-Dalit violence in the town of Vedaranyam, referred to
above, the protests were led by supporters of the Communist Party of
India –Marxist. In other cases, secular-minded human rights activists
are at the forefront of the agitation on behalf of the Dalits. Earlier
this year, Navin Pillay, UN Commissioner for Human Rights, condemned
caste as negating the human rights principles of equality and non-
discrimination and called for a UN convention to outlaw discrimination
based on caste. The response of silence from Hindus may be interpreted
as support for barring Dalits from places of worship. Even more
importantly, indifference gives validation to the wrong impression
that the Hindu tradition has no theological ground or core for
challenging the human inequality that is at the root of the Dalit
ostracization and oppression.

The assumptions of human inequality that explain the continuing
persistence of untouchability need an urgent, vigorous and unambiguous
theological repudiation originating from the non-negotiable heart of
the Hindu tradition. Although Hinduism is admittedly diverse, its
major traditions are unanimous in affirming the equal existence of God
in every being. “God,” the Bhagavadgita proclaims, “ lives in the
heart of all beings.” This core theological teaching must become the
basis for the assertion of the equal dignity and worth of every human
being and the motivation for challenging and transforming the
oppressive structures of caste that, in reality, deny and violate the
luminous presence of God in all. Although every unjust expression of
caste needs to be denounced, the shutting of temple doors to persons
pleading for the opportunity to worship challenges, in a special way,
the meaning and legitimacy of Hinduism as a religious tradition. For
this reason, Hindus must commit themselves with tireless determination
to the work of welcoming Dalits into every Hindu place of worship.
Such work must be seen as fundamental to Hindu identity and the
meaning of belonging to the community of Hindus.

While we must commend and support Hindu leaders and movements working
already for the well being of Dalits and their equality and dignity,
we must recognize also that many Hindu leaders may not be at the
forefront of such a religiously inspired movement. They are the
beneficiaries of the privileges of caste and immune to the pain of
those who live at the margins. All Hindus who understand the
contradiction between teachings centered on God’s embodiment in every
human being and the exclusion of people from places of worship must
embrace this cause. Hindus settled outside of India who enjoy the
privileges of living in free societies and the protection of the law
against unequal and unjust treatment, have special obligations in this
matter. They need to lift their voices in protest against practices in
the name of Hinduism that denigrate human beings. They must ensure
that Hindu leaders, and especially those who travel often to the West
and who are the recipients of their donations and reverence, hear
their voices. They must make clear the unacceptability of religious
discrimination and demand that leaders renounce silence and
indifference and become active advocates for change. Every Hindu
leader must be challenged to take a stand in this matter.

The Constitution of India specifies, “The State shall not discriminate
against any citizen on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex, place of
birth.” Constitutional and legal measures, as necessary as these are,
have not and will not eliminate all forms of discrimination based on
caste inequality. Legal measures can never cause the joyous embrace of
all that follows from awakening to God’s presence in each heart.
Religious vision and wisdom can be the source of such transformed
relationships. Hinduism needs an unequivocal theological proclamation
that complements constitutional law by repudiating caste injustice and
that commits Hindus to the equal worth of all human beings. Opening
the doors of all Hindu temples to Dalits is an important step, an
urgent religious matter and an opportunity for the Hindu tradition, in
our time, to define itself. Let this be our collective Hindu
resolution in 2010.

Anantanand Rambachan
Professor and Chair
Religion Department
Saint Olaf College
1520 Saint Olaf Avenue
Northfield
MN 55057
E-mail: ramb...@stolaf.edu

http://shastras.org/rambachan.html

Exploring the Connections and Controversies Between Science and
Religion
New book provides overview and historical perspective on centuries-old
debate

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
by William Dube, Aug. 11, 2009 —
Follow William Dube on Twitter
Follow RITNEWS on Twitter

A new book seeks to enhance understanding of the interconnections
between science and religion and promote greater harmony in the long-
running debate between the empirical and spiritual schools of thought.

Truth and Tension in Science and Religion, authored by noted physicist
and religious scholar V. V Raman, provides a historical overview of
the development and spread of scientific inquiry and its interaction
with various religious schools of thought. It also seeks to present a
balanced review of the key tenants of both science and religion and
explore the similarities and areas for cooperation between them.

“While most people can name the many differences between scientific
inquiry and faith, there are as many similarities between the two
schools and, in fact, one has been influenced by the other for
centuries,” says Raman, professor emeritus of physics and humanities
at Rochester Institute of Technology. “Science and religion are much
more interconnected than we often realize and by examining this I hope
to reduce the tension between theologians and scientists and increase
collaboration.”

For example, Jaishree Gopal, director of Navya Shastra, the
international Hindu reform organization, notes that “even while
quoting the best of ethics from various religious traditions, Raman’s
book makes it clear that it is the modern world view, imbued with the
scientific perspective, that has led to our collective moral awakening
regarding practices such as racism, slavery and untouchability.”

Raman has spent nearly three decades studying the intersections
between philosophy, religion and science and currently serves as a
senior fellow of the Metanexus Institute on Science and Religion. He
is the author of 11 books and in 2006 was awarded the Raja Rao award
for outstanding contributions to South Asian literature.

http://www.rit.edu/news/?v=46939

Indian GLBTs the World Over Hail Sexual Decriminalization Ruling
by Kilian Melloy
Friday Jul 10, 2009

Indian GLBT equality proponent Manohar Elavarthi

The decriminalization of same-gender intimacy between consenting
adults in India is viewed by GLBT equality advocates as a major step
forward, but not a cure-all for the societal prejudices faced by
Indian gays.

As reported at New American Media on July 10, the section of the
Indian penal code, Article 377--a relic of the days when Britain
dominated the country under colonial rule--was struck down on Jyly 2
by the Delhi High Court, which found the law to be in violation of
constitutional protections.

The article carried a quoted from GLBT equality proponent Sandip Roy,
who said, "The community here has reacted ecstatically. Most people I
talked to said over and over again that they did not think it would
happen in their lifetime."

Celebrations took place all over the globe. Said Roy, "There were
impromptu celebrations in many cities. People went down to the
Stonewall Inn in New York where the modern gay rights movement began
in 1969.

"In San Francisco, friends distributed mithai at a bar in Castro.

"With Facebook and e-mail these days, the news was huge news as soon
as it broke," Roy noted.

The article cited a Berkeley, CA life coach, Krishnakali Chaudhuri, as
also hailing the ruling, though he tempered his remarks with the
observation that societal bias still remains.

"I think overall it’s a small step in the right direction," said
Chaudhuri, "but we have a long way to go."

One specific point of note, said Choudhury, was the distinction
between decriminalizing same-sex consensual intimacy between adults
and making it legal.

Said Chaudhury, "The international community of human rights is really
applauding the ruling but we have to understand that we have just
decriminalized homosexuality but we haven’t legalized it yet."

Added the GLBT equality advocate, "We need to legalize homosexuality
and then we can make changes to all the qualities of workplace,
marriage unions or health or everything else."

The article said that an American organization comprised of Indian
Americans had also hailed the court’s decision.

The Michigan-based Hindu organization Navya Shastra issued a statement
reading, "For over a century, the law has given license to the state
to persecute individuals based on their sexual orientation.

"Navya Shastra urges the Government of India not to challenge the
ruling or to be swayed by religious chauvinists of any persuasion who
would deny equality to all citizens based on ancient interpretations
of religious texts."

The group took exception to the opposition of a Hindu political party
in India, which spoke out against the repeal.

Stated Navya Shastra’s Sugrutha Ramaswamy, "Unable to find any strong
theological basis in Hinduism for opposing homosexuality, the VHP
relied on the old canard that the family structure would somehow be
threatened by the decision."

Added Ramaswamy, "This is an unscientific understanding of
homosexuality, which is not a lifestyle choice but rather an inherent
human condition."

Others in India also spoke out against the repeal, including a guru
whose claims concerning the health benefits of yoga extend to saying
that gays can be "cured" through the practice of yoga.

A Rediff News.com article from July 10 reported that guru Baba
Ramdev’s insistence that homosexuality is a pathological condition,
and that it can be alleviated through yogic practice, was panned not
only by health professionals but also by his fellow yoga proponents.

The article said that Ramdev took his claims to the Indian Supreme
Court, which had previously been approached by a prominent astrologer
with a petition to re-implement the anti-gay statute.

Said the astrologer, Sushil Kumar Kaushal, "...even animals don’t
indulge in such activities," going on to assert that higher rates of
HIV/AIDS would result from the decriminalization of adult consensual
relations between gays.

But health care professionals in the country have long lobbied for the
end of the statute, pointing out that gay Indians were less likely to
get tested and to practice safer sex as long as legal sanctions were
in place against consensual same-sex adult intimacy.

Under the anti-gay law, same-sex intimacy could be punished by jail
terms of up to ten years.

Moreover, scientists have noted same-sex courtship behavior and even
long-term partnering among some 4,000 animal species.

Ramdev’s claims were rebuffed by, among others, a physician named Dr.
Devdutt Pattanak, who said, "Is his statement based on scriptural
evidence or evidence-based medicine? It is neither."

Added Dr. Pattanak, "It is just a subjective remark."

Dr. Pattanak went on to point out that health professionals had
arrived at a quite different conclusion than had Ramdev.

"Thousands of hours of research have gone into the classification of
diseases, and neither the World Health Organization nor any
psychiatric or psychology journal recognizes homosexuality as a
disease," Dr. Pattanak noted.

"Do we believe scientific research or just an individual’s opinion,
which may simply be a marketing gimmick?"

Yoga practitioner Deepika Mehta, who found healing through yoga after
being paralyzed in an accident, also spoke out against Ramdev’s
claims, the article said.

Ms. Mehta took exception with Ramdev’s essential thesis that
homosexuality is a disease, suggesting rather that, as most medical
experts attest, it is innate and natural to gays.

Said Mehta, "Yoga is about acceptance and coming to terms with who you
really are, your purest core.

"It helps you shed the layers imposed by society.

"And in my experience, yoga has helped a lot of people come to terms
with their sexual orientation, rather than live in denial," added Ms.
Mehta.

Furthermore, Ramdev’s medical claims have no more basis in spiritual
teaching than in medical fact. Said Dr. Pattanak, "Not even the
scriptures recognize homosexuality as a disease."

The article quoted from an article Dr. Pattanak, who is also an expert
in Indian mythology, had written.

"An overview of temple imagery, sacred narratives and religious
scriptures does suggest that homosexual activities--in some form--did
exist in ancient India," observed Dr. Pattanak’s article.

"Though not part of the mainstream, its existence was acknowledged but
not approved," the article continued. "There was some degree of
tolerance when the act expressed itself in heterosexual terms--when
men ’became women’ in their desire for other men, as the hijra legacy
suggests.’"

Nitin Karani, of the GLBT equality group Humsafar Trust, noted, "While
we don’t know what leads to it yet... we do know that homosexuality is
innate.

"And it is not a Western phenomenon, as some people are trying to
label it," added Karani.

"Neither is it a disease."

Noted Karani, "A lot of gay people I know are into yoga and meditation
and are extremely spiritual, but it has not resulted in any overnight
conversions."

In a separate interview published July 10, Rediff.com News spoke with
Indian GLBT equality proponent Manohar Elavarthi, who told the
publication, "Now it is a question of social tolerance. Just because
the law has changed it does not mean that the attitude of the people
will change.

"However, I must add that the court verdict has opened things up for
all of us. I only hope that the Supreme Court upholds the verdict."

Added Elavarthi, "What we want is a complete repeal of the Section 377

of the Indian Penal Code.

"The IPC is guided by a feudal set up and it has not changed with the
times," Elavarthi went on. "About social acceptance, we need to work
towards it.

Elavarthi reposnded to concerns that repealing the entire Article,
which also addresses sexual assault and abuse, by saying, "...along
with this we need to ensure that laws regarding sexual abuse, be it
male or female or children related laws need to be strengthened."

Elavarthi noted that religious objections were not entirely grounded
in scriptural sources.

"In Hinduism there is nothing to show that it is anti-homosexuality."

Indeed, added Elavarthi, "There are instances to show that some of the
Gods have undergone a sex change.

"I don’t understand how Baba Ramdev and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad are
opposing this.

"Where Christianity is concerned," Elavartha continued, "the community
is divided in its opinion.

"There are gay churches and the Vatican too says that gays should not
be criminalized.

"Speaking of Islam, there are few who claim that the Quran says that
it is anti homosexuality.

"Shariat law speaks of punishment for men indulging in homosexuality.
However we don’t have this law in India and the laws in India does not
speak of any punishment."

Kilian Melloy reviews media, conducts interviews, and writes
commentary for EDGEBoston, where he also serves as Assistant Arts
Editor.

http://www.edgeboston.com/index.php?ch=news&sc=&sc2=news&sc3=&id=93587

http://shastras.org/indiaabroad1

http://shastras.org/indiaabroad2

http://www.blonnet.com/mentor/2009/03/16/stories/0316.pdf

http://60secondschief.blogspot.com/

http://reflectionsbyiitians.blogspot.com/

Future religious practice
Jaishree Gopal, Co-Founder & Chairperson, Navya Shastra, US.

India is perhaps the only place in the world where people of different
religions have been interacting with one another for centuries. In the
West, however, this is the first time they are interacting with many
religions, including those from the East, as a result of modernisation
and globalisation.

Though traditionally religions have been dividing us all, we have
become more conscious of the differences as a result of increased
knowledge about other religions. However, eventually, people are going
to be learning from one another. For instance, yoga and meditation
practices from Hinduism are very common in the US. And some of the oft-
emulated messages of Christianity and Islam are charity and peace,
respectively.

Thus, even though you may continue to identify yourself to a
particular religion, you are going to be incorporating in your life
good elements from other people’s religion, while at the same time
discarding those aspects of your religion that don’t seem right to you
any more. As a result, compassion is going to increase for those whom
we call ‘others’. Definitely, the way we practise our religion is
going to change in the future, more and more.

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/mentor/2008/12/22/stories/2008122250421100.htm

Saturday, December 20, 2008
Jaishree Gopal

It is very important for all Indians to get involved in social reform
movement of all kinds, and especially think of caste and gender issues
in Hinduism without being defensive or apologetic, with an eye to
reform rather than justify the current exclusive practices.

Jaishree Gopal, A contributor to 'Reflections by IITians', Co-founder
of Navya Shastra (http://www.shastras.org/)
December 20, 9.15 am

The future of religious practice
Posted by Murali at 9:15 AM

AM I A HINDU? International Best Seller said...
Namasthe Jaishree: What you wrote is very true.

Every religion and every culture has the GOOD, the BAD and UGLY
aspects in it and dwell on the negative aspects do not make any sense.

At the same time, we have to do everything in our power to eradicate
BAD and UGLY aspects where ever we find them.

The very best aspect of Hinduism is

"ABOSULTE FREEDOM OF THOUGHTS AND ACTIONS."

Voltaire in Essay on Tolerance wrote: "I may disagree with what you
say, but I will defend to the death, your right to say it. "Hinduism
is the symbolic representation of what Voltaire wrote.

May 26, 2009 7:41 PM

http://muralilistening.blogspot.com/2008/12/jaishree-gopal.html

November 01, 2008
Hindus Urged to Vote Against Prop. 8

The organization notes that Hinduism has never classified
homosexuality as a sin. While some ancient law codes have been
critical of homosexual acts, the denomination has never called for the
persecution of gays. In fact, there is ample evidence that alternative
lifestyles have been accepted throughout Hindu history. Several modern
Hindu leaders have also spoken positively of gay rights; however, many
American Hindus remain uncomfortable with homosexuality.

“According to the Hindu contemplative tradition, we are all
manifestations of the one universal spirit, straight or gay, and
worthy of the same respect and rights” said Jaishree Gopal, chairman
of Navya Shastra, in the release. “We urge American Hindus in
California to remember this central insight of their faith when they
vote on November 4.” (The Advocate)

http://www.advocate.com/article.aspx?id=42352

US-based Hindu group slams Jagannath temple priests
New York, March 05, 2007
Published: 17:21 IST (5/3/2007)

A US-based Hindu reform organisation has criticised the destroying of
huge quantities of food at the Jagannath temple in Orissa by the
temple authorities because an American had entered the complex - an
act seen as defiling the 12th century Hindu-only premises.

The Navya Shastra, an international Hindu reform organisation, said
the act of the temple authorities had no vedic sanction.

"We are appalled to know about the mindless throwing away of large
amounts of food by the Puri temple administration at the instigation
of pujaris (priests) with a medieval mindset at a time and place where
there are thousands of poor and hungry people," said the
organisation's chairman, Dr Jaishree Gopal.

A 59-year-old American engineer from New York was thrown out of the
temple complex last Thursday, fined, taken to a local police station
and later released, despite his protestations that he was unaware of
the temple's restrictions.

The Michigan-based Navya Shastra was founded in the United States in
2002. According to its website, the organisation stands against
"...caste hierarchy and caste injustices, not only because they are
not sanctioned in the Vedas, but also because they are morally wrong,
unacceptable, and anachronistic in the world in which we live.

"Given the high levels of malnutrition among India's children, this
act (throwing away food), assuredly without vedic sanction, must be
deemed unacceptable," a press release by the organisation, said.

"The organisation is saddened and surprised that no Hindu leader of
any consequence has protested this unconscionable and anachronistic
behaviour. Instead of purifying the premises, the priests should seek
to purify their own hearts and minds, and, along with other leaders,
set a positive example for all devotees," said Dr Bala Aiyer, an
advisor of the organisation said.

Foreigners are not allowed to enter leading Hindu temples in Orissa,
including the Jagannath temple at Puri and the Lingaraj temple there.

An American Christian woman, Pamela K. Fleig, who converted to
Hinduism after marrying an Indian from Uttar Pradesh, was denied entry
into the 11th century Lingaraj temple in Bhubaneswar in 2005.

Thailand's Crown Princess Sirindhorn was also not given permission to
visit the Jagannath temple in the same year, as she was a foreigner
and Buddhist.

Even late prime minister Indira Gandhi - a born Hindu - was not
allowed to enter the temple when she was in power because she had
married a Parsi.

http://shastras.org/mukundabrazil

Hindu group opposes Love Guru protests

New York, May 22: A Hindu reform organisation in the US has opposed
the growing protests by Hindu groups against upcoming Hollywood film
The Love Guru , saying that calling for a ban on the comedy starring
Mike Myers would be going too far.

Navya Shastra, the organisation based in Troy, Michigan, which earlier
spoke out against astrology, female foeticide and Dalit
discrimination, has argued that hyper-sensitivity over inaccurate or
distorted religious depictions in mass media erodes the tradition of
tolerance of criticism in the Hindu faith.

"Hindus have a remarkable history of freedom of thought and
expression. Unfortunately, this is being eroded these days by
hypersensitive and misguided chauvinistic pressure groups, perhaps
taking their cue from more chauvinistic traditions," Gautham Rao,
Navya Shastra's research director, was quoted as saying in a press
release.

It said while it respects the right of the groups in the US and
elsewhere to protest against the film, it strongly believes that
calling for a ban on the comedy goes too far.

The reform organisation further notes that in the era of electronic
media, monitoring and controlling religious depictions and imagery is
a daunting, near impossible task.

"Hindus should set a spiritual example for others by combating social
ills and discrimination," said Jaishree Gopal, Navya Shastra
chairman.

The protests against the film, which opens June 20, have been
spearheaded by Rajan Zed, Hindu leader based in Reno, Nevada. On
watching the film's trailer some weeks ago, he started accusing the
film of lampooning Hinduism.

Bureau Report

http://international.zeenews.com/inner1.asp?aid=201859&sid=bus

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/homeentertainment/la-et-religion-pg,0,3434889.photogallery?index=2

Navya Shastra concern over India's foeticide epidemic
From the Community
Posted: Wednesday, May 07, 2008, 01:17 am EST

Troy, Michigan: Navya Shastra, the international Hindu reform
organization has voiced concern over the declining female-to male sex
ratio in India.
It calls Indian feminist leaders to address the causes for this
deplorable situation and to urge their government to take more
effective action to curb and put an end to this sad and disgraceful
situation in the country.
It is ironic that the epidemic continues to worsen, despite a
burgeoning economy and rising literacy levels.

The bias against girls has existed for a long time across the
socioeconomic spectrum. Navya Shastra notes that even in the
wealthiest areas of the nation's metros, abortions of the girl-child
based upon prenatal ultrasound technology continue to rise, though
there seems to be a growing awareness of the problem.
"Clearly a cultural preference for boys in Indian society is the
driving force behind the rise in female feticide," says Rahul Saxena,
a Navya Shastra member from Bareilly, UP , "technology in this case is
simply serving an ancient prejudice."
Navya Shastra also called on the Hindu community and its organizations
to allow daughters to impart final rites at the funerals of their
parents. "One religious reason why boys are favored among Hindus is
because of the anachronistic belief that only a son can formally
conduct this ceremony, so a girl is totally worthless in this regard,"
said Dr. Jaishree Gopal, Navya Shastra Chairman.

(Compiled from a press release)

From India Abroad February 16, 2007, Pg M11
Ghosts of the Past

Ramya Gopal visits an Indian village where time and tradition appear
to have stood still

The urban scene of India has become a dichotomy between prosperity and
poverty, modernity and tradition. Delhi, Chennai and Bangalore are
hungry for steel: tall skyscrapers, metro stations, and multistoried
shopping complexes. However, the morning warbles of the subjilawallas,
the colorful temptation of street clothing, and the barber under the
banyan tree have refused to disappear into wistful oblivion.

This modern story of India is one with which we have all become
familiar; the miracle India praised on the covers of magazines and
newspapers. Yet in its villages, this dichotomy is replaced by a one-
sided reliance on ancient tradition. When I visited a village near
Chennai this past summer, I saw for the first time the archaic India
described in the stories of the Mahabharatha and the Ramayana.

As we drove away from Chennai, the roads dwindled from paved to dirt
and then sand. The air of the coast was permeated by a pungent odor of
fish, but one that the people seemed to relish. The hot sand calloused
my feet but there was no litter for me to avoid as I had in the
cities. Women in colorful saris and men in dhotis were squatted on the
slimy floor sorting the fish. Repulsed, I strayed away from the stink,
but it nostalgically reminded me that fishing villages initiated the
story of the Mahabharata. Satyavati, the embodiment of mothers in the
epic, was the daughter of a fisherman, and it seemed as if these
fishermen were continuing the legacy. Interrupting my musing, my host
beckoned me to a row of small motorboats shuddering against the coast.
Boats were the only method of transportation across the lake and to
the village.

On the island, I walked, with seaweed in my toes, past small huts with
thatched roofs. The main attraction in the island was an ornate temple
surrounded by everyone in the village. A tent had been strung beyond
with seats lined in rows like a movie theatre. I stood awkwardly in
the sun, unsure of the village mores, until a few older girls beckoned
to me. They had pulled out a chair and formed a towering circle around
me. The girls had matching plaits and silver anklets.

A few were wearing simple cotton pavadais (petticoats), more
traditional to Tamil Nadu, although one was wearing a nightgown. We
gawked politely at each other; American suburban girl meets Indian
village girls. "Why do you have your hair like that? In a bun?" they
asked me in Tamil. Taken aback, I didn't have an adequate response, so
I steered the conversation away from me to them. I discovered that the
girls were between 18 and 20 but had only studied in school until 10th
grade. In between giggles, they added that one of them was engaged.
The girls were at the ripe age for marriage and their parents were
looking for grooms for them. However, they could not marry out of
their village because it was the only "untouchable" village in the
area. This social discrimination as a result of caste distinction
echoed again in their stories about the old temple.

One reason for my visit to Idamani--the place I was in-- was to
witness the opening ceremony of a new temple. The old temple had been
destroyed by the tsunami two years ago. As the girls began to open up
to me, I listened to their stories of backward practices associated
with the temple. One example was the men's inability to wear a poonal,
the sacred thread, because they were not "upper caste". Other families
would not even visit their homes because they were untouchables. Women
were not allowed in the temple when the men held their meetings. These
restrictive traditions had been eradicated in the cities and other
parts of the world but persisted in this village.

The inauguration ceremony of the temple was announced by the ringing
tones of the nadaswaram and the temple quickly became crowded. Some
women looked out coyly from their thatched huts. Young girls were made
up in magenta colored lipstick, designs around their eyes, and traces
of dried turmeric on their faces. In the center of the temple was a
large (homam )fire and shahstri (priest) sang bhajans with the
villagers repeating after him, clapping. Colorful flowers, rice, and
butter for prasadam on aged yellow banana leaves completed the
ceremony.Interestingly, while members of the "higher" caste had rarely
visited the old temple, the inauguration ceremony had been attended by
many outsiders. The new temple would, hopefully, become an emblem of
caste reform.

Even as economic development brings modernity to India's villages,
strong social divides still linger. In this village, for instance,
water purification infrastructure has been put into place yet women
still quit studying in favor of marriage. It was the most striking
difference between the city and the village; caste lines more sharply
divided and a central part of daily life. It left me with the thought
that true prosperity was impossible until social advancement and a
sense of equality became firmly entrenched in our communities.

http://shastras.org/Untouchability_IA.html

India's Tolerance Levels Tested as American Enters Forbidden Sanctuary
Deepak Mahaan
Correspondent

New Delhi (CNSNews.com) - An American tourist caused an uproar when he
wandered into a Hindu temple strictly closed to non-Hindus, in an
incident that highlighted the challenges India faces in presenting
itself as an enlightened democracy.

Detained for several hours by local police in India's Orissa state,
Paul Roediger, a 59-year-old engineer from New York, was later
released on condition he pay a token fine, after what authorities at
the Jagannath temple called an "act of desecration."

Roediger's inadvertent wandering into the shrine of Hindu deity Vishnu
triggered calls from some Hindus for severe punishment, but local
policemen managed to convince temple administrators and angry
adherents that he had trespassed in error.

Unaware of rules banning entry of non-Hindus, the American, who is
interested in temple architecture, walked into the temple's inner
"sanctum sanctorum."

Roediger expressed regret but also blamed temple authorities, noting
that no guard had prevented him from entering the area.

Police Inspector Alekh Pahi said Roediger and two Indian companions
had been released as "there is no provision in law to take any action
against for entering the temple."

Temple authorities afterwards "purified" the "defiled" premises by
washing with water and milk. Food worth nearly $5,000, meant for
distribution among Hindu devotees as part of religious ritual, was
deemed "polluted" and destroyed.

The decision upset a U.S.-based Hindu reform organization, which said
it was appalled by the waste.

The Navya Shastra organization said it reflected "a medieval mindset
at a time and place where there are thousands of poor and hungry
people."

The incident has focused renewed attention onto controversial
religious and cultural practices that survive in India despite its
stated commitment to secular, democratic principles.

"Low-caste" citizens and "untouchables" (dalits) are still denied
entry to various temples or forbidden to use water wells, in
contravention of constitutional guarantees.

Dr. Rashmi Patni, director of the Gandhian Studies Centre at the
University of Rajasthan, argues that such customs go against the
tenets of Mahatma Gandhi who he said stood for human dignity and
equality irrespective of caste, sex, creed or color and fought for
temple entry for dalits.

"Like in every society, social discrimination in India is born out of
centuries' old legacy," she said. "It is similar to the problem and
differences among blacks and whites in the U.S. and cannot be
eradicated merely by enactment of constitutional statutes."

Patni said, however, that the growing affluence of the middle class,
increasing literacy levels and the spread of information technology
was making issues of caste, gender and religion of little importance
to younger Indians.

Sawai Singh, an activist espousing Gandhi's ideas, said successive
Indian governments have failed to curb the menace of religious
intolerance, because politicians prefer to pander to their respective
constituencies.

"If punishments for social discrimination and depravation were to be
severe, many of these evils would get eradicated automatically," Singh
argued.

Ironically, the Jagannath temple is immensely popular among pilgrims,
because unlike some centers, it does not discriminate between higher-
and lower-caste Hindus.

Nonetheless, the temple does not allow entry to non-Hindus or
foreigners - with the exception of Western Hare Krishna devotees, who
throng to the temple each year in large numbers.

Former Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was once turned away from
the main gates of the shrine, as she was deemed to be non-Hindu,
having married outside of the religion.

Make media inquiries or request an interview about this article.

http://www.crosswalk.com/news/11531055/

An Unqualified Apology to Every Untouchable
December 19, 2006
Dr Bhaskar Dasgupta

http://desicritics.org/2006/12/19/103610.php

The untouchables of Hinduism are a wretched lot. For hundreds and
thousands of years, this group of people have been forced to inhabit
the bottom end of the Hindu totem pole.

While it is not at the level of genocide, it is an institutionalised
social

discrimination over a very long period of time. When I read a press
release from a Hindu reformist group apologising to the Untouchables
for the deep seated discrimination, it struck a chord in my mind and I
wanted to write about it, as well as share in this apology.

For example, only recently there was a big brouhaha when a temple in
India refused entry to dalits (who are also Hindu) simply because they
were of a lower caste. In this day and age! I was so furious and when
I complained bitterly that none of the mainstream Hindu organisations
or leaders in India did anything, I was accused of patronising them.
These so-called Hindu organisations are very quick off the mark when
absolutely silly things go on, but when there is clear cut painfully
evident confirmation that there needs to be reform, they are nowhere
to be found. This is absolutely ridiculous and a clear example of
intellectual incoherence at best and incompetence at worst. But I
digress.

Apologies are very strange and at the same time, very human. It is
extremely powerful and at the same time, looked upon with deep
cynicism. It is also extremely difficult to do so, while there is
nothing like this to draw the teeth out of any angst ridden situation.
Just ask me, I have to apologise regularly to my sister. But this
apology is one, which is valid on so many different levels and this is
an apology to the untouchables of Hinduism.

The basics of this religiously mandated behaviour are well known and I
will not spend too much time on going deeper into the intricacies of
this. Other than saying that the idea of difference and discrimination
was institutionalised despite a huge amount of debate on what this
differentiation meant. On one hand, there were statements effectively
saying that everybody is born the same, while on the other hand, there
are statements in religious books talking about how some are born from
the head and some from the foot. Irrespective of what the religious
justification is, one found that there are literally thousands of
groups who consider themselves different from other groups. This
groupism extended to bans on intermarriage, taking meals together and
even extended to group dedicated watering holes and wells.

Quite a lot of Hindu reformers ranging from Swami Vivekananda, Mahatma
Gandhi, Guru Rabindranath Tagore, Dayananda Saraswati, etc. kept a
strong pressure on changing this religious practise, but even when
India became independent, this was still present.

The then leader of the untouchables, Shri Bhimrao Ambedkar, a
brilliant lawyer, even incorporated caste based reservations into the
constitution, to provide them with the leg up.

As it so happens, this is something which I disagree with, because
this has institutionalised discrimination and is not leading anybody
anywhere towards the true equality in the eyes of the state and
citizens, but that's beside the point.

Discrimination was outlawed by the Indian constitution in 1936, but
little has changed for the 300-400 million people who belonged to the
Untouchable Castes of India. I am also conscious of the fact that
calling it 'the caste system' is dangerously simplifying it, as the
actual theological aspects behind the differentiation is much more
complex.

What is also beside the point is that all other religions and cultures
have had the same groupism and differentiation and were trying to
create a separate identity through religious or cultural factors.
Whether we are talking about the Japanese way of looking at the
difference between the samurai and peasants, the difference between
the faithful and the dhimmi, the difference between Catholics and
Protestants, the difference between white and black skin, the
difference between Christian and pagan, you name it, discrimination
has occurred all the time and everywhere. And yes, just because it
happened in other religious, regions and cultures, it just tells me
that it is pretty much human. This is, however, neither an excuse nor
a reason to stop trying to rip out this disgusting practise.

But what good is an apology? We have to address the cynics in our
midst as well, because I have seen this form of visceral reaction from
both sides.

The side of the Hindus, who totally refuse to accept that this
happened and go off into theological arguments and ignore the real
life actions around discrimination. The other side are the Dalits, who
would be happy to tear down the entire country to satisfy their rather
strange desire for revenge. Both extremely simplistic in the extreme
and frankly not worth talking to or about, but then, that's what
happens to fanatics. Their feet are planted firmly in the air!

But this is not for the fanatics, they won't listen anyway, it is for
the vast majority of Hindus, people who have a social conscience, care
about their culture and are conscious of a vast historical injustice
done to a whole group of other people. And it is not a simple binary
equation, high class Brahmins discriminating against lower class
dalits. It happens on every group intersection, so there is no point
in getting up on the high horse about just one group.

An apology is a very good means to bring things out in the open.
Hiding behind a religious tract or pointing at other instances does
not change the situation on the ground. Every Hindu has to be open
about this discrimination, and understand what this has done to us,
our culture, history and reputation. No longer! This apology means
that we understand and accept the fault. Not only that, but an apology
actually provides the impetus or the foundation to do something about
it.

This is the other good thing about an apology for the cynics out
there. Once one has gone through the cathartic process of apologising,
one can start to address this issue, if only by small measures. If a
friend says something demeaning about a lower caste person, even a
raised eyebrow is a small but significant step in telling people that
this form of behaviour is not appropriate.

One will definitely ask me the question if somebody might actually
accept the apology? I am afraid this is the wrong question. When Tony
Blair apologised for the British role in Slavery, he did not do it
because he was worried whether anybody might or might not accept it.
He did it because this was the right thing to do. Despite the fact
that I am personally not responsible for this reprehensible and
horrible historical fact, as a Hindu and as a human being, it is but
right to apologise. As a Hindu, I hold responsibility to my religion,
my nation, my society, my government, and indeed to my children as
well. An apology can, in a small way, lead towards making the world a
fairer place.

The Hindu Reformist group, Navya Shastra (http://www.shastras.org/),
who actually made the public apology, also invited a whole host of
other Hindu luminaries to join in this effort. I am not sure how far
this went but it should be remembered that this caste based
discrimination is not simply religiously mandated, but also socially
mandated. Hence besides religious figures, cultural and social figures
need to be brought into this as well. In many ways, an appeal by one
of the Bollywood actors may actually provide more push to changes in
behaviour, rather than very many Hindu religious leaders combined. But
still, more luminaries joining in to complain, apologise and push
Indians to remove this distressing social condition is good.

So here it is, I fully endorse and join Navya Shastra, in apologising
to the other castes, for what I and my forefathers may have done and
promise that I will raise my voice against this disgusting practice,
and hopefully help remove this by my words as well as my behaviour.

At the UN World Conference on Race (WCAR) held August 31-September 8
2001 in Durban, South Africa, President Thabo Mbeki said:"...there are
many in our common world who suffer indignity and humiliation because
they are not white ...These are a people who know what it means to be
the victim of rabid racism and racial discrimination. Nobody ever
chose to be a slave, to be colonised, to be racially oppressed. The
impulses of the time caused these crimes to be committed by human
beings against others."

And while there was quite a hullabaloo about whether 'casteism' is
appropriate in this race conference, this is quibbling over details.
Discrimination existed, it exists and it behoves us to address it. May
this apology be a first start to a better implementation of religion!

All this to be taken with a grain of salt!

Dr. Bhaskar Dasgupta works in the city of London in various capacities
in the financial sector. He has worked and travelled widely around the
world. The articles in here relate to his current studies and are
strictly his opinion and do not reflect the position of his past or
current employer(s). If you do want to blame somebody, then blame my
sister and editor, she is responsible for everything, the ideas, the
writing, the quotes, the drive, the israeli-palestinian crisis, global
warming, the ozone layer depletion and the argentinian debt crisis.

Indian Groups Contest California Textbook Content

India-West, News Report, Viji Sundaram, Posted: Feb 16, 2006

HAYWARD, Calif. – Even as the California Board of Education (CBE) is
trying to grapple with the contentious and loudly debated issue of
corrections requested from Hindu groups in proposed textbooks for
sixth-graders, another group is trying to make its voice heard over
the din.

Some dalits (widely thought of in India as an oppressed people) across
the U.S. are demanding that the term, dalit, used only in one of the
nine proposed textbooks currently being reviewed by the CBE, not be
elided (omitted), as the Hindu groups want, and that a photo of a
dalit cleaning a latrine be replaced with one of a dalit engaged in a
faith practice.

They also say that it would serve the dalits' cause better if the
textbooks said that "untouchability is a living reality in India,"
instead of simply going by the Hindu groups' suggestion that the books
say that it is illegal to treat someone as an untouchable, Vikram
Masson, co-founder of Navya Shastra, a U.S.-based non-profit
organization that speaks out against caste-related issues, told India-
West.

Acknowledging that "the Hinduism sections (in the textbooks) are
extremely poor to begin with" and need to be corrected, Masson, who is
himself not a dalit and is a parent of a school-going child in New
Jersey, observed: "It is curious (the Hindu groups) would want to
elide the word, dalit. We believe the heritage of Hinduism is positive
enough, and there is no need to cover up any inadequacies."

New Jersey resident Jebaroja Singh, whose dalit grandparents converted
to Christianity many years ago, seemed to echo those sentiments.

"When there has been a history of discrimination against dalits, why
should we paint a rosy picture in the textbooks?" asked Singh, who
teaches racism and sexism in the U.S. at William Patterson University
in Wayne, N.J. Masson is married to a Christian priest.

But others argue that since the textbooks primarily deal with ancient
India, a time when the word, dalit, was not even coined, to not remove
it would be inappropriate.

For over a year now, two U.S.-based Hindu groups - the Hindu Education
Foundation and the Vedic Foundation - as well as scores of Hindu
parents, have been pushing for corrections in the social studies and
history courses in the sixth-grade textbooks, saying that the books
not only do not accurately represent India's ancient culture and
history, they sometimes denigrate it. Every six years, textbook
publishers offer the CBE drafts of textbooks they plan to bring out
for the board's acceptance. Public hearings form an integral part of
the review process.

At those hearings last year, the Hindu groups asserted that the books
were historically inaccurate in saying such things as Hinduism evolved
in India from the Aryans who invaded the country in 1500 B.C.; that
Sanskrit was a dead language; that Hindi is written in Arabic script;
that the Aryan rulers had created a caste system, under which the
dalits were forced to perform menial tasks.

According to many scholars, prior to 600 A.D., the terms used in India
to describe a so-called untouchable were chandala and shudra, and only
about one percent of the population fell under that category.

Citing from the book, "The Wonder That Was India," by the late ancient
history scholar A.L. Basham, southern California resident and retired
UCLA ancient history professor Shiva Bajpai told India-West: "In fact,
it was not blood that made a group untouchable, but conduct."

"So a Brahmin could be viewed as a chandala if he behaved badly,"
Bajpai said.

Over the last several decades, the term dalit – a Marathi word that
means oppressed - has been gaining more currency in India, with the
rise of growing activism among the approximately 150 million people at
the bottom of the caste system, who accuse members of the upper caste
of pervasive discrimination for centuries.

The late Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, the architect of the Indian Constitution,
struggled to win dalits like himself equal rights. He renounced
Hinduism in the process, saying the religion perpetuated the caste
system. Mahatma Gandhi worked toward uplifting the dalits' status,
bestowing upon them the term, Harijan, which means "children of God."
However, many dalits and activists do not like to be called that.
"They say if you are born from God, your parentage is questionable,"
said Masson.

Even the group of historians and academics headed by Harvard
University Sanskrit professor Michael Witzel, who is opposing many of
the corrections the Hindu groups have suggested, accusing them of
attempting to whitewash Indian history, has accepted the Hindu groups'
suggestion to delete negative references to untouchability, said Santa
Rosa, Calif., resident Vishal Agarwal, who described himself as an
"independent scholar."

Sid Harth

unread,

Mar 11, 2010, 1:59:43 PM3/11/10

http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.indian.marathi/browse_thread/thread/37334fb34fbe6d7c/46bf295527d8d0a3#46bf295527d8d0a3

bademiyansubhanallah

unread,

Mar 12, 2010, 5:52:24 PM3/12/10

> Since newsgroup posts are being removed
> by forgery by one or more net terrorists,
> this post may be reposted several times.

Jai Maharaj
From Encyclopedia Dramatica

Jai Maharaj IS undisputedly the biggest troll/trollspammer in the
universe! SERIOUSLY! Consider this:

He has atleast 100,000 posts on Usenet
He just won't die

He's been literally living on Usenet ever since it came into
existence
All of his posts are copypasta of articles advancing his point of
view; none of his posts have any moral, spiritual or commercial value
Considered to be a major factor contributing to the downfall of
Usenet

Contents [show]

1 Usenet Abuse and Crossposting Faggotry
2 Asstroll-ogy
3 Real Identity
4 Some Theories and Answers to the puzzle
5 Theory and Timeline based on the above facts
6 More Research7 How to Annoy Jai Maharaj
Usenet Abuse and Crossposting Faggotry

What makes Jai Maharaj the biggest pest on usenet is his crossposting
all over usenet with daily news articles suggesting a vicious anti-
christian and anti-muslim slant….and vegetarianism. (Vegetarianism was
invented by high caste Hindoos to exterminate the lower caste ones by
starvation). Jai claims to have been around since the predecessor to
the Internet, ARPANET was started. But again, all he did was hijack it
as a tool for his bullsh*t astrology and Hinduism. As of now, there
are 100,0000 [Update: 110,000 and climbing] of his rubbish postings
dumped all over usenet, clogging newsgroups and modem speed. All his
posts contain a signature with links to his site. As one user noticed,
his postings tend to attract a certain idiotic fringe of superstitious
Hindoos who then find the link to his website at the end of the post.

Jai Maharaj Likes... Jai Maharaj Dislikes...

Asstrology Scientists

Vegetarianism Meat-eaters

Hindu caste system (he's high caste) Members of Hindu low castes
acting uppity on Usenet...even if they are second generation
Americans!
Living in USA USA

Trolling and stalking Being trolled and stalked
Homo porn Hindu porn http://www.flickr.com/photos/haberlah/55690106/in/set-1206444/

Hindu high caste Christians, Muslims, Jews, Hindu lower castes

Being Anonymous Being trolled by Anonymous
Hinduism Any other ism

Does Jai Maharaj ever write on his own? If he could, he wouldn’t be
spamming across usenet like a nut, he would be a writer. His usual
response never goes beyond 4 lines and only consists of a screaming
outburst against “xtians” and “muslims” and anyone who disagrees with
him. But he compensates for this lack of expression by digging up IP
addresses and obtaining locations, real names and phone numbers of his
enemies, which he posts online for his devoted Hindoo pimps to
harass….or in the case of Sidharth, he notifies the authorities
alleging “child abuse”. Its no surprise that Jai is the most despised
entity on Usenet and the entire Usenet community eagerly awaits the
day he will post his last.

The Mahabully, the best psychological compilation on Jai Maharaj ever.
Written by o...@cts.com and can be found here. It details his attacks
on several Usenet posters, his masturbation confessions and his IRA
sympathies. To quote :

“The Mahabully lusts for the prestige and fear that an Ascendent
Hindustan would inspire, and prefers that this is realised at the
expense of his race enemies. His own voice is mean-spirited, immature
and violent. The Mahabully, like other bullies, forms the nucleus of a
coterie of bullies and wanna-be bullies. His kangaroo courts attract a
cabal of marginal, schizoid personalities. The Mahabully may pursue a
vindictive vendetta against anyone who dares to hold them accountable,
perhaps using others' resources and contemptuous of the damage caused
to other people and organisations in pursuance of the vendetta. The
Mhabully 'is greedy, selfish, a parasite and an emotional vampire'.
The Mahabully imposes on others a self-aggrandising falsehood, a
living lie, which is constantly buttressed by additional distortion
and lies. The Mahabully is quick to conjure with injurious terms like
'terrorist'yet it is he himself, Jay Stevens aka Jai Maharaj, who
might fairly be accused of terrorism IMO. For example, he has
advertised a terrorist training video on Usenet.

More Resources

Jai Maharaj's bullshit on Usenet.
http://groups.google.ca/groups?as_q=&num=10&scoring=r&hl=en&as_epq=&as_oq=&as_eq=&as_ugroup=&as_usubject=&as_uauthors=Jai+Maharaj&lr=&as_drrb=q&as_qdr=&as_mind=1&as_minm=1&as_miny=1981&as_maxd=2&as_maxm=12&as_maxy=2007&safe=off

R Johnson has the second best compilation on Jai which can be found
here.
http://groups.google.com/groups?q=Jay+Stevens&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&selm=890778936.233210%40iris.nyx.net&rnum=1

A FAQon Jai Maharaj.
http://www.vic.com/~dbd/minifaqs/jai.maharaj.miniFAQ

Dr. Jose Mariachi’s Compiled Killfile on Jai
http://www.geocities.com/drjosemariachi/jay_faq.html#bb

Jerry Guzzman’s description of jai whom he claimed to have met Jai
Maharaj. According to him, Jai derives some sado-masochist psychotic
pleasure from people paying attention to him, whether positive or
negative.(Proof that jyotshi/Brahmin Hinduism adversely affects mental
capacity?)

http://bittyurl.com/6K

Asstroll-ogy
http://www.mantra.com/jyotish

Jai Maharaj preys on ignorant Hindu fools who don’t even know the
internet is on computers….and to whom a message posted in English to
usenet is the equivalent of India test firing another ex-russian junk
missile. Jai has his pimps in India fleece these ignorant fools of
their money by offering them bullshit jyotshi predictions. In
addition, Jai Maharaj seeks to push the rest of the jyotshi scammers
off his turf by copyrighting catch phrases like “prediction registry”,
“holistic jyotshi” and “mantra”! His bullshit jyotshi atrology can be
seen at work at his websites, such,

Main Asstrollogy page of Jai

Another Asstrollogy page
http://www.flex.com/~jai/

More Asstrollogy

How the scam works is that some idiot Hindu who cant type or
comprehend stumbles upon his usenet posts and follows the above links
embedded in his signature…….and voila! Meet jai, the predictor of
their future happiness and well being. Since hardcore materialism,
hate and penis worship wash away the remaining intellect of his
adherents, they are more than willing to part away with their money
for a little guidance from a cyber-jyotshi …….and what is there to say
when the bullshit jyotshi boasts clients (unnamed of course….ahem)
among all the rich and powerful running this planet? Even the
whitehouse is said to havee declared war on timing outlined by Jai!
Don't believe me? Read him right here.

Jai’s jyotshi scam simply consists of juggling various assumptions and
screaming glory when any one of them work out. Whats worse, Jai isn’t
even putting up a realistic Nostradamus like fooling game……instead he
is lousy enough to let his anti-christian and anti-muslim bias leak
into his predictionsas well. Again, one has to subscribe by
contributing to his PayPal account to get access to his bullshit
predictions on future events.

http://encyclopediadramatica.com/PayPal
http://www.flex.com/~jai/registry/white.html

Real Identity

This is the only known photograph of Jai Maharaj. It appeared on an
asstrollogy website. The following information also appeared: "Jai
Maharaj, P.O. Box 1919, Waianae, HI 96792-6919, USA, Tel:
1-808-521-8808, Email: jyot...@aol.com (Synthetics - NO, Uparatnas -
YES, Flawed gems - NO) - SERVICE: I both choose gems and also supply
gems loose or set in jewelry"Jai Maharaj's own website has a very
brief but pompous bio that runs as follows:

http://www.mantra.com/jyotish/quotes.html

Jai Maharaj, who lives in Hawaii, USA, was born and raised in Varanasi
and later in other northern cities. He has been active in campaigns
for both the conservation of time-tested wisdom and the progress of
Bharat. His education and life experience include spirituality, health
and medicine, architecture and engineering, law and business, and
activism in several areas. He has also battled the enemy as a soldier
in the armed forces at the border in Kashmir. Jai Maharaj is a
consultant for a think tank with the government, organizations and
individuals as clients. He is an ordained Vedic-Hindu priest. He hosts
a popular, comprehensive and well maintained news website News Plus .
He monitors news worldwide concerning India and also participates
actively in many discussion forums.

According to Mike (mi...@zang.com),

Jay Stevens hung out on Hawaii's GT Power BBS network in the late 80's
early 90's. I'm talking like 89-90, in that area. While my memories of
him specifically are vary vague, they do carry a general feeling of
chronic irritation. One can be very confident to add IBM compatibles
as his platform of choice, as Hawaii's BBS scene in that period was
heavily platform segregated, and GT Power was a very pro-PC
environment, and had a large military subculture. Nothing I remember
indicates that he was in the military, however.

He is also described as being in his 60s.

In addition, several addresses have been posted on Usenet purportedly
belonging to him. They are of course, yet to be verified, but anyway
here they are:

JAY R STEVENS : 4305 ALLA ROAD APT 7, MARINA DEL RAY, CA 90292

4086, GLENCOE AVE, MARINA DEL RAY, CA 90292 Tel: 310-823-3461

3940, LUTHERAN CIR, SACRAMENTO, CA 95826 ... right near the Sacramento
burb of Manlove

3168 BRAND ST, IRVINE, CA 92606 Tel: 310-375-8510; DOB: May 1940; AGE:
63; E-Mail:j...@mantra.com; ISPs: FLEX NET

A Whois search of Jai’s Mantra.com reveals the following:

Registrant:Mantra Corporation (MANTRA-DOM),P. O. Box 1919, Honolulu,
HI 96792-6919 US

Administrative Contact:Maharaj, Jai (JM225) j...@FLEX.COM
Mantra Corporation
P. O. Box 1919
Waianae, HI 96792-6919 US
(808) 581-8808 fax: 999 999 9999

Technical Contact:Wong, Del (DW403) d...@FLEX.COM
P.O.Box 22481
HONOLULU, HI 96822-2481 US
(808) 539-3790 fax: (808) 539-3793

In the early days of the Internet, Shyamasundara Dasa had an ugly
business dealing with Jai, whichallowed him these personal tidbits:

Date of birth: Oct 7, 1946, 9:15AM
Place of birth: New Delhi, India
Real name: Jai Mathura (but was using Jai Stevens)
Address: as given above
Phone: 808-948-4357
FAX: 808-696-3217
Usenet user Reginald Perrin managed to dig up the incorporation papers
of Mantra.com. He managed to come up with information that Jay Stevens
(Jai Mirage, Jai Maharaj) is one of the founding officers (the other
being Joan Miller) of Mantra Corporation, which was incorporated in
Hawaii on November 30, 1990 issued 1000 shares. It's an astrology scam
masquerading as a business consulting and marketing outfit, with 2
shareholders.

From a Hawaii state web site:
NAME: MANTRA CORPORATION
STATUS: A
CONSENT:
SIM-NAME:
DATE-INC: 11/30/1990
TERM: PER
DATE-EXP:
ADDRESS: P. O. BOX 1919 WAIANAE HI 96792 6919
PURPOSE: BUSINESS CONSULTING, MARKETING,ADVERTISING AND RELATED
SERVICES
SEC DEALER:
VOTE:
VOTE DATE:
REPORTS=> CURR-YR: LAST-YR: 1993 PRIOR-YR: 1992
DELINQUENT:
OFFICERS AS OF 11/30/1990
STEVENS,JAY R POSITION: *P/S/D
MILLER,JOAN E POSITION: *V/T/D
STOCK AS OF 11/30/1990
COMMON SHARES: 1,000 PAID IN:
1,000
PAR-VAL:
TRAN-DATE--ST-TYPE-REMARKS
11/30/1990 C ART ARTICLES OF INCORPORATION
As you can see, mantra.com is incorporated in the name of JAY R.
STEVENS and we can safely assume its his real name. Joan Miller may
either be Jai's Indian wife with a changed name, or a a chickin.

Dell Wong

As you can see in the technical contact of Mantra.com, a certain Dell
Wong is listed. Dell Wong can be several things:

1.An employee/frontman of Jay Stevens
2.A business partner of Jay Stevens
3.A legal alias of Jay Stevens. (under law, it is possible to have a
legal alias provided its listed with the authorities)
4. A completely non-related entity who has become guilty by
association with flex.com, which hosts mantra.com and appears to be
complacent towards Jai's trolling activities.

It has been assumed that Del Wong is nothing but Jay Stevens’
frontman, whom Jay uses in his real legal and business affairs. Del
Wong has been ruled out as being an alias of Jai since his photodoes
not resemble a desi. He may be local Hawaiian or Chinese.

Or who knows? It could be Jai. Well anyway, the contact info of of
Mr . Wong from a Hawaii government tax site is as follows:

Agent Name DEL WONG

Agent Address 2800 WOOD LAWN DR STE 254
HONOLULU Hawaii 96822
United States of America

Business Entity Name FLEXNET, INC.
Record Type Master Name for a Domestic Profit Corporation
File Number 99105 D1
Status Active

Purpose TO PROVIDE HIGH-SPEED COMMERCIAL INTERNET CONNECTIVITY
FOR HAWAII BASED ORGANIZATION COMPANIES AND INDIVIDUALS;
Place Incorporated Hawaii UNITED STATES (Same as mantra.com)
Incorporation Date 03/13/1995

Mailing Address P O BOX 22481 HONOLULU Hawaii 96823-2481
United States of America
Xref Name 1 FLEX NET
Term PER

Some Theories and Answers to the puzzle

The great mystery regarding jay Stevens is why his ISP, FLEX.COM has
never kicked him off than take the trouble and complaints, especially
since he pays a measly $9.95/ month to stay online. The most plausible
answer is that Jay Stevens owns Flex.com through Dell Wong! It seems
Jay originally sneaked into the United States disguised as one of the
thousands of mass produced computer coolies. In his initial years, his
computer coolie skills blossomed but once he managed to escape the
work gang and apply for permanent residence, he reverted back to being
the bullshit jyotshi hatemonger he always was. However, before his
computer skills waned, his computer coolie skills helped him set up
Hawaii’s first ISP, Flex.com and once the cash started flowing, jay
discovered there was plenty of time to spend on his vedic jyotshi
asstrollogy as well as pursuing his hates.

http://www.flex.com/

Many have wondered how Jay manages to stay online 24/7 and yet retain
his humanity. The answer is that when he is not cross posting hate, he
is managing Flex.com. In other words he is half robot half demon.

A WHOIS of Flex.com reveals the following:

Registrant:

flexnet inc.
p.o.box 22481
honolulu, Hawaii 96823-2481 United States
Registered through: GoDaddy.com
Created on: 24-Sep-91

Admin. Contact:
wong, del d...@flex.com
flexnet inc.
p.o.box 22481

honolulu, Hawaii 96823-2481 United States
(808) 539-3790 Fax --
Technical Contact:
wong, del d...@flex.com

flexnet inc.
p.o.box 22481
honolulu, Hawaii 96823-2481 United States
(808) 539-3790 Fax –

Del Wong (or Jai Stevens?) is the founder-owner of Flex.com.

Theory and Timeline based on the above facts
http://www.uhm.hawaii.edu/

Jai Maharaj/Jay Stevens sneaked into the United States as an average
grade mass-produced computer coolie. Here are some facts derived from
an online interview between Caroline Wright and ‘Dell Wong’, who
happens to sound more like Jai.

Studied at University of Hawaii at Manoa(might be a good idea to ask
them)
ran a bbs for eight years prior to that got kicked out by U.H., got
his sister in-law in trouble by abusing her internet access
privileges.

Then started ISP service in July 12th 1994 under several different
names, such as Flex.com (of which he indicates had its first employee
named Kristin Paulo who started Hula.net)

He was also involved in the setup of several local Hawai ISPs Did Web
programming with Jeff Tupa who became webmaster and system
administrator for Flex.com. *Tupa is said to have left on 12/29/03.
Had a partner by the name Del Wong

Though the respondent in this interview is referred to as Dell Wong,
it sounds exactly like Jai. And since it was conducted via email, it
is more than probable that Jai was on the other end. For example, this
interview is located on the Flex.com website in the "who are we" tab.
Rather than give a brief info on the company and its history, we find
an online interview with Caroline Wright entitled "Curiousity Killed
the cat." Further, there are too many arrogant and vague comments made
through the interview which sound more like Jai. This interview was
conducted in January 2000, but don’t be surprised if Jai removed or
edited it.

Consider these arrogant and nonchalant comments in the interview which
are a trademark of Jai.

Lots of prospects get put off by our/my "attitude", but heck, FlexNet
is Del Wong.
I don't bother anymore reading the dang thing. As I said before our
present modem situation is crappy. But again, by the time this article
comes out, we will again rock in that department. No worry.
(Caroline Wright asks)Who is the staff of FlexNet? Are you a one-man
band? Is Missus Wong still helping you out? Is Flex your only
business, or do you have other irons in the fire? What are they?

(Jai/Wong answers)Everything is secret. Don't Tell, Don't Ask.

The question of Jai owning Flex.com has surfaced before on Usenet.As
usual, Jai brings forth his sockpuppets to dissuade people from
further pursuing the topic. Take this thread,

Siva K Sundaram wrote:Dr. Jai Maharaj (supposed) real name is Jay
Stevens (based on Net info,one can't know for sure if that's his
actual real name). His web site's domain name, mantra.com, identified
as belonging to Mantra Corporation,has an IP address (206.126.0.13)
matching the domain for the Hawaiian ISP flex.com, which Mr. Stevens
(probably) owns and runs.
To this, a sockpuppet of Jai responds:

Jay Stevens doesn't own or run shit! He's a mercenary for the VHP,
paid by a well-known Indian doctor who "operates" from Houston. I say
he's a mercenary, because he does not live what he purports to preach,
and because he is paid for the propaganda and recruitment efforts.
Flex.com is *not* owned or operated by Jay, but they do host some
services for him, for a fee, of course. His spamming, discerning
readers will note, stems not from flex.com(which has a stern policy in
that regard), but from a no-holds-barred Usenet provider called
Altopia:
A more intelligent Usenet user writes:

Right, that's discernible from examining the source of his posts, that
he uses Altopia for his NNTP services. However, I can't buy the claim
that flex.com merely hosts services for Mr.Stevens. The domain names
flex.com and mantra.com map to the same IP address.If flex.com merely
hosted services for mantra.com, then mantra.com would have to map to a
different IP address.(Note that Jai may have corrected this)So Mr.
Stevens' (if that's his real name) relationship with flex.com is
clearly More than just being a customer. And there's evidence that Mr.
Stevens is trying to hide that fact. He has a web Page at http://www.flex.com/~jai
which suggests that he's a customer of that ISP. He also has a
separate page for his "organization", http://www.mantra.com (address
206.126.13.34), which also suggests a pure customer relationship,
since The address apparently is on the flex.com subnet. However, the
following is unusual. Since mantra.com has the same IP address as
Flex.com, one should expect to reach the flex.com web site by entering
Mantra.com as a URL in a browser, but this does not happen! Rather,
the HTTP Server "magically" recognizes the mantra.com name and
redirects the request to 206.126.13.34, to www.mantra.com! Further
evidence that Mr. Stevens is trying To hide his more intimate
relationship with flex.com.

More Research

Please contact Anonymous and request more research.

How to Annoy Jai Maharaj

Respond to his Usenet posts with a copypasta of this article.
Accuse him of murdering rival asstrollogers
Create an online game in which vegetables have to escape from being
eaten by him
Call him Pakistani

http://encyclopediadramatica.com/Jai_Maharaj

Dog **** eating, ding bat dog-tor, Dr. Jai Maharaj
View Full Version : Dog **** eating, ding bat dog-tor, Dr. Jai Maharaj

Dr. Gay Maharaj

Dog **** eating, ding bat dog-tor, Dr. Jai Maharaj
http://members.tripod.com/sid_e_slicker/india10.html

By Sid Harth

The heinous Hindus like a fake doctor, rather a dog-tor, Hindu
hoodlum, Dr. Jai Maharaj and yours truly have a running feud. This
fundamentalist Hindu terrorist tries to irritate me, apparently for no
reason. It is going on for good four years. In this time I wrote and
posted nearly five thousand articles on all subjects imaginable,
basically showing the heinous Hindu character.

This ding bat dog-tor, however, in the same period, or approximately
so, have stolen copyrighted material from reputed media and posted
under his fake name, Dr. Jai Maharaj nearly fifty thousand articles,
according to Deja.com archives.

I cannot compete with that kind of demonic output. Dr. Jai Maharaj
should thank god for that kind of energy, drive and single minded
pursuit of Hindu ****, that is exactly what his posts are and always
were. What is that idiotboy's problem? Perhaps schizophrenia, perhaps,
multiple personality disorder, perhaps advance stages of brain trauma.
Whatever is his case against yours truly, not clear to me nor is it
clear to his Hindu hoodlum cabal.

This hoodlum has just about accused every single leader of the world,
every single religion of the world, every leader of opposition in
India, including but not limited to Sonia Gandhi, Roman Catholic wife
of former Indian prime minister, Rajiv Gandhi, who was mercilessly
murdered by Hindu fanatics such as Dr. Jai Maharaj, imagine that.

The over abundance of filth he posts, no one is capable of reading it
no matter how many hours one can spare for that dishonorable duty.
Apart from being a spam meister, this gangeskhan reposts several of
his very lenghthy, sometimes hundreds of pages long material, not just
once but several times.

Dr. ding bat dog-tor's feud with me is not unique. He has gone after
several other newsgroup posters and writers, not the same thing. This
saffron **** sheriff considers himself not only a great Hindu moralist
but like an idiot that he is, breaks his own pumped up false image,
right thereafter. Of all the material he posts none is penned by him,
except a headline, all caps venomous headline. His signature includes
a Sanskrit mantra, "Om Shanti, Shanti, Shanti." Literally it means the
be peace, repeated three times for stress.

However this ding bat has no peace in his deluded mind as he comes out
brandishing his excaliber as a war mongering monkey. There is your
typical Hindu filthy thinking and filthier philosophy. Comes directly
from one black Hindu god, lord Krishna.

All fine and well for me as if not this ding bat ****ting around we
would, most probably, not be able to portray a typical Hindu American,
safe in America which allows free speech and due protection under the
law. Dr. Jai Maharaj loves free speech as much as I do. His free
speech falls in the category, which is excluded under the US
constitution gurantees. One cannot cry fire in a crowded theater, with
or without valid reasons.

Ds. Jai Maharaj not only cries, not that womanly cry either, cry of a
warrior, blood curdling cry of American native, wrongfully called
'Indian.' The cry is shrill, obnoxious, fearful and incendiary, to say
the least. Hindu hoodlums love him, adore him and play his game. Good
for the village idiots, I say. I am least disturbed as to the fact
that dog-tor, Dr. Jai Maharaj has both secret and not so secret
groupies. It just proves that an idiot can be village idiot Hindus'
messed up Messiah. Who else do you think ought to lead bunch of ****
worms than king of all **** worms, idiotboy, dog-tor Dr. Jai Maharaj?

The problem is with his lies. He lies, lies some more and to cover his
tracks, lies on top of it. If according to ding bat dog-tor, Dr. Jai
Maharaj, Hindu religion is the best in the world how come he has to
defend it so vigorously? Shouldn't the best product in the world,
including the best mouse-trap get the people knocking the doors?

This rats' asshole has serious problem with his logic. Let us for
argument's sake consider dog-tor Dr. Jai Maharaj's argument that Hindu
religion is the best and the Hindu culture is the best add to that as
a corollary, Hindu gods, all thirty-three millions of them are the
best, practitioners of Hindu religion are the best, citizens liveing
in India and practicising faithfully their cherished religion are the
best, make it anything and everything related to Hindu religion is the
best, for
argument's sake only.

Dt. Jai Maharaj's outrage against the world has no place. The value or
the price of a diamond is determined by the demand and supply of that
unique product. De Beers, the world monopoly decides how many diamonds
be marketed and at what price. No matter what is actual production or
actual demand the price is kept high to make diamond value at a
specific, luxury level.

If Dr. Jai Maharajs antics can be considered equal to De Beers cartel,
keeping the value of Hindu religion at ridiculously high level it
serves no purpose. No one is interested at Dr. Jai Maharaj's
artificially held value of Hindu religion. There is no great rush to
migrate to Hindu religion. The contrary is true. great many people
have abandoned it, if not stopped being rigorous practitioners of Dr.
Jai Maharaj brand of Hindu religion.

Under the circumstances, his hue and cry and his illegal, immoral
attitude towards all is unjustified. No matter how many times I said
that Hindu religion is a gutter religion it makes no difference to the
practitioners of that religion. They still follow their conscience or
personal choices to stick with it.

Shouldn't this ding bat dog-tor take a hint that it is the personal
choice of Hindus against overwhelming evidence against their religion,
their society, their history and culture that keeps it in place. I do
not believe that this ding bat dog-tor has that simple logical truth
seeking imagination.

Du. Jai Maharaj need not offend or defend anyone. God takes care of
that. I don't suppose this idiotboy has what it takes to add two and
two. Most probably, it would be five, three or twenty-two.

Sid Harth..."Show me a defender of Hindu culture and I shall show you
an idiotboy, dog **** eating, ding bat dog-tor, Dr. Jai Maharaj."

Dr. Gay Maharaj

http://www.cyclingforums.com/archive/index.php/t-55500.html

'na he na he he's is rotan baba 'who rolled up kulu manali in northern
hindustani.

`I've always `wondered who this chickensucker "Jai Maharaj" was. I
knew `for certain he wasn't a real Hindu. I did a Google `search on
"Jai Maharaj" + "Jay Stevens", and dozens of `hits popped up. Thanks
for the lead.

%:%:%: The Proto Jai Maharaj Periodic %:%:%: %:%:%: Informational
Posting %:%:%:

1. Who is Jai Maharaj?

Jai Maharaj is the 'Voice of Mantra Corporation'. Though it is seen
as

just one poster posting all the stuff on Usenet, it is widely
suspected

that Jai is not the only contributor.

2. What newsgroups are home to Jai Maharaj?

You're kidding. Any newsgroup on Usenet, forums on Compuserve,
practically anything anywhere anytime is home to Jai Maharaj. Just
post on any of the following groups on Noosenet and Jai is very eager
always to share his wisdom with any group.

Jai's wisdom is presently available on the following groups:

alt.astrology sci.med.nutrition rec.food.veg soc.culture.indian
alt.culture.hawaii (he says "Come over to alt.culture.hawaii" but he

JAI MAHARAJ UNCUT AND UNWASHED

Dean T Dean!!!!!! You got the afternoon off from your poor yet honest
dad's fast goat turd franchise and you...
never posts there)

The Usenet graph of Jai Maharaj in a brand of vedic astrology :

3. What do you need to do to get in the good books of Jai Maharaj?

Well, say that Vedic astrology is good. Don't ever be a animal person-
eater. Also see Q. 4. Also ask Virendra on alt.astrology.

4. What do you need to do to get in the bad books of Jai Maharaj?

Just flame him on Usenet for 5 days. It helps if you are quite
"popular" or "widely known" on a newsgroup. Else you aren't worth Jai
Maharaj's time. Say that Vedic Astrology is a fake. Or that Mantra
Corporation is misusing Internet-Usenet by advertizing using the 4-
line .sig.

5. What is common between Jai Maharaj and John Palmer?

Both have claim to being one of the most "popular" persons on Usenet.
Jai has accused lots of people with "LIBEL". JP has slapped virtual
lawyers on many.

6. What is different between Jai Maharaj and John Palmer?

John has his own machine and his own domain. Jai gets on to U. of
Hawaii and accesses Freenets from there.

John has a knowledge of sendsys while Jai doesn't. Jai is quite known
to accuse people of sending mail plants when there wasn't any sent.
But Jai is working hard to be a JP.

7. What is the mark of a Jai Maharaj posting?

It always starts with a -=Namaste=- and ends with a -=Om Shanti=-.
oops.. sorry. Always ends with the 4 line .sig.

He posts usually from his accounts as:

Exposed Arindam Banerjee's tactics of abuse 3302
Dr. Jai Maharaj Yawnnn.... Still peddling the same old lies. I'll
reply (yet again) with the same...
Your tax dollars at work!

Till date, he has never been seen from a commercial account. Once in a
while, mantra corporation (which has the same mcimail number
apparently its distilled wisdom.

8. What do I do if I don't want to see Jai's postings at all?

There is a wonderful mechanism on bulletin board systems called
"Killfile". Use it.

is the freenet he is using. Also you can send a nice 'thank you' note
for every posting he does. He appreciates it very much.

9. Why this FAQ?

There are countless people on Usenet who still don't know Jai Maharaj
and this humble effort on my part will probably enable people from far
and wide to get to know the personality of Jai.

btw, there is also a alt.fan.jai-maharaj (the newgroup was sent by
spread the Jai Maharaj message for the good of the world.

Contributions to the FAQ most welcome. If anyone wants to take over
the FAQ, you are most welcome to. Please post everything on the
newsgroup.

Every effort has been made to present facts. Corrections welcome on
that count from anyone, be it from Jai Maharaj or John Palmer.

Jai anon.penet.fi. Jai Jai Maharaj. Jai Julf.

-=Om Jai Maharaj=-

This posting can be circulated on any non-profit media. You can make
copies for educational use.

Brought to this forum by a caring anon.penet.fi user. Please post this
as a reply to jai's messages while snipping his message. Spread to all
corners of the creation. ÐÐ

JAI MAHARAJ BUSTED....CONNECTION TO FLEX.COM EXPOSED! VERSION 1.0

(OR PROOF THAT HINDUISM HAS LETHAL SIDE EFFECTS)

JAI MAHARAJ's CONNECTION TO HINDU personS.....

Jai Maharaj is in bed with Hindu persons and the Hindu equivalent
investigated by the Mumbai police for promoting liquidate of non-Hindu
Indians. The Hinduunity website has a "hitlist" page with names and
addresses of non-Hindu Indians against whom it openly incites
violence. The "hitlist" can be viewed here:

Mumbai Police Investigates hinduunity: VSNL, INDIA's Govt is blocking
the site. Israeli funded Hindu hate criminal Rohit Vyasman, who was
kicked off his ISP addr.com, runs the site. The site currently has its
own server and requires no ISP. The

Created On:01-Mar-2000 00:32:20
UTC Sponsoring Registrar:R164-LROR Registrant ID:GKG-C00000E47E
Registrant Name:Rohit Vyasmaan PO BOX 174 East Norwich NY 11732 US
Phone:+1.2089785264

There is proof that the Israeli person outfit outlawed by the UN,
Kahane.org runs the website, since it carries a link to Kahane.org as
well as Israeli propaganda.

In addition, the two servers of the website are : NS1.YESHUA.CC
(Yeshua is a Jewish name)
Name Server:NS2.GWSYSTEMS.CO.IL
(IL is the subdomain for Israel)

"When Addr.com dropped HinduUnity.org as one of its clients, Vyasman
called Guzofsky's office in Brooklyn. Guzofsky is a follower of Rabbi
Meir David Kahane, a Brooklyn-born, former member of the Israeli
Knesset, who called for the expulsion of Arabs from Israel. Guzofsky
connected Vyasman to Gary Wardell, a businessman in Annandale, VA.
Wardell's web service business now hosts both the HinduUnity.org and
Kahane.org sites. The two sites also have a mutual link." Link:

Jai maharaj frequently posts links to this website as well as
material. Whats more, he is a member of the members only forum area
where Hindu fanatics meet and discuss upcoming riots and
buttbuttinations in India.

Did Jai Maharaj help Rohit Vyasman set up Hinduunity.org on his own
servers?

the WHOIS of which is as follows: Registrant: Himalayan Academy
(XGZAGUWGCD) 107 Kaholalele Road Kapaa, HI 11111 US

Administrative Contact, Technical Contact: Japendra

107 Kaholalele Road

Kapaa, HI 11111 US

808-822-7032 fax: 808-822-4351

The other website contained in Jai's signature is
http:www.hindunet.org, the WHOIS of which is as follows: Registrant
ID:DOTR-00243868 plus 1 Vishwa Hindu Parishad of America, Inc. P.O.
Box 722098 San Diego CA 92172 US Phone:+1.8584844564 Admin.
ID:DOTC-01366589 Admin Name:Ajay Shah

Note that the Vishwa Hindu Parishad is the Nazi-KKK equivalent of with
it enbreastles him to an investigation.

JAI MAHARAJ BEHIND HATE CRIMES IN HONOLULU?:

Oct.22,2002: The FBI and Honolulu police have launched a hate crime
investigation into who left hundreds of anti-Muslim leaflets at Oahu's
only mosque yesterday morning. The leaflets were breastled "ATTENTION
RAG-HEADS" and included a threat against Muslims. The leaflets,
according to the group, said "every curry fund-raiser will be checked
to ensure that funds are not being funnelled to support person groups.
Anyone found in violation will be strapped with explosives and shipped
to Iraq. MAY GOD (NOT ALAH) BLESS AMERICA!!" Source:

Exposed Arindam Banerjee's tactics of abuse 3300
I don't know about him. These two I talk about pretend to be concerned
about Hindus and Hinduism. In reality...

Jai Maharaj resides in Honolulu (we will get to that later). The point
is, if he dedicates his entire day crossposting hate messages against
muslims and posts a link to the Hindu equivalent of the KKK, the VHP
in every post, don't you suppose he might be tempted to get physical?
But since he is a coward Hindu, you can expect him to be involved only
in anonymous hate crimes like the one mentioned above.

There are two peculiar features regarding the aforementioned hate
crime: 1. The reference to "curry fundraisers" seems to be aimed at
deflecting attention from the perpetrator (Jai?) who himself is of
"curry" Asian Indian origin. 2. Allah mispelt as Alah seems to be
deliberate to deflect attention towards Jai and portray the image of a
white Christian perpetrator who happens to be ignorant of spelling
Allah. Deliberate? You bet.

CONTACT THE HAWAII POLICE DEPARTMENT AND TELL THEM WHY YOU THINK JAI
DID IT....REMEMBER, TIPS ARE ANONYMOUS AND YOU COULD BE REWARDED IF
JAI

GETS BUSTED!

Honolulu Police Department 801 South Beretania Street Honolulu, HI
96813

Deputy Chief of Police Paul Putzulu: 529-3975

Police Vice-Drug Tip Hotline: East Hawaii: 934-"VICE" (934-8423) West
Hawaii: 329-"ZERO-ICE" (329-0423) Non-emergency Information and
Complaints: 935-3311

JAI MAHARAJ's FALSE ALLEGATIONS OF CHILD ABUSE

Jai maharaj has a file on him in the California Police Department
after he notified the police that a anti-Hindu Usenet poster
"Sidharth" of Pennsylvania was a child molester. The police
investigated the affair and discovered that Jai had led them on a
false trail. To quote Sidharth:

"His (Jai Maharaj's) latest charge against me is so ridiculous that I
ignored it altogether as typical Hindu blasphemy. The charge is that I
abuse children. This charge was made by one Sujata Londhe, another
covert Hindu person of Morrisville, Pennsylvania. Sujata Londhe has
since been inactive for one or more reasons. She never could prove the
charge nor bunch of Brahmin sh*t loaders who acted on her

William Grosvenor sick Jew hater using fake names. Google William
Grosvenor
U.S. Soldier Recalls Horror of Nazi Camp Published: 5-8-05 MAUTHAUSEN,
Austria (AP) - Bodies stacked like firewood. A concrete slab where
dead...
"This ding bat dog-tor, however, in the same period, or approximately
so, have stolen copyrighted material from reputed media and posted
under his fake name, Dr. Jai Maharaj nearly fifty thousand articles,
according to Deja.com archives." Read Sidharth's article at:

On another occasion, Jai Maharaj accused a usenet user disagreeing On
another occasion, Jai posted private imfo on a non-Hindu Indian so

JAI MAHARAJ IS THE KINGPIN OF A VEDIC-JYOTSHI BULLSH*T ASTROLOGY
SCAM!

Jai Maharaj preys on ignorant Hindu fools who don't even know the
internet is on computers....and to whom a message posted in English to
missile. Jai has his pimps in India fleece these ignorant fools of
their money by offering them bullsh*t jyotshi predictions. In
addition, Jai Maharaj seeks to push the rest of the jyotshi scammers
off his turf by copyrighting catch phrases like "prediction registry",
"holistic jyotshi" and "mantra"! His bullpoo jyotshi atrology can be
never took off. Guess jyotshi bullsh*t and news analysis simply don't
mix.

How the scam works is that some idiot Hindu who cant type a sh*t (and
naturally devoid of comprehension) stumbles upon his usenet posts and
follows the above links embedded in his signature.......and voila!
Meet

jai, the predictor of their future happiness and well being. Since
hardcore materialism, hate and privates worship wash away the
remaining intellect in the minds of his Hindu adherents, they are more
than willing to part away with their money for a little guidance from
a cyber-jyotshi .......and what is there to say when the bullsh*t
jyotshi

boasts clients (unnamed of course....ahem) among all the rich and
powerful running this planet? Even the whitehouse declares war on
timing outlined by Jai! (something he pulled out of his butt). Check
it out here:

scam simply consists of juggling various buttumptions and running
around naked when any one of them work out. Whats worse, Jai isn't
even putting up a realistic Nostradamus like fooling game......instead
he is lousy enough to let his anti-christian and anti-muslim bias leak
into his predictions as well. See subscribe by contributing to his
Paypal account to get access to his bullsh*t predictions on future
events.

JAI MAHARAJ IS A CROSS POSTING USENET ABUSER

http://www.barossa-region.org/Australia/WHO-IS-JAI-MAHARAJ.html

monkey pees in its own mouth [gross]

monkey pees in its own mouth [gross]
0:10
Added: 1 year ago
From: capinfox
Views: 70,039

All Comments (46 total)

Loading...SuperJusto22 (4 days ago) groossssssssssssssssss!!!!!!!! !!!
1

greenorange75 (5 days ago) ATHF FTW

criticalbitch1987 (1 week ago) go on my son !!!!

Bravyanz0r (1 week ago) HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA WTH?!

KhanioProductions (2 weeks ago) Give this comment a thumbs UP! lol

watermeloncutie16 (2 weeks ago)I think that is so sad that monkey
needs some water

RonixEnclave (3 weeks ago) I had to do that when I was lost in the
desert for 4 days.

lolaap1234 (3 weeks ago) This is fucking sad he needs to get water

australianicon (1 month ago) this monkey is doing what i do almost
every day

volcomdaddy (1 month ago) i just really hate monkeys so much!!!!!!!

SantaTheEmo (1 month ago) makes me thirsty.

Fartknocker0990 (1 month ago) i hope no one is getting ideas........

InYourFaceNewYorker (1 month ago)That's not a monkey, that's a
chimpanzee, considered one of the great apes. Chimps are the closest
cousins of humans. Wow, our close cousin is peeing in his mouth. ;)

krisrod8 (2 weeks ago) do you look like a monkey?

xochequetsal (1 month ago)stupid monkey!

sich69 (1 month ago) ^_^

isin1998 (1 month ago) o_o omg omg o_o

AshleyWyles (1 month ago) eh mi god that was so disgusting!! EW

mercen144 (2 months ago)likes the comments

Rexd101 (2 months ago) Monkies are awesome. They can survive in the
desert because they have something to drink. As long as they keep
drinking it they can store it for later. Fucking awesome huh.

Shanzap (2 months ago) uhm

u can only drink ur pee once
after that the salt and acid in it will kill u
u have to wait for ur system to cleanse again
well I dunno for monkeys

cause clearly this monkey must do it all the time

leightontang (2 months ago) OH MY GOSH THAT DISGUSTING!!!!!!!!!

Rubbatubby8 (2 months ago) Same here

Sm00thCriminaal (2 months ago) lol refreshing....homemade lemonade
with a twang to it.
yamahaTRAIL (2 months ago) @Sm00thCriminaal hahahahhaha

kslaopuwmuil (2 months ago) we love monkeys they are sooooo cute
(sweet)
5/5

dasbakon (2 months ago) Chimpanzees are not monkeys, they are apes.

kslaopuwmuil (2 months ago) Shit dude, get a life instead of being a
smartass.
nolifer

thecorduroysuit (2 months ago) Comment removed by author

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thecorduroysuit (2 months ago)Well, dasbakon is absolutely right,
Chimps ARE apes, not monkeys. It`s pretty sad when people equate
intelligence with ``Having no life.``

95gobbler (2 months ago) that monkey got its colors messed up the
pees are suppose to be green not yellow

bearspark (3 months ago) lol

iStocop (3 months ago)if he's thirsty he gotta do wat he gotta do.

joshdodds94 (3 months ago) Curtis Juch..... HarHarhehehaHRahr

Katieboo1996 (5 months ago) gross

samangelo11 (7 months ago) what happened to the other 9

ToontownMad2605 (7 months ago) I counted 1. :S

xluckyx (7 months ago) i demand my other 9 clips >:[

Nathanpq7 (7 months ago) there wuz only 1 vid not 10

robnobhob (7 months ago) hahah xD

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monkeylover098 (7 months ago) dude u suck 4 that
ThePhoenix815 (11 months ago) where's the other 9?

DJSFAMOUS (8 months ago) exactly

hazzaslim (1 year ago) rofl

skilla2k8 (1 year ago) hahahahaha woodzy

WoodzyBoi2K8 (1 year ago) lol

http://www.youtube.com/comment_servlet?all_comments&v=5Fj37OTTmm4&fromurl=/watch%3Fv%3D5Fj37OTTmm4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Fj37OTTmm4

Crazy gorilla eating his own poo

Crazy gorilla eating his own poo
1:21
Added: 3 years ago
From: chaqlee
Views: 264,967

All Comments (552 total)

zrx7769 (3 days ago) thats not a gorilla, its a nigger

pinoyrules15 (5 days ago) THATs a GORRila talents No one human CAn't
Do that....
silphantom (5 days ago) WhY aRe YoU TyPing LiKe ThIs??

zrx7769 (3 days ago) um, no your wrong

dxdxliu (1 week ago)recycling

bluelite7x (1 week ago)Orangutans piss in their mouths, gorillas eat
their shits, and terrorists blow themselves up. As intelligent as
primates are, they can clearly be fucked in the head!

TheBrawlMaster (1 week ago) This zoo dont feed him enough, so he has
no choice to recycle his poo.

devywevy1996 (1 week ago) if i wasnt sick before i dont know what i
am noww.
truelypink (1 week ago) African American Style!!!

KhanioProductions (2 weeks ago) that is not wat gorillas would do in
the wild, that gorilla is hungry and mentally fucked

vlcmarijn (2 weeks ago) 50 cent

Irokashi (2 weeks ago) Now we know what the gorillas get for diner.

darylklein13 (2 weeks ago) yum yum yum
thats fucking gross

garyf7777 (2 weeks ago) Is this Iyanna Washington?

Selwof (2 weeks ago) this is recycling in its base form, good to see
other creatures making a difference. . .

jaqu19 (2 weeks ago) damn, that is one fucking crazy gorilla!

toasterhead91 (3 weeks ago) petty goss... i saw a goilla eat his
poop, puke it up, then eat the puke tho X_X

Smaejdah (3 weeks ago)He wanted to give those fucking people a little
show :D

zaffe93 (3 weeks ago) what a poor black person

Jan8991 (3 weeks ago) seroiusly poor gorilla

louandmikes (3 weeks ago) 1 word Nasty

14ethank (3 weeks ago) that is beyond gross.

ACmilanfan80 (1 month ago) how does ur shit taste u niggaa

DahnD (1 month ago) My dog eats horse shit O.o Not to mention
frogs...

knarftretsom (1 month ago)YAAY ITS MY LANGUAGE =)
Netherlands ;D

4devilking4 (1 month ago) poor garilla
his hungry T.T

GIVE HIM SOME FOOD!!

his a poor animal who eats poop because his hungry GIVE HIM
FOOOOOOD!!!

specialkid94 (1 month ago)i gues he wanted it his way o.o

yamablaster14 (1 month ago) Finger lickin good yum!! Haha

80gamer (1 month ago) doesnt that make u wanna kiss jim

vicktrickly72 (1 month ago) better than 2 girls 1 cup, and 2 girls 1
finger, and 4 girls fingerpaint...

planes3333 (4 weeks ago) @vicktrickly72

whats that mean??

vicktrickly72 (4 weeks ago) it means STOP WATCHING THINGS EAT WASTE
you might find yourself doing it

GermanysF1nest (1 month ago) baaaaaaaaaaaaaaah pervert

lmr2727 (1 month ago) leave him alone!!!!! dogs do that too, you
know! jeez!

Joshuaguss (1 month ago) LOL 0:33 The gorilla see everybody's laughing
at him, and it looks like he's asking "You never ate poo".

93bendzsi (1 month ago) Also the dogs do thats as well

VibrantBeautyBaBy (1 month ago) Left overs I guess? LoL!
SiCcCkKk!!!!! HAHAHA!

cburrezzy (1 month ago) i know his breath STANKIN!

lauzama (1 month ago) whats wrong that gorilla

80gamer (1 month ago) either its on crak or that poo is going strait
to its head

davidhamburg1996 (1 month ago) wtf ?!?!? LOOOOL !!!!!

GameSpazzProductions (1 month ago)there was probably a recycle sign
somewhere in the zoo.

toaking54 (1 month ago) insane

Shadow247night (1 month ago) That's just messed up!

emokekz890emokekz (2 months ago) leave him be, he's trying to eat for
crying out loud.
gtardude1 (2 months ago)i meen a straght face my dad mesed me up

gtardude1 (2 months ago) whats funny is he eats it with a strait

Ardefoc (2 months ago) Mmm Nutrients

emmanuelrio911 (2 months ago) what an idiot... yuck i lost my
appetite

Tyguy161 (2 months ago) *pukes*... man hes really mackin' down

triplepoopsmith (2 months ago) this is gross but hilarius

hagertyh (2 months ago) That zoo must not give them enough to eat :
( LOL

watermelonhorsey123 (2 months ago) this made my mouth have herpies :
&

khanhq (2 months ago)1 gorilla

1 zoo kinda like 2 girls 1 cup lol

spmommy4 (2 months ago) Rofl

fuzzwarmy (2 months ago) This gorilla is not crazy. Gorillas get
their vitamin B12 and other important nutrients from insects and their
own feces. Zookeepers rarely if ever feed insects to captive gorillas,
so captive gorillas are forced to rely solely on their feces for B12.

soccrplyr10 (2 months ago) the cameraguy said ratemypoo

nrobnas43 (2 months ago) the gorilla says, " This tastes like shit".

cutehannahful (2 months ago) OMG!!!!! I Think i'm gonna throw up!!!

gerrardjake (2 months ago) damn hes downing that like a champ

Sm00thCriminaal (2 months ago) @gerrardjake it must of thought it
seen a peanut

TheIrinucka (2 months ago) i feel sick :-&

MRDOGSWIPE (2 months ago) Oh My Goodness...idk what to say...

MrEmejias (2 months ago) the gorilla is looking at everybody like
"haven't you ever eaten poo?".

Joshuaguss (2 months ago) LOL 0:10 That Gorilla is wondering why a-lot
of people keep watching him eat. 0:40 Look at him, everytime he take a
bite, he looks and see people staring and laughing at him.

1:09 So I guess he said "I'm gonna finish my food when everybody
leave."
Zebbe190 (2 months ago) the gorilla is looking at them like:
-Can you do that, phff!
:)

SillyGoober23 (2 months ago) apes do sometimes do that...there is
usually undigested nuts, fruit, or vegetables that they can
smell...or the Zoo keepers aren't feeding them :-)

DrToonhattan (2 months ago) Haha, that guy at 1:03 looked like he was
going to be sick.
I don't blame him.

But isn't the whole point of poo being really smelly so that animals
don't eat it?
Or maybe it just had a cold.

RaiMX (2 months ago)He is just saying: Look at my poor life - I'm
eating my own shit!

Mas18J (3 months ago) Ieeelllhhh Hij eet gewoon zn eigen poep op!
Haha

HugeChunkySkidmark (3 months ago) I like the part where the monkey
eats the shit

themelanator1 (3 months ago) thats fucking funny when he eats shit

amelie1416 (3 months ago)at least they won't have to clean up his
poop

cryptex220 (3 months ago) wtf?

INTHETREE71 (3 months ago) naasty....

way worse than my neighbors dog Kimmy.... she ate her poo too.....
The thing is is that they crave vitamins so an alternative would be
fesies, also known as shit ! HAHA But this was funny!

unstopable410 (3 months ago) you are one sick and gay nasty mother
fucker

ZzXDGXzZ (3 months ago) lol!! thatd be funny toofbar

welubsoursheet (3 months ago) YUMMY!!!! He makes me so wet. What team
does he play for?

truckdog19508 (3 months ago) thats a gorilla genious, not a baboon,
ya fucken uber tard

MarioLuigification (3 months ago) O.O DX

3rdDragunov (3 months ago) What a stupid fucking animal, that's
fecies, dumb fucking retarded baboon. Some one throw him some patatos
to eat at least?

CazAttack57 (3 months ago) lol yummy

3ej6 (3 months ago) hes just playing mind games

youdead179 (3 months ago) MMM CHOCALATE MUFFINS!!!!!!

HomicideTroop901 (3 months ago)dude

smallin45 (3 months ago) OMG~!

mtgPirate (3 months ago) He must be REALLY hungry..

toofbar3 (3 months ago) 2Gorillas1cup?

FROZENUSER (3 months ago)who doesn't likes to eat poo?

matt4c4 (3 months ago) Comment removed by author

shirey812 (4 months ago) hey, less work for the employees, lol

yomomma41 (4 months ago)hey he's thinking GREEN alright! lmao
RECYCLE!!!
lol
CanadiaNecro1 (4 months ago) They do it in the wild too.

CaveatCartoonShows (4 months ago) :O THAT'S NASTY...welp, this proves
that we're defendantly related to apes!!

CaveatCartoonShows (4 months ago) CRAP! SPELLED DEFIANTLY WRONG...

CaveatCartoonShows (4 months ago) wait...that's not how you spell it
either...

BrittanyBrittanyable (4 months ago) LMFAO! *spits* That was sooooo
gross but halarious. Them damn zoo owners need to feed him!

treasuredroperX (3 months ago) He has leaves to eat...

NoMercyForTheWeak001 (4 months ago) ooh dude! my eyes!

dittocopys (4 months ago) you are not alone 0_0

TappaJ123 (4 months ago) wow!!!!!

sChOoLmIsSeR (4 months ago)He must of enjoyed that..

karts565 (4 months ago) söö sitta

MrMickeyd1112 (4 months ago) pause at 0:10 Something funny
bitches?!?!?!

greendaylover4 (4 months ago)ha ha yeah lol good one

taeyatalkalot (4 months ago) It was gross buy so funny lol

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BLACKOUT319 (4 months ago) Marked as spam i almost threw up

starlinayei (4 months ago)2GIRL1CUP HELPER

gayskunk (4 months ago)its accully normal for some animals to do
this, rabbits do it to regain certain nutriants, much like a cow
vomits in its own mouth and chews on it, its just instinct

snewso (4 months ago) musta been hungry

AznLiishii123 (4 months ago)that was very disturbing to see, yet i
cant stop watching it!

darthkevster (4 months ago) yum yum lmao

TFloydProductions (4 months ago) taste even better the second time!!!
1

sergen121 (4 months ago) feel sorry for his wife

crotchfungus (5 months ago) Well they are vegetarian, so I guess its
okay

Mars5890 (5 months ago) lol

YtothemuddafukinT (5 months ago) Man, you'd think they'd give the man
who just won a Nobel Peace Prize better chow than that!

woozie442 (5 months ago) It's dinner time at the white house!

aodessey (4 months ago) you're fucking sick

halfahuman (5 months ago) 1:09 D=

12kirkhinrich12 (5 months ago) That's recycling!

annhelen88 (5 months ago) haha, kuleste mest demonstrative monkey
hoho :)

DeiFanGirl94 (5 months ago) damn, he's so pervert!!
...
xD
Kacicka999 (5 months ago) Damn ...

XDiScONeCtX (5 months ago) Yummy.

cheemoguy (5 months ago) barf!!!

OffTheDeepEnd101 (5 months ago) nastiehh

bindass99945 (5 months ago) this bez of fucking zoo peoples, not
giving proper
food to wild animals :( i feel really pity for that gorrillaaaaaaa

Jarrith4291 (5 months ago) I really think the incessant giggling of
the camera man intensifies the effect...

EvilToiletTaco (5 months ago) RECYCLE

jeffreyhrz (5 months ago)why does it smell like shyt everytime i see
this video?
GlitzAndGlamour1 (5 months ago) i think i died a little on the inside.

5superbreasons (5 months ago) yum

cfhscheer (5 months ago) o_0

aznrichgirl (5 months ago)awhhh): i bet thts jus a super bad zoo who
doesnt feed the animals T_T

xHahaElly (5 months ago) Maybe he was hungry ):

XxGameadickxX (5 months ago) talk about potty mouth

savanah37615 (6 months ago) ewewewewewewewewHAHA

trxrida10 (6 months ago) LOL SO FUNNY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

druha10304 (6 months ago)drafted number 6 by the new york knicks.

x001m69 (5 months ago) NO, I think this ape looke like a New England
Patriot

duerdum9 (6 months ago) haha cool gorilla!

TheBrawlMaster (6 months ago) 1 gorilla 1 cup

crazystarwarsguy1006 (6 months ago) humans: holy shit its eatin its
own poop!!!!

gorilla: yum takes like apples I WANT MORE

peter12331 (5 months ago) HAHAHAHAH

buckatunnaboy (6 months ago) Man, that's some good sh*t!!! LOL!

emochild987 (6 months ago) lol black ppl.....

xxHATESxTHExWORLDxx (6 months ago)LMFAO

Moving4Motion (6 months ago) He just wants a hot meal :D

THEANIMEPERV (6 months ago) i remember when my dog use to do that
LMAO. XD.
5w545 (6 months ago) Show Hide 0 Marked as spam Reply ew, freaking
gross
blueears1 (6 months ago) Good examle of recycling we all shud recycle
our poo.

Fredwiener (6 months ago) Recycle fail

xerke (6 months ago)wow how sad how far he needs to go to get
attention

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gta4ratman (6 months ago) Marked as spam HEY!

dont knock it till you try it

welshwarrior123 (6 months ago) Marked as spam bet his breath smells
like shit

tree003a (6 months ago) now all that gorilla has to do is burp in
your face!

luncheon198 (7 months ago) NOMNOMNOMNOM

greenket (7 months ago) this is some original 2girls 1cup

SeAz00n (7 months ago) Gorilla and poo! :D

xTSxPUNISHER (7 months ago) mmmmmm taste haha

bleachjunkie (7 months ago) My dog does that... O.o

crazyds123456789 (7 months ago) Must tought it was a banana or he
must be reallly really hungry
and omg he likes it O-o

daniellos333 (7 months ago) why didnt u name the title "insane gorilla
eating its own shit"

SketchyFingers12 (7 months ago) i wonder how it tastes...

raniman999 (7 months ago) OMG NASTY!

theforrestwhaley (7 months ago) i saw a gorilla eat his own puke at
the bronx zoo

CherylVooren (7 months ago) this is Artis @ holland =]

thinkinrich (7 months ago) DONT WASTE IT U MOTHERFUCKER

BaileytheHedgehog112 (7 months ago) what a crazy fucking bastard!!
they say monkeys are smarter than us??

JoshDaGoodfella (7 months ago) Gross, and they say monkeys are smarter
than us?!!
But then again, I suppose some Youtubers do eat their own poop, I'm
looking at you trolls!

Pufflestudio09 (7 months ago) Crazy Gorilla: THIS IS MY POOP I MUST
EAT!
People: I don't wanna eat it anyways nasty ass.

Crazy Gorilla: Well you can't have any, I LOVE POOP!

StyrbjornStarke (7 months ago) thats one hungry nigga!

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ccsecond (7 months ago) Marked as spam Nom nom nom

skateshiz1 (7 months ago) haha :)

KievThug24 (7 months ago) oh shit..that is totally crazy!!!!

36jemm (7 months ago) 1 gorilla 1 hand 0_o

Metalsonic136 (8 months ago)Dont Watch If Your Eating Cheese

whiplash1one (8 months ago) imagine if u had to kis him after that

Martoh1 (8 months ago) Mmmmm, tasty

crazyds123456789 (8 months ago) i remember seeing a rino eating its
own crap

GlitzAndGlamour1 (8 months ago)I only watched 10 seconds and i was
gagging the hole way through.

headmanboy30000 (8 months ago) you are what you eat

LinksLightArrows (8 months ago) people think we evolved from these
dumb animals...

DetroitRick1 (8 months ago) This gorilla is the shit.

bakerman93 (8 months ago) no wonder why the others call him shit
face

VisionDivine (8 months ago) S0_0

universalmind3000 (8 months ago) O_o

bigdsears (8 months ago) Today I ate my own poop in front of the
human's. I had hoped this would strike fear into their hearts, since
it clearly demonstrates what I am capable of. However, they merely
made condescending comments about what a 'funny gorilla' I am.
Bastards.
Zadaxes (8 months ago) wtf

illybang (8 months ago) Eating feces occurs in the wild and often
occurs at a more frequent rate in zoos. Ingestion of feces is thought
to have nutritive value. For example, ingested feces may help in the
utilization of B vitamins that are manufactured in the lower gut.
Beneficial bacteria that aid digestion are also replenished.

Videogamefan1992 (8 months ago) I bet the gorilla had great breath
after that.

funspot101 (8 months ago) what do we say when the smoke alarm goes
off and mom's cooking?

" Dinner's Ready! "

k00lGuy (8 months ago) ugh! gross... zookeeper aint feeding these
goriilas or something. They end up eating their own shit.

Billster05 (8 months ago) the zookeepers must be feeding them
something otherwise they would have no shit

gabeo8 (8 months ago) People:Lmfoa HAHAHHAHA BlaaarghRawr
Gorilla:I can chew on poo and not be embarassed by it *omnomnomnom*

ShitOnAPlatter (8 months ago) Check Out The Blonde @ 1:02 I Wouldn't
Mind Eating Her Poo !

eckels3000 (8 months ago) HAHA LMFAO!!!!!

backpacc (8 months ago) O_O

BmWbEaSt11 (8 months ago) i like to eat my own poop...especially
diarrhea...i like the runny feeling in my mouth

mummomies45 (8 months ago) lol if gorilla would throw the zookeeper
in face with that
Timverbaz (9 months ago) Comment removed by author

xBLaKHearTx (9 months ago) omgomgomg!
*vomits*
LoL!

CowsAndCrows (9 months ago) zookeeper wont clean my cage.. so ill do
it myself

Mbsaysfasho (9 months ago) haha thats a good one

FFatboy911 (9 months ago) WELLLL...i guess if your hungry and you
just laid out last nights supper..you might as well eat it O.O

fuckblackmetal (9 months ago) orrible...

dmaninfan (9 months ago)That gorilla is gangster...

Mark01656 (9 months ago) i bet he wishes he hasd some hot sauce or
some mouth wash for later lol

haloveiwer (9 months ago)what do you want im just eating my poo i
thought you humans do that too?

sololamer (9 months ago) WHy do they pick the stupidest gorillas to
put in the zoo.

Piccolo49 (9 months ago) POO POO

thinkinrich (9 months ago) he needs some tortilla

eresputo (9 months ago) need some you mama!

thinkinrich (9 months ago)your mama eats every day

tonnysaidno (9 months ago) I ate pancakes in the morning and get
constipate. My goodmother gave me exlax and I push, and push, and
push, and shat 1 pancake and a half. I guess the other 5 and a half
were absobed by my body.

thinkinrich (9 months ago) Comment removed by author

babycatmilker (9 months ago) oh man im getting hungry watching this

BeltaiTheImp (9 months ago) if i were the gorilla id ask for apple
sauce

pinoyrawr (10 months ago) nasty

houtman45 (10 months ago) its nutrious lol

AgentCROCODILE (10 months ago) OMGWTFBBQ Sauce anyone?

PurpleStorm8 (10 months ago) Lol, the guy at 1:05 was about to spew.

eleszar1 (10 months ago) OKEY so NOW I GO TO BED BEFORE I SLEEP I EAT
POO ! YUUUMI

specialtaskforceswat (10 months ago) I already eat my poo with
ketchup and somtimes bbq sauce for a treat

yourneverknowblah (9 months ago) lol

taste4love (10 months ago) DEAMIT, so thats why they are so strong
and muscled, im gonna start making that sheet at home... i poo, and
then i will eat my poo with ketcchup...and after 2 weeks, my muscles
will get stronger

BFMVpwnage5168 (10 months ago) that's what i call EXTREME RECYCLING

iiBubblez (10 months ago) That's so mean...

lahijadelchale (11 months ago) Next video......2 GORILLAS 1 CUP!!!!!

demilavatojr9 (11 months ago) NOT POO I WAS THERE IT WAS HIS FOOD

HaloMania2k (10 months ago) me to!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

videolover61 (11 months ago) Dont try that kids...it will screw up
your breath!!! lol
sierraonezero (11 months ago)Love the finger lickin' action around
0:50, that's some gooooood stuff!

GeorgeA2k8 (11 months ago)Another gorilla and a cup and we might just
have a video...

chubster0101 (11 months ago) Two Gorillas One cup there is another
way a man in a gorilla suit

Meixafuhellzman2 (11 months ago) HAHAAHAHAAHA!

ducksmasher09 (11 months ago) 1:10 LMFAO!!!

succexy11 (11 months ago)Oh, my god! Are they not feeding the
gorilla? Or do they do that in the wild, too?

BeatboxKingS (10 months ago) Because they eat plants and small bugs.

All their poop is safe to eat i guess because its not so potent by
greasy foods ect.
kanonekraftschuss (10 months ago) No, it is pudding, not poo.

BeatboxKingS (10 months ago) I dont know if your being sarcastic
But thats not pudding
lol

monkeys,Gorillaz, primeapes are known to eat their own poo
They dont know the difference between a high balanced diet
to an all you can eat shit buffet
XD

Joshuaguss (11 months ago) That Gorilla walked away 1:09, because he's
just like human beans, he don't like people staring at him eating. He
will finish his dinner when those people leave.

wogboyz109 (11 months ago) ooooooooooo man i feel sick

TaylorVSMike (11 months ago) i did want attention so he ate his own
poop and after he probably went to the back to throw up

Himalicious (11 months ago) it wants attention.. it got
attention! :D

Vhakkox (11 months ago) This is some funny shit.

GIUSSEPPE1987 (11 months ago) save the chimps and gorillas save the
chimps

GoodSmellingStink (11 months ago) Gorillas get more and more like
humans everyday. They even recycle their trash.

Southparkisdshit (11 months ago) thats just grose!

cammycool3 (11 months ago) I think he thinks ''Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm''

DarkShadowRage2 (11 months ago) 1 Gorilla1 cup?

nukynk (11 months ago) 1 gorilla, NO cup

yuurepoer (11 months ago) Dude !

kit99999999 (11 months ago) Lol hes tryin to lose weight

kit99999999 (11 months ago)this stupid ass monkey eatin his ugly ass
shit ohhh shit his daily dessert

VioletBoyTV (1 year ago)I think im gonna puke

ProjectRedfoot (1 year ago) he looks pissed about eating it too!
lawlawl.
"im eating poo god damnit..."

BerserkGorilla5 (11 months ago) Gorillas always look angry. XD

jyoeun86 (1 year ago) his breathe smells like SHIT!

Cathrynlee (1 year ago) Fat bastard

theturdbucket1 (1 year ago) whats so wierd i do that all the time

BitchyPagentQueen (1 year ago) How disgusting, I am appalled!

Could he not have used some matters and a knife and fork?
:D

999roby (1 year ago) its ugly.....you must take a fork and a knife

JohnsLazy (1 year ago)do they not feed him enough of what he likes?

iLuKaS2oo9Baby (1 year ago) He relly is crazy

chevytruck123 (1 year ago) Thats sick!

mama2815 (1 year ago)does that mean the zoo is not feeding its animals
enough that this fella had to eat his own excrement?

keribery1235 (1 year ago)maybe its that or that he just expirementing
(i cant spell that right)

pydec3ption (1 year ago) That would be funny if he threw it at the
window

boribori90 (1 year ago) that's just....not even necessary.

JWcolour (1 year ago) Don't knock it til ya try it.

Vhakkox (1 year ago) 1Chimp1Poop.

mbudd121 (1 year ago) 1 gorilla no cup

cynikal12345 (1 year ago) hahhhahahah

scargill8 (1 year ago) HAHAHA I was there when this happened I think

VEGAN0011 (1 year ago)mmm gorilla say better than a mcdonalds

KataarSolo (1 year ago) if the only things you ate were oranges and
bananas, your poo would still have nutrients in it too, but humans
consume afr too many chemicals, and processed foods which are high in
salt and fat, or high level bacterial produce, which means our poo is
toxic
you could actually eat some gorilla poo in a survival situation and it
would keep you going....
or would it?
you decide

myoppositelife (1 year ago) i thought they were suppose to be smart
or somthing
coney10000 (1 year ago) all thaat is goning to happen is that it will
come back out...

endnami (1 year ago) is that normal behavior?

Stifaan (1 year ago) love the laugh

moonguy16 (1 year ago) Holy Crap

Retardidape (1 year ago) Well...his whole face probably smells of
shit XD

klobyshuffle (1 year ago) His breath smells like shit!!!! lol

HackToob (1 year ago) 2 gorillas 1 cup

niddster77 (1 year ago) its funny how the filmer is just laughing his
ass off
SilverAsakura (1 year ago)cut the crap.

lottore (1 year ago) thats horrid even 4 a gorilla

Brizco888 (1 year ago) that is soo gross!

RockOutGurl167 (1 year ago)this is halrious but gross at the same
time haha

rikiboum (1 year ago) Anarchist monkey !

vergil43 (1 year ago)NATHAN!

quoththeraven929 (1 year ago) why?

porscheflat (1 year ago) To him...it's finger-lickin' good...

negrote4 (1 year ago) whats more delicious than your own dump?

Inikalord (1 year ago) YUCK!!!

narutoop1 (1 year ago) siiiiiiiiiiiiccccck

emilio911911 (1 year ago) dude!!!!thats just nasty!!!!

janderson2000 (1 year ago) I wonder if he craps out bananas after
eating the poop

loundon2 (1 year ago) i wanna eat his poo and then fuck it and make
babies 100x with it so my dick is covered in poo
then i suck my own dick cuz its cool like that

EmptyNutShells (1 year ago) that is literally the sickest thing i've
heard my whole day o_O

for that, you should feel proud :D

teeku666 (1 year ago)lol 2 gorillas 1 cup
XD

spnky92 (1 year ago) hey i saw some thing like this on a porn website
with asians...oh...yea haha

TenTen902 (1 year ago) Reply 2 girls 1 cup rrreeemmmiiixx LMFAOO!

techmasterflash (1 year ago) Olivia says that's some good cucka mun!

MiniMi3z (1 year ago) OMFG! how can he be so fucking stupid!

wearejusthumanbeing (1 year ago) in nature they can eat whenever they
want, maybe he was too hungry

beebabe411 (1 year ago) shame they have no food :''(

littleFlecker4 (1 year ago) mmmmmm gooddd seconds and thirds yum

Gtrplyr1 (1 year ago) 2 girls 1 cup google it..

ifyoureadthisyousuck (1 year ago) itd be good if he chucked it up over
the enclosure haha "hits people"

hiddeninja (1 year ago) omg so disgusting...ew but nice vid

OmgPanda1 (1 year ago) at 18 sec he stops chewing he probably
like,"Wtf are you guys laughing at?!"

mrtallhall (1 year ago) its kimbo!

sleepypoodle (1 year ago) So that's what George Bush does in his
spare time.

ajrunke (1 year ago) wow get over it...you lost in 00 and 04

sleepypoodle (1 year ago) I think it is quite clear who LOST judging
by your
economy and employment figures, hopefully the majority of Americans
have learned from this fiasco.

Evilman661 (1 year ago) yum lol

bleachandnarutoareth (1 year ago) People shouldn't bang on the poor
ape's cage. That is cruel. As if he wasn't having a bad enough time
already.

gnamp (1 year ago) bad time?- he's got a shit-eating grin

FluffiFish (1 year ago) I guess but he didn't seem very annoyed.

kokoykiko (1 year ago) masarap na tae yan

SoCalstylez858 (1 year ago) lol

jiya560 (1 year ago) shit kkakakakaknaiainaniniainaniiii iii mukang
tae

shanchilly (1 year ago) yuck

suluama2002 (1 year ago) that is jacked up. ๏̯͡๏)

Zollehx (1 year ago) Show Hide 0 Marked as spam Reply ๏̯͡๏)

Titanium267 (1 year ago) ๏̯͡๏)

promethiusboy (1 year ago) its all about recycling baby

SoCalstylez858 (1 year ago) hahaha ! oh shit im laughing my ass off
right now at that comment1

ajauregui67 (1 year ago) mmmm that looks good

Bigmike3122 (1 year ago) i guess they dont feed them enough

orinkly (1 year ago) Don't do this at home

mjfangirl123 (1 year ago) eww discustint but funny! im watching it
again

disciple111 (1 year ago) that gorrila is gettin SHIT faced

what1ever2guy3 (1 year ago) lol

TheSnake1588 (1 year ago) I actually saw a Baboon carrying some poo in
it's mouth like a dog carrying a tennis ball on the same day of the
posting of this comment. (I was at the zoo)

videomana123 (1 year ago) HAHAH THIS IS FUNNY

WizKidProductions (1 year ago) we evolved from that? COOOL!

ScopedOut7 (1 year ago) lmao

rainbowkittyy (1 year ago) omg i threw up in my mouth a little

iluvgtasan (1 year ago) That is the most discusting thing i have ever
seen!

leafzzzzzzz (1 year ago)2 GIrls 1 CUP OMFGGGGg

porscheflat (1 year ago) I would've said umm..chocolate...but that
shyt didn't have the correct color to even look like chocolate.
That's straight POOO from the ground up!! ;-( and he didn't even FLUSH
it down with water.

PatriciaXavier1991 (1 year ago)Menhame :)

ukbnpok (1 year ago)benz tucks into some wedding cake made by
apesworth

JoeJonasLover989 (1 year ago) like ooooooooo wtf is this maybe it
tastes like choclate

kits18 (1 year ago) looks delicious!! :D

TatakCrazy (1 year ago) WTF!!!Rofl

opennskyy (1 year ago) Oh, please. Some animals, such as Nonhuman
Apes, eat their feces to get more nutrients. They just give food a
"second go" thru their digestive systems to try and obtain every
vitamin/nutrient they can out of it.

najib351 (1 year ago) looks like the zoo ran outta bannanas so he had
to make his own

XxGiveMeMalicexX (1 year ago) I'm dying of laughter at what
poopalina821 said to poopbams2
rofl.

ThyRampage (1 year ago)Can I have the leftovers?

MALAKAS0 (1 year ago) LoooooooL

alxuan (1 year ago) 1 gorilla 1 cup lol

fullthrotle2007 (1 year ago) lmao rofl, thats some good SHIT

jwuonog (1 year ago)Okay, there are a lot of videos of the gorillas
eating poop. Why do they do this?

vegeto245 (1 year ago)thats finger licking good

Roofusx (1 year ago) i just threw up

chickenflavoredbutt (1 year ago) hahahahahahahahahahahahah

vegeto245 (1 year ago)u left sum

tigereye247 (1 year ago) poobams2 you are some gross dropping freak

99mik123 (1 year ago) that monkey is giving me ideaes

tjlawson20 (1 year ago) disgusting vile creature

dooby99 (1 year ago) this monkey is my idol

IronChariots (1 year ago)That's not his poo, it's mine.

1takeachance1 (1 year ago) :o I thought it tasted a little wierd XD

PooBams1 (1 year ago) wow thats really fasinating. You guys know it
does not taste all that bad. I mean if you are in the mood for it it
actually goes quit well with pee. I mean ya, you guys should try it.

PooBams2 (1 year ago) u fjucking retrad! thats gotta be bed fo yo heff
system yall be'z knowin!

poopalina821 (1 year ago) what the HELL did you just say?????

runescapesex (1 year ago) gadverdamme mischien ruikt hem stront nog
naar banaan die dat heeft gegete

hunycupz7608 (1 year ago) he must be sick or sumthin

paramountpics101 (1 year ago) oh.. shit

masterjason21 (1 year ago) Dutch man :P haha
welke dierentuin was het?

where is that zoo?

babbocke (1 year ago) there so stupid why all scientis sa a our
antsesters where from moneky

k9saurus (1 year ago)not all gorillas do this... and they are people
who do it too
Comment(s) marked as spam Show

Comment(s) marked as spam Hide

masterjason21 (1 year ago) Marked as spam 2 girls 1 cup ;)

andyswVids (1 year ago) They just assume that we came from apes and
that we share 95% of dna as they do. This isn't true, in fact, only 1%
of our "protein" dna matches to monkeys. 95% of the 1% matches.
Couldn't you believe that people thought that they came from monkeys?
haha.

bleachandnarutoareth (3 months ago)what are you two? where the fuck
did you learn to spell

babbocke (3 months ago) wth did u find my comment i watched this shit
mabe 1 year ago

InvincibleGamer1 (1 year ago) hahaha!!! Poor gorilla!!!

Alidore4 (1 year ago) this makes me wana go 2 the zoo

Tjac (1 year ago) Show Hide +3 Marked as spam Reply the gorillas
like "Fine you people whant a fucken show here ya go A' holes!"

Dagulag (1 year ago) bah i hope the glass breaks and they gorilla
gives the children a big bad punch to their ugly heads

Dagulag (1 year ago) that monkey aint crazy think bout how youd feel
when youd have to eat your own shit because youd die otherwise... not
funny and that retarded children punch at the glass till the monkey
gets crazy ... stupid assholes
emac085 (1 year ago) you dunbshit. u act like if they dont feed him at
the zoo.

xemxjayx (1 year ago) shows how much they feed them in zoos.

witchking3434 (1 year ago)rofl root of all evil!
p.s. thats still gross

witchking3434 (1 year ago) rofl root of all evil!
p.s. thats still gross

saborguerito (1 year ago)LOL he's like. FINE bitches. you want to see
a show! HERE YOU GOOOOO!!!! LOL

grazatt (1 year ago) Maybe it was just some chocolate some one threw
to him?
yalcinkaya123 (1 year ago) oh my god......

what shall i say about that...?

jakewr1996 (1 year ago) why does this come up on related videos of me
singing?
tastybitepizza (1 year ago) You are setting yourself up for: "Boy
singing songs from Rent & the American national anthem = a gorrilla
eating feces."

tastybitepizza (1 year ago)You are setting yourself up for: "Boy
singing songs from Rent & the American national anthem = a gorrilla
eating feces."
MATSAROK (1 year ago) hahahahahahahahahahahah

upperBeastsider (2 years ago)CRAZY gorilla.

Typhvs666 (2 years ago) HAHA

eckels3000 (2 years ago)Lol! I watch this every day!

raymundciesielski (2 years ago) I do this all the time! :D

theguywhodoesnothing (2 years ago) that is what me and family does
ever night. On Friday night my sis eats her dieareah naked.

luffyguy (2 years ago)my fish eat their own poo

luffyguy (2 years ago) my fish eat their own poo

ToffeeChips19 (2 years ago) This is normal. They do this in the wild.
They eat there poo to get more vitamins and minerals.

sidderzmx (2 years ago) is that my mom?!?!?

dackjaniels555 (2 years ago) yeah.. didn't you know your mom is very
famous in the world of scat!

tubeyouguy161406 (2 years ago) you are what you eat, you SHITBAGS!

englandrob94 (2 years ago) lmao, its probably gone mad after being
trapped in that small enclusre for so long

heyjeySigma (2 years ago) at 17 secs he stops munching. He must be
thinking "wtf are laughing at u fuckers?"

lol that's what happens when u dont feed the pets.

fiddop (2 years ago) thats harsh ...see what happends to animals when
stuck in a cage?..was in a zoo in india ..and believe me that was
nothing but depressing , monkeys stuck alone walking the exact same
steps all day =/

1sandstar1 (2 years ago) Ya gotta eat what you can to survive in the
zoo.

mortal886 (2 years ago) hes eating his own poo because they probably
didnt feed him for a long time....they don't even care about the
gorrila , hes probably hungry man!

greenash20 (2 years ago) tat is nasty

cuteblueyedblonde (2 years ago) ok you do realise that hes doing that
because he is stuck in a cage and is bored and has probly gone crazy
so has nowt better to do. thats what human beings have reduced this
creature to. oh yea its sooooooooo funny NOT!

TheTeddybjorn (2 years ago)that is not true. a lot of animals
(including the mountain-gorilla) eats their own poo. since it's
apperently very nourishing.

cuteblueyedblonde (2 years ago)how do u know that its good to eat
crap? and i have read enough and seen enough to realise they dont do
it willy nilly. there is no nourishment in poo, it is a waste product.

TheTeddybjorn (2 years ago) I'm not saying that it's good to eat it..
at least not for humans. but for some reasons gorillas tend to eat
their own poo. I'm no expert on gorilla poo but apparently when they
eat they only get a small part of the energy they need from their
food, the rest is left in their poo. at least I think so. but anyway,
they DO eat their own poo

daganboy (2 years ago) yay!

fattoldpig (2 years ago) monkey see monkey do

linutas (2 years ago) fuuuuu

austin23cook (2 years ago) ALSO ANOTHER THING.... WERE ONLY 12% of dna
away from that 0.o soz bout the caps

austin23cook (2 years ago) ok i got 2 things to say to this

1) its 96% the daily value of YUMMEH

2) I LOVE THE SPECES WHO EAT THEIR OWN FECES !!

TUROKS (2 years ago) Gay

ryann23naks (2 years ago) what kind of gorilla is that?!! his already
crazy..
vietaznboy123 (2 years ago)peanit butter o.o

111oir111 (2 years ago)whats a fucking aboriginal!

miranduhh112 (2 years ago) now that is just plain disgusting!

jugg300 (2 years ago)funny i seen a hamster eat dog terds for
dinner....it weird!!! nice tho lol

redscarf (2 years ago) I wanna french that gorilla

Deathzilla7 (2 years ago) y the fuck do animals eat shit...?

NemesisX24 (2 years ago) animals eat their feces because their
digestive systems do not get all of the potential vitamins and
minerals from the food the first time around. They re-eat it so they
can get the rest of the nutrition from the food. Thanks :]

irondroid (2 years ago)armf yum yum pooya!

startrigg (2 years ago)They called him Alex After the manager of man
utd. he's also full of shite!

mypantsaremario (2 years ago) Dont film your mum thats mean

ateo75 (2 years ago) Does anybody know why gorillas behave like
that ?
Send me a message, please.
by Antonio

JASONWCACURA (2 years ago) It's either that or finger your mother.
They tend to prefer poo.

lazarus280 (2 years ago)why are you guys saying eww? i eat mine all
the time but first i put mine in the oven for few minuets then let it
cool down then add little bit of salt and pepper. and a glass of milk.

Belive me... You'l wanna try it.

thedeadtruth (2 years ago) you know you arent funny?

WhiteLionness (2 years ago) lol i find it kinda funny..

shawn9911 (2 years ago) ur botfucking funny. your just a 54 year old
virgin living in your moms basement

thedeadtruth (2 years ago) oh of coarse im not talking about the
video it was lazarus's response that isnt funny and if im 54 what are
you? 89?

im 14 go kill urself and make the world a little better

kanney91 (2 years ago) xD thats all xD

shawn9911 (2 years ago) really sick but sad. thats what happens when
u put animals in captivity

weissry1 (2 years ago) This is not dependent on captivity. Animals in
the wild do this as well based on their diets.

Psycrologist (2 years ago) Was that 50Cent ? I couldn't see his theeth
with all that shit on them

Gansutitron (2 years ago)se ve que con el I.P.C por las nubes ya no
tienen ni para pienso animal... así vamos acabar cualquier día!!!

davidburman (2 years ago) dude ive seen al ur comments speek some god
damn english

mrjon75 (2 years ago) i gagging! give that thing a banana!

hotsauce2147 (2 years ago) dude..

ohayousun (2 years ago)erm, never waste anything you can eat, XD

earthwormjim88 (2 years ago) i eat poo its nice

vamppyra333 (2 years ago) Es que cetais en France ca?

dmsanct (2 years ago) 1 gorilla 1 poo xD

al27balas (2 years ago) Pobre animal, privado de libertad y reducido a
ser un espectáculo para turistas. No debe tener muchas cosas que hacer
y por eso se come su propia mierda, no creo que sea un comportamiento
natural en su especie.

surfingmushroom (2 years ago) it must have been the best thing he ate
and he just had to have some more!! lol

zoltan65 (2 years ago) en ese zoo no les deven dar de comer jajajaja

kanfor (2 years ago) ¿qué hace aquí Otegui?

nueve26k (2 years ago) HAHAHAH! This is the best gorilla eating poo
video in the world. Look how serious his face is.

Maivkab (2 years ago) Hhahaha.. Looks like the guy who recorded this
was really have a laugh!!! This is some funny as shiet!!!

k1ll3r5c07736 (2 years ago) nothin wrong with tht. i do it all the
time.

HeartlessPeople (2 years ago)aawh gatverdamme :P
eigen poep eten XD

SRB2Pheonix (2 years ago)
hey, at least theyre reduce reuse and recycle... their crap... T-T

DaKoonNco (2 years ago) the gorilla probubly went fucking insane in
that zoo.

Astralnaut (2 years ago) Gorillas in the wild eat their feces as
well.

Jetli390 (2 years ago) *shit*

Guest3791140 (2 years ago) EEEEWW!!!my god!my god!!i think im gonna
puke???! omg!!don't the fucking ppl in the zoo feed them!!???fuck
man!!

Fransouah (2 years ago)Dogs do that too.
Is that a visitor banging on the window at the end?! What a moron..

dragonkinga (2 years ago) god thats disgusting

x0roy0x (2 years ago) omfg man!!!!!

XD..lol

mrtazr (2 years ago) that gorrila has been in there to long thats wy
hes doin that
TheMan4462 (2 years ago) WTF?!?!?!?

CrabKing88 (2 years ago) what the hell? man, hes got nothing better
to eat,
damn it.

adambombiswaycool (2 years ago) *barf*

starum7845 (2 years ago)is this in taronga zoo i saw a monkey eating
its poo

chewie133 (2 years ago) toronga zoo that place rings a bell( were is
it)

**metallica**

iSHYTmyPANTS (2 years ago) that sick bastard

frankzito1 (2 years ago) He doesn't even cringe

hellogoodbyetoyounow jeez need more zookeepers huh?

teamixr (2 years ago) that is so buuhahlaauhaa cough....that was funny
bllaahhhh....!

Gimilli (2 years ago) great thing to teach the kids at the window
HAHAHA

christian1122 (2 years ago)i bet the zookeepers dont feed him

vers0014 (2 years ago) Whats so weird about that?

godrocks112 (2 years ago)i eat that, it's better than pizza

i0like0french0fries (2 years ago) its better then sum1 elses init
haha

lebanon4evur22 (2 years ago) eeeww.. i almost threw up X-P

cashdude84 (2 years ago) Reply mmmmmmmmmmhhhh i ned sum of watever he
is on
n im not talknig bout poop lol jk

cashdude84 (2 years ago) mmmmmmmmm he must b full of shit

XTHHaseo (2 years ago) LOL LOL LOL LOL

nilos77 (2 years ago) he is sick from all those people over there
watching him is sad

MaximusDread (2 years ago) Yea, I always thought it was kinda sick how
zoos keep animals locked up in confined areas just for our amusement.
It's almost as sick as the fashion industry that slauter wildlife for
their fur.

Loopyjoe19 (2 years ago) Why do they not shave thefur off?

MaximusDread (2 years ago) Good point. I guess a tranquilizer gun
would do the job. But what would you do after you shaved an animal's
fur? would you send them back into the wild stripped of their fur
completely naked, or would you keep the animal sedated in a holding
cell until his fur grows back? Either way it's still bad news for the
bears. (terrible movie-reference LOL).

Loopyjoe19 (2 years ago)they could put them back in the wild...

wonder what they would look like - probably weird - anyway they could
keep them under watch and find alot the when it grows back.
not sure how they could do it with elephants and their tusks though.

alien6crowe (2 years ago) yes .. youshoudl also stop driving yoru
car.. IT IS POLLUTING TEH EARTH YOU CRAZY CUNT> and PLEASE stop using
electricity... save it.. switch to candles and STOP USING
ELECTRICITY>>

787310 (2 years ago) WHOA,WHOA,WHOA!NO NEED TO GET CRAZY! I mean
global warming and all that 5H17 is bad, BUT YOU ARE CRAZY ALIEN! NO
CARZ?NO ELECTRICITY?
whosyourdada (2 years ago) yes.

Assiman (2 years ago) is that really so funny?

pkyoubad (2 years ago) tasey i would eat my own poo if it tasted like
candy

http://www.youtube.com/comment_servlet?all_comments&v=oh0OGko3TjA&fromurl=/watch%3Fv%3Doh0OGko3TjA%26feature%3Drelated

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oh0OGko3TjA&feature=related

bademiyansubhanallah

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Mar 13, 2010, 2:26:01 PM3/13/10

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...and I am Sid Harth

Prostitution in India.

Article 6: States Parties shall take all appropriate measures,
including legislation, to suppress all forms of traffic in women and
exploitation of prostitution of women in India. According to a 1994
report in Asian Age there are at least 70,000 women sex workers in
Delhi, Madras, Calcutta, Bangalore and Hyderbad. 30% of these women
are under 20 years of age. 40% are 20-30 years of age, and
approximately 15% of them became prostitutes as children under the age
of 12.
In India, many innocent victims are forced into prostitution by their
husbands or relatives. Some are tricked or enticed into prostitution.

http://www.indianchild.com/prostitution_in_india.htm

This traffic does not stop
The bondage of cross-border sex-workers

Lucknow, February 15, 2002: When 12-year-old Rupa, a Dalit girl from a
village near Varanasi, said that she had been raped by the landlord's
son and friends, the village panchayat (village council) refused to
believe her. Instead, the panchayat maintained that she was concocting
stories. Rupa's problems did not end here. On the pretext of helping
her, Rupa's neighbour offered her domestic work in Kolkata. But
instead of taking her to this eastern Indian city, he brought her to
Delhi and sold her to a brothel for Rs 10,000 (1US$= Rs 48). According
to Rupa, there are many other girls from her village and her caste in
this brothel.

Like Rupa, 20-year-old Mala was lured to come to Uttar Pradesh from
Nepal when she was 10 years old. She was raped by her custodians who
held her captive for over a month and then took her to Mumbai. She has
been working in this city as a sex worker for the last decade, often
servicing six to 10 clients every night This bestial, sleazy world of
intra-country and trans-border trafficking in women and young girls
was highlighted recently in a workshop organised in Lucknow by the
BETI Foundation, UNDP.

Trafficking in human beings is more lucrative than trade in arms or
narcotics according to Roma Shyamsundar, Vice President of STOP, a
Delhi based non-governmental organisation (NGO) actively involved in
the rescue of trafficked girls. According to Shyamsundar, a lifelong
exploitative situation is established when a woman or a girl is
trafficked: she is forced into prostitution and thus begins a vicious
cycle of paying the brothel owner for whom she works. Even if she is
rescued, her plight does not improve because she is not accepted
either by her family or by society. And she has no means of survival.
Consequently, many rescued victims have no choice but to go back to
sex work.

Given the abysmal poverty in Bangladesh and Nepal, the porous borders
with India and even culturally sanctioned prostitution like the
Devdasi system, the business of trafficking girls has fertile soil on
which to grow in the region. Expectedly, it is highest in border
regions with high poverty and low women's literacy. The new state of
Uttaranchal too is a popular hub, especially along the porous borders
at Pithoragarh and Champawat.

A 1994 UN definition of trafficking limits it to the clandestine and
illegal movements of persons across national borders with the goal of
forcing women and children into sexually exploitative situations.
Today, this definition in its wider sense also includes internal
trafficking through kidnapping, migration and luring women and girls
to cities for better work prospects.

What is causing alarm both in governmental and NGO circles is the
escalation in trafficking of young girls in the last decade. NGOs like
STOP and MAITI in Nepal report that most trafficking in India (both
trans-border and in-country) is for prostitution. And 60 per cent of
those trafficked into prostitution are adolescent girls in the age
group of 12 to 16 years. Still more alarming is the fact that the
average age of trafficked girls, which was 14 to 16 years in the
1980s, came down to between 10 and 14 years in the 1990s. These
figures are corroborated by a study done by the Department of Women
and Children in 13 sensitive districts of Uttar Pradesh. It reveals
that all sex workers who formed a part of this survey had entered the
profession as young girls.

Globalisation, professionalisation of trafficking syndicates,
feminisation of poverty and rise in sex tourism - all have contributed
to an increase in trafficking. This problem is further compounded
because of two factors: linkages of trafficking with the spread of HIV/
AIDS and the clandestine nature of the activity.

Studies now show that while women of all ages are more vulnerable to
the infection than men, young girls are even more at risk because
their genital tracts are immature. In addition, they have absolutely
no control over sexual relations and sexual health. So a physical
vulnerability is compounded by a gender vulnerability. Says a Nepali
child rescued from a brothel by STOP, "Clients don't like condoms and
the owner of the brothel tells me to do what the clients want. If I
refuse then the man chooses another girl and not only do I lose out on
making money, I am also beaten up."

The clandestine nature of trafficking, which is often undertaken with
familial consent, means that there are no action plans either at the
governmental or the NGO level to deal with the problem. For instance,
the study done in 13 districts of Uttar Pradesh shows that in a sample
of 1,341 sex workers, brothel-based prostitution was 793 and family-
based prostitution came close at 548.

However, progress -- though very little -- is being made. Efforts at
rescue and rehabilitation of trafficked women and girls have now
turned from a welfare to a rights-oriented approach. Interventions are
increasingly based on issues like combating stigma related to HIV/
AIDS, developing empowering strategies for victims and involving
communities in the rehabilitation of rescued women and girls.

But there is a lot that still needs to be done. Involvement of
communities is of the greatest significance here since it has been
seen that rescued women and girls are not accepted by their families
and communities. The situation becomes worse if someone tests positive
for HIV because she is immediately labeled a prostitute - a perception
that creates a complex situation in the rehabilitation programmes.
Even if trafficked returnees can avoid such treatment, they have few
options for survival. There are very few rehabilitation centres that
provide physical, mental and emotional support or legal and literacy
expertise. Consequently, many young HIV positive girls and women
return to sex work, thereby continuing the transmission of HIV
infections. Says Shyamsundar, "We believe that all brothel children
have to be rescued. A 10-year-old is expected to take on 10 or 12
customers a day. It is worse than rape."

What is needed is a multi-pronged strategy which can help in curbing
trafficking and empowering communities and which also has scope for
rescue and rehabilitation processes. The task is not just daunting,
given the political priorities of most governments it is not given the
importance it deserves.

Radha Rastogi
February 2002

Radha Rastogi is a Lucknow based journalist with over 25 years
experience with mainstream media. She specialises in development
issues and has specifically worked in the field of education in the
state of Uttar Pradesh. This opinion on India Together is provided by
the Women's Feature Service.
Feedback: Tell us what

http://www.indiatogether.org/women/opinions/traffic.htm

MAITI in Nepal
http://www.maitinepal.org/

UNDP homepage
http://www.undp.org/

http://www.indiatogether.org/women/opinions/traffic.htm

Fantasies of city life attracts minor girls !!! - 2010-01-21

A fresh incident of interception of eight minor girls from Information
and vigilance booth of Maiti Nepal Nagdhunga unraveled the extremity
to which capital city, Kathmandu attracts innocent girls from rural
areas. Observing their dress up and behavior reveals the fact that
they were attracted by the fashion vibes and sense of freedom posed
by the capital city.

On 12th January, 2010 ,eight innocent girls were intercepted at
Nagdhunga for being at a high risk of trafficking. All eight girls
were minors, age varying from 9 years to 18 years. All of them
belonged to Tanahu district and were traveling to Kathmandu to find
jobs. After series of counseling sessions, they said that five of
them lied to their parents saying that they were going for a movie
while three of them ran away from school. They had sold their gold
nose stud to get money for bus fare.

While questioned at the check post, they had no clue about where they
were staying in Kathmandu. Thaey said they were traveling to Kathmandu
to find "a nice job" and earn their livelihood. Although all of them
are literate to a certain grade, they were aloof about human
trafficking. During counseling sessions, it was observed that their
interest was mainly on pursuing material satisfaction like cell
phones, nice dress, shoes and cosmetics, etc. Their prime focus was on
earning money and fulfilling their fantasy rather than going to the
school.

This incident manifests the burgeoning gravity between the capital
city and remote districts. Undoubtedly, Kathmandu is soaring high on
creating fashion and as a consequence it is luring innocent girls
towards a so called city lifestyle which further generates hazardous
upheavals and risks in their life.

On 17th January, 2010 their respective family members were contacted
and brought together for family counseling. All the girls were handed
over to their respective parents Maiti Nepal is committed to provide
every kind of support to these girls that may be required for their
successful reintegration

http://www.maitinepal.org/ndetails.php?option=News&cid=127

Internal trafficking as an escalating challenge to a civilized
society!!! - 2010-01-10

The number of girls entrapped in sexual exploitation is atrocious.
Undoubtedly, the capital city of Nepal, Kathmandu holds a lot of job
opportunities. What attracts these girls to the capital city is the
superficial conception, that they could change their lifestyle by
merely changing their city. With a commitment to themselves of
improvising their life situations, they travel to Kathmandu with risks
and hazards. In fact, they are “trafficked” to Kathmandu. In the guise
of dance bars, cabin restaurants and massage parlors, these innocent
girls are sexually and physically exploited. Most of these girls are
easily lured, molded and convinced and hence they are trafficked
at minor age.

In a recent incident of a raid operation conducted by Nepal Police at
various so called “Prostitution hubs” of the capital city, number of
girls were rescued and kept for inquiry at Hanuman Dhoka Metropolitan
Police Range. Maiti Nepal provided psychosocial counseling to the
girls and minors were referred to Maiti Nepal for rehabilitation and
family re-integration. Officials of Maiti Nepal visited the custody
wherein the girls were handcuffed and kept in a dreadful condition.

Currently, Maiti Nepal's rehabilitation home Kathmandu is providing
safe shelter to nine girls. At the shelter home, the girls are
receiving counseling, life skills trainings and medical
supervision.The girls revealed that they had adopted the profession
just to keep them alive as other livelihood opportunities seemed a far
cry for them. Maiti Nepal is keen on finding alternative livelihood
opportunities for them .Their family members are being located and
provided with family counseling.

Data of girls at the shelter home:

Age Range: - 15 years – 22 years http://www.undp.org/

Districts: - Dhading, Dharan, Argakhachi, Nuwakot, Kavrepalanchowk

http://www.maitinepal.org/ndetails.php?option=News&cid=126

Helping women - by reaching out to men
by Rajeev Narayan

UNV volunteer Rajeev Narayan (left, with notebook) in discussions with
youth groups on issues of Gender-Based Violence and masculinity in
Uttar Pradesh, India. (UNV)UNV volunteer Rajeev Narayan (rear centre
left, in orange shirt) engages with youth. "A central focus of my work
is MASVAW (Men’s Action for Stopping Violence Against Women) which has
initiated campaigns urging boys and men to raise various issues of
safety and violence against women in their communities," he says.
(UNV)01 March 2010

New Delhi, India: In 2008, an innovative UN joint programme in the
Asia-Pacific region was launched, called 'Partners for Prevention:
Working with Boys and Men to Prevent Gender-Based Violence'. Given the
strong potential volunteerism has to support and champion violence
prevention, especially at the community level, UNV saw a unique
opportunity to contribute.

UNV joins with UNDP, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and
the United Nations Fund for Women (UNIFEM) in this initiative.
'Partners for Prevention' (P4P) incorporates volunteerism both through
the placement of UNV volunteers at P4P’s regional secretariat, and
with national partners working on violence prevention to document,
share, and support country-level initiatives.

Each volunteer supports the programme in different ways. For my part,
I am a national UNV volunteer Network and Outreach Coordinator based
at the Centre for Health and Social Justice (CHSJ) in India.

There is a growing movement which calls for dynamism from youth and
adult men to reduce the rapid rate of violence against women. My host
organization, CHSJ, is at the centre of this movement in India. CHSJ
is a policy resource centre working on issues of health, gender
equality and social justice and currently holds the network
secretariat for the Forum to Engage Men (FEM), a national network
working with boys and men for eliminating Gender-Based Violence.

I have been working with issues of masculinity, including what it
means to be a man in my culture, and on Gender-Based Violence
prevention for the last couple of years. My role as a UNV volunteer
has allowed me to gain vital experience at the community level in
India, and document best practices and learning. I then in turn have
the exciting opportunity to connect with partners across the region
through Partners for Prevention to share this learning.

A central focus of my work is MASVAW (Men’s Action for Stopping
Violence Against Women) which has initiated campaigns urging boys and
men to raise various issues of safety and violence against women in
their communities. MASVAW is unique in that it is a volunteer-driven
movement and works with a chain of volunteers taking responsibility at
the individual level and at each of the respective districts
throughout the state. We count on these men and prepare them for
future leadership roles.

I have been actively participating in MASVAW activities, mobilizing
volunteers, assisting the secretariat in documenting case studies,
challenges, and learning to be shared within the Forum to Engage Men
network. Through Partners for Prevention, I also work with other
organizations in the region that are interested in building similar
volunteer movements in their countries.

My knowledge of the local dialect has helped me a lot in connecting
with the people in the local communities of Uttar Pradesh where
Bhojpuri is the common language.

I am also involved in the development of Partners for Prevention’s
social media campaign pilot in India. The campaign aims to raise
awareness and build sensitivity among youth on issues of violence and
prevention.

The campaign will reach out to youth through online social media
applications (like Facebook) and also link them with real world events
and volunteer activities promoting violence prevention to get them
actively involved and engaged in a meaningful way. And I have been
working together with P4P staff and partners in India to build
partnerships with local universities and youth volunteer groups for
the campaign.

Overall my work as a volunteer with Partners for Prevention has helped
me to understand the importance of community-based approaches to
create knowledge and raise public awareness on sensitive issues such
as gender discrimination, marginalization, the gender division of
labour and Gender-Based Violence.

Through my experiences with Men’s Action for Stopping Violence Against
Women I have been able to regain strength, courage and confidence in a
clear-cut message: 'Not all men are violent'. I have also had the
opportunity to participate in international and regional workshops and
events providing me with a range of inspiring and educational
experiences as well as the opportunity to share the work being done in
India.

Given these rewarding experiences, I can say that I feel proud to
serve as a UNV volunteer with Partners for Prevention and CHSJ. Day by
day I believe that my commitment can really lead to concrete results
in my area of work, wherein a society free of violence exists.

http://www.unv.org/en/news-resources/news/doc/helping-women-by.htmlPreventing
gender-based violence by working with boys and men
by Rizwan Latif

UNV volunteer Rizwan Latif (standing) works as Outreach & Capacity
Development Officer at ROZAN, an Islamabad based NGO working on issues
related to emotional and psychological health, gender, violence
against women and children, and the psychological and reproductive
health of adolescents. (UNV)11 March 2010

Islamabad, Pakistan: I’m a national UNV volunteer working as Outreach
and Capacity Development Officer at ROZAN, an Islamabad based NGO
working on issues related to emotional and psychological health,
gender, violence against women and children, and the psychological and
reproductive health of adolescents. ROZAN is a partner organization of
Partners for Prevention (P4P), a UN Regional Joint Programme on the
“Prevention of Gender-based Violence by Working with Boys and Men” of
UNDP, UNFPA, UNIFEM and UNV in Asia-Pacific.

I believe individual self-growth is the key to bringing changes to
society for the promotion of human development. Pakistan is a country
where the majority of the population is comprised of youth. Access to
basic necessities and knowledge is a very big challenge and youth is
the most vulnerable segment of society. Engaging youth for gender
equality is possible only when both men and women realize their
individual roles and responsibilities to contribute to a society free
of violence.
Being a UNV volunteer gives me the opportunity to engage men and boys
in order to stop violence against women and promote gender equality.
The main objective of the promotion of volunteerism is to achieve
peace and development and to turn global development challenges
around. Through the promotion of volunteerism and volunteers, there
are opportunities to prevent gender-based violence in general and
violence against women in particular. I feel gender equality or
violence issues are my own issues and this is my motivation. It is
great to fight for a cause and involve individuals and groups to bring
changes in society, particularly on the gender-based violence issue.

Women in Pakistan are the most marginalized segment of society. The
main problem women are facing is the negligence of their role by their
own partners, family and state. There are cultural barriers and
strictness, which prohibit women from competing and promoting self-
awareness and growth. Several issues are associated with women only,
i.e. lack of education, of basic health facilities, violence
(physical, sexual, psychological) etc. State level policies especially
related to violence against women exist, but proper implementation is
still a big challenge.

To assign a UNV volunteer to support a local organization is a very
innovative idea. This particular UNV assignment through P4P and ROZAN
will provide me with an opportunity for self-growth to understand and
gain knowledge on this specific issue of male involvement to prevent
gender-based violence. In our society, men will be the main active
agents to bring about change, since due to lack of understanding and
persistent traditional cultural practices, women have still a very
limited space.

Volunteers engaging men and boys for gender-based violence prevention
will be a major resource for interventions and activities to stop and
put an end to gender-based violence. The volunteers will make a
difference through the dissemination of relevant knowledge, and by
demonstrating in a practical way their commitment and willingness to
initiate self-actions to end gender-based violence, and violence
against women in particular. Through the involvement of media,
volunteers will be able to effectively communicate and involve every
part of society to stop gender-based violence.

At ROZAN, I am associated with a project called “Hamqadam – male
involvement initiative to address gender-based violence”. It aims to
initiate and sustain change in male (men and boys) attitudes about
themselves and their role in society, sensitizing them about the issue
of violence against children and women.

Patriarchal society and its links to gender-based violence are very
pressing issues, particularly in Pakistani society. It’s a very
interesting and unique work to highlight and understand the factors
responsible for gender-based violence and violence against women. A
formative research, which was conducted by ROZAN focusing on male
dominance and its link to violence, gave me an insight into how male
dominance is constructed by society. The gender equitable men (GEM)
scale adaptation system, which was implemented in the intervention
areas of the Hamqadam project by ROZAN, is a very effective tool to
measure the perception and attitudes of the community.

ROZAN believes in the essence and importance of volunteers for human
development. Within the organization, a volunteer management system is
functioning effectively. A volunteer coordination committee is working
within the ROZAN programmes. Every programme by ROZAN has established
a volunteer network engaging volunteers to prevent gender-based
violence and violence against women.

There are also other implementation strategies in the Hamqadam project
activities under the umbrella of ROZAN. Prevention of gender-based
violence and violence against women is a very interesting and
distinctive area of work and I feel a great pleasure to be part of it.
Addressing complex issues around core thematic areas, with focus and
dedication, to bring about change in society gives me great
motivation.

http://www.unv.org/en/perspectives/doc/preventing-gender-based-violence-by.html

UNVs help the women of Orissa rebuild their lives
by Anita Katyal*

03 June 2000

Orissa, India: The state of Orissa in eastern India was devastated by
a cyclone on 29 October 1999. High-velocity winds accompanied by
massive tidal waves left behind a trail of destruction and human
misery. A total of 19,000 villages were fully or partially destroyed,
affecting an estimated 13 million people. The official death toll is
just under 10,000 while thousands of cattle have been killed and
thousands of hectares of land destroyed.
Six months have elapsed since that fateful night. Efforts have been in
full swing to help the affected people of Orissa first through
immediate relief measures and later through long-term rehabilitation
schemes. Several agencies under the United Nations Development
Programme (UNDP) in New Delhi have come together here to work jointly
towards helping the victims. The UN's mission in Orissa, however,
could not have been such a success were it not for the efforts of the
13 national United Nations Volunteers (NUNVs).

Seven women UNVs have proved particularly invaluable in these efforts.
Now that attention is focused on rehabilitation for victims, the UNV
district support officers as they have been designated, are
concentrating on how they can help the women most affected in the
natural disaster.

Abha Mishra of India joined as a UNV in December and has since served
in the Balasore district. With the flood waters rising to over nine
feet and entire villages submerged, her first task was to document the
extent of damage, monitor the movement of relief materials and assess
conditions in the field. "I toured the affected villages extensively,
spoke to the villagers, the village headmen, the local authorities and
especially the women to find out their problems," she explains.

In addition, she was also asked to pitch in with the United Nations
Children's Fund's ongoing rural water and sanitation programme that
was expanded after the cyclone ravaged the district. "This involved
long conversations with the women as I tried to explain to them the
benefits of proper sanitation and hygiene," says Abha.

"The women were remarkably enthusiastic and assured me that they would
pay greater attention to their personal hygiene and would not hesitate
to fetch water even if they have to walk a kilometre." The women were
motivated enough to set up mahila mandals (women's groups) to educate
the other women. Like her counterparts, Abha has drawn up elaborate
plans to organize the women in remote villages into self-help groups
and is currently in the process of putting them in place. At the same
time, she has also held regular meetings with the community workers in
the affected villages. These community workers, or anganwadi workers
as they are referred to, provide basic services like nutrition and
immunization for children and neonatal care to pregnant mothers at the
government-run community centres. Most of these centres were destroyed
in the cyclone but they have started functioning in temporary tent
structures.

"I am motivating the anganwadi workers to organize the village women
into self-help groups. After all, we are here for a short time and it
will be difficult for us to follow up on these activities. Therefore,
I am involving the local NGOs and anganwadi workers since they will be
here even after we leave," says Abha.

Sandhaya, a 27-year-old anganwadi worker in Talanagar, recalls when
Abha first came to their village. "She told us how these groups would
help the women in sharing their problems and also told us how we could
set up a thrift fund and start some income-generating schemes," she
says. More importantly, she adds, Abha's visit helped them air their
grievances. For instance, she says, the foodgrains at their anganwadi
centre were badly damaged and they brought this to Abha's attention
who, in turn, asked the local authorities to take immediate remedial
measures. "When Abha came to our village and discussed our problems,
we felt that finally our grievances would be relayed to the right
quarters," she says.

Radhamani Singh, who supervises 48 anganwadi centres under her charge,
says the sessions with Abha proved extremely helpful. The workers told
how they are working in makeshift structures with virtually non-
existent infrastructure. Abha listened attentively, gave them useful
tips on checking malnutrition and keeping track of the health of women
in general. "After this meeting, the anganwadi workers felt more
confident and more capable of handling all the problems thrown up in
the post-cyclone period," says Radhamani.

Talking to outsiders who are not part of the official machinery also
helps, she explains. When a government official comes, people are
generally hesitant to talk because they run the risk of annoying
somebody. "But with UNVs, there are no such problems and so it is easy
to talk. It is also good to know that somebody is genuinely interested
in our problems and will do something about them, " she adds.

UNV Rita Missal, located in the Cuttack district, has managed to get
the women in Nodaarisol village to discard their veils and became
active participants in the development plans of their village. "Women
in this village are traditionally not supposed to step out of their
homes but after several meetings with them, I have persuaded them to
sit on the village committee where decisions are taken about the
future rehabilitation plans of the village," she says.

Similarly, women's participation in reconstruction work was nil but
here again, she convinced them that their participation will mean
extra income for the family. The women have also constituted a mahila
mandal, or a self-help group, which has not only set up a thrift fund
but has become involved in such diverse activities as distribution of
relief materials to the monitoring of sanitation and immunization
programmes.

Kalika Mohapatra, who is responsible for the Khurda district, has been
working as a UNV since December - weeks after the cyclone hit Orissa.
She remembers her initial visits to the villages when people were
living under hastily-erected tents and tarpaulins, eating from
community kitchens and fighting for the relief materials being
distributed.

Since the crops were severely damaged by the cyclone and it would be
some time before agricultural activity could be resumed, Kalika helped
the women set up groups to explore income-generating activities.

"After several discussion sessions, the women became gradually
receptive to forming self-help groups when they realized that they
could also contribute to the family income," says Kalika. "A lot of
them showed interest in starting kitchen gardens which would provide
them a steady income. In fact, we found that after several such group
discussions, the women became more vocal and confident and voluntarily
discussed their problems... they became more aware of their
difficulties but also realized they could also contribute in making a
difference," she says, adding that they also started seeking
information about immunization programmes and how they could keep
their communities clean.

As part of their mandate, UNVs also coordinate the activities of NGOs
working in the field and help them in the implementation of their
programmes. Soon after she joined, Kalika says she was approached by a
local NGO, Childcare, which works in a group of villages, about 35
kilometres from Orissa's capital Bhubaneswar. The villages, she says,
were destroyed during the cyclone and its inhabitants had, by some
mistake, been overlooked in the relief and rehabilitation programmes
launched by the government.

Childcare, she says, had already been working in these villages and
after the cyclone the people were keen to expand their activities.
However, funding was proving to be a problem as they came up against a
wall each time they tried seeking resources. Kalika says she
approached a governmental funding agency which gives money for rural
programmes and also got in touch with an Italian NGO, CESUI, which had
evinced interest in undertaking a worthwhile programme for the
victims.

Gradually, these efforts paid off as an integrated development
programme has been put in place in the village of Bhalunka. A non-
formal centre for children has been set up which is proving quite a
relief to the women who can now leave their children there knowing
they will not be wandering around aimlessly in the fields and will
instead be looked after.

At the same time, the women themselves, who earlier earned a pittance
working as casual labourers, have been given special training in
mushroom cultivation.

"We had lost everything in the cyclone but we are now trying to
rebuild our lives. Learning mushroom cultivation has really helped me
in this process....earlier I did not earn more than Rs. 35 a day and
then, again, work was not regular. Today, my income has nearly
doubled," says Urmilla Singh, 30. Urmilla is among 20 women from the
village who have received this training. "Earlier, there was never
enough money to meet the needs of the family. Today, with this
additional income, I am able to look after my four sons a little
better," says 28-year-old Gauri Singh, who is also getting health
services that were earlier not available to her. Gautmi Singh says she
now enjoys a increased, regular income and better working conditions.
"Besides, we have more time to look after our families," she explains.
The women have organized a group that meets once a month to discuss
their common problems and also established a thrift fund to be used
for emergency purposes, explains group secretary Gautmi Singh.

*Anita Katyal is a journalist based in New Delhi.

http://www.unv.org/en/what-we-do/thematic-areas/gender/doc/unvs-help-the-women.html

Restoring Punjab's cultural heritage, UNVs foster a sense of community
by Dr. Savyssachi and Gurmeet S. Rai

07 September 2000

BONN: In the northern Indian State of Punjab, the historical landscape
bears testimony to the fact that people from different communities
have interacted from ancient to modern times.
In the recent past, however, violence and terrorism have fragmented
the State's social and cultural fabric. Cultural Heritage and the
Promotion of Understanding in Punjab, a joint project supported by the
UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) the UN
Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Volunteers (UNV),
seeks to restore cultural heritage and develop a sense of community
amongst people from different religious and social traditions. The
overall objective is to foster a culture of peace. To that end,
restoration efforts have been interlinked with community development
activities. Seven national UN Volunteers -- social scientists, art
restorers and conservation architects -- are part of the project. It
is implemented by the Cultural Resources Conservation Initiative
(CRCI), a voluntary group of conservation architects.

On what ground can the people be engaged as members of a community?
How can it be ensured that the physical restoration of building
structures is simultaneously a restoration of the sense of community?
What are the necessary social conditions for extending the life of
these buildings?

With these considerations in mind, three old religious shrines, Kishan
Mandir (Krishna's Temple) in Kishankot Village, Guru Ki Masjid (the
Mosque of the Master) in Sri Hargobindpur Village and Massania Dargah
of Baba Shah Badar Diwan in Massania Village, were selected for
restoration. Of these, Kishan Mandir was chosen as the first project
for the UN Volunteers.

In Kishankot, 50 per cent of the population are Sikhs, 25 per cent are
Hindus and 25 per cent Christian. The walls of the temple are
decorated with paintings depicting Hindu and Sikh themes. It was
obvious that the UNV social scientists and conservation specialists
had to work hand in hand.

The temple restoration could only be successful and lasting if the
community was flourishing. This however, was not the case. "The
village had no facilities", recalls Zamrooda Khanday, one of the UNV
social scientists. "The school was ill-equipped, there was no
qualified doctor and a large majority engaged in gambling and was
consumed by alcohol." In addition, a large number of men migrate
seasonally to different parts of India in search of work -- mostly
agricultural -- as there is no opportunity for productive work at
home.

UNV specialists identified health, education and horticulture
activities to be linked to the restoration process. They successfully
worked together with women, children and the elderly members of the
community. "Initially, people of the village seemed laid back,"
recalls Asif Iqbal, another UNV social scientist. "However, in the
course of our work it emerged that they were willing to do many
things, and given an opportunity would not let it go by."

Children and youth are now engaged in gardening, the local library, a
recreation and sports club and in non-formal education (NFE). The UNVs
took part in supportive classes for education, detoxification and
counselling work with families as the building blocks of community. At
present, efforts are being made to facilitate public participation and
generate awareness regarding political rights in order to facilitate
the functioning of the panchayat, or the local governing council.

Every household was given an opportunity to contribute to the
restoration of the Mandir, either in cash or in kind. The link between
temple restoration and sustainable community development began to
emerge. For instance, the art conservators organized workshops with
children on clay modelling and drawing. The workshops were to be
organized before the completion of the restoration to strengthen the
link between the community and the temple. "I am encouraging most of
the younger guys to learn on-site how to take care of the temple,"
says UNV art restorer Prashant Gadpaile, who works on preserving the
temple's precious, yet deteriorating paintings. Part of his work is
raising awareness within the community: "I have to guide people
regarding the code of conduct. For instance, they should not write on
the temple walls, they should not smoke in the temple area and they
should not touch the paintings."

Mohalla, or street corner meetings, were organized together in
cooperation with the UNV social scientists to explain about the
restoration work. "People responded in a very positive manner and
showed greater interest in the process after the meetings," recalls
Munish Pandit, a UNV conservation architect. Furthermore, the mohalla
meetings serve as a forum where apart from temple restoration other
social issues can be discussed.

"In one of the mohalla meetings, an old lady complained about her bad
eyesight. Many others attending stated that this was a general problem
for all ladies in the village. On further discussion it emerged that
smoke from the chulha (a cooking stove) damages their eyes. We then
suggested the smokeless chulha," says Munish Pandit.

Through the community's participation facilitated by the UN
Volunteers, a sense of belonging to the Kishan Mandir has evolved.
While this is crucial to ensure the temple's maintenance once the
restoration work is completed, the UNVs also see to it that the
necessary technical skills are passed on. Conservation architect
Munish Pandit, for instance, trains two local masons in restoration
work. He is confident about the temple's future.

"They have shown great interest and aptitude to learn more about the
traditional techniques, materials and methods of construction," says
the national UN Volunteer. "They will be able to maintain the temple
in an appropriate manner without the need of a specialist."

http://www.unv.org/en/what-we-do/countries-and-territories/india/doc/restoring-punjabs-cultural-heritage.html

FILM REVIEW
Documenting the flesh trade

"I wanted to show not just a few victims, but to help viewers
understand the mechanics and the politics of trafficking and
migration," says Ananya Chatterjee. Shoma Chatterji revies
Understanding Trafficking.

19 July 2009 - Eighty seven minutes is rather long for a serious
documentary on one of the ugliest realities of life - the tracking of
young women, usually turned into sexual slaves. But Understanding
Trafficking does not drag because it embarks on a journey of shocking
discoveries about girls who are made to cross their Lakshman Rekhas by
physical force, by diabolic manipulation, sometimes, even by their
parents and close ones to be sold like cattle in the flesh markets of
Nepal, Bangladesh and India. Are these girls 'bad'? Or are they
'good'? Ananya Chatterjee's film drives us to redefine the
implications of what 'good' or 'bad' mean for these tragic victims.

The film tracks the trade across Nepal, Bangladesh and West Bengal in
India, through interviews with NGO workers, victims of trafficking,
victims who have been rescued and rehabilitated, some pimps and agents
who pretend to be social activists, and some women who head
organisations working to stop trafficking and rescue innocent victims
from this illegal trade. Through captive audiovisual shots that go
into forbidden ghettoes of the trade, it shows how trafficking is an
integral part of organized crime with a long human chain that begins
with the girl's family, including her parents, and reaches her to the
brothel she has been sold to, to live and die there as a sex worker.

"The project was part of a competition floated by IAWRT (International
Association for Women in Radio and Television) over three years ago. I
won that competition along with two other international film makers.
It is funded by FOKUS, a women and child welfare organisation in
Norway. I always wanted to make a film on trafficking ever since I
came into film making in 1991. I would like to extend this project
both geographically and deeper than its present form," says
Chatterjee, who had honed her skills in documentaries with her earlier
films on the 73rd Constitutional Amendment, on sexual harassment of
women at the workplace, and other topics.

Although human trafficking is illegal in almost every country,
thousands of girls become sexual slaves each year. The human
trafficking industry has a reported annual income of $8 billion, and
the UN estimates that it may employ as many as 40 million women.

What is trafficking? Who is trafficked, by whom, where and how? Are
the victims aware that they are being trafficked? What role do the
families play? Do they play a positive and reassuring role in the
rehabilitation of the girls when and if they come back home? What are
the reasons that lead to trafficking? Is it poverty or is it easy
money? Is it ignorance - true or pretended, or is it greed? Does it
result from lack of education and any earning skills? These are some
of the questions Understanding Trafficking raises. It also stresses on
the sad fact that no separate and exclusive law exists to punish the
trafficking of girls and women for prostitution. Also, no social or
governmental infrastructure exists for their rescue, rehabilitation,
education, training and mainstreaming of these girls.

Why did she name the film Understanding Trafficking? "I wanted to show
not just a few victims, but to help viewers understand the mechanics
and the politics of trafficking and migration," says Chatterjee. The
film opens with graphics designed and created by Anirban Ghosh. It
then moves on to Farah Gherda, a young girl studying in St. Xavier's
College, Kolkata, planning to go abroad to pursue her interests in
professional photography. She has the backing of her parents to seek
fresh pastures. She is distanced from the Lakshman Rekha. - maybe not
even aware of its existence. But she is one of the lucky few among the
millions of little girls who do have choices to make.

The film tries to explore the differences between sex work and
trafficking, migration and trafficking, etc. Through captive
audiovisual shots that go into forbidden ghettoes of the trade, it
shows how trafficking is an integral part of organized crime with a
long human chain that begins with the girl's family, including her
parents, and reaches her to the brothel she has been sold to, - to
live and die there as a sex worker.

"I have used the metaphor of the Lakshman Rekha because generally,
trafficking victims are handled from a welfare-based approach. Women
are thought to be weak and vulnerable, needing protection, and it is
expected that they should not attempt to venture out. Women and girls
are dissuaded from migrating, even to find work, since they might get
trafficked. This limits women from exploring their full potential. And
if a woman does get trafficked, it becomes extremely difficult for her
to reintegrate into society, which blames her for crossing the line.
As a feminist, however, I feel there should be no such man-made
boundaries to define or confine

Photo: A teenaged girl rescued from being trafficked now learns
music.

The narrative in the film focuses on both individual lives as well as
institutional issues. Juhi, a pretty girl who was trafficked by her
'mother' is shown being rescued from the notorious Sonagachi district
of Kolkata and educated by a city NGO Sanlaap, only for her 'mother'
to again sell her off to the brothel after claiming her from the NGO.
Indrani Sinha, Sanlaap's president, says the organisation works with
victims of trafficking, who they try to rehabilitate and put back into
the mainstream. One is also introduced to a self-proclaimed social
activist named Dipak Prahladka who steps in to 'rescue' Juhi from
Sanlaap itself - traffickers often disguise themselves as do-gooders,
says Sanlaap.

One of the highlights of the film is a wonderful rehabilitation
programme for trafficking victims ventured into by Jabala, a West
Bengal-based NGO which works on prevention and rehabilitation of
trafficking victims. They regularly organise football camps for the
girls. Survivors of trafficking have a lot of anger in them, which
they need to take out. So kicking the football is a therapeutic
process for them, and playing gives them confidence and becomes a
route to empowerment. The camps take place in Murshidabad.

The film includes an exploration of Nepal's attempts to protect its
women from being exploited in India, primarily through the Foreign
Employment Act, which imposed a ban on foreign employment for single
Nepali women. However because of the conflict situation in Nepal and
opportunities in the international labour market, many Nepali women
migrated through illegal channels. These women remained undocumented
in official records. Research has shown that migrant Nepali women
contribute 8 per cent towards the country's national budget. In 2002,
a modified FEA stated that women seeking foreign employment required a
permission letter from their fathers or husbands. In 2008, the FEA of
Nepal was again modified due to sustained activism by women's groups.
It now allows women to seek foreign employment independently.

Technically, the film stands out because of its aesthetic music and
lyrics, penned by the late Gautam Chatterjee. Two beautiful songs on
the sound track lend themselves into the ambience of the film - its
context and its visualisation. The imaginative background score and
difficult editing are by Saikat Sekhareswar Roy. Sukanta Majumdar has
done the sound design and Joydeep Bose has done the cinematography
that is restrained and refrains from sensationalizing facts and
incidents. ⊕

Shoma Chatterji
19 Jul 2009

Dr. Shoma A Chatterji, freelance journalist and author, writes on
cinema, media, human rights, cultural issues and gender.

http://www.indiatogether.org/2009/jul/rvw-traffic.htm

BOOK EXCERPT
Karma Sutra

With the closure of the dance bars, the sex industry has another arm.
Thousands of women without education have lost their livelihood. They
have to cash in on their looks before the passage of time wrinkles it.
Excerpts from Rajendar Menen's book.

26 June 2008 - The ladies bars, which shot into the media spotlight
with their closure, are expensive and most men who visit them have a
drink and spend a lot of money to watch beautiful women dance. It is
an extravagant and harmless way to spend time. The women charge
enormous amounts for more private sessions and very few men can afford
them.

And those who can are only getting rid of ill-gotten wealth. Most
business transactions in India involve payments under the table and
ladies bars are a good way to get rid of the money that can't be
stored in banks or used with credit cards and cheque books. The
parallel economy in India is colossal. There has to be some way to
spend the money that can't be kept legitimately. It will make good
economic sense for the government to support a proliferation of such
bars. It will generate employment and the money that needs to be
hidden will surface. It is an excellent way of mopping up black money.
The morality issues that have been raked up to support the ban won't
cut a denture anywhere because the girls simply disappear and find
similar employment with a different calling card.

At the bars the women dance energetically and with an imaginative show
of skin to loud Hindi film music rich in innuendo and beat. They are
in sarees and other traditional Indian costumes and their dances look
far less obscene than the 'item' numbers that sell Hindi cinema at the
box-office. Men shower the girls they fancy with currency notes that
are picked up by attendants and dropped into boxes set aside for such
collections. The dancers take a portion of the largesse. The
management decides what to do with the rest.

Several people in positions of power have to be paid to allow all this
to happen. It is widely accepted that hundreds of thousands of rupees
are dropped into the boxes in the ladies bars every single night. It
is quite a spectacle: non-stop dancing, strobe lights, loud music and
scores of men seated around tables drinking, eating and ogling away. A
Hijra dance is also added to the scream of offerings if the management
feels like it. A compilation of both genders in one form, neither
fully masculine nor covertly feminine, stretching wildly to music,
always meets with requests for an encore. It adds variety to the
choreography. The garden has a new flower.

At erratic intervals, a man beckons a girl with currency notes or he
just walks over to the dance floor and garlands her with money. Some
men join the dancers too to the accompaniment of wolf whistles and
loud appreciation. Everyone has a great time. Bouncers keep a close
watch and there is never any ruffle in the proceedings. Its all owned
and run by unlikely bedfellows brought together by the lure of quick
and big money born without a chartered accountant's whistle or a
padre's conscience.

The author's book Karma Sutra: Essays from the Margin was published
by Saga Books in February 2007.

Now, with the closure of these bars, the sex industry has another arm.
Thousands of women without education have lost their livelihood. They
have to cash in on their looks before the passage of time wrinkles it.
So they have slipped into the flesh industry in every corner of the
city, moved to other states in India and even to different countries.
Sex workers have a very short shelf life. They have to mint the moment
even if the sun has temporarily blighted it in eclipse mode.

I have interviewed several bar girls. Most of the interviews have
taken place in the green room. It is a little room with mirrors and
benches, painted in innocuous cream or pastel shades, with a toilet
attached to it. It is very basic. There are containers of talc, soaps,
makeup kits, a few combs and towels. You finish your dance, rush in,
change clothes and prepare for another round. You adjust your make-up
in the large mirror, ask the others how you look, take a final glance,
and you are off. There is no time even for gossip.

After the show, the girls change into ordinary, everyday clothes, if
they have the time, and finally get a chance to yak away. They will
talk about the money earned and about the customers. Some of them will
accompany clients for the night, but most of them will go home to
families that they look after with their earnings.

It is very late at night when they pack up, early morning really, and
they don't need more attention on the way home. So make-up, jewellery
and all the glamorous outfits are removed and they get into dowdy
salwar kameez if they can. Groups of women don't always travel at this
time of the night and so they are a visible presence. Cabs wait
outside the bars. They share it to their destinations somewhere in
this lonely, dreary city or to the nearest railway station if they are
living far away. A spate of rapes and robberies has made the
authorities place an armed policeman in the ladies compartment. If the
policeman behaves himself, this can be a deterrent to crime.

Lata is from Agra, from a basti near the Taj Mahal. She says she is
twenty-seven and married with two children. Her husband left her, the
children are in school and she takes care of old and sick parents. She
is slightly built and wears spectacles when she isn't dancing. Her
features are soft. She isn't garrulous like the others and can pass
off as a chemistry teacher at some municipal school. She has a stern
look and a commanding air. You will never imagine that she makes a
living dancing to currency notes.

"I make good money," she tells me. "But it is hard work. You know how
it is. Dancing for so many hours every day is not easy. My feet pain
every night and I need to be massaged. I have varicose veins and take
medicines. Every man thinks we are game. I haven't been to anyone till
now. I dance, collect the money and go home. I have many
responsibilities. My children are in an English medium school and my
father has lakva (paralysis). I have to look after them. If something
happens to me, they are finished. I can't even afford to fall sick for
a day. I pray to God that nothing happens."

Several people in positions of power have to be paid to allow all this
to happen.

I ask her if she has given a thought to marriage again. "No, I will
never marry again," she retorts fiercely. "It is no use. I will have
more kids and more problems. I am very happy without a man. Who needs
a man anyway? I am earning well. I can also get sex anytime I want, so
why do I need a husband? Marriage is just legal prostitution."

Rani is also from Uttar Pradesh. She is also in her twenties and is
married with children. Her husband is still with her but doesn't
contribute to the household. "He drinks all the time and doesn't work.
If I don't give him money, he hits me. I don't really care about him,
he can leave me and go if he wants to, but I am worried for my
children. Nothing should happen to them. I should secure their future.
That's my only concern."

Both girls have bank accounts and have made small investments. They
met in Mumbai and have become good friends. They dance at the same
bar, live in the same building, go shopping together and help look
after each other's families. There is great bonding. They understand
one another well. They also go home to their villages together, along
with their families, at least once a year. They don't have to tell the
world what they do for a living. It's their secret. The job provides
for the family and gives them the dignity that money can buy.

Shama is glamorous and very attractive. Even while talking to me, she
keeps checking her make-up and looks into her little mirror. She knows
she is beautiful. She has the look of a woman who enjoys the attention
of men. She is also about twenty-seven and married with kids. She is
from Delhi. All of them are from poor families. They have studied till
the third or fourth standards and then dropped out. Educating girls is
considered unnecessary in poor Indian families. They will anyway get
married and leave home. They are paraya dhan, - someone else's wealth.
So they are taught housework.

All of them have been married off in their teens and their parents
have rustled up huge amounts of dowry and elaborate wedding
arrangements. Grown up, unmarried girls are not appreciated in Indian
families and so when a girl is born all attention is directed to
getting her a spouse. Unfortunately, all the three husbands have
turned out to be useless, good for nothing jerks. They have spent the
dowry and taken to drink, gambling and womanising. The girls are the
only earning members in their families and, worse, they run the risk
of contracting a sexual disease from their husbands!

I met these girls while talk was on about the impending ban on
bargirls. They had read about it and heard about it and were obviously
worried. What will you do if the bars really shut down, I ask. (As I
write this, the bars have shut indefinitely). "We will have to go to
other cities or somewhere else in Mumbai. We don't know what to do
really. But something will have to be done. Whatever is written in our
naseeb (destiny) will happen." They know that they can't dance forever
and have to make quick money and bank it somewhere, possibly even
start a small shop or enterprise. The sooner they do this the better.
It all depends on how much money they have to kick-start a new
venture. For now, prostitution is the only recourse and they recognise
that fact. It is lucrative.

"We will have to take to dhandha," they tell me without sounding
alarmed. They have obviously thought about it. "What else can we do?
We have no other skill?" Some girls have made contacts with bar owners
in neighbouring states. Some have also decided to move out of the
country. The sex industry all over the world has sent feelers to the
bar girls. Most of the girls are very attractive and dance
exceptionally well. They are checking out options. The girls and their
managers meet up frequently to discuss plans.

Their lives will be disrupted. Children's schooling, parents' medical
treatment, new employers and clients, a new country altogether; every
aspect of their lives will be turned upside down. It's a big move and
they are very uncomfortable with it. But there is no choice. If they
don't dance, fast and furious now, the wide net of everyday, unkind
prostitution will eventually suck them into its intricate folds. ⊕

Rajendar Menen
26 Jun 2008

This article is extracted from Rajendar Menen's book "Karma Sutra:
Essays from the Margin", published by Saga Books in February 2007.

http://www.indiatogether.org/2008/jun/wom-karma.htm

BOOK REVIEW: A LIFE LESS ORDINARY
A journey of courage

Baby Halder's life is like that of millions of poor, exploited women.
What is different, and astoundingly so, is that she has written a book
about it - a story which saddens us with its matter-of-fact narrative
of a life of tribulation, but also makes us rejoice vicariously in its
extraordinary triumph, writes Neeta Deshpande.

29 November 2006 - "Many days have passed; Only a few remain now."
Simple, candid words. Words which say little, yet span a lifetime. It
is in these sparing words that sixty-five year old Bai - who was
employed to care for me during my childhood - sums up her life of
privation and suffering. As a little girl, my days were enlivened by
moments with her - listening to her hilarious aphorisms, eating her
delicious laddus of leftover rotis, ghee and sugar, and warming myself
around her wood fires in the winters.

But despite our close relationship, I am ashamed to admit that I know
very little about Bai's life before she moved into our house as a
domestic help. Fleeting statements from her have hinted at a childhood
of penury, marriage at a precariously early age to an abusive man, an
early widowhood, and the hardship which followed. "Listen to me - I
have seen it all. I have gone to bed on an empty stomach", she would
tell me on rare occasions. Though I wanted to know more, I did not
have the courage to ask her to summon up memories of all the sadness
she had endured. So when I came across the much acclaimed
autobiography of Baby Halder - a domestic worker - I gravitated
towards it for my own reasons. Perhaps I would find Bai in the book,
speaking through the author's voice.

I was not wrong. Baby Halder's life seemed to traverse a similar
trajectory to Bai's, or for that matter, millions of poor, exploited
women in an India where they are treated as lesser human beings.
Victims of an endless cycle of poverty, their needs are routinely
ignored, their aspirations systematically thwarted. Like Bai, Baby too
was married off at a tender age. Her husband - twice as old as she was
then - also turned out to be violent, abusing her verbally and beating
her often. Soon, she was forced into a life of drudgery as a domestic
worker, her days filled with mindless chores in other people's homes.
However, here the similarities end, for Baby Halder, unlike most women
of her background, can read and write. Her schooling up to the seventh
standard equipped her to recount her life in her Bengali book Aalo
Aandhari (Light and Darkness), a story which saddens us with its
matter-of-fact narrative of a life of tribulation, but also makes us
rejoice vicariously in its extraordinary triumph.

Childhood

Translated into English as A Life Less Ordinary, Baby's memoir begins
like an innocent school essay, interspersed with swirling snowflakes,
flowering hills and an occasional, joyous rainbow - elements of her
life as a little girl in Dalhousie. However, in tune with her short-
lived childhood, these happy reminiscences are numbered as well. For
soon, we find her drawing sketches of an often absent, abusive father,
and a frustrated mother who abandoned the family, pressing a coin into
the four-year-old Baby's palm before walking away. The coin served as
an unforgettable memory of a mother whom she saw only years later. She
received no love from her step-mother either, who beat her often.

The author looks back on her childhood in these evocative lines,
peculiarly written in the third person, perhaps in an effort to
distance herself from painful memories. "Poor Baby! What else could
one say of her? Imagine a childhood so brief, so ephemeral, that you
could sit down and the whole thing could unravel in front of you in
barely half an hour! And yet her childhood fascinates Baby. Perhaps
everyone is fascinated by the things they've been deprived of, the
things they long for. Baby remembers her childhood, she savours every
moment of it, she licks it just as a cow would her newborn calf,
tasting every part."

However, despite their adverse circumstances, Baby's mother earnestly
wanted her to go to school, and her father encouraged her to study. On
her part, the little girl loved school as much as she hated home,
worked hard, and never missed a day. Her precarious life sowed many
hurdles in her schooling, but she persisted and managed to study.

Marriage and motherhood

At the naive age of thirteen, Baby was hastily married off to a 26-
year-old man, her evanescent childhood relegated to her memories. Soon
after she entered her new home, her husband roughly pulled her towards
him one night. Little Baby just "shut her eyes and her mouth tightly
and let him do what he wanted". At the age of fourteen - a child
herself - she had to endure an excruciatingly painful delivery. The
poignancy of her state is expressed by an incident during her
pregnancy. Tired of staying within the four walls, she would venture
out to watch the children at play. She alone knew how desperately she
wanted to play with them. One day, when their gulli landed at her
feet, she picked it up, and without being fully aware of what she was
doing, ran into the field to join them. Only when a woman chided her
that she should be careful lest she hurt her stomach, did she run back
into the house in embarrassment.

Despite bearing children at a ridiculously young age, Baby clearly
understood her responsibilities as a mother. She wanted a good life
for her children, including a proper education. According to her, it
was not enough to give birth, for parenthood brought with it a
responsibility to enable a person to grow into a human being.

These were not mere words; she would soon act on them too. Her
husband, who had initially been negligent of her - desisting from
answering her queries and even refusing to take her to the hospital in
time for her delivery - now turned abusive, and would beat her
regularly. One such instance, during her second pregnancy, caused an
agonising miscarriage. Eventually, his violence pushed her to the
brink of desperation, when she firmly decided to part ways. Soon, she
boarded a train for distant Delhi for the sake of her children. Later
in a newspaper article, she would explain that she was glad she moved,
because there were no good schools for her children back home.

The author looks back on her childhood in evocative lines, peculiarly
written in the third person, perhaps in an effort to distance herself
from painful memories.

To feed herself and her three little ones, she found work as a
domestic help, work which entailed slogging from dawn until midnight.
Her employer would shout at Baby's children who would be locked up on
the roof all day, and did not even allow her to meet her eldest son
who was working and living elsewhere. Fed up with such inhuman
treatment, she left, and by a stroke of serendipity found a new
employer - one who would transform her life in unimaginable ways.

Writing

Baby's new 'Sahib', former professor of anthropology Prabodh Kumar,
whom she would later call 'Tatush' - the name that his sons used for
him - helped her in more ways than one. He provided her a room when
her house was broken down by bulldozers, reunited her with her eldest
son, found a school for her children, and supplied them with the
necessities of life. But over and above all his help, he would talk to
her, asking her to think of him as a "father, brother, mother,
friend ..." Baby was touched when he treated her as a human being,
given that most people behave callously towards servants and pay them
precious little - the employers taking advantage of the desperation of
domestic workers to subsidise their own lives.

His most significant contribution to her life, however, enabled her to
transgress the boundaries drawn around her, bringing forth an aspect
of her personality that she would never have been aware of. After he
saw her peering at a Bengali book while she dusted his bookshelves, he
asked if she could read. The next day, he pulled out a book for her,
and asked her to read out its name. With his encouragement, she
blurted out Amar Meyebela, the first book she read on her way to
writing one herself. When he found her making progress with reading
the book, he provided her a notebook and pen, and prodded her to write
the story of her life. The astonishing result - Aalo Aandhari - is her
story of darkness and light, the travails and joys in a journey of
courage.

Progressive outlook

Baby's book is peppered with her thoughts on various aspects of her
life, including the size of her family and the education of her
children. Upon realizing that she might be following the 'local
custom' in her neighbourhood of three to four children per couple, she
had the foresight to undergo a family planning operation after her
third issue. Her views on the status of women and the discrimination
they face are also worth noting. When her husband turned the house
into a dirty, horrible mess whenever she was away, she questioned a
neighbour as to why the woman of the house had to be around to keep
the place clean.

Now writing her second book, Baby told a newspaper that in her
autobiography, she simply wrote about all that she had faced. This
time, she would be more analytical and try to find out why she was put
in those situations in the first place.

A rare voice

The people behind the book must be congratulated for bringing out this
unusual life-story of a person who would otherwise have been relegated
to the background of her employers' houses, condemned to a furtive,
silent existence. Prabodh Kumar translated the manuscript from the
original Bengali into Hindi, cleaning it up as required, but leaving
Baby's own voice intact. Publisher and writer Urvashi Butalia of
Zubaan translated the narrative from Hindi into English.

While reading the book, one is struck by Baby's courage to resolutely
live as a single woman with three children in faraway, unfamiliar
Delhi, where she painstakingly carved out a new life for herself.
Though she does not ask uncomfortable questions of her readers, the
mere narration of her life leaves us to ponder why she should have had
to suffer through the ordeals of a child marriage, an abusive husband
and exploitative employers.

Though this is not a book to be read for its literary merit, it should
be valued for its powerful story of survival and success in the face
of relentless, overwhelming odds - a story which will remain etched on
our minds for its author's grit and determination to refuse to accept
defeat. This down-to-earth memoir stirs and delights, saddens and
overpowers, humbles and uplifts us with its direct, unpretentious take
on the universal experience of being human. ⊕

Neeta Deshpande
29 Nov 2006

Neeta Deshpande is a student of Hindustani vocal music based in Goa. A
Life Less Ordinary by Baby Halder, translated by Urvashi Butalia, is
published by Zubaan in collaboration with Penguin Books, 173 pp., Rs.
195.

http://www.indiatogether.org/2006/nov/rvw-halder.htm

WISDOM SONG
A life of conviction

The book serves a felt need, as also the purpose of getting Baba Amte
under the reader's skin. But the author does not tease out historical
and sociological connections, and ask questions of broader relevance.
The definitive interpretation of Amte's life and its significance is
still awaited. Neeta Deshpande reviews Wisdom Song: The life of Baba
Amte.

24 October 2006 - One does not need glorious words to portray the work
of Baba Amte. Be it enabling victims of leprosy to live a life of
dignity, or buttressing the movement of people being displaced by the
Sardar Sarovar dam, his actions have always spoken eloquently for
themselves. However, despite his remarkable life of courage,
conviction and endurance, there isn't a good biography of this
tireless crusader. Neesha Mirchandani's book, Wisdom Song: The Life of
Baba Amte attempts to fill this void, narrating the story of his life
in simple prose.

Peppered with quotes and remembrances from Amte and the many
committed men and women he inspired, Mirchandani recounts the
extraordinary stories of his lifelong endeavours. The narrative
encompasses the celebrated Anandwan - a sprawling rehabilitation
centre for the leprosy-affected and physically challenged - in
Maharashtra (1951 onwards), Amte's advocacy on behalf of the tribals
affected by the Bhopalpatnam and Icchampalli dams (1984), the Bharat
Jodo yatras (1985-86 and 1987-88), and finally, the decade he spent on
the banks of the Narmada, putting his moral weight behind the Narmada
Bachao Andolan (1990-2000).

Amte's defining moment came one rainy night, when he encountered a man
dying of leprosy. "It was like being sucked into the eye of a
hurricane. Everything went blank and in that moment, the social
justice work, the evening prayers, my wife, children ... everything
lost perspective and meaning," he reminisces vividly. Thus, in 1951,
began the unbelievable story of Anandwan, painstakingly hewn out of
barren, rock-strewn land infested by wild animals, by Amte, his wife
Sadhana and their fellow workers afflicted by leprosy. It took six
weeks of severe toil to cut through the rock while digging the first
well, a task accomplished by a few crippled persons along with Amte.
With poverty and extreme hardship as constant companions, the group
transformed their harsh surroundings into verdant fields. Since then,
Amte has never looked back. Dedicating his entire life to the
downtrodden, despite suffering an excruciatingly painful degeneration
of the spine, this cheerful nonagenarian defiantly marches on.

Amte has often said that one can live without fingers, but not without
self-respect. True to this maxim, beyond healing people's wounds, he
restored their dignity by providing them with work. Thus, those
shunned by society and condemned to a life of begging were enabled to
work in the fields and vocational training centres of Anandwan. A
veteran resident recalls that when he visited Warora - a nearby town -
during the early days of Anandwan, no one would give him water to
drink. Now, as Amte proudly reiterates in an interview, people call
Anandwan residents to help install water pumps and other devices. Over
the years, his dream has evolved into a town with hospitals, schools,
homes, agricultural land and occupational training centres, built and
run by the leprosy-affected and physically challenged themselves.

continue reading article ...

In the process of reconstructing Amte's life, Mirchandani's narrative
is enlivened by the reminiscences of his family and co-workers, who
carry his work forward. One such recollection is that of Bharati Amte,
his daughter-in-law who runs a hospital at Anandwan. "He taught me
that the first thing I should ask a patient is, 'Have you eaten?' Many
people who came to Anandwan have to walk for miles - they are tired,
hungry and poor. They don't teach this humanity at medical school."
The book also provides perspectives of people who have benefited from
his work. Devram Kanera, from a village to be submerged in the Narmada
Valley, elaborates that only when Amte came to the region did people
begin to understand the broader canvas of their struggle and its
motives.

"He taught me that the first thing I should ask a patient is, 'Have
you eaten?' Many people who came to Anandwan have to walk for miles -
they are tired, hungry and poor. They don't teach this humanity at
medical school."

Prior to relocating to the Narmada Valley to bolster the efforts of
the Narmada Bachao Andolan, Amte led a movement of tribals who would
have been displaced without rehabilitation by the Bhopalpatnam and
Icchampalli dams in 1984, had it not been for his intervention. He
believes that the big dams which he opposed "pillaged from the poor to
provide luxuries to the select rich, destroying natural resources in
the process for short-term financial gain." Living by his conviction,
he fought for the tribals and farmers who would be dispossessed of
their homes and agricultural lands in the name of development.

Although it serves a felt need, Mirchandani's book has its
limitations. While her broad sympathy to Amte's cause is well-placed,
the author fails to maintain a critical distance, which would have
made the biography more well-rounded. Given that rehabilitating the
leprosy-affected was Amte's calling, a chapter providing the medical,
historical and social background of the disease would have helped. At
times, the biography comes across as casual; the author includes her
scribbled notes of conversations with Amte before elaborating on these
notes. At others, it is sentimental. The first chapter could have done
without a romanticized juxtaposition of Amte's birth in 1914 with a
'Christmas truce' between German and British soldiers during the First
World War. Crucially, the book does not go beyond the story of Amte's
life, to tease out historical and sociological connections, and ask
questions of broader relevance. For instance, it would have been
useful to understand how Amte's efforts have influenced social
perception of leprosy at a wider level.

As the Marathi litterateur P.L. Deshpande cautions us, "... once Baba
Amte gets under your skin, you will never be the same again." The book
serves the purpose of getting Baba Amte under the reader's skin. But
the definitive interpretation of his life and its significance is
still awaited. ⊕

Neeta Deshpande
24 Oct 2006

Neeta Deshpande is a student of Hindustani vocal music based in Goa.
"Wisdom Song: The Life of Baba Amte", by Neesha Mirchandani, is
published by Roli Books, p.280, Rs.395.

http://www.indiatogether.org/2006/oct/rvw-babaamte.htm

NATIONAL COMMISSION FOR WOMEN
A gallery of failures

A former member of the National Commission for Women, Syeda Hameed
records the powerlessness of the institution in her new book, They
hang: Twelve women in my portrait gallery. Deepti Priya Mehrotra notes
the chilling refusal of the system to defend women against
atrocities.

19 May 2006 - Women's activists throughout the country have reported
the hostile attitude of the police and the judiciary when it comes to
punishing perpetrators of violence. But when a high-placed government
functionary faces similar hostility, and finds herself powerless to
deal with it, it is indeed an eye-opener.

Planning Commission member Syeda S Hameed is one such person. In her
recent book, 'They Hang - Twelve Women in My Portrait Gallery', she
narrates her personal experience of trying to help 12 wronged women
get justice. Syeda Hameed's book, based on her work as Member of the
National Commission for Women (1997-2000), is an explosive account of
the impotence of this institution. Not only does she document, in
brutal detail, the violence committed on women in a range of contexts,
but also the chilling refusal of `the system' to bring the guilty to
book.

The atrocities Syeda recounts are not unusual, nor are they unknown to
us. Several have been in the public eye during the late 1990s. For
instance, Ila Pandey's case against her husband Rajneesh Pandey, who
was repeatedly raping their 10-year-old daughter in Karvi, Uttar
Pradesh. Or the story of Lalita Oraon, raped by Amrit Lugan, India's
First Secretary, Economic Affairs, Paris, while she worked in his
house as a maid and nanny.

Syeda provides information from her role as investigator in these
cases: she took down testimonies of hundreds of people, and wrote
detailed reports. Her Karvi report clearly indicated the culpability
of Rajneesh as well as the virulent campaign launched by his
supporters against local women's groups who took up the case. Entitled
`Case of Child Sexual Abuse and Targeting of Women's Rights Groups',
the report received media coverage and "momentarily shook the
establishment". Years later, however, Rajneesh remarried, while the
case filed by Ila drags on.

Similarly, Syeda wrote an NCW report entitled `The Alleged
Exploitation and Abuse of Lalita Oraon in Paris, France' and sent it
to all relevant government departments authorised to present an Action
Taken Report on the issue. But the report was stillborn. Says Syeda,
in the book: "I was anxious to begin taking action, but the matter
never saw the light of day. No matter how I tried, I could not get the
report released. It disappeared mysteriously from the scene, fell
between the cracks of procedure and protocol.... Lalita Oraon vanished
into thin air. Years passed without a word about Lalita."

One NCW report, `Come In, but One by One: Sexual Harassment at Delhi
Public School' - connected with the alleged harassment of women by the
DPS NOIDA principal Varma, was released at a crowded press conference
in New Delhi. It got media attention, but soon vanished from the
public sphere. The school protected its principal, despite concrete
evidence of sexual harassment of at least three women teachers (whose
services he had terminated as soon as they refused to comply with his
wishes). Varma served his full term and, after superannuating, was
given an extension for another three years. Syeda notes bitterly, "My
report probably still lies (in NCW), carefully preserved in files
which no one ever opens, or it may have been shredded with all other
five-year-old documents...."

Syeda's book displays strong personal commitment as well as rare
honesty. The book is uncompromising in its recording of experiences.
At places she moves beyond precise facts into an imaginative
reconstruction of events and persona - always clarifying which of the
writing is fact, and which is `faction'.

One disturbing aspect emerging from her accounts is the nasty role
played by `society' - families, relatives and neighbourhoods - in
instigating violence. In Haryana's Sudaka village for instance, 15-
year old Maimun's family forced her to marry Aijaz. This was to
protect their `izzaat' (honour) that was compromised by Maimun's
affair with Idris, a man from her own village. Aijaz and his cronies
gang-raped Maimun, slashed her with a knife from neck to midriff, and
left her to die.

"My report probably still lies carefully preserved in files which no
one ever opens, or it may have been shredded with all other five-year-
old documents..."

• By choice and circumstance

Later, strangers found and nursed Maimun, and then Idris located her.
Her parents filed a case against Idris, and the police arrested
Idris's old parents. When Maimun and Idris came to NCW, Syeda and her
colleagues were moved and angry, and immediately drove to Sudaka
village. There they faced an extremely hostile mob of villagers, who
dragged Maimun out of the vehicle. The Haryana police did not move a
muscle to prevent this. The NCW team returned empty-handed - no
justice delivered. Instead, they had actually handed over the lamb for
slaughter.

All the 12 stories indicate that NCW lacks infrastructure, back-up,
and `teeth'. Although it is the apex body for women in India, it is
powerless to actually move the administration, police and judiciary,
to make them take appropriate action. Gross violations of women's
human rights carry on with impunity. Everybody knows that the guilty
are seldom punished. Even though, NCW members and hundreds of other
women's groups might work tirelessly to handle the deluge of cases
that pour in, their efforts could still end up in vain.

In the same book, Syeda also highlights the stories of fighting women,
those who speak out against exploitation - file First Investigation
Reports (FIRs); refuse to succumb to brutal backlash; and refuse to
kowtow to the powers-that-be. Thus, one elderly trustee of DPS,
refused to condone the principal's misconduct, rather she testified
that the principal "used his power and position to extract sexual
favours from women teachers...." Sometimes, Syeda `imagines in' a
woman who fights back - Rajneesh Pandey's second wife perhaps; or
Chaddo, who becomes a lawyer after her elder sister Shaddo was killed
by in-laws. She imagines Sajoni - a tribal woman from Bagjori village,
Bihar, branded a witch, thrashed by villagers after she ploughed her
fields - leaving the village with her five children to find a better
place to survive in.

Sheila Rani, a sweeper in DPS, provides incisive analysis as well as
ground-level strategy. When the principal tried to molest her, she
fought back, and later told a teacher of the school, "Every dog in
this place wants a piece of flesh.... We can fight our battles in our
own way. We can kick and bite and scratch. Your court-kacheri will
never get us a scrap of justice." She asked for a transfer saying,
"There is no dearth of toilets to clean. If not here, I will find them
in other schools. But the shit has become JK cement on these haramis
('bastards' in Hindi); only a bolt of lightning can shatter it. I am
going where, if I clean hard enough, the dirt will come off!"

Sadly - nay, tragically - the NCW has been unable to send the bolts of
lightning needed to shatter the concrete structures sheltering
criminals and routinely abetting crimes against women.

Syeda wrote the book because she doesn't want these stories of
terrible violence to disappear from public memory. She also wanted to
highlight that NCW is unable to achieve justice in these cases because
it is toothless: "The Commission's reports are not binding on anyone,
and its jurisdictions stops at its front door." (Courtesy: Women's
Feature Service) ⊕

Deepti Priya Mehrotra
19 May 2006

Deepti Priya Mehrotra is a Delhi based freelance journalist "They Hang
- Twelve Women in My Portrait Gallery", Syeda S. Hameed, Women
Unlimited, New Delhi, 2006, 183 pp, Rs 275.

http://www.indiatogether.org/2006/may/wom-ncw.htm

By choice and circumstance
Uma Chakravarty turns the pages of Deepti Priya Mehrotra's stories of
single mothers.

October 2003 - New Delhi, (WFS) - One day, recently, I checked in a
bit early to catch a flight at the Bangalore airport. As I sat getting
bored, I decided to browse at the bookstall, something I almost never
do because of the peculiar mix of books airport stalls have - travel,
oriental India, spiritual India, Jeffrey Archer - that I neither have
the time nor money for.

I was both surprised and pleased to find many copies of Home Truths,
Deepti Priya Mehrotra's recently published book on single mothers, on
one of the shelves. And I began wondering at the many transformations
this could represent. Is it because Penguin, which has a wide reach in
the market, has published the book? Are 'single moms' an important
part of today's reality? Has the women's movement created a space for
thinking about issues in new ways? Or is it merely that the title of
the book is eye-catching?

Whatever the reason, it is good to know that a feminist rendering of
an emerging facet of life has a readership beyond the already
converted communities. Home Truths is a narration of the experiences
of single mothers as they cope with multiple emotions and challenges
in a world defined by the nuclear-extended family, which is regarded
as the norm in India. Even in the post-globalisation, market oriented,
consumerist metropolitan India, the family (as shown in
advertisements), is the nuclear family plus dad's mother and father on
the one hand, and 'couple-dom' on the other. The single mother
phenomenon is an aberration in such a situation and there are almost
no institutional supports available for women to mediate their
difficulties, as Mehrotra notes in her afterword.

Single mothers face problems and overwork, yet they also savour a
sense of autonomy and independence.

The experiences of single mothers constitute the main part of the
book - a series of stories of women from different social locations.
Although the number of narratives is small, the women are drawn from
different communities, regions and professions. Single mothers face
problems and overwork, yet they also savour a sense of autonomy and
independence.

I was particularly drawn to some of the narratives. Nafisa of
Hyderabad for instance, just walked out of a bad marriage one day. She
took courage from women she had seen on TV - those who refused to
accept that their lives would continue to be determined by men who
tried to victimise them - and arrived at the dargah (shrine) of
Nizammudin, in Delhi. Meena, a nautanki (song-dance-drama) artist,
recognises that for one like her "there is no one when she is old";
her daughter too has become a nautanki artist and dances for a living.
Then there is the narrative of Sapna, a widow who says quite matter-of
factly, "I am the mother, I am the father". There is no place for self-
pity in her approach; she insists on living by a code that she has
evolved. And because Sapna has become part of a newly forged community
of women activists in a working class area, she has a protective
shadow of women friends falling over her. And so, she is not alone.

Pratima's husband died in an accident; she struggled for years to be
independent, to feed her children on her own earnings and is finally
able to craft a new life where she is at peace because now, she can
add curry to the rice that the family managed on, earlier.

These are stories of extreme fragility - of survival, of choices
denied and others consciously made, of anger and bitterness at
betrayals, and of pleasure gained at achieving autonomy. No two
stories are similar, even as there are many common threads. The
narratives in the book can be read separately, as they stand on their
own. The prologue pegs the book and an afterword seeks to address some
of the issues the narratives throw up. Yet, there are many other
issues that the individual reader can relate to, or draw out from the
richly woven tapestry of experiences that women recount as they
generously let you into their lives, their difficulties, their sorrows
and their fears as well as their dreams and hopes.

Mehrotra has also tried to bridge the distance and the hierarchy that
is inherent in a relationship when one person talks about her own life
and another writes it down, even as the book binds the two together as
single mothers. The author includes an account of her own life as a
single mother - which she taped - becoming for that duration, both the
narrator and the listener. The author's narrative is a very honest
account, one of the rare retellings of complex emotions in the book -
of anger and rage, and a sense of betrayal at the break up of a
marriage. Toward the end of the narrative, there is an equally honest
recognition that her ex-partner is not a villain but rather another
person with his own needs and shortcomings. Finally, she has got to a
stage where she sees herself as part of a flow of people, work, music
and laughter, of being able to finally savour her space and freedom.

In the author's personal narrative, we see that she has got to a stage
where she sees herself as part of a flow of people, work, music and
laughter, of being able to finally savour her space and freedom.

Not all the narratives are about reaching some kind of resolution to
difficulty. There is an implicit understanding that there is
considerable insecurity in their lives. But equally, there is the
insight that 'security' usually goes along with economic dependence,
and accepting arbitrariness as an aspect of the relationship with a
partner. As Mehrotra puts it, the price of security could also be the
condition that "no home is forever". And when that home breaks up -
through death, abandonment or choice - you could be left feeling that
as a single woman there is no one for you. Or, that although it's been
a long, tough journey, you have created your own secure kind of place.
⊕

Uma Chakravarty
October 2003

Uma Charavarty writes on gender and history; she taught history in
Miranda House, Delhi University for many years.

http://www.indiatogether.org/2003/oct/wom-singlemom.htm

FEMALE ILLITERACY
Educating India

The Annual Status of Education Report, 2009 points out yet again that
what stands between rural girls and a good education is often basic
facilities like transport and proper toilets, writes Kalpana Sharma.

14 February 2010 - Swati and Anita are two young women from rural
Maharashtra. They have one thing in common. Both dropped out of school
once they completed Standard VIII. They wanted to complete their
schooling. Both spoke passionately to me when I met them about their
desire to study. Even their parents wanted them to study further. But
circumstances would not permit this.

Both girls faced an identical dilemma. While the school up to Standard
VIII was in their village or close by, the high school was some
distance away. The only way to go there was by the local State
Transport bus. While going to school was not such a problem as it was
during the day, at the end of the school day, they had to wait several
hours before they could catch the bus back. If for some reason the bus
was cancelled, and this would happen with alarming frequency, they
would have had to walk back to the village in the dark, something
their parents would not contemplate. Hence, the only option was to
drop out of school.

In contrast, the brother of one of the girls faced no such problem. As
soon as he was through with his classes, he would hitch a ride on a
passing truck and make his way back. This was not an option open to
the girls.

Tragic situation

What is tragic is that both these girls are as bright as any you would
meet in a city like Mumbai. The only reason they will not become the
engineers and doctors of the future is because there is no reliable
transport linking their village to the nearest school. And theirs are
not remote villages in the interior of Maharashtra. Swati lives a mere
hour away from Pune. If this is the story of Swati and Anita, think
how many millions more like them must be chafing at being deprived for
no other reason than a safe mode of transport.

In 2009, ASER surveyed 16,000 villages, 300,000 households and 700,000
children. There is nothing on this scale done by an agency outside
government, hence its importance. (click here for ASER web site).

We also know that many more girls drop out even before Standard VIII
for another reason: the lack of toilets in schools. The latest ASER
(Annual Status of Education Report) 2009, a comprehensive survey of
government and private schools in 575 out of 583 rural districts in
India, revealed that only 50 per cent of government schools have
toilets and that four out of 10 government schools did not have
separate toilets for girls. Even where there were separate toilets for
girls, as many as 12-15 per cent were locked and only 30-40 per cent
were "usable". I visited a school in Bihar where toilets had been
constructed but within days their doors had been stolen and the toilet
pans smashed making them unusable.

If girls dropout when they reach adolescence, it is often for no other
reason than the lack of toilet facilities. Even in a city like Mumbai,
the dropout rate amongst girls attending municipal schools is markedly
higher than that of boys because of the absence of toilets for them.

The annual ASER study, facilitated by the NGO Pratham, is a constant
and important reminder of the state of education in this country. In
2009, ASER surveyed 16,000 villages, 300,000 households and 700,000
children. There is nothing on this scale done by an agency outside
government, hence its importance. But each year, when ASER results are
made public, we are reminded that education is not just about
quantity, or the number of children who enrol in school - a number
that is increasing - but the quality of the education these children
get. And that, although it is getting better in some states, is still
shockingly poor.

Conducting simple reading and mathematics tests in schools, the survey
reveals that a little over half of all children in Standard V in
government schools cannot read a Standard II text book. This means a
10-year-old cannot read what a seven-year-old is supposed to be able
to read. What then are these children learning even if they become a
statistic showing increased enrolment and attendance in schools?

Disturbing trend

Precious little, it would seem. What they cannot learn in school, they
do so by paying for private tuitions. One of the more disturbing
statistics in the survey reveals that one in four children in Standard
I in private schools is sent for private tuitions as are 17 per cent
of Standard I students in government schools. Can you imagine that?
Little six-year-olds being sent for private tuition. By the time they
reach Standard VIII, over one third try and learn what they are
clearly not taught in school through private tutoring. An analysis of
the budget of poor people would reveal what a chunk of their earnings
goes into such tuitions because they hold on to the belief that
education will pull them out of poverty. But given the poor quality of
education in these schools, their children will never be able to
compete with those with ability to pay for better quality schooling.

Fortunately, not the entire ASER report is gloom and doom. One of the
brighter moments in it is the fact that in Bihar, the state considered
a basket case on most counts, the dropout rate for girls in the 11-14
age group has reduced from 17.6 per cent in 2006 to 6 per cent in
2009. So Bihar must be doing something right. In fact, one of the
striking sights in Bihar today is of girls on bicycles, given by the
government if they clear Standard VIII, going to the nearest high
school.

The desire to ensure that children get a good education runs deep in
most Indian families. Parents will sacrifice and save to invest in
their children's future. Even poor families, including the homeless
with no secure shelter, find a way of sending their children to
school. The increase in the enrolment rate in India - 96 per cent of
children between the ages of 6-14 are enrolled in school, government
and private - is proof of that.

What urgently needs to be tackled is the quality of education, basic
facilities like toilets and running water, and transport, particularly
for girls. Even this will not suffice unless there is a notable change
in the status accorded teachers who ultimately decide whether and what
children learn. Instead of the inordinate amount of attention that
continues to be paid to institutes of higher learning, or private
institutions that promise to prepare rich children for studies abroad,
something much more simple and basic can and needs to be done to
educate India and Indians. ⊕

Kalpana Sharma
14 Feb 2010

Kalpana Sharma has been Chief of the Mumbai Bureau and Deputy Editor
with The Hindu. Her opinions, which appear in a regular column with
The Hindu, are concurrently published in India Together with
permission.

Comments (1)
Posted by Usha Gupta,

I fully agree that the educational scenario can improve only if we pay
attention at providing quality primary education. I believe that the
Govt primary schools, whether in rural or urban ares, if not
delivering, should be handed over to NGOs or private societies who are
eager to educate the young children at a low cost or free, if
required. Unless we take our education system seriously ,things at
economic, social & even at political level will not improve. We have
made education a fundamental right without trying to make it a viable
reality. It is high time we stop thinking in terms of building
statistics only, & start making qualitative difference.

http://www.indiatogether.org/2010/feb/ksh-educate.htm

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